(Topic: Dharmarajika) Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory
Submitted to: Dr. Muhammad Ilyas Bhatti Submitted by: Abdul Kabeer
Department of Anthropology Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
Date: 28/04/2015…show more content… It is thought that it was established by the Maurya emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE around relics of the Buddha. The stupa is also popularly called as 'Chir Tope.’ The site is divided into two parts: the stupa area in the south and his monastic area in the north.
The stupa of Dharmarajika is about 3 kilometers from the Taxila museum on a medaled road .Its importance lies in the fact that one of Buddha’s body-relics was buried there. The name Dharmarajika comes from Dharmaraja, a name given to Buddha who was the true Dharma Raja [Lord of Law], according to Marshall. It is also believed that ‘Dharmarajika’ is derived from the word ‘Dharmaraja’, a title used by Maurya emperor Ashoka. The stupa (15 meters high and 50 meters in diameter) is a circular structure with a raised terrace around its base. Around it is a passage for pradakshina and a circle of small chapels surround the great stupa. Three distinctive types of masonry in the buildings around the main stupa suggest the contributions of different periods to the building activity. A silver scroll inscription in Kharoshti and a small gold casket containing some minute bone relics, probably of Buddha were found here during excavation during British…show more content… Several coins of the Indo-Greek king Zoilos II were found under the foundation of such a 1st century BCE stupa
Dharmarajika Stupa is one of eight shrines constructed in the 3rd century BC during the reign of Emperor Ashoka of the Muaryan dynasty to house relics of the Buddha. The shrine gradually expanded, reaching its largest size in the 2nd century A.D. Now a ruin, the stupa was once coated with lime plaster and gilding, though these have fallen away along with a seven-tier umbrella stone that once crowned the top. Near the stupa are the remains of vast monasteries that are barely distinguishable but for the foundation stones.
The Great