| Building Name: | Chaukhandi Stupa |
| Map Type: | India |
| Map Size: | 250 |
| Map Relief: | yes |
| Location: |  Sarnath, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh |
| Coordinates: | 25.3741°N 83.0237°W |
| Religious Affiliation: | Buddhism |
| State: | Uttar Pradesh |
| Functional Status: | Preserved |
Chaukhandi Stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Sarnath located 8 kilometres from Cantt Railway Station in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Stupas have evolved from burial mounds and serve as a shrine for a relic of the Buddha.[1] The site was declared to be a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India in June 2019. [2]
The Chaukhandi Stupa is thought originally to have been built as a terraced temple during the 7th and 8th centuries to mark the site where Buddha and his first disciples met traveling from Bodh Gaya to Sarnath. Later Govardhan, the son of a Raja Todar Mal, modified the stupa to its present shape by building the octagonal tower to commemorate the visit of Humayun, the Mughal ruler.[3]
Today the stupa is a high earthen mound covered with a brickwork edifice topped by an octagonal tower. It is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.