1. The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin.
2. Stupa was generally a repository of relics.
3. Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Answer: b
Explanation:
The custom of erecting stupas as a form of memorial to the dead was pre-Buddhist. The stupa began as an earthen burial mound that was revered by the local population, and this cult of stupas was taken up by Buddhism.
There is a reference in Mahaparinibbana sutta where Buddha instructs Ananda to erect at the crossing of four highways a stupa over the remains of his body, after it had been burnt on the funeral pyre, in the same manner as stupa of a universal monarch.
The custom of erecting this form of memorial was prevalent among the Jainas in the early times. It is the Buddhists, however, who especially selected and adapted it to their use, and gradually it acquired a special Budhhistic connotation and association as enshrining the relics [dhattu] of the Buddha or his chief disciples and as the symbol of Mahaparinirvana or the Great Decease of the Master.
Also, the Mahaparinibbana sutta suggested that the practice of erecting funerary mounds over the bodily remains of kings pre-dated Buddhism. However, there are no references to such a practice in Vedic literature.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
The stupa represented many things in the Buddhist tradition. It stood for the axis mundi [the centre of the universe]: it symbolises the parinibbana of Buddhists: it was a repository of relics of Budhha and other monks.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
The relics enshrined in the stupa were of three kinds – sarira dhatu [corporeal relics], paribhogika dhatu [relics that had been in use], and niddesika dhatu [indicative, commemorative or referential relics].
Stupas were erected as an aspect of niddesika dhatu in places specially sacred in the life of Budhha.
The Stupa is the container of the relic and as symbolizing the master himself, a votive and devotional aspect is also latent in the stupa from the very beginning.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.
Read: Previous Year UPSC History Questions (PYQs) With Explanation 2023