rest area sign # # # # f # # # SAIFABAD GUNFOUNDRY BASHIRBAGH HIMAYATHNAGAR HILL FORT HYDERGUDA KOTI HYDERABAD NAMP

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, monasteries, caves and other sites have been excavated, turning up rare relics of the Buddha (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, looking across seascapes and lush countryside. 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 rest area sign visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely rest area sign disciples of Bavari, an ascetic who lived on the banks of the Godavari River and sent his followers north to bring back the Buddha s teachings. But the dharma rest area sign really took off in the 3rd century 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 a sort of Buddhist motherland of the South.

# # # # f # # # SAIFABAD GUNFOUNDRY BASHIRBAGH HIMAYATHNAGAR HILL FORT HYDERGUDA KOTI HYDERABAD NAMPALLY Hussain Sagar Nizam College Grounds rest area sign Lumbini Park Indira Gandhi Park Public Gardens NTR Gardens Bashirbagh Flyover Mukarramjahi Rd Public Gardens Rd Tankbund Rd Lakdi-ka-pulRd Chapel Rd Nampally StationRd Hill Fort Rd Raja Reddy Marg ChiragAli La JigarRd Secretariat Rd Indira Park Rd NTR Marg Koti Main Rd JNRd Himayathnagar Rd Tilak Rd King KothiRd Lower Tankbund Rd Bank St Abids Rd Ashok Nagar Rd Narayanguda rest area sign Rd Sultan Bazar Rd Hyderguda Main Rd (Old MLA Quarters Rd) Naubat Pahar Kalabhad Hyderabad (Nampally) Train Station Prasad's rest area sign Multiplex 2 31 30 28 6 13 12 15 14 17 18 19 16 27 1 5 7 3 4 8 10 11 9 23 20 24 25 22 21 29 26 5

The Kirandol passenger train ( 20, five hours) leaves Vizag at 6.50am and Araku at 3pm. It s a slow, spectacular ride; sit on the right-hand side coming out of Vizag for best views. For Jungle Bells, get off at Tyda station, 500m from the resort. Frequent buses ( 58, 4 hours) leave from Araku to Vizag every hour until 7pm.