The box-like steeple (harmika),upon which the eyes of the stupa are painted,is made of wood or brick. Above the harmika is the wooden or brick spire consisting of thirteen pyramidal steps or disce. And above the spire are the canopy, often adorned with a textile apron, and the pinnacle, consisting of a lotus or wheel and a jewel ornament. The timber axis, morticed into the drum or plinth, runs bottom to top. In one or more of the cardinal directions small shrines are attached to the dome to house the Meditation Buddhas.
However, no two monumental stupas are alike. In every case the inspiration of the architect has integrated the common elements of base, dome,steeple,spire,canopy and pinnacle to create a unique structure. Whatever their distinction, each is a multidistinction plastic model evoking primordial images of mythic reality and each is an elaborate representation of the Mahayana Buddhist doctrine.
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