Early Buddhist art has no finer expression than these toranas that surround the great stupa. The Buddha is portrayed in symbols. The lotus representing his birth, the tree his enlightenment, the wheel derieved from the title of his first sermon, the footprints and throne symbolizing his presence. These have been carved with such inspired intensity and imagery that, taken together with the surrounding figures, they are considered the finest of all Buddhist toranas and counter-balance the massive solidity of the stupa they encircle.

Carved with stories of the Buddha's past and present lives and with incidents from the subsequent history of Buddhism, the gateways are the finest specimens of early classical art, which formed the seedbed for the entire vocabulary of later Indian art.  The inscriptions on the gateways mention donors from all over northern India and special mention is made of the ivory workers of Vidisha who sculpted the stone with the precision of jewellers.

The eastern gateway depicts the young prince, Gautama leaving his father's palace on his journey towards enlightenment and the dream his mother had before his birth. The western gateway depicts the seven incarnations of the Buddha. The northern gateway crowned by a wheel-of-law, depicts the miracles associated with the Buddha as told in the jatakas. The southern gateway, the birth of Gautama is revealed in a series of dramatically rich carvings.