File:Temple no 3 alias Sariputra Stupa at Nalanda, Bihar , India 22.jpg

English: Temple no 3 alias Sariputra Stupa at Nalanda, Bihar, India

This is the main Stupa at Nalanda, also known as the Sariputra Stupa, is the most iconic of the surviving monuments at the Nalanda World Heritage Site. Built in the 3rd Century by Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the honour of Buddha's follower Sariputra, the great Nalanda Stupa is shaped like a pyramid. The shrine chamber atop once contained a colossal image probably of Buddha as indicated by the pedestal therein.

The three different staircases that can be seen on the north belong to the fifth, sixth and seventh phases respectively. The fifth phase is the most interesting and best preserved. On the basis of art and architecture, the fifth phase has been assigned to sixth century C.E. which contains beautiful stucco images of Buddha and bodhisattvas placed in the niches on the exterior walls of the temple

A large number of votive stupas and miniature shrines have been added around this temple by the devotees at different points of time. A chariot shaped shrine near the south-east corner and Panchayatan temple closed to it have been exposed in recent excavations.