Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala
Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala
Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala
Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala
Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala
Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala
Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala
Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala

Buddhist Stupa of Zurmala

To the south-east of the settlement of Old Termez, on the side of the road leading to the regional center, there are the remains of a structure known as the Zurmala Tower. The ruins of the tower have long attracted the attention of archaeologists. Back in 1926, they suggested that it was nothing more than a Buddhist stupa. A detailed survey conducted half a century later confirmed that this is a cult building dating back to the heyday of the Kushan kingdom.

The tower has been badly damaged by time, nevertheless, it makes an impressive impression. It is made of raw square bricks with a side of about 33 centimeters. All bricks have a characteristic mark in the form of a dash and two pits. Archaeologists know that such bricks were used in Bactria only in the Kushan period, that is, at the beginning of the III century AD. Later they were replaced by rectangular shaped bricks. Scientists estimate that it took almost 1,200,000 of these bricks to build the stupa. A solid array of mud bricks has a small chamber for relics in the upper part.

The base of the tower was a platform with an area of 22x16 meters, oriented to the cardinal directions. The cylindrical body of the stupa with a diameter of 14 and a half meters rises 13 meters above the base. Moreover, the transition of the brickwork to a spherical finish is clearly visible. Archaeological investigations revealed that the stupa platform was lined with marl limestone. At the foot of the stupa, archaeologists managed to find several stone blocks and profiled rods. The researchers found that burnt bricks were also used to line the stupa, fragments of which can still be found around the Zurmala Tower. It is not yet known whether this stupa was part of an extinct temple complex or an independent structure.

The stupa is one of the most important and ancient Buddhist symbols. The most ancient stupas, including the Zurmala Tower, were made of brick and stone hemispheres. Their appearance went back to the most ancient burial mounds and symbolized the "parinirvana" – the death of the Buddha and his burial. By the way, the very word "stupa" in Sanskrit literally means "a pile of earth or stones." The stupa was erected on a base, on top of which a bypass was arranged. Another important purpose of the stupa is to store Buddhist relics. In the first centuries after the Buddha's death, a lock of hair from the Buddha's head, a piece of cloth from his clothes, and a fragment of his incorruptible relics were placed in a cube–shaped box, a kind of reliquary, the so-called "house of God." Later, precious metals and stones, grains – symbols of God and divine power - were kept as relics. The reliquary was placed on top of the stupa. Above him towered a ridge topped with umbrellas descending upwards. The umbrella is a symbol of the nobility of a person's origin, which is understandable to everyone in India. As you know, Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of the teaching, who received the nickname Buddha – "the enlightened one", was the son of a prince of northeastern India. And since the Buddha was perceived by believers not only as a spiritual mentor, but also as the king of the gods and the Universe, several umbrellas were placed on the stupa in honor of the supreme authority of the Teacher. It is curious that the oldest symbol of the tomb mound with umbrellas was transformed several centuries later in the countries of Southeast Asia into the architectural form of a pagoda, or stupa, topped with a spire.

The rod and umbrellas on the stupa, of course, have not been preserved, but wall paintings from the Karatepa Buddhist cave temple, located nearby in the ancient settlement of Old Termez, allow us to judge the construction of Bactrian stupas. As a rule, this is a stepped three-tiered tower with a domed top, on top of which a rod with "umbrellas of honor" is mounted. Based on the analysis of the proportions of the stupa, archaeologists came to the conclusion that the original appearance of the tower of Zurmala was close to these images.

The stupa near Old Termez was the first Buddhist building discovered in Central Asia. Today there are about forty of them, and two dozen Buddhist monuments are located on the territory of Uzbekistan.

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