Location : 47km NE of Bhopal

In 1989, Sanchi was included on the World heritage list and is a must-stop for the millions of devout Buddhists who come to India, from all corners of the world, every year for pilgrimage.

Buddha himself never came to Sanchi; however in the tranquil stillness of the place he seems closer than in any of the other famous places of religious pilgrimage which still follow Hinayana Buddhism, the original form of the religion or philosophy – whatever you prefer to call it. Sanchi offers a lovely view of the surrounding countryside and sitting under the trees in the brightsunshine, it is easy to understand why so many have gone away so moved and touched by this ancient village.

Even if religion isn’t your thing, Sanchi is good place to just unwind and relax, or explore if you should so wish, as comparatively few people venture here.

Sanchi can easily be visited by car for a ½-day trip from Bhopal. The road out of Bhopal runs along the railway and once in the countryside the Vindhya Hills lie bang to your right – the higher ground all covered in low scrub jungle, the flat lowland cultivated.

Sanchi emerges from obscurity to take centrestage as a hub for, first travelling merchants and then, Buddhist pilgrims rather early in India’s history.

Sanchi had, even before it caught the eye of a certain king who made it famous, always been a bustling village, or rather traveller’s halt.

Because, about 7km away, is Vidisha which had always been a strategic trade centre and a thriving town throughout history.

In fact Sanchi’s ancient name was Vidishagiri, the hill of Vidisha.

In the ancient Indian times, majority of the merchants of Vidisha followed Buddhism.

It is easy to see why Buddhism might have appealed to the level-headed businessmen of Vidisha – it was a way of life that was not burdened by caste restrictions and gave to everyone the freedom to attain the respectability which comes with wealth and social mobility.

We are told that rich merchants and patrons from Vidisha opened their ample coffers to pour in the money to sustain the religious life and building activity at Sanchi, dated around 2nd century BC to 1st century AD. For the Buddhist monks too the location was ideal. They could live in the calm and peaceful sanctuary of Sanchi (also called Chaitya-giri, the hill of Chaitya prayer halls) and walk to Vidisha, according to the tenets of Buddhism, to beg for alms and their daily food.

The story behind the making of Sanchi and its stupas is however nothing less than a fairy tale – and it’s a substantiated historical fact.

When the merchants of Vidisha decided to convert Sanchi into a Buddhist retreat, they went to famous Mauryan King (then governor of Ujjaini of which Vidisha formed a part) Piyadasi Asoka (215 BC) – before he became the most famous convert to Buddhism – to ask him to grant them the land. Asoka not only agreed, but also decided to take a personal interest in the building activity.

Upto this point Asoka’s interest can be safely put down to a king’s (even a would-be) natural love for building and plain curiosity, but mark the sequel.

When he came to Vidisha, the prince fell in love with the beautiful Devi, the daughter of one of the most powerful merchants of Vidisha.

The love was returned and it is said that it is because of this connection that Asoka started to take a serious interest in Buddhism. To honour his ladylove’s faith the prince started playing an active role in the building of Sanchi, giving out generous grants in form of both money and kind.

The love story meanwhile continued against the backdrop of the building of Sanchi during which time Asoka also succeeded to the throne.

Although they had two children, Asoka and Devi never married as she refused to move to Patliputta (the king’s capital, now Patna in Bihar), choosing to stay in Vidisha instead.

She gave two reasons for this. Firstly because she preferred to stay out of the intricate royal politics of the centre and secondly, Vidisha was where her religious and community work was based and she was reluctant to abandon that. One suspects that the first might have been the real reason, because what with Asoka already having so many ‘suitable’ queens and Devi being an ‘outsider’, it’s hardly conceivable that she would have been warmly accepted as the chief queen in the capital.

Devi was wise to anticipate complex royal intrigue – and wiser still to choose to stay away from it all.

Many years later it was her children, Mahindra and Sanghamitta, who led the famous royal embassy that Asoka sent to the island of Sri lanka to carry the message of the Buddha.