位於中央邦（Madhya Pradesh）的山奇佛塔（monuments of Sāñchī）是印度初期佛教美術時期重要的遺址，其塔門與欄楯柱上的雕刻更是展現了初期佛教美術時期的最高成就。此時期發展出「無偶像論」（aniconism）的宗教美術觀，意味著大眾的佛陀觀仍為真實存在於歷史中的聖者，捨肉身進入般涅槃（parinirvāṇa），故佛陀形像具有不可替代性，僅能以象徵圖像來暗示佛陀的存在。因此，象徵圖像的主題多與佛陀生帄事蹟密切相關，尤以佛陀四相（出生─蓮花、成道─菩提樹、說法─法輪、涅槃─佛塔）的象徵圖像為主。本文即以象徵佛陀涅槃的「佛塔」（stūpa）象徵圖像為主要探討對象，並針對刻畫在山奇第一大塔、二塔及三塔的塔門和欄楯雕刻圖像，藉由《阿含》經典文獻和印度美術史為主要架構，佐以圖像學和類型學的研究方法來解析「佛塔」象徵圖像之圖像學特色及其象徵意涵。

Located in Madhya Pradesh, the monuments of Sāñchī are an important site for early Buddhist art in India. Carvings on its gateway and railings show the highest achievements of early Buddhist art. Developed during this period, the religious art concept behind “aniconism” implies the general perception that Buddha actually existed as a saint in history who gave up his physical body to enter parinirvāṇa. As a result, the image of Buddha is irreplaceable and that only symbolic images can be used to suggest the existence of Buddha. Therefore, the themes behind many symbolic images are closely related with the life stories of Buddha, especially Buddha's four avasthā （Four Marks of Existence）. This paper uses the symbolic image of the “stūpa” from Buddhist Nirvana as the main object of discussion, as well as characterizes the carvings on the main, second, and third largest stupa of Sāñchī’s gateway and railings. It uses Āgama Sūrta and Indian art history as its main framework, accompanied by iconography and typology research methods to analyze the image characteristics and symbolic meaning of the “stūpa.”