Gwangdeoksa Temple Stupa

Gwangdeoksa Temple, renowned for the many walnut trees growing around it, was founded in 652, the sixth year of Queen Jindeok's reign in Silla, by the monk Jajang. About 150 m north of the Daeungjeon Hall within the temple grounds, on the hillside, stand four stupas (memorial towers enshrining the sarira, or relics, of eminent monks), known respectively as the Cheongsangdang Stupa, the Jeokjodang Stupa, the Uamdang Stupa, and an unnamed stupa. The Cheongsangdang Stupa enshrines the sarira of the monk Cheongsang. He was born in 1603, the 36th year of King Seonjo's reign, and entered nirvana in 1671, the 12th year of King Hyeonjong's reign, at Eunjeoksa Temple; his disciples are said to have obtained his sarira and erected this stupa here at Gwangdeoksa Temple. Its form is almost entirely octagonal, comprising a base, a body and a finial. The base is divided into lower, middle and upper platforms: above the lower platform, decorated with a lotus design, sits a hexagonal middle platform, each face of which is carved with a railing pattern. The body is round, and above it rests a hexagonal roof stone, with an elaborate finial carved at the very top. According to the Gwangdeoksa Sajeokgi (a record of the temple's history), this stupa was erected around 1672, the 13th year of King Hyeonjong's reign. The Jeokjodang Stupa is likewise entirely octagonal, with a base, a body and a finial. Both the lower and upper platforms of the base are carved with a lotus design; between them, the octagonal middle platform bears a carved railing on each face, with one face inscribed with the characters for 'Jeokjodang', identifying the owner of the enshrined relics. The body is round, and atop the hexagonal roof stone sit a boryun (a wheel-shaped ornament) and a boju (a bud-shaped ornament), forming a simple finial. For the Uamdang Stupa, the base consists of a round lower platform surmounted by middle and upper platforms left undecorated, bearing only an inscription reading 'Uamdang'. The body is oval, topped by a hexagonal roof stone, above which rises a round finial. The unnamed stupa has a base formed by an octagonal middle platform set upon a lower platform carved with a lotus design, topped by an upper platform carved with three rows of lotus petals. Each of the eight faces of the middle platform bears a relief carving of a guardian deity (a divine figure who protects the Buddhist teachings), executed with bold and accomplished skill. The body is bell-shaped, round and elongated, with a boju ornament forming the finial at the top. Judging from the record in the Gwangdeoksa Sajeokgi, the overall forms, and the round bodies of the stupas, all four are considered to date from the Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheonan, Chungnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산