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      Stupa: Sacred Reliquary

Borobudur Stupa
Borobudur was constructed during the 8th century as a guide to the Noble Path of the Buddha.

Buddhist Art & Architecture: Symbolism of the Stupa / Chorten
The perfect proportions of the Buddha's body corresponds to the design of religious monuments.

Chortens in Amdo by Rob Linrothe
Architectural reliquaries housing relics are known in Tibetan as chortens, and in Sanskrit as either stupas or chaityas. In the region of northeast ethnographic Tibet known as Amdo, there are chortens in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles.

Licchavi Caityas of Nepal: A Solution to the Empty Niche by Ian Alsop
Among the curious puzzles of early Nepalese sculpture and architecture are the empty niches of the lovely Licchavi stone caityas that dot the Kathmandu valley.

Mandala and Temple Sacred Architecture in Tibet: Photographs
By John Milton Lundquist. Tibet is also a land of "power places," as a Tibetan phrase expresses: mountains, valleys, rocks, caves, rivers and lakes are scattered with sacred Buddhist structures such as temples, chapels within monasteries and chortens, which are shrines also known as stupas.

The Queen's Chorten: Karsha Temple, Zangskar
The "Queen's" Chorten is located in Karsha, Zanskar, immediately in front of the Chuchikjyal temple. While the latter structure predates its ca. 14th century paintings by a century or two, the "Queen's" Chorten is reliably dated by inscriptions on its own paintings (translated by the Karsha Lonpo and Lama Angchuk) to the second half of the 16th century.

Stupa or Chorten: the Buddha's Presence
Stupas range in size from miniatures meant to be put on a shrine as reliquary and/or a remembrance of the mind of the Buddha, to enormous buildings that serve as temples as well as monuments.

Stupa Outline Page
Outline page for all stupa related art on the HAR web site.

Tashi Kabum: A Cave Temple associated with Luri Gompa in Upper Mustang, Nepal
By Gary McCue. The Tashi Kabum site consists of a half dozen caves dug into the ridge side about 50m above the valley floor. The sgo-nyer explained that according to local legend there are seven (or nine) cave temples containing chortens.