Breathing Life into Monuments of Death

A groundbreaking analysis reveals that the stupas at Sanchi and their associated relic cults represent complex architectural manifestations of the 'Buddha body,' with their potency amplified by intersecting Indic religio-cosmogonic symbologies. The study demonstrates that stupa construction was not only a ritual practice but also played a pivotal role in early forms of land ownership and tenure, challenging existing theories on monasticism, urbanization, and courtly urban ideology. By integrating landscape patterns, monastery settlement data, and lesser-known datasets like monastic rock-shelters—previously linked to hunter-gatherer populations—the research paints a nuanced picture of the social environment that nurtured early Buddhist communities in central India.

Shaw, J. (2019). Breathing Life into Monuments of Death. Eloquent Spaces, 34–68. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367225988-3