GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Detailed explanation-1: -The earliest surviving example of a stupa is in Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh).

Detailed explanation-2: -The stupa is the oldest Buddhist religious monument. In prehistoric times, stupas were simply mounds of earth and stones (tumuli) – places to bury important kings away from the village. Twenty-five-hundred years ago, at the time of Shakyamuni Buddha’s death, a change came about in the way stupas were regarded.

Detailed explanation-3: -stupa, Buddhist commemorative monument usually housing sacred relics associated with the Buddha or other saintly persons. The hemispherical form of the stupa appears to have derived from pre-Buddhist burial mounds in India.