The tall sculptures on the Bharhut Stupa are the depictions of __________. 

The correct answer is Yakshas and Yakshinis.

Key Points

• Bharhut Stupa 
  • Bharhut is well-known for the Buddhist stupa (shrine) ruins that Major General Alexander Cunningham found there in 1873.
  • The Indian Museum in Kolkata and the Municipal Museum in Allahabad currently house the majority of the stupa's sculpture remnants.
  • The stupa was likely started during the reign of Ashoka (c. 250 bce).
  • The Mauryan king Ashoka may have constructed the Bharhut stupa for the first time in the third century BCE, but many decorative elements—particularly the doorway and railings—appear to have been added during the Shunga period, with many reliefs dating to the second century BCE or later.​

Additional Information

• ​Madhya Pradesh
  • Geographically, this location is located at 23° 31' 0" North and 80° 57' 0" East in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, India.
  • Its original name is Bharhut.
  • From roughly 268 to 232 BCE, Ashoka the Great, an Indian ruler of the Maurya Empire and the son of Bindusara, governed nearly the entire Indian subcontinent.
  • In ancient Asia, Ashoka encouraged the spread of Buddhism.
  • With more than 72 million inhabitants, Madhya Pradesh is the fifth most populous and second-largest state in India by area. Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan are its neighbours to the northeast, east, south, west, and northwest, respectively.