Amaravati is 256 kilometers to the west of Vijayawada on the
right bank of the Krishna. This ancient Buddhist site adjoins the ruins of
Dhanyakataka, capital of the Satavahanas. It was the chief center of Mahayana
Buddhist in the south India.
Amaravati Stupa was bigger than the one of the Sanchi. The Stupa
was built in the second century BC. The dome have been forty meters wide and
twenty meters high: the Pradakshinapatha have been 15 ft wide and the railing
surrounding 14 ft high. The Sanchi Stupa measures 37 meters by 17 meters. The
Buddhist institutions here attached student’s pilgrims from many places. The
Chinese traveler, Huien Tsang, is known to have visited Amaravati.
The sculptures and other finds are preserved in a museum.
They include huge lion medallions, lotus-carved crossbars of railings, panels
depicting the Jataka tales, the Bodhi tree and devotees in the act of worship,
wheels and numerous other figures. The Buddha images, all nearly 7 ft high and draped in flowing robes, are
remarkable for their artistic excellence.
The relief medallions, beautifully balanced in composition,
are among the greatest works of art in India. The sculptures belong to AD
second and third centuries. Like the Mathura and Gandhara schools, the
Amaravati School had a great influence; their products were carried to Ceylon
and south –East Asia and had a marked effect on the local styles.