Stock Photo - Uttari toran dwar, North gate, Sanchi, Madhya pradesh, India. Emperor Asoka (273_236 B.C.) built stupas in Buddha’s honour at many places in India. Stupas at Sanchi are the most magnificent structures of ancient India. UNESCO has included them as one of the heritage sites of the world. Stupas are large hemispherical domes, containing a central chamber, in which the relics of the Buddha were placed. Sanchi stupas trace the development of the Buddhist architecture and sculpture at the same location beginning from the 3rd century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. In this image a famous shalabhanjika derives from early nature goddesses (yakshis), here added as an auspicious element to the decoration of the torana. The toranas were added by Satavahana kings in the 1st century AD. A fertility emblem, expressed as the pose of a yakshi.