A free-standing gateway, usually made of stone, marking the entrance to a Buddhist shrine or stupa or a Hindu temple. The gateway consists of two pillars carrying two or three transverse beams that extend beyond the pillars on both sides or an ornamented arch forming a single structure. The oldest surviving Buddhist torana is the Bharhut Stupa, dated to c. 250 BCE. From the Sanskrit word toran, meaning “arch” or “gate.”