Eastern Gateway

Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh

The breathtakingly carved figure of a yakshi (mythical fairylike beings), hanging from an architrave on the Eastern Gateway, is one of Sanchi’s best-known images. The middle architrave depicts the Great Departure, when the Buddha (shown four times as a riderless horse) renounced the sensual life and set out to find enlightenment. On the bottom architrave is Ashoka's visit to the bodhi tree: the emperor is seen dismounting from an elephant then approaching the tree with clasped hands.

The rear of the middle architrave shows the Buddha being worshipped by lions, buffalo and other animals. On the south face of the northern pilllar (second panel down) is shown the dream of an elephant standing on the moon, dreamt by the Buddha’s mother Maya when he was conceived.

A Buddhist Monuments ticket from the ticket office is required for access.

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Nearby Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh attractions

1. Pillar 10

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Of the scattered pillar remains, the most important is Pillar 10, erected by Ashoka but later broken. Two upper sections of this beautifully proportioned…

2. Great Stupa

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Between the Great Stupa and Stupa 3 is the small Stupa 5, unusual in that it once contained a statue of Buddha, now displayed in the Archaeological Museum.

4. Northern Gateway

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5. Southern Gateway

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The back-to-back lions on the pillars of the monuments compound's Southern Gateway (the oldest) were a favourite Ashokan motif and now form the state…

6. Pillar 25

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Pillar 25 (east of the Great Stupa) dates from the Sunga period (2nd century BC). Its lion capital is in the Archaeological Museum.

7. Pillar 26

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The 5th-century AD Pillar 26 is an inferior imitation of Pillar 10. Its lion capital can be seen in the Archaeological Museum.

8. Pillar 35

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