East Indies. [a. Hind. (Panjābī) tōp, held to be:—Prākrit or Pālī thūpo:—Skr. stūpa.] An ancient structure, in the form of a dome or tumulus of masonry, for the preservation of relics or in commemoration of some fact; numerous specimens, usually of Buddhist or Jain origin, exist in India and south-eastern Asia.
A tope containing relics is specially called a DAGOBA.
1815. Elphinstone, Caubul, I. 80, note. Tope is an expression used for a mound or burrow as far west as Peshawer. Ibid. (1853), in Calcutta Rev., July–Dec., 266. The famous Tope at Manikhyla.
1882. Edin. Rev., Oct., 360. A tope may be described as a domed structure, not unlike the dome of St. Paul’s if it were lifted from the cathedral and placed on the ground.
1886. Guide Galleries Brit. Mus., 202. A Tope is a shrine peculiar to the Buddhist religion…. In the centre is a solid dome-shaped structure, termed a dagoba, enclosing one or more small chests, with relics of Buddha or of his principal followers. This is generally surrounded by an elaborately carved rail.
1903. Athenæum, 26 Sept., 405/2. A notable feature of these towns, the dagabas, or topes, are not themselves especially Buddhist monuments.
