The Chaukhandi Stupa was built in the fifth century. The structure stands atop a rectangular plinth, and is capped by an octagonal Mughal tower that was added more than a thousand years after the stupa was originally built. Like the other stupas in Sarnath, the Chaukhandi Stupa is thought to house a relic of the Buddha. Its unique octagonal tower is a later addition, commissioned in the late 16th century by Emperor Akbar in memory of his father Humayun. This stupa is located south of the main Sarnath Buddhist Complex. The…
