Pagoda

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Pagoda (poss. from dāgaba, ‘relic-container’, via Portuguese). Buddhist structure, developed from the Indian stūpa, and often a name for a stūpa. Its many variations contain characteristic features in common: they are usually raised and narrow structures, with four or eight sides, with several levels and prominent eaves. On the top is a post with many rings encircling it. Pagodas, like stūpas, contain relics (śarīra) of a/the Buddha, or of a famous teacher/master. They express the Buddhist cosmos in symbolic form. A pagoda is thus a maṇḍala in its own right.

In the history of Buddhist architecture, the placing of the pagoda is the issue which then dominates the overall layout and design of Buddhist temple areas and monasteries. The geographical solutions to the problem are diverse, but always provide a clue to the religious priorities of the community and age involved.

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