Tope (Pali thūpo; Sansk. stūpa, 'a mound'), a Buddhist tumulus for the preservation of relics, of more or less solid masonry, in which the relics were deposited. The oldest topes are spherical; others have polygonal bases; and they were originally crowned with an umbrella-shaped finial, and surrounded by a carved stone railing with elaborately carved gateway. The chief one of a great group at Sanchi near Bhilsa (q.v.), in Central
India, is 42 feet high and 106 feet in diameter. In Ceylon they are called dagobas; there is an illustration of one in the article CEYLON. Some topees are rock-cut. See also INDIA, VOL. VI. p. 108.