Chortens or stupas are the most visible sites on the Bhutanese landscape. We find these religious structures on mountains, hillocks, passes, cross-roads and river banks. Often known as burial mounds, chortens are built in memories of eminent lamas, kings or to pin down evil spirits. They are also built to protect a place or a region against evil spirits which are potentially dangerous; such as crossroads and high passes as well as landslide and accident prone areas.
The term chorten literally means 'receptacle' of worship or offering.
The origin of the chorten is not very clear, but it had already developed into a good symbol of worship before the emergence of Buddhism.
We notice three basic styles of chortens, generally characterized as Bhutanese, Tibetan and Nepali. Chorten Kora in Trashiyangtse is an example of the Nepali style while the Memorial chorten in Thimphu is the classic Tibetan chorten. The Bhutanese chorten is a square stone pillar with a khemar or red band near the spiral, and sometimes a representation of the sun and moon by a ball and a crescent is visible on the top.
Chortens are sometimes also built in memory of an individual, and other times to commemorate the visit of an enlightened sage, or to house sacred books and often the relics and bodies of great lamas and saints.
source - http://www.bhutan2008.bt/en/node/327
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