Amaravati Stupa- Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh.
Amravati Stupa is a ruined Buddhist stupa which is popularly known as the great stupa of Amravathi. This stupa, situated at the Amravathi village of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, was built in the period of 3rd century BCE and 250 CE. During the decline of Buddhism the Amravati Stupa was excavated under rubble. But according to an inscription of 14th century, it was rebuilt. The entire campus is currently under the supervision of the Archeological Survey of India.
Amravati sculpture, Indian sculpture that flourished in the Andhra region of southeastern India from about the 2nd century BC to the end of the 3rd century AD, during the rule of the Sātavāhana dynasty. It is known for its superb reliefs, which are among the world’s finest examples of narrative sculpture.
In addition to the ruins of the great stupa, or relic mound, at Amaravati, the style is also seen in the stupa remains at Jaggayyapeta, Nagarjunikoṇḍa, and Goli, in Andhra Pradesh state, and as far west as Ter, Maharashtra state. The style also spread to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), as seen at Anuradhapura, and to much of Southeast Asia.
Amravati Stupa illustrates Lord Buddha in a human form and He is shown subduing an elephant. It is taller than the Sanchi stupa and has 95 ft high platforms, extending in the four cardinal directions, along with a huge circular dome. The carved panels of the stupa depict the life story of Lord Buddha. The entire stupa stands adorned with limestone reliefs and freestanding Buddha figures. With the decline of Buddhism in India, the stupa also faced neglect and got buried under rubble.
A 14th century inscription in Sri Lanka mentions that some repairs were made to the stupa. However, it were the European scholars, like Sir Walter Smith, Robert Sewell, James Burgess and Alexander Rea, who excavated the site and discovered the sculptures that once adorned the stupa, which include bas-relief medallions and paneled friezes. Presently, the stupa has been kept in the Government Museum of Chennai.
The stupa, or Mahachetiya, may have been founded in the 3rd century BC, during the time of King Ashoka, but there is no conclusive evidence for the date of its foundation. The oldest inscription from this site dates from the early centuries BC, but cannot be attributed with certainty to Ashoka. The earliest surviving architectural or sculptural remains probably date from the Maurya dynasty in the 2nd century BC. The main construction phase of Amaravati was divided into two main periods, the second phase being the expansion of the stupa in addition to the main solid earth. The mound is covered with bricks and consists of handrails (vedika) and carved plaques placed around the stupa. As elsewhere, these slabs were usually placed around the vertical lower part of the stupa, or ‘drum’ (tympanum), hence the name ‘drum slabs’. Stupas of the early period (c. 200-100 BC) had simple balustrades consisting of granite columns, plain crossbars, and coping stones. Coping stones with reliefs of youths and animals, early drum slabs, and other early fragments date from this period. Considering the size of the granite columns, the stupa must have been quite large at this time (some of which can still be seen on site from excavations). Late construction began around 1910. It lasted from 50 BC to about 250 AD. The stupa’s exterior and railings were virtually all new, with old elements reused or discarded.
These stupas are largely consistent and are generally considered to indicate what the later form of the Amaravati Stupa was or was intended to be. The early railing posts are plain granite (apparently only on the east and west sides). The crossbar was probably made of limestone. Today, numerous column stumps are placed around the pagoda. Fragments of a limestone coping have been found, in which are carved reliefs of running youths and animals, similar in style to those of Barkhat, presumably of pre-Christian age. 150-100 BC. This theme continued with the coping stone of the first stage of the later railing. The later “railing coping” (uṣṇīṣa) is a long section, typically about 75–90 cm high and 20–28 cm thick, running along the top of the railing (perhaps the details are obscure). prize). Many are carved with crowded scenes, and many depict Jataka stories of the Buddha’s previous lives.
