While the stupa architecture is predominantly associated with Buddhism and served as a repository for relics of the Buddha and prominent monks, the fundamental concept of mound-like structures for burial and commemoration predates Buddhism, with evidence found in Vedic traditions. However, the formalization and widespread development of stupas as integral structures within Buddhist practice, used both to house relics and as objects of reverence and circumambulation, firmly place their significant elaboration and conceptualization within the Buddhist tradition.