Dream of Y’nagar villagers comes true

Shiv Kumar Sharma

The dream of residents of Topra Kalan village in Yamunanagar district to revive ancient Buddhist heritage has started to take shape with the installation of India’s biggest Ashoka Chakra in the first week of January. 

The Ashoka Chakra having a diameter of 30 feet was installed in the first phase of the Ashoka Edicts Park project being executed by NGO Buddhist Forum and the Topra Kalan gram panchayat. Soon after its installation, the Buddhist Forum and the gram panchayat started taking steps to promote it. Now, they are planning to build another monument close to the chakra.

“Three ‘Chhatravlis’ of 20 feet, 10 feet and 5 feet, respectively, in diameter will be installed on an octagonal pole of around 70 feet high. The ‘Chhatravlis’ will make the 30-feet chakra an exclusive monument in the Indian subcontinent,” says Dr Satyadeep Neil Gauri, founder of the Ashoka Edicts Park.

He says that the ‘chhatra’ or an umbrella is an auspicious symbol, commonly used in the religious traditions of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. It was used as an emblem of emperorship also. In Buddhism, the ‘chhatra’ includes ‘eight auspicious signs’ or ‘ashtamangala’.

Emperor Ashoka had installed a pillar in Topra Kalan village about 2,300 years ago, but in the 14 century Feroz Shah Tughlaq took it to Delhi; at present the pillar stands on the rooftop of the ancient three-storey building at Kotla (New Delhi).

The Buddhist Forum is working for the promotion of ruined ancient Buddhist heritage sites scattered across the world for the past several years. It had four years ago planned to develop an Ashoka Edicts Park on 27 acres in this historical village. 

Sidhartha Gauri, president of the Buddhist Forum, says that the Ashoka Edicts Park will have a replica of all major Ashoka pillars and rock edicts in the Indian subcontinent.

“The Ashoka Edicts Park will have the first life size series of sculptures of Emperor Ashoka. It will be based on a portrait of Ashoka recovered from 2,000-year-old Sannathi in Karnataka. The sculptures will depict various phases of the life of Emperor Ashoka,” says Sidhartha.

He says that to propagate cultural bridging, a dharma journey with the largest collection of bodily relics of the Buddha will be initiated from the Ashoka Edicts Park to Bodh Gaya (Bihar) and then further to all major cities of Asian countries for worshipping.

“Two replicas (temples) of the temples of Mahabodhi (where the Buddha attained enlightenment) and Lumbini (where the Buddha was born) will be constructed in the Ashoka Edicts Park. They will be made of wood, as the temples were 2,300 years ago,” says Sidhartha.

He adds that a replica of the Mahabodhi temple will be set up in the heart of the park. “Now, we wish to revive the 2,300-year-old history by bringing back a Mahabodhi sapling from Sri Lanka to the Asoka Edicts Park,” adds Sidhartha.

Satyadeep says that an international cultural festival will be organised jointly with other Asian countries at the park every year. “We wish to connect culturally 22 per cent of the world’s Buddhist population to the Asoka Edicts Park,” he adds.

Manish Kumar, sarpanch of the village, says that they will get India’s biggest Ashoka Chakra registered in the Limca Book of Records.

The Ashoka Edicts Park will have the first life size series of sculptures of Emperor Ashoka. It will be based on a portrait of Ashoka recovered from 2,000-year-old Sannathi in Karnataka. The sculptures will depict various phases of the life of Emperor Ashoka.— Sidhartha Gauri, president of Buddhist Forum