Since the time of the Buddha, when a holy man would die, he would be buried. His burial site would become a shrine or a memorial. This shrine would be visited by people, with the hope that his spiritual energy would bring them various benefits. So people visit the shrines for satisfying basic needs, like getting married, getting children, getting a good harvest, being cured of a disease, finding lost cattle, or resolving disputes within the family. Thus, across India, we find shrines of holy men and women, from north to south, east to west.
But, atop these burial sites, lies the layer of religion. If one goes towards Ladakh, we find these holy shrines built on the graves of Buddhist teachers. These teachers practised Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism. In earlier times, such shrines were built over teachers of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. This practice perhaps began from the time of the Buddha or earlier.
We know that when Buddha passed away, his body was cremated. His remains became the subject of war between many kings. Finally, peace was established and the relics were divided amongst various kings who built stupas atop them.
Ashoka is said to have found these relics. He spread them across the world by building 84,000 monuments where people could pray.
Similar practices were even observed amongst Jains. In earlier times, even Jain munis had stupas built, but this practice went out of favour. In later times, chatris or pavilions were built over the cremation site of holy men. This is also seen amongst Rajput kings, since Mughal times.
Devdutt Pattanaik is an Indian physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist, author and communicator whose works focus largely on the areas of myth, religion, mythology, and management.
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