Domelike Buddhist shrine.
Domed structure built to house a Buddhist or Jain relic. The stupa originated in India around 1000 bc from burial monuments and is usually a hemisphere crowned by a spire. In the Far East the stupa developed into the pagoda.
Notable are those at Sanchi, 3rd–1st century bc, comprised of individual earth and rubble mounds faced with stone and topped with a square platform, on which rests a tiered stone mast, or chattra. Railings and a paved pathway for worshipers surround the stupa.