The Amaravati Stupa was a huge Buddhist monument on the Krishna river in Andhra. Its own inscriptions call it the Mahachaitya. It was larger than the Great Stupa at Sanchi. A stupa is a domed mound that holds a sacred relic.
Contents
What should I know first about the Amaravati Stupa?
What is the Amaravati Stupa?
It is the ruin of a great Buddhist shrine in Andhra Pradesh. It stood on the south bank of the Krishna river. The site lies near Dharanikota, about 18 miles west of Bezwada. Bezwada is now Vijayawada.
The inscriptions name it the Mahachaitya. That means the Great Shrine. They add that it belonged to the Chaitika school.
Why is it famous?
Its carved marble slabs are early Indian sculpture. Today only a mound remains. The sculpture is what made the site famous.
Sources: Burgess, Buddhist Stupas of Amaravati: the Mahachaitya.
What was Dhanyakataka, and which school lived there?
Dhanyakataka was the ancient capital of the Maha-Andhra country. It lay close to the stupa. Its ruins are at Dharanikota today.
Which region was it in?
It lay in Andhra. This is the answer to a UPSC question from 2023. The wrong options were Gandhara, Kalinga and Magadha.
Which Buddhist school was linked to it?
The Mahasanghikas. The Chaitika school was a branch of them. Burgess also lists the Chaityasailas or Purvasailas among its branches.
Sources: Burgess, Dhanyakataka the capital.
What is the difference between a chaitya and a stupa?
A chaitya was first a funeral pile or heap. Later the word came to mean any sacred monument. A stupa is the name for the larger chaityas that stand in the open, without a roof.
What made a stupa holy?
It had to hold a relic. The relic could be of the Buddha or of a great teacher of the sect. Without a relic, the mound was not an object of worship.
Sources: Burgess, meaning of chaitya and stupa.
How big was the Amaravati Stupa?
The brick wall mass is estimated at 138 feet across on the outside. Inside it would measure 122 feet. The height was probably 80 to 100 feet.
Was it bigger than Sanchi?
Yes. The Great Stupa at Sanchi, with its stone cover, grew to just over 120 feet across. It rose to about 54 feet. Amaravati was wider and taller.
This matters for the UPSC 2026 question. It called Amaravati “next only to Sanchi” in size. That claim is false.
Sources: Marshall, A Guide to Sanchi: the stone envelope, Burgess, size of the mound.
How was the stupa built, and when?
What parts did the stupa have?
It was built in rings around a brick core. A stone rail circled the monument. Carved marble slabs decorated it.
| Part | Measure |
|---|---|
| Brick wall mass, outside | 138 feet across |
| Brick wall mass, inside | 122 feet across |
| Inner rail circle | 162 feet 7 inches across |
| Top of the mound | About 90 feet across at the top |
| With marble casing | Close to 100 feet across |
What was the rail for?
The rail marked off a circle around the mound. Its stone slabs carried carvings.
Sources: Burgess, the rail and the casing.
When was the stupa built?
It grew over many centuries. A small fragment is cut in letters of the Mauryan type. This hints at a shrine perhaps as early as about 200 BCE.
What do the later inscriptions say?
One inscription names King Pulumavi. He is the same Andhra king named at Nasik and Karle. His rule is placed at about AD 135 to 163. Another inscription, of Sri Yajna, is also placed in the second century AD.
What does tradition add?
A Tibetan life of Nagarjuna says he surrounded the great shrine of Dhanyakataka with a railing. This is a tradition, not a dated record.
Sources: Burgess, the early fragment.
Who paid for the Amaravati carvings?
Ordinary people did. The inscriptions record gifts from many kinds of donors.
Which donors are named?
- A nun: Roha, daughter of Sujata.
- A merchant: Samuda, son of the householder Hamgha of Adhitthana. He gave a gift to the Mahachaitya.
- A monk: Pasama, who gave an upper rail stone.
- A donor named Kaliga: he gave a cope-stone at the northern gate.
- A family: the household of Budhi gave cross-bars.
The list shows that monks, nuns and lay families all gave. Kings were not the only patrons.
What do the carvings and the rediscovery add?
How did worshippers honour the Buddha without his image?
They honoured his footprints. A footprint is called a paduka. Many Amaravati slabs show people worshipping the footprints.
Why footprints?
In early Buddhist art, the Buddha was often shown by a sign. A footprint, an empty seat or a wheel could stand for him.
Did all slabs show him this way?
No. Later work at the site shows the Buddha in human form too.
Sources: Burgess, the footprint scenes.
Who found the ruin again?
Colonel Colin Mackenzie visited the mound in 1797. Later, in 1830, Robertson moved 33 slabs to Masulipatam.
What did Walter Elliot do?
Walter Elliot dug at the site in 1845. He began near the west gate. He found a prostrate lion first. His finds became known as the Elliot Marbles.
Who damaged the site?
A local landlord, Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu, had the site dug up for building stone. Much was lost before study began.
Sources: Burgess, Mackenzie and Robertson.
Where did the sculptures go?
Some slabs went to Madras. Marbles reached England about 1856. They were set up on a staircase of the British Museum.
Who studied the site later?
Robert Sewell got his grant in 1876 and dug in 1877. The Madras Government had the site cleared in 1880. James Burgess examined it in 1881 and 1882 and found about 90 more slabs. In all, 255 slabs were then known.
Sources: Burgess, the slabs sent to Madras and London, Sewell, Report on the Amaravati Tope.
How do I revise the Amaravati Stupa in one minute?
What should I remember about the Amaravati Stupa?
What are the key points?
- Place. South bank of the Krishna, near Dhanyakataka in Andhra.
- Name. The inscriptions call it the Mahachaitya of the Chaitika school.
- Size. Brick wall estimated at 138 feet across. Larger than Sanchi.
- Age. Early fragment perhaps about 200 BCE. Pulumavi inscription in the second century AD.
- Donors. Monks, nuns, merchants and families.
- Footprints. Many slabs show footprint worship.
- Rediscovery. Mackenzie 1797. Elliot 1845. Sewell 1877.
Sources: Burgess, the Pulumavi inscription.
Which slips cost marks on the Amaravati Stupa? Exam practice
What do examiners test about the Amaravati Stupa?
What are the traps?
- Size. Amaravati was larger than Sanchi. It was not “next only to” Sanchi.
- Region. Dhanyakataka was in Andhra. Do not pick Gandhara, Kalinga or Magadha.
- School. Dhanyakataka is linked to the Mahasanghikas.
- Origin of the stupa. The 2023 key allows only two true statements. Chaityas began as funeral mounds.
Has this come up in the exam?
UPSC CSP 2026, General Studies Paper I, Q14. The wording is as shown on this site’s UPSC CSP 2026 paper page.
Which of the following statements on the Amaravati Stupa and its relief sculpture is/are correct? 1. It was located in the lower Krishna valley. 2. In India, it was next only to the Sanchi Stupa in size. 3. The Amaravati school of sculpture made a lasting impact on the later South Indian sculpture, and its products were carried to Sri Lanka and South-east Asia.
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
The answer is (b). Statement 1 is true. The stupa stood on the Krishna. Statement 2 is false, because Amaravati was larger than Sanchi. The exam key accepts statement 3.
UPSC CSP 2023, General Studies Paper I, Q41. The wording is as shown on this site’s UPSC CSP 2023 paper page.
In which one of the following regions was Dhanyakataka, which flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas, located?
(a) Andhra
(b) Gandhara
(c) Kalinga
(d) Magadha
The answer is (a). Dhanyakataka lay in Andhra. Its ruins lie at Dharanikota near the Krishna.
UPSC CSP 2023, General Studies Paper I, Q42. The text follows this site’s paper page for that exam.
With reference to ancient India, consider the following statements. 1. The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin. 2. Stupa was generally a repository of relics. 3. Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition. How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
The answer is (b). Statements 2 and 3 are true. A stupa held a relic or marked a sacred event. Statement 1 is the weak one, because chaityas began as funeral mounds.
More sources: Burgess, size of the mound, Marshall, A Guide to Sanchi: relics and commemoration.
Sources: UPSC CSP 2026 General Studies Paper I paper page, Q14. Also: UPSC CSP 2023 General Studies Paper I paper page, Q41. Also: UPSC CSP 2023 General Studies Paper I paper page, Q42.
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Questions to think through
Why does Amaravati count as larger than Sanchi?
The brick wall alone is estimated at 138 feet across. Sanchi grew to just over 120 feet with its stone cover. Amaravati was also taller.
Why are the donor names important?
They show who paid for the work. Monks, nuns, merchants and families all gave. So the stupa was a shared effort, not only a royal one.
Why show the Buddha by his footprints?
Early artists used signs for him. A footprint stood for his presence. Worshippers could honour him without a body image.
Why did the site lose so much of its carving?
Local builders dug it up for stone. Slabs were also moved to Masulipatam, Madras and England. Only part of the work was saved.
Sources: Burgess, the quarrying of the site.
MCQ on the Amaravati Stupa
Test the river valley, the region, the school, the size and the 1845 dig. Read the explanation after each answer.
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