The Making and Symbolism of Paharpur Stupa

The ancient Paharpur Stupa belonged to the Vajrayana sect of Buddhism, now an extinct sect. Vajrayana or Diamond Vehicle was a tantric or esoteric sect. It was an offshoot of the Mahayana Buddhism. The huge tantric stupa stands in the middle of the inner courtyard of the Paharpur Mahavihara - the Great Monastery of Paharpur. The Mahavihara, a world heritage, is the largest Buddhist Monastery in the world in terms of acreage. The Mahavihara, along with its stupa, was built with baked bricks laid in mud mortar in between the years of 770-810 AD. Every part of the colossal and intricate Paharpur Stupa symbolizes one or the other of the Buddhist concepts about the life and the universe. The three-tier Paharpur Stupa also contains a temple in it. Thus it can be said that it is a stupa-temple. Now a ruin, still it stands about 23 meters tall on the ground.