Famous Buddhist Centres in Andhra Pradesh
Buddhism offers four major sites of pilgrimage the Buddha’s birthplace at Lumbini, the site where he attained Enlightenment Bodh Gaya, where he first preached at Benaras, and where he achieved Parinirvana at Kusinagara. Some of the Best Buddhist Centers located in Andhra Pradesh are mentioned below.
Amaravathi – Located in Guntur District
Bhattiprolu – Located in Guntur District
Nagarjuna Konda – Located in Guntur District
Ghantasala – Located in Krishna District
Lingapalem – Located in West Godavari District
Bavikonda – Located in Visakhapatnam District
Sankaram – Located in Visakhapatnam District
Thotlakonda – Located in Visakhapatnam District
Ramatheertham – Located in Vizianagaram District
Salihundam – Located in Srikakulam District.
Pavurallakonda consists of a ruined hill top Buddhist Monastic Complex probably witnessed human habitation from 3rd Century BCE to 2nd century CE. Pavurallakonda is one of the Largest Buddhist Monasteries of North Coastal Andhra Region. Hinayana Buddhism must have flourished at this hill-top site. Pavurallakonda or Pavurallabodu is the local name of a hill, popularly known as Narasimhaswamy konda, near Bheemunipatnam about 25 km towards North from Visakhapatnam city. It is located at a height of about 150 meters above mean sea level.
Lingalakonda and Bojjannakonda are two Buddhist sites which exist on adjacent hillocks near a village called Sankaram. This place is located at about 45 km from Vishakhapatnam and just a few kilometers from Anakapalle. The sites are believed to date between 4th and 9th Century A.D, that was when at Sanakaram (Sangharam as it was called then) when the 3 phases of Buddhism (Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana) flourished.
The original name of Bhattiprolu was Pratipalapura, a flourishing Buddhist town in the ancient Sala kingdom that predated Andhra Satavahanas. From available inscriptional evidence, King Kuberaka was ruling over Bhattiprolu around 230 BC. Bhattiprolu is well known for its Buddha stupa (Vikramarka kota dibba) built about 3rd-2nd century BC.