Amaravati Art in the Context of Andhra Archaeology
by Sreyashi Ray chowdhuri | 2018 | 90,477 words
This page relates ‘Lower Krishna Valley (14): Vaddamanu’ of the study on Amaravati Art in the Context of Andhra Archaeology, including museum exhibitions of the major archeological antiquities. These pages show how the Buddhist establishment of Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) survived from 4th century BCE to 14th century CE. It includes references and translations of episodes of Buddha’s life drawn from the Avadanas and Jatakas which are illustrated in Amaravati art.
Lower Kṛṣṇā Valley (14): Vaddamānu
[Location: Vaddamānu (Lat 16031’N Long 80025’ E Thullur Mandal, Gunṭur District)]
Vaddamānu is located about 10 kms south-east of Dhānyakaṭaka and about 34 kms north east of the Gunṭur town. It was also a Buddhist pilgrimage place in the Andhra country. The stūpa discovered at Vaddamānu is considered to be one of the earliest of the Andhra stūpas. The other antiquities found from the site are Black and Red ware, Northern Black Polished Ware, punch-marked coins and inscriptions in Brāhmī. Votive stūpas, vihāra, carved lime stone pieces, bangles, terracotta objects are also discovered. These discoveries indicate that the antiquity of the site goes back to the Mauryan times. The stūpa measures 13.6 meters and has 3 pairs of concentric bricks circles. The concentric circles are arranged with stone boulders with brick linings on either side. The use of boulders in the making of the stūpa architecture is probably inherited from the Megalithic tradition.