stupa (stōˈpə) [key] [Sanskrit, = mound], Buddhist monument in
tumulus, or mound, form, often containing relics. The words tope
and dagoba are synonymous, though the latter properly refers
only to a Sinhalese Buddhist stupa. The stupa is probably
derived from a pre-Buddhist burial mound. The oldest known
prototypes (c.700 B.C.) are the enormous mounds of earth at
Lauriya Nandangarh in NE India, which were the burial places of
royalty. The wooden masts embedded in the center of these mounds
probably carried the umbrellas that served as a symbol of
royalty and authority; early Buddhists appropriated not only the
royal symbol of the stupa but also used the umbrella as a symbol
for the Buddha. The Emperor Asoka was the first to encourage the
building of stupas. The earliest mound forms that can properly
be termed stupas, those at Sanchi and Bharhut (see Indian art
and architecture), are hemispherical masses of earth raised on a
base and faced with brick or stone. The structure is surrounded
by a processional path