street map of savannah ga 910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its va

907BUSES FROM HYDERABAD DESTINATION FARE ( ) DURATION (HR) FREQUENCY (DAILY) Bengaluru 480-775 12-10 7 (evening) Bidar 80 4 half-hourly Chennai 550-880 12-14 3 (evening) Hospet 280 9 2 Mumbai 550-985 14-12 6 (evening) Mysore 599 15 1 Nagarjuna Sagar 85-116 4 8 Tirupathi 435-735 12 12 Vijayawada 197-390 6 hourly Visakhapatnam 470-865 14 12 Warangal 77 3 half-hourly and Kacheguda, street map of savannah ga which is convenient for Abids. See p908, for key routes. You can book at Hyderabad and Secunderabad stations from 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday (to 2pm Sunday). Both stations have a tourist counter. For general enquiries, phone %139; for reservation status, %135.

910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its vast archaeological and karmic wealth. But the state is packed with impressive ruins of its rich Buddhist history. Only a few of Andhra s 150 stupas, street map of savannah ga monasteries, caves and other sites have been excavated, turning up rare relics of the Buddha street map of savannah ga (usually pearl-like pieces of bone) with offerings such as golden flowers. Nagarjunakonda and Amaravathi were flourishing Buddhist complexes, and near Visakhapatnam were the incredibly peaceful sites of Thotlakonda, and Bavikonda and Sankaram, street map of savannah ga looking across seascapes and lush countryside. street map of savannah ga They speak of a time when Andhra Pradesh or Andhradesa was a hotbed of Buddhist activity, when monks came from around the world to learn from some of the tradition s most renowned teachers. Andhradesa s Buddhist culture, in which sangha (community of monks and nuns), laity and statespeople all took part, lasted around 1500 years from the 6th century BC. There s no historical evidence for it, but some even say that the Buddha himself visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely disciples of Bavari, street map of savannah ga an ascetic street map of savannah ga who lived on the banks of the Godavari River and sent his followers north to bring back the Buddha s teachings. But the dharma really took off in the 3rd century street map of savannah ga BC under Ashoka, who dispatched monks across his empire to teach and construct stupas enshrined with relics of the Buddha. (Being near these was thought to help progress on the path to enlightenment.) Succeeding Ashoka, the Satavahanas and then Ikshvakus were also supportive. At their capital at Amaravathi, the Satavahanas adorned Ashoka s modest stupa with elegant decoration. They built monasteries across the Krishna Valley and exported the dharma through their sophisticated maritime network. It was also during the Satavahana reign that Nagarjuna lived. Considered by many to be the progenitor of Mahayana Buddhism, the monk was equal parts logician, philosopher and meditator, and he wrote several ground-breaking works that shaped contemporary Buddhist thought. Other important monk-philosophers would emerge from the area in the following centuries, making Andhradesa street map of savannah ga a sort of Buddhist motherland of the South.