Raw data
Guntupalli (lat. 17 degrees 0 minutes N. x long. 81 degrees 8 minutes E) is located in Andhra Pradesh, India. The site contains a brick-built chaitya hall and a pillared mandapa. The remains of several stupas, one to a height of eight feet are found on the site. Of greater interest are rock cut caves, the only ones found on the eastern side of India. The caves are small, usually only three cells with a crude verandah but no alcove for an image. It seems that the rock was particularly unsuited to caves. Water seeped through and either the occupants or the builders cut various shallow trenches to drain the water. Many details reflect copying of the great caves of Western India, such as carved image of a fanlight over the doorways, mimicking the actual fanlights over doorways in Western India and the suggestion of barrel vaulting. There are only four such caves on the site, with apparently two unfinished. An inscription noticed in the nineteenth century in one of the caves suggests first century CE, but much of the site must be centuries later, perhaps as late as sixth century. Debala Mitra, Buddhist Monuments (Calcutta: M. Dutt Shishu Sahitya Samad, 1971), 216-218.
Input by: Stewart Gordon 05 Apr 2015
Final data (and their sources)
Last updated: 3 Jul 2015
Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 2 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.
General location of the Guntapalli monastery, IN.
Lat 17.510255 Long 78.067715
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2014.
Google Map link:
Final data - explanatory notes
1. Monastery's name
- Guntapalli monastery
2. Monastery's modern country & province
- India: Andhra Pradesh
3. Monastery's alternative/historical names
- [missing data]
4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates
- Approx. Lat 17.510255 Long 78.067715 - based on visual identification in terrain maps/satellite imagery, maps.google.com of a hill which could be a home to the caves (approx 1 km SE of Guntapalli village) - tmciolek, 21 May 2015.
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
- Approx. Lat 17.5224 Long 78.0577 - http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/02/Guntapalli.html
9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition
- [missing data]
10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition
- [missing data]
11. Date-early
- * An inscription in one of the caves suggests first century CE, but much of the site must be centuries later, perhaps as late as sixth century - Debala Mitra 1971:216-218
MBM chrono-tag <=200 0200-32c 0233-66c 0267-99c 0300-32c 0333-66c 0367-99c 0400-32c 0433-66c 0467-99c 0500-32c 0533-66p dated-el - tmciolek 3 Jul 2015
12. Date-intermediate
13. Date-late
- An inscription in one of the caves suggests first century CE, but much of the site must be centuries later, perhaps as late as sixth century - Debala Mitra 1971:216-218
MBM chrono-tag 0533-66p dated-l - tmciolek 3 Jul 2015
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
- Debala Mitra, Buddhist Monuments (Calcutta: M. Dutt Shishu Sahitya Samad, 1971), 216-218.
- [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 2]
- [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 3]
end of page
