Carved Gateways at Four Entrances
After the Great Stupa’s enlargement, carved gateways were added at its four entrances. Each consists of two square pillars and three architraves. Lions, elephants or dwarfs appear on the capitals, while the architraves end in volutes. The stone construction retained forms of wooden joining and support.
Marshall’s survey places the South Gateway first, followed by the North, East and West gateways. Differences in adjoining railings and workmanship distinguish the entrances, while donor inscriptions link them within a broadly shared building phase.
References: [1]
Organising Stories in Stone
Pillars and architraves carry Jataka narratives, scenes associated with the Buddha’s life, trees, stupas, people and animals. Architectural settings, landscapes, journeys and worship are arranged within the same stone surface.
Sacred trees, wheels, stupas and other signs frequently mark the objects of worship. Clothing, ornaments, vehicles and buildings give the scenes their material setting. Religious storytelling thus also preserved visual records of ancient life.
References: [1]
Ivory Carvers from Vidisha
An inscription on the western pillar of the South Gateway identifies a gift and work by ivory carvers from Vidisha. It connects a specific craft group with the carved stone monument, giving a trace of the skills and labour behind the structure.
Other donor records mention merchants, bankers, weavers, masons and religious communities. Some individuals donated members of more than one gateway: an architrave at the south and a pillar at the west bear the same donor’s name.
References: [1]
Movement and Viewing
The gateways stand at entrances to the ground-level circumambulatory route. Worshippers passed through them and moved between the railing and the stupa; pillar faces, the two sides of architraves and corners provided places to encounter the carvings.
The site combined several kinds of work: the brick core and stone envelope formed the monument, railings organised movement, gateways presented narratives and inscriptions recorded gifts. Ritual, craft and individual contributions remained together on the hill.