page_title: Ashoka
section_title: Stupas
hierarchical_section_title: Ashoka / Reign after Buddhist influence / Stupas
caption_attribution_description: English: Pipal tree temple of Bodh Gaya depicted in Sanchi Stupa 1 Eastern Gateway
context_page_description: Ashoka, also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. The grandson of the founder of the Maurya Dynasty, Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka promoted the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. Considered by many to be one of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka expanded Chandragupta's empire to reign over a realm stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east. It covered the entire Indian subcontinent except for parts of present-day Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The empire's capital was Pataliputra, with provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain.
  Ashoka waged a destructive war against the state of Kalinga, which he conquered in about 260 BCE. He converted to Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he had waged out of a desire for conquest and which reportedly directly resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations.
context_section_description: Both Mahavamsa and Ashokavadana state that Ashoka constructed 84,000 stupas or viharas. According to the Mahavamsa, this activity took place during his 5th–7th regnal years.
  The Ashokavadana states that Ashoka collected seven out of the eight relics of Gautama Buddha, and had their portions kept in 84,000 boxes made of gold, silver, cat's eye, and crystal. He ordered construction of 84,000 stupas throughout the earth, in towns that had a population of 100,000 or more. He told Elder Yashas, a monk at the Kukkutarama monastery, that he wanted these stupas to be completed on the same day. Yashas stated that he would signal the completion time by eclipsing the sun with his hand. When he did so, the 84,000 stupas were completed at once.
  The Mahavamsa states that Ashoka ordered construction of 84,000 viharas (monasteries) rather than the stupas to house the relics. Like Ashokavadana, the Mahavamsa describes Ashoka's collection of the relics, but does not mention this episode in the context of the construction activities. It states that Ashoka decided to construct the 84,000 viharas when Moggaliputta Tissa told him that there were 84,000 sections of the Buddha's Dhamma. Ashoka himself began the construction of the Ashokarama vihara, and ordered subordinate kings to build the other viharas. Ashokarama was completed by the miraculous power of Thera Indagutta, and the news about the completion of the 84,000 viharas arrived from various cities on the same day.
  The number 84,000 is an obvious exaggeration, and it appears that in the later period, the construction of almost every old stupa was attributed to Ashoka.
  The construction of following stupas and viharas is credited to Ashoka:
  Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India
  Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India
  Mahabodhi Temple, Bihar, India
  Barabar Caves, Bihar, India
  Nalanda Mahavihara (some portions like Sariputta Stupa), Bihar, India
  Taxila University (some portions like Dharmarajika Stupa and Kunala Stupa), Taxila, Pakistan
  Bhir Mound (reconstructed), Taxila, Pakistan
  Bharhut stupa, Madhya Pradesh, India
  Deorkothar Stupa, Madhya Pradesh, India
  Butkara Stupa, Swat, Pakistan
  Sannati Stupa, Karnataka, India
  Mir Rukun Stupa, Nawabshah, Pakistan
caption: Illustration of the original temple built by Asoka at Bodh-Gaya on the location of the Mahabodhi Temple, sculpture of the Satavahana period at Sanchi, 1st century CE. The British restoration was done under guidance from Weligama Sri Sumangala.[111]
exif: {}