SANCHI UNIVERSITY OF BUDDHIST-INDIC STUDIES

SANCHI UNIVERSITY OF BUDDHIST-INDIC STUDIES

On September 21, 2012 the then President of Sri Lanka Mahindra Rajapaksa laid the foundation stone of the Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies (SUBIS) together with the former Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigme Yoser Thinley on a hillock near Sanchi. The crest of the university in earthy colours of brown and green has a Bodhi or peepal tree with Gautama Buddha sitting beneath covered by a historical arch with a crest. At the bottom of the emblem the motto of the university in Sanskrit ‘एष धर्मः सनातनः’(Subhashitani Slokas 7) ‘The Eternal Truth’ is written. The Bodhi or peepal tree is a powerful symbol in Buddhism as it represents a human being's capacity to attain enlightenment and find the joy and peace of Nirvana. The arch represents the stupas of Sanchi which is one of the important Buddhist and heritage sites. The colour brown symbolises earthiness, simplicity, stability, humility, warmth, reliability, endurance, timelessness and tradition and the colour green symbolises agriculture, nature, growth, balance, harmony, environment, prosperity, vitality, prestige, wealth and being very down to earth.