Page "Sanchi" Paragraph 9

Although made of stone, they were carved and constructed in the manner of wood and the gateways were covered with narrative sculptures.

They showed scenes from the life of the Buddha integrated with everyday events that would be familiar to the onlookers and so make it easier for them to understand the Buddhist creed as relevant to their lives.

At Sanchi and most other stupas the local population donated money for the embellishment of the stupa to attain spiritual merit.

There was no direct royal patronage.

Devotees, both men and women, who donated money towards a sculpture would often choose their favourite scene from the life of the Buddha and then have their names inscribed on it.

This accounts for the random repetition of particular episodes on the stupa ( Dehejia 1992 ).

On these stone carvings the Buddha was never depicted as a human figure.

Instead the artists chose to represent him by certain attributes, such as the horse on which he left his father ’ s home, his footprints, or a canopy under the bodhi tree at the point of his enlightenment.

The human body was thought to be too confining for the Buddha.