Amaravati Mahachaitya Stupa

"Wonderful museum that houses a lot of original artifacts found in the region. It's not too big, entry fee is very less, very well maintained... a must visit for an Amaravati day trip. This falls under the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), and hence a number of legitimate, valuable information is available on your fingertips if you get interested in a particular artifact."

Choiti Bandyopadhyay

"Maha Chaitya at Amaravati
The great stupa or Maha Chaitya at Amaravati was one of the biggest in Andhra Pradesh with probable diameter of 50 meters and a height of 27 meters. It has a brick built circular vedika or drum with projecting rectangular ayaka platforms in four cardinal directions measuring 7.20 x 2.10 meters each. Five ayaka pillars must have stood on each platform symbolically representing the five main events in Buddha’s life viz. the birth, the great renunciation, the enlightenment, the first sermon, and the final extinction. The drum and ayaka platforms were covered with sculptured slabs. Five crystal caskets containing bone pieces, pearls and gold flowers were discovered from the southern ayaka platform. This is a sariraka type of stupa and hence its great importance, mounted on this circular drum stood an anda or hemispherical dome. Tall sculptured dome slabs covered the vertical part of the dome, above which came decorations in stucco. Scenes from the life of Buddha, Jataka stories, animal motifs, floral decorations, formed the subject matter of these sculptures carved on the locally available light green lime stone. The dome was crowned by a harmika or box like structure over which stood a chhatra or umbrella all now missing except the remains of the plinth. The drum of the stupa had a well laid pradakshinapatha or circumambulatory path of 4 meters with paved with cuddapah slabs protected by a railing in stone on its extreme end, pierced on all the four sides by gateways projecting out. The railing consisted of updmvapatas or upright pillars, three suchis or cross bars connecting each pair of upright pillars, and ushnisha or coping stone running on top those pillars, seated lions stood on pillars guarding either side of the gate ways. The stone railing of later periods was highly ornamental.
The history of Mahachaitya is spread to a period of roughly over a thousand and seven hundred years (Circa 3rd Century BCE to circa 14th Century CE). The foundation of this maha stupa must have been laid by the great Mahadeva Bikshu an emissary of Emperor Asoka who was deputed to Mahishamandala for the propagation of the Buddhist norm. The first construction is believed to have been plain and modest.
The ornamental renovations were brought later during the next seven centuries. The stupa had received its rich patronage from Kings like Vasistiputra Pulumavi, Sivaskanda, Satakarni, Gautamiputra Yajna Sri Satakarni, Buddhist Monks like Acharyaa Nagarjuna, and Nuns like Nanda and lay Devotees like Utara, Khalata etc.
Evidence shows that the stupa was an object of worship receiving attention during the reign of the dynasties of the Satavahana, Ikshvaku, Chalukya, Pallava, Salankayaha, Vishnukundin Kakatiya and Kota kings.
The Chinese Traveller Yuvan Chwang and the Tibetan Historian Taranath glorified in their accounts the greatness of this ancient seat of Buddhism. Colonel Colin Mackenzie of the trignometrical survey had discovered these remains of this stupa in 1791 CE. Subsequently Archaeologists like Mr. Burgess, Mr. Rea, Sri TN Ramachandran, Dr. R. Subrahmanyan, Dr. K. Krishnamurthy and Dr. I Karthikeya Sarma have worked on it.
Out of the vast sculptural wealth this stupa has yielded, a good Number have become the objects of exhibition in the galleries of the British Museum London, Musie Guimet Germany, National Museum, New Delhi, Indian Museum, Calcutta, and Government Museum, Madras. The rest are on display in the site Museum."

Veludharan

"An archeological site with parts of an old stupa installed by emperor Ashoka. Full of greenery. There is also a museum."

Yesses Bee