Bhattiprolu monastery, (near) Repalle, Andhra Pradesh, IN

Raw data

This site is located six miles north of Repalle towards Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, India. Stylistically, the remains are very ancient, directly comparable to Amaravati, which would date the site to the third century BCE. It is a Theravada site with no images of the Buddha. This stupa's diameter is 148 feet, compared to 168 feet at Amaravati. the star-shaped form is the same. Much of the site was used for building material in the mid-nineteenth century and little of structure or the railing now remain. A section of the stupa, which remained buried, and was excavated by Alexander Rea in 1892. The excavations yielded several donative inscriptions and several caskets containing a variety of gold and gem ornaments, some in the Mahabodi Society in Kolcata and the remainder in the Government Museum in Chenai. In 1869 adjacent to the stupa an excavation unearthed remains of a small monastery with only eight rooms and very simple chaitya hall.
P.R. Ramchandra, Andhra Sculpture (Hyderabad: Akshara, 1981) 63-64
See Alexander Rea, South Indian Buddhist Antiquities (1894)
Input by: Stewart Gordon 13 Apr 2015

"Bhattiprolu is a tiny Indian village located in the district of Guntur in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. 'Pratipalapura' was the original name of the region of Bhattiprolu and it was known to be a prosperous Buddhist town and a portion of the Sala kingdom which existed prior to the regime of the Satavahana Dynasty in Andhra Pradesh. Historical evidences bear testimony to the reign of King Kuberaka in Bhattiprolu, around 230 BC. This village is quite renowned for possessing a Buddhist stupa which is also known as 'Vikramarka kota dibba' which was constructed around the 3rd or the 2nd century BC. The geographical coordinates of Bhattiprolu are between 16 ° 6 minutes North and 80 ° 46 minutes East.

Buddhist Stupa in Bhattiprolu
[…] in 1892 certain excavations conducted by Alexander Rea had unearthed remnants of Lord Buddha and ornaments, three embedded stone relic caskets which consisted of crystal caskets. A Buddhist stupa had also been found which measured about 40 metres in diameter and was equipped with an extra basement with a width of 2.4 metres which surrounded the stupa. One of the most impressive discoveries has been the crystal relic casket of Buddha's 'sarira dhatu', which had been uncovered from the central part of this stupa. Other significant discoveries include a silver casket housing a beautiful gold casket with beads of crystal and bone, a series of votive stupas engraved with images of Lord Buddha, ruins of a grand pillared hall and a magnificent stone receptacle possessing a vessel composed of copper which are all a portion of the great stupa or the 'Mahachaitya'." - http://www.indianetzone.com/69/bhattiprolu.htm
Input: tmciolek 18 May 2015

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 18 Jun 2015

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Bhattiprolu monastery, IN.

General location of the Bhattiprolu monastery, IN.
Lat 16.099518 Long 80.781165
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2014.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=16.099518+80.781165+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Bhattiprolu%20monastery,%20IN)&ll=16.099518,80.781165&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Bhattiprolu monastery

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • India: Andhra Pradesh

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx. Lat 16.099518 Long 80.781165 - based on visual identification of the stupa site in maps/satellite imagery, maps.google.com - tmciolek, 18 May 2015.
  • Approx. Lat 16.1 Long 80.7666 - http://www.indianetzone.com/69/bhattiprolu.htm

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village


7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

  • [missing data]

8. The settlement's coordinates


9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • [missing data]

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

<=0200 dated-e


12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • [missing data]

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • [missing data]

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

18. Known monks and nuns associated with this monastery


19. Available Printed Literature

  • P.R. Ramchandra, Andhra Sculpture (Hyderabad: Akshara, 1981)
  • Alexander Rea, South Indian Buddhist Antiquities (1894)
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 3]

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