Three-story Stone Pagoda at Sinboksa Temple Site, Gangneung

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.87

Category

Sites & Pagodas

Era

고려시대

Designated year

1963

Location

강릉시, 강원특별자치도— 강원 강릉시 내곡동 403-2번지

Coordinates

37.742790, 128.885596

This three-story stone pagoda is located at the site of the ancient Sinboksa Temple, which was founded by National Preceptor Beomil in the Unified Silla Period (668-935). According to a legend associated with its foundation, towards the end of Silla (57BC- AD667), a maiden drank water from a well illuminated by bright sunlight, and soon afterwards became pregnant and gave birth to a baby. The members of her family cast out the child, but a brilliant light enveloped the baby and protected him from harm. Astonished by this phenomenon, they took the baby back and named him 'Beom'. Many years later, as a Buddhist Monk, Beom returned to his hometown and founded two temples, Sinboksa and Gulsansa. However, other than this legend, there are no other records about their establishment. Each part of the pagoda, consisting of a double foundation and a three-story body, is somewhat unusual. The ground stone is decorated with an upside-down lotus design, and symbolic images of the elephant’s eyes are carved on the four sides of the lower foundation. The body and roof stone of each story are hewn from one piece of stone. In general, the main body of a pagoda contains the sarira of a Buddhist Monk and the Buddhist scriptures. There is a niche in the first story. The core stones of the second and third stories are much smaller and thinner than that of the first story. There is a thin three-stepped cornice under the roof stones, the edges of which curve slightly upward. Unusually, the upper part of the finial is almost intact, and is wider than its height, giving the whole pagoda an air of stability. Standing directly in front of the pagoda is the Stone Seated Bodhisattva at the Sinboksa Temple Site, Gangneung (Treasure No.84), which is depicted sitting with one knee drawn up and the two hands clasped together. The pagoda’s structural similarity with the Octagonal Nine-story Stone Pagoda of Woljeongsa Temple, Pyeongchang (National Treasure No. 48) in Gangwon-do may simply be a typical characteristic of this province. The pagoda also features various typical features of stone pagodas of the early Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), including the slate supporting stones beneath each story and between the foundation and the body, symbolic images of the elephant’s eyes carved on the foundation, and the three-stepped cornice under the roof stones

Location