Mahatma Buddha who was born in Kapilvastu and meditated at Giridha Kuta in Rajgir, then after attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave the first sermon in Sarnath. Thus, Buddhism became the state religion of India and during the time of Emperor Ashoka, its spread to foreign countries became possible.
After the fall of the Gupta dynasty, King Harsha was the king of India and his rule extended from Bengal to the Indus River. Being a Hindu himself, he was a great patron of Buddhism and was an extraordinary intellectual and curious person. He had created a systematic system for the provision of food and drink to the students of Nalanda University. At that time, the great Buddhist Guru Sheelbhadra lived in Nalanda. During the reign of King Harsha, the famous Chinese Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang also reached Nalanda University in 633 AD via Shravasti, Kapilvastu, Sarnath, Pataliputra, Bodh Gaya, where Guru Sheelbhadra and all the monks studying there gave him a grand welcome.
This brief description was necessary because in the premises of the Sanchi Museum, an umbrella and a pillar, which are the remains of a huge stupa built in the third century BC, have been displayed. These remains were obtained from the village Pangurariya Budhni Tehsil, District Sehore, located about 75 km from Bhopal. This famous Buddhist site of its time is located about 120 km south of Sanchi.
From these remains, it can be concluded that Buddhism was the main religion of India, whose followers were spread all over India. These archaeological remains were kept in the museum building for a long time, which have been displayed here. The original stupa was built in the Maurya period in the third century BC, which collapsed over time and the stupa remains were scattered around its original site. Two of these - the pillar and the umbrella were brought to the Sanchi Museum and displayed. Looking at these stupa remains, it is not difficult to guess that in its original form it must have been even bigger than the main stupa of Sanchi. Saru Maru Caves are also located here in which two inscriptions of archaeological importance of Emperor Ashoka’s reign were found.