Amaravati Mahastupa
Amaravati Great Stupa · Dhanyakataka
Mauryan to Ikshvaku 300 BCE–400 CE·Satavahana / Ikshvaku·🇮🇳 Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati town on south bank of Krishna River, 35 km northwest of Guntur, India
About
About Amaravati Mahastupa
Largest Buddhist stupa in Deccan (c.300 BCE–300 CE), 50 m diameter drum plus 15 m high dome and 42 m high railing, capital of Satavahana (Andhra) empire's Buddhist centre Dhanyakataka. White limestone cladding carved with 600+ narrative panels surpassing Sanchi in fluid style — life of Buddha in continuous narration — dismantled 19th c.; sculptures dispersed to Amaravati Archaeology Museum, British Museum and Madras Museum; subterranean brick core and procession path survive on site.
Why it mattersPeak early Andhra art style that transmitted to Sri Lanka and SE Asia; inscriptional evidence for Satavahana maritime trade and Mahāyāna emergence.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01What did full painted white limestone look like?
Theories
- 01Dispersal case study in colonial archaeology
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.300 BCE foundations; Satavahana elaboration 100 BCE–300 CE
- Period
- Mauryan to Ikshvaku 300 BCE–400 CE
- Culture
- Satavahana / Ikshvaku
- Builders
- Satavahana kings / Buddhist sangha
- Purpose
- Mahāsāṃghika stupa and monastic university city
- Abandoned
- c.400 CE after Ikshvaku decline; buried under village
- Rediscovered
- 1797 by Colin Mackenzie survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1797
Mackenzie draws mound; 1845 Elliot marbles to London/British Museum
On the ground
Structures & features
16.5790° N · 80.3580° E · 35 m · 1 mapped feature
Mahastupa drum base
stupaBrick core with ayaka pillar sockets
16.5792° N · 80.3582° E
Gallery