A stupa at the Buddhist community of Satdhara, with the remains of a monastery in the background.

Stupas surrounding Sanchi

The spread of Buddhism around Sanchi led to the foundation of some vibrant communities that have left hundreds of monuments to discover.

Most of the stupas at Sonari were built in the 2nd century BC when this was a thriving Buddhist community. – © Michael Turtle

An excavated monastery at Satdhara that has views down to the nearby river and across the valley. – © Michael Turtle

Archaeologists at Satdhara have found evidence at the site of rock carvings and ancient Buddhist art. – © Michael Turtle

Most of the stupas at Sonari were built in the 2nd century BC when this was a thriving Buddhist community. – © Michael Turtle

As the Buddhist community flourished around Sanchi, new settlements of worshippers appeared in the region. Although these settlements had a physical and spiritual link to Sanchi, they also built their own stupas and monasteries. The monuments from some of the most vibrant of these smaller communities still exist today.

The largest of the settlements that can be visited is at Satdhara. At its peak, there would have been more than 30 stupas and three monasteries here. The main stupa is almost as large as the Great Stupa of Sanchi and would have also been built during Emperor Ashoka’s lifetime. Many of the other stupas here would have been from as early as the 2nd century BC

The main stupa at Satdhara, which was built during the Ashokan period and is almost as large as the Great Stupa of Sanchi. – © Michael Turtle

Another impressive site is at Sonari where the largest stupa as about 15 metres in diameter, with an elevated walkway that you can circumnavigate. There are smaller stupas nearby and the remains of a monastery where monks would have slept several metres above ground level to protect themselves from animals in the jungle that would have surrounded the site at the time.

The main stupa at Sonari, which is about 15 metres in diameter and has an elevated walkway that is accessible with a set of stairs. – © Michael Turtle

Further north of Sanchi are the smaller Buddhist communities of Andher and Murelkhurd. Andher is notable because it has a relatively well-preserved stupa with a railing around it that has carvings and inscriptions. Murelkhurd has about 72 buildings but most of them are in ruins.

While none of the outlying settlements is even close to being as stunning as Sanchi, each of them has interesting elements that demonstrate the strength of the Buddhist community in this region for many centuries.

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