Stone Carving Stupa Tower of Four Seated Buddha Figures. 8 inches tall, 4 13/16 at widest point.The stupa (Sinh. dāgaba; ‘relic container')), the chief early Buddhist monument, became the hallmark of Buddhism and a focal point for devotional practice, sanctioned by the Theravada canon. The stupa was a symbol of the final nirvāṇa and the end of the Buddha’s activity in the world. Also a symbol of the eternal dhamma realized and taught by the Buddha, it was an object of veneration and pilgrimage, and the ancient stupas around Anuradhapura and elsewhere were particularly venerated and continually renovated. Distinctive circular roofed buildings with concentric rings of pillars were developed to enshrine stupas but retain their free-standing origin and permit circumambulation. The stupa was also the basis for the development of a cult of relics and relic worship.