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Miniature stupa
Miniature stupa

Miniature stupa

Place of OriginPakistan, ancient region of Gandhara
Dateapprox. 100-150
MaterialsStone (schist)
DimensionsH. 18 cm x Diam. 9.8 cm, H. 7 1/16 in x Diam. 3 7/8 in
Credit LineGift of Milla L. Handley and Raymond G. Handley
Object number1999.49.a-.c
DepartmentSouth Asian Art
ClassificationsSculpture
On View
On view
LocationGallery 1
Inscribed"In the fifty-seventh--157th--year, in the month Prausthapada, on the 1st (day), the nun Utaraya establishes a relic of the Lord in the Kharavala Great Forest Monastery in order to honor mother and father."
More Information

An inscription suggests the importance of women as supporters of the Buddha’s message:

[In] the year 57, in the month Protha, the nun Utaraya establishes the relics of the Blessed One [the Buddha] in the Grove [or Monastery] of the Forest of Kharavala, in honor of her mother and father. (Translated by Richard Salomon.)

 

The inscription also points to a key aspect of Buddhist practice: in many communities one way of earning merit was to honor one’s parents through the creation of pious memorials like this.

Subject
  • stupa