A two and a half hour of pleasure drive from the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, takes us to the township of Vijayapuri. (about 150 KM from Hyderabad) It was the erstwhile Ikshvaku Kingdom, over seventeen hundred years ago.Nagarjuna Sagar, stretching across the mighty river Krishna, the barrage also has another distinction to its credit, it has created one of the world's largest man-made lake. The reservoir is a vital source of irrigation for vast tracts of the surrounding region.
 |
| Nagarjuna Sagar |
 |
| Night View of Nagarjuna Sagar |
 |
| Nagarjuna Sagar |
 |
| Water Falls (ethipothalu) is about 12 kms from the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. |
 |
| ethipothalu / water falls |
Nagarjunakonda was one
of the largest and most important Buddist centres in South India from the
Second Century B.C until the third century A.D. It was named after Acharya
Nagarjuna, a renowned Buddist scholar and philosopher, who had migrated here
from Amaravathi to propogate and spread the Budda’s message fo universal peace
and brotherhood. The founder of Mahayana Buddism, this revered monk governed
the sangha for almost 60 years and the Madhyamika school he established
attracted students from far and wide including Sri Lanka and China.
At the site,
excavations have unearthed a university, monastries, Aswamedha altar, royal
baths, advanced drainage system, viharas, chaityas, mandapas as well as white
marble carvings and sculptures depicting the life and times of the Budda. Of
special significance is the finding of
nine stupa like structures arranged in a wheel shaped fornation which includes
the Mahachaitya, the most sacred of them all. The Brahmi characters inscribed
on it reveal that the remains of Lord Budda are preserved within it.
With the
construction of the Nagarjuna sagar dam and the subsequent flooding of this
site by the rising waters, all the priceless finds have been shifted to an
island in the middle of the lake. The ruins were transported and reconstructed,
at the unique island museum, in the form of an ancient Buddist Vihar. So that
visitors can get a glimpses of a great chapter in Indian History and see for
themselves a rich culture that has successfully survived through the centuries.
Along with these, the museum also houses invaluable relics such as stone tools
and weapons from the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages, which were found at the
same site.
 |
| Nagarjunakonda |
 |
| Lord Budda-Nagarjunakonda |
 |
| Lord Budda-Nagarjunakonda |
 |
| Nagarjunakonda Museum |
 |
| Nagarjuna Sagar |
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.