Ruins of the Niya Stupa seen from the north-west and south-east (2ndor 3rd century AD, China).The st
Ruins of the Niya Stupa seen from the north-west and south-east (2ndor 3rd century AD, China).The stupa is a Buddhist construction that originated in India aroundthe 3rd century BC, as a funerary mound covering relics ofthe Buddha or his disciples. Over the centuries, it took on morefunctions – housing objects used by the Buddha or his disciples;commemorating actions or events in their lives; symbolizing aspectsof Buddhist theology; or functioning as shrines at important places. The stupa was a focus for ritual and worship.In India, the original stupa form was a dome on a circular base. Butas Buddhism spread north, then east, across the Parim Mountains andinto the Tarim Basin, the stupa took on new forms. The base becamesquare and stepped, with staircases on one or all four sides, and thedome became more elongated and tower-like.These forms are seen in the Taklamakan Desert, with the earliestprobably dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuriesAD, at Miran and Niya.Detail of the eroded western side. -- source link
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