Cetiya

Cetiya is a term used in Buddhist contexts to denote a shrine or memorial dedicated to the Buddha, to revered teachers, or to sacred relics. In Pali and Sanskrit sources, the term caitya/cetiya means "shrine" or "sanctuary," and it refers to monuments and sites that function as places of veneration and pilgrimage. A cetiya may house physical relics (such as fragments of the Buddha’s remains), commemorate significant events in the Buddha’s life, or honor eminent monks.

The most familiar form of a cetiya is the stupa (or tel-stupa), a hemispherical or pyramid-shaped mound containing reliquaries. In Indian architectural vocabulary, the term caitya is also used for cave shrines (caitya-caves) and for the long prayer halls (chaitya halls) that enshrine a stupa at one end. Over time, cetiya encompassed a range of shrine types—free-standing stupas, reliquaries housed in viharas or temples, and pilgrimage precincts.

Historically, early Buddhist cetiya commemorated the Buddha’s relics after his parinirvana and became important centers of worship across South and Southeast Asia. Notable examples include the Stupa of Sanchi in India, the Great Stupa at Amaravati, and various chaitya halls at Karli, Karla, Ajanta, and later Sri Lankan and Southeast Asian shrines. In modern usage, cetiya remains a general term in Theravada and Mahayana contexts for a shrine, temple, or stupa.