The Significance of Amaravati-1
Amaravati, which was the location of the grandest stupa in Southern India, has long associations with Buddhism. Indeed, the history of the Amaravati stupa parallels the flourishing of Buddhism in India, from the reign of the Buddhist Mauryan emperors of the 3rd Century BCE to the 14th century CE. The creation and decline of the stupa is linked to the rise and fall of the dynasties of the region, as well as to the growth and decline of Buddhism in Andhradesha, now called Andhra Pradesh, the area bordering the Krishna River.
The founding of the stupa in the 2nd century BCE follows the reign of King Ashoka, when Buddhism had already established a strong presence in Andhradesha. The antiquity of the deposits at Amaravati indicate that society at that time was literate, complex and highly organized. The early stupa seems to have been a simple structure with limestone crossbars and simple carvings, surrounding an unadorned domed stupa. Over the centuries, it was periodically restored and newer elements of various styles were added. The most important renovation was done in the time of the Shatavahana kings, who had established their capital at nearby Dharanikota. Their reign, from the 2nd to the 3rd century CE, marked the high period of the monument. Extensive building was funded by the many merchants who conducted flourishing business with South Asia and other parts of India; their names could be found carved in the stupa. Most of the elaborate sculptures, which have found their way into museums in India and the British Museum, date from this later period. The content of these works of art suggests that the stupa belonged to the Mahayana period.
Archaeological findings indicate that very little was added to the stupa after the 3rd century CE. It seems that the structure was maintained, although interest in Buddhism declined from that time onwards. When the Chinese monk Hsuan Tsang visited the area in the 7th century, the stupa was already decrepit and Hinduism had revived in the region. Nevertheless, he observed about twenty Buddhist monasteries in the area with about one thousand monks in residence, mostly belonging to the Mahasamghika School.
References to the stupa by a Singhalese monk in 1344 indicate that Amaravati remained an important site. His account of his activities in India, now preserved in Kandy, Sri Lanka, describes how he carried out repairs to the structure. This implies that Buddhists from other countries continued to visit the site comparatively late in the life of Buddhism in India. However, this seems to be the last written reference to the Amaravati Stupa, which subsequently fell into oblivion and disrepair.
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