Sanchi Sanchi town is situated on a hill in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is situated in the central part of Madhya Pradesh, 46 km northeast of Bhopal, on the banks of Betwa river, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha. There are many Buddhist monuments here, which date from the third century BC to the twelfth century. Sanchi is a Nagar Panchayat of Raisen district. The great main stupa of Sanchi was originally built by Emperor Ashoka the Great in the third century BC. Later, Emperor Agnimitra Shunga renovated this stupa of Sanchi and made it bigger and grander. In its center was a hemispherical brick structure, in which some relics of Lord Buddha were kept. At its peak was an umbrella, a symbol of high respect given to the monument.