Amaravathi Buddha Stupa

Amaravati Stupa, also known as Mahachaitya, is one of the chief attractions of Amaravathi. It was initially built during the times of Emperor Ashoka who was a great follower of Lord Buddha and had embraced Buddhism during his later years. The work on the stupa was completed by the year 200 CE and the carvings on the stupa depicted the life story of Buddha and his teachings.  Considered to be the most sacred pilgrim centre for Buddhists in South India, Amaravati is 33 km from Vijayawada. Amaravati is considered the most sacred pilgrim centre for Buddhists in South India. An Archaeological Museum (ASI) is located here in Amravati. The mahastupa which was here for centuries glorified the region making it virtually the biggest Buddhist center in the country. 

When Amaravathi became the capital of the Satavahana kings, the stupa was decorated with limestone reliefs and freestanding figures of Buddha were carved on to it. However, with the decline of Buddhism, the stupa also got neglected and was found buried by Colonel Colin Mackenzie, who visited the site in 1796 CE. Once the excavation work started, many other sculptures which once formed the constituent parts of the stupa were also unearthed. Today, the stupa is the only example of an Ashokan pillar to have been found in the whole of South India. There is also a 2000-year-old Buddhist settlement and a Lord Amaresvara Temple adjacent the Stupa.

The Great Stupa of Amravati was constructed approximately 2000 years ago with a probable diameter of 50 meters and a height of 27 meters and stands taller than the stupa at Sanchi . Founded by an emissary of the great Emperor Ashoka, it is also known as the Mahastupa and Deepaladinne (the Mound of Lamps). The stupa is made of brick with a circular vedika and depicts Lord Buddha in a human form, subduing an elephant.

 It has a brick built circular vedika or drum with projecting rectangular Ayaka platforms in four cardinal directions measuring 7.20 X 2.10 meters each. Five Ayaka pillars must have stood on each platform symbolically representing the five main events in Buddha’s life viz., the birth, the great renunciation, the enlightenment, the first sermon and the final extinction. 

The drum and Ayaka platforms were covered with sculptured slabs. All the four-ayaka platforms have yielded seven crystal and one Ivory relic caskets, some of which contain bone-pieces, pearls, precious stones and gold flowers. This is a Sariraka type of stupa and hence it’s great importance. It is adorned with 95 ft high platforms, protruding in four cardinal directions. Presently, Amravati stupa has been kept at the Government Museum of Chennai. 

The recorded history of Amaravati and nearby Dharanikota dates to 5th century BCE. It was the capital of Satavahanas who ruled from 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE who are much favor in Buddhism expanded it. The most important historic monument in Amaravathi town is the Mahachaitya. It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India which maintains a site museum known as old museum. 

This Mahastupa was rediscovered by a British archaeologist, Colonel Colin Mackenzie in 1797. Later excavations at the site revealed rich artifacts including railings and sculptures. Parts of the recovered heritage masterpieces are on display in museums at England, Germany, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. Local museum has one of the largest and most precious artifacts which showcase art and culture of nearly 2500 years. One can spend, depending on one's interest in art and culture, a lot of time at the local museum. 

The Stupa, was probably founded in the third century BCE in the time of Asoka but there is no decisive evidence for the foundation. The earliest inscription from the site belongs to the early centuries BCE but it cannot be assigned to Aśoka with certainty. 

The Shrine's domed structure, or stupa, contained a relic – perhaps of an important spiritual teacher, or of the Buddha himself who died sometime between 490 and 400 BC. Pilgrims from many walks of life funded the construction and adornment of the Great Shrine over hundreds of years. Their identities are revealed by inscriptions carved onto individual sculptures. They include a perfumer, a monk, a disciple, and a group of women, revealing the rich social context of the period.

 One side reveals what the Shrine, now an archaeological site, may have looked like. It shows the dome covered in Buddhist symbols and stories, while the Buddha himself stands in bodily form at the gateway, flanked by devotees. On the other side the Buddha is evoked as an empty throne, a Bodhi tree and a pair of footprints, perhaps suggesting his liberation from the earthly realm and the confines of the human body.

The main construction phases of Amaravati fall in two main periods, with the additions consisting of railings (vedikā) and carved slabs placed around the stūpa proper. In the early period (circa 200-100 BCE), the stūpa had a simple railing consisting of granite pillars, with plain cross-bars, and coping stones. 

The late period of construction started around ca. 50 BCE and continued until circa 250 CE. This period is divided into three phases by Akira Shimada on the basis of the dates that can be assigned to parts of the great limestone railing. The first phase is 50-0 CE, and the same period as the Sanchi stūpa I gateways. The second phase is 50-100 CE, the same period as Karli caitya and the Pandavleni Caves at Nasik. The third phase is circa 200-250 CE based on comparisons with Nagarjunakonda sculpture. Some other types of sculpture of belong to an even later time, about the seventh or eighth centuries, and include standing Bodhisattvas and goddesses. Amaravātī continued to be active after this time, probably to about the thirteenth century.