A Study on the Small Votive Stupas Excavated from the Mireuksa Temple Site

Excavations at the Mireuksa Temple site have unearthed eighteen small votive stupas across six sets, crafted from materials such as clay, stone, and metal. Each material group reveals a distinct historical context: the small clay stupas were discovered in 1997 during excavations in the pond area; the small stone stupas were found beneath a staircase in the drainage channel on the eastern stylobate of the large stone platform near the monks’ quarters on the West Side; fragments of metal stupas emerged during secondary excavations from the northern building site within the temple site, on the gapsuk (a flat stone laid on another stone) of the temple auditorium stylobate, and in the southern parts of the galleries. This paper aims to examine the religion of building stupas at the site of Mireuksa Temple where many small votive stupas were excavated. This is achieved through a comparative analysis of style in addition to a study on the characteristics and functions of the small votive stupas discovered at Mireuksa Temple. Thus, the research presented here is based on a review of the temporal evolution of sutras on stupa construction as related to small votive stupas and a comparative analysis of such sutras from small votive stupas unearthed at other contemporary temple sites. Small clay votive stupas were decorated according to the Paticca-Samuppada-Gata from the Sutra on Building Pagodas and Practicing Good Deeds. Inscribed with the Paticca- Samuppada-Gata in addition to depictions of alternating pagodas and Buddha statues, the stupas were circulated throughout the region. However, the clay votive stupa unearthed at Mireuksa features a relief of only three pagodas. The rest of the stupa is damaged, which suggests multiple possibilities for the missing portions. These include configurations with either pagodas alone or a combination of pagodas and Buddha statues. Likely intended as architectural components within temple structures or as decorative elements for pagodas, these clay stupas are estimated to date to the late 7th to 8th centuries. The small stone votive stupas, crafted according to the Pure Light Dharani Sutra, were typically produced in specified quantities and enshrined en masse. From the 9th and 10th centuries, the practice evolved to incorporate circular openings at the base of the stupas for Dharani offerings. The stone votive stupas from Mireuksa, similar to those enshrined in the late 9th century, include this feature, indicating that they likely served as personal offerings by monks within the monks' quarters and were crafted in the late 9th century. The small metal votive stupas, following the Bohyeopin Dharani Sutra, preserved their original metal composition, yet emulated the design of multi-tiered castle-like wooden pagodas depicted in the Emergence of the Treasure Pagoda in the Circulation of the Lotus Sutra frontispieces. These multi-storied wooden pagoda-type metal stupas were crafted in the spatial pattern with multiple compartments, which were used to enclose Buddha statues or sutras, so they are seldom discovered intact. Only the fragments from the construction of the pagodas and the finial of the stupa remain in the metal stupa unearthed at Mireuksa Temple site. They indicate an elaborate style of multi-tiered wooden pagoda-type metal stupa, likely adorned with additional decorative elements beyond the typical design. It is presumed that these stupas were used as ritual items by practitioners or monks in the vicinity of the temple hall and northern building site of the temple during the mid-11th century, in the Goryeo period.