<P> Sanchi is the center of a region with a number of stupas including Satdhara (17 km from Sanchi, 40 stupas, the Relics of Sariputra and Mahamoggallana, now enshrined in the new Vihara, were unearthed there), Morel Khurd (on a fortified hilltop with 60 stupas), Andher (17 km NE of Vidisha), Mawas, Sonari etc. all within a few miles of Sanchi . Sachin to Vidisha I </P> <P> The "Great Stupa" (or "Stupa No1") at Sanchi is the oldest structure and was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Empire in the 3rd century BCE . Its nucleus was a hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha, with a raised terrace encompassing its base, and a railing and stone umbrella on the summit, the chatra, a parasol - like structure symbolizing high rank . The original Stupa only had about half the diameter of today's stupa, which is the result of enlargement by the Sungas . It was covered in brick, in contrast to the stones that now cover it . </P> <P> According to one version of the Mahavamsa, the Buddhist chronicle of Sri Lanka, Ashoka was closely connected to the region of Sanchi . When he was heir - apparent and was journeying as Viceroy to Ujjain, he is said to have halted at Vidisha (10 kilometers from Sanchi), and there married the daughter of a local banker . She was called Devi and later gave Ashoka two sons, Ujjeniya and Mahendra, and a daughter Sanghamitta . After Ashoka's accession, Mahendra headed a Buddhist mission, sent probably under the auspices of the Emperor, to Sri Lanka, and that before setting out to the island he visited his mother at Chetiyagiri near Vidisa, thought to be Sanchi . He was lodged there in a sumptuous vihdra or monastery, which she herself is said to have had erected . </P> <P> A pillar of finely polished sandstone, one of the Pillars of Ashoka, was also erected on the side of the main Torana gateway . The bottom part of the pillar still stands . The upper parts of the pillar are at the nearby Sanchi Archaeological Museum . The capital consists in four lions, which probably supported a Wheel of Law, as also suggested by later illustrations among the Sanchi reliefs . The pillar has an Ashokan inscription (Schism Edict) and an inscription in the ornamental Sankha Lipi from the Gupta period . The Ashokan inscription is engraved in early Brahmi characters . It is unfortunately much damaged, but the commands it contains appear to be the same as those recorded in the Sarnath and Kausambi edicts . It relates to the penalties for schism in the Buddhist church: </P>

Who built the supta of sanchi in madhya pradesh