How the Kesariya Stupa is Built
An annotated cross-section and plan of the monument, with the ASI record and photographs of what survives today. Hover or tap a level in the drawing to read about it.
Cross-section
Plan
Base plinth(banded brick wall)
A broad, near-vertical retaining wall of fine brick courses — roughly the lower 40% of the surviving height, about 123 m across at the foot. Redented (stepped) corner offsets; heavily eroded, with a cleared earth path around it.
The record
Archaeological Survey of India · East Champaran, Bihar
Built3rd century BCE (Ashokan core)
Surviving fabricLargely Pala period
Current height~31.5 m (104 ft)
Original height~45–50 m (with dome & chhatra)
Base diameter~123 m — as wide as Borobudur
PlanStepped stellate polygon → circular drum
Terraces6 above ground + 1 buried (2024–25)
Cell-shrinesGroups of 3 on the lower terraces
ConditionOne face cleared; the rest a grassy mound
LocationEast Champaran, Bihar, India
ASI statusMonument of National Importance
The monument today
Photographs of the standing ruin — the drawings above are reconstructed from these and the ASI survey.
Photographs © the site’s contributors, served via kesariyastupa.com.