Topra Kalan

Topra, combined name for the larger Topra Kalan and adjacent smaller Topra Khurd, is a Mauryan Empire-era village in Yamunanagar district of Haryana state in India.Rural Housing Report for Financial year 2012-2013 It lies 14 km west of Yamunanagar, 14 km from Radaur and 90 km from Chandigarh.

History

Etymology

Earlier the village was named as Nigambondh after Buddha,IIT team finds brick structures below ground at Haryana’s Mauryan-era village, Tribune, 7 Apr 2025. also likely the Kamasdhamma the place mentioned in Pali texts in the Kuru country where the Buddha delivered three of his major sermons: Mahasatipatthana Sutta, Magandiya Sutta and Mahanidana Sutta.How a Chinese monk's travelogue is reviving India's Buddhist legacy, theweek.in, 27 July 2025.

Vedic era

Vedic era's Painted Grey Ware (PGW), tentatively dated to 1500 BCE, were found at Topra Kalan during an exploration by the Haryana Archaeology Department in 2025. After conducting the in situ on-ground exploration, Ground Penetrating Radar survey by IIT Kanpur was conducted which showed several structures, such as "hollow structures, round structures, and walls," buried 5 meter deep around the village temple.Signs of human habitation over 3,000 years old found in Haryana village: Archaeologists, Hindustan Times, 8 Aug 2025. Excavation is yet to be carried out.

Buddhist stupa

There use to be 4 Buddhist stupas as mentioned by Xuanzang, now extinct, at this village making it one of the largest Buddhist site in Haryana.

Topra Ashokan Pillar

Situated in Pong valley of is the original home of Delhi-Topra pillar (originally located at ), one of many pillars of Ashoka, that was moved from Topra to Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi in 1356 CE by Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309-1388 CE).

The original inscription on the Delhi-Topra Ashokan obelisk is primarily in Brahmi script, but the language was Prakrit, with some Pali and Sanskrit added later. The inscription was successfully translated in 1837 by James Prinsep. This and other ancient lats (pillars, obelisk) have earned Feroz Shah Tughlaq and Delhi Sultanate fame for its architectural patronage.William Jeffrey McKibben, The Monumental Pillars of Fīrūz Shāh Tughluq, Ars Orientalis, Vol. 24, (1994), pp. 105-118

The Sultanate had wanted to break and reuse the Ashokan pillar for a minaret. Feroz Shah Tuhglaq, however decided to erect it near the mosque instead. At the time of re-installation of the obelisk in Delhi, in 1356, no one knew the meaning of the script engraved in the stone.HM Elliot & John Dawson (1871), Tarikh I Ferozi Shahi - Records of Court Historian Sams-i-Siraj The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians, Volume 3, Cornell University Archives, pp 352-353

About five hundred years later, the script (Brahmi) was deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837 with help from scripts discovered on other pillars and tablets in South Asia.

It was restored by the Raja Hindu Rao after the Revolt of 1857.

Translation

The inscription on the 3rd century pillar describe King Devanampiya Piyadasi'sanother name for Ashoka policies and appeal to the people and future generations of the kingdom in matters of dharma (just, virtuous life), moral precepts and freedoms. Some extracts of the translation, per James Prinsep, are as follows:

Topra Ashokan Edicts Archaeological Park and Museum

Ashokan Edicts Archaeological Park at Topra Kalan is 28 acre park which presently houses 30-ft tall replica of golden Dharmachakra in 2025. Earlier in 2011, Sidhartha Gauri and Dr. Satyadeep Neil Gauri, Founders of The Buddhist Forum initiated the Topra Asoka Edicts Park project along with INTACH, Gram Panchayat, Topra Kalan and other social organizations.Khattar announces Rs100 cr to develop Saraswati, Topra Kalan, The Tribune, 11-Apr-2015 Village panchayat has given away 28 acres land for the construction of park, museum and monastery.Park for Ashoka stalled?, DNA India News, 7-Nov-2016 In 2015 April, Manohar Lal Khattar, the Chief Minister of Haryana, allocated INR 50 crore (INR 500 million) to build an Ashokan Edicts Archaeological Park at Topra Kalan village with seven Ashoka Pillars, eight Rock Edicts and other ancient structures of Mauryan Time will be constructed, which are yet to be constructed as of 2025.

The park lies to the north of Topra Kalan village on Gohini-Topra Kalan Road.

Topra Kalan

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