Sonari is the archaeological site of an ancient monastic complex of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

stupas. The site, positioned on a hill, is located about 10 km southwest of

Sanchi Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bh ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.ASI Sonari page
/ref> near Salamatpur Railway Station.

History

The stupas were excavated around 1850 by Alexander Cunningham, who discovered two boxes containing relics.British Library Online
/ref> One of the reliquaries, which is very ornate, is visible nowadays at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. The reliquary of Stupa No.2 presents has inscriptions in

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...

mentioning the names of Buddhist monks also appearing in the reliquary of Sanchi Stupa No.2 and Andher Stupas: Kasapagota, Majjhima, Kosikiputa, Gotiputa, and Apagira.Huu Phuoc's Buddhist Architecture Th
p.148
/ref> It would seem, then, that the ashes of these monks were divided between these three stupas. The date of construction of Stupa 1 and Stupa 2 must therefore be equivalent to those of Sanchi Stupa No.2, i.e. 125-100 BCE. There are in all four groups of stupas surrounding Sanchi within a radius of twenty kilometers: Bhojpur and Andher to the southeast, Sonari to the southwest, and Satdhara in the west.Buddhist Circuit in Central India: Sanchi, Satdhara, Sonari, Andher, Travel ..
p31
/ref> Further south, about 100 km away, is

Saru Maru Saru Maru is the archaeological site of an ancient monastic complex and Buddhist caves. The site is located near the village of Pangoraria, Budhani Tehsil, Sehore District, Madhya Pradesh, India.Gupta, The Origins of Indian Art, p.196 The site is ...

. Sanchi and surrounding stupas.jpg, Sanchi and surrounding stupas, including Sonari southwest of Sanchi. Sonari stupas map.jpg, Plan of Sonari stupas. File:Sonari stupas.jpg, Small stupas in Sonari, and stupa No.1 in the background. Sonari stupa.jpg, One of the little stupas.

Stupa No.1

Alexander Cunningham and FC Maisey searched Sonari's Stupa 1 in 1851. The stupa contained a miniature soapstone reliquary. File:Sonari Stupa 1.jpg, Stupa No.1 File:Sonari stupa 1 section and plan.jpg , Plan of excavations of stupa No.1 File:Sonari Stupa 1 and relics.jpg, Reliquary of Stupa No.1 Sonari pillar.jpg, Decorated pillar of Sonari stupa No.1

Stupa No.2

Alexander Cunningham and FC Maisey searched Sonari's Stupa No.2 in 1851. The stupa contained three miniature reliquaries, two in soapstone and one in rock crystal, as well as a certain amount of bone ash and a piece of wood. The main reliquary is shaped to resemble a lotus bud, with incised petals decorating the lower half of the reliquary. It was turned on a lathe and then carved in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

with lotus petal strips on the shoulder and lower body, while on the upper body is a large area divided into eight rectangular compartments in each of which are an elephant, horse, deer or winged lion, patterns typical of the period of the Maurya Empire. These discoveries were published by A Cunningham in ''The Bhilsa Topes'' in 1854.Notice from

br>
/ref> It had been customary since the death of the Buddha to preserve and venerate his relics. Under emperor

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

(around 268-233 BCE), converted to Buddhism and energetic protector of the faith, a series of stupas, mounds of relics, were erected throughout the empire, marking sites important in the life of the Buddha. This practice continued, and this container of relics was buried around 200 BCE. Relic deposits of this period usually represented original deposits of the relics of the Buddha. File:Sonari Stupa 2.jpg, Stupa No.2 Sonari stupa 2 section and plan.jpg, Section and plan. Sonari stupa 2 relics.jpg, Relics of Stupa No.2. Sonari Stupa 2 and relics.jpg, Relics of Stupa No.2.

References

External links

ASI Sonari page

Little Stupa Reliquary No.2 (British Museum)

Stupa Reliquary No.2 (Victoria and Albert Museum)

Stupa Reliquary No.2 (Victoria and Albert Museum)
{{Portal, History, India, Religion Tourist attractions in Raisen district Mauryan art Indian architectural history Buddhist art Stupas in India Buddhist sites in Madhya Pradesh