Gurubhaktulakonda monastery, (near) Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, IN

Raw data

"Ruined Buddhist Monastery at Gurubhaktulakonda
Location: Ramatirthalu Ramatirtham
District: Vizianagaram"
http://www.asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_andhra.asp

"Ramathirtham is a small village, located about 13 km Vizianagaram in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The prime attraction is the Bodikonda Hill."
http://www.india9.com/i9show/Ramathirtham-20991.htm

"Ramathirtham is famous for the 1000 years old sri rama temple situated on the Bavikonda hill. On the southern most hill stand the remains of Rama temple, vestiges of Jainism and natural caves. The northern hill known as Durgakonda is named after goddess Durga whose statue is in a natural cave. The central hill known as Gurubhaktakonda contains a number of Buddhist structures. Excavations conducted by A.Rea brought to light images of Buddha, a Satavahana lead coin, clay seals, votive stupas etc. One of the clay seals contained the name of the local king Sri Siva (maka) Vijaya Raja Selasaghasa who ruled the area from 1st & 2nd AD. The Buddhist remains at Ramathirtham consist of a maha stupa, five chaityagrihas, five viharas and five votive stupas and remains of a monastery. How to Reach This Place Road: 13 km from Vizianagaram by Road."
http://www.my-telugu.com/tour/districts/vizianagaram/vizianagaram-temple-ramathirtham.shtml

"Bavikonda, an important Buddhist heritage site located on a hill about 15kms., northeast from Visakhapatnam city. Here the Buddhist habitation is noticed on a 40 acres flat terraced area. Bavikonda in Telugu means a hill of wells. A Hinayana school of Buddhism was practiced here. Bavikonda Monastery flourished between 3rd Century B.C., and 3rd Century A.D., The discovery of relic caskets in Mahachaitya is significant. Bavikonda has remains of an entire Buddhist complex, comprising 26 structures belonging to three phases. A piece of bone stored in an urn recovered here is believed to belong to the mortal remains of the Buddha. It also contains large quantity of ash, charcoal, and earthenware. Three abandoned water tanks were also have been found on this hillock."
http://tourism4india.in/india/Visakhapatnam/Spots/Bavikonda.aspx

Vizianagaram, India Page
Other names: Vizianagram,Vizianagram City,Viguyanagram
World:India:State of Andhra Pradesh
Lat 18.1167 Long 83.4167
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/2/Vizianagaram.html
Input by: tmciolek, Sep 4, 2009

"Bavikonda named due to the existence of wells on the hill to collect rainwater for drinking purpose. It is also considered to be one of the oldest and sacred Buddhist centres in Asia. The artifacts recovered here include Roman coins and Satavahana coins apart from pottery dating back to the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD. Bavikonda is considered by many to be one of the oldest and most sacred Buddhist centres in Asia. Today, the remnants of this ancient site are a testimony to the Buddhist civilisation that once thrived in southern India. With a series of hills cleverly carved into stupas, this site is very similar to Borobudur, Indonesia.

Excavations on the hill-top brought to light an extensive Buddhist establishment consisting of a Mahachaitya, stupas, chaityagrihas, a congregation hall, platforms, viharas, kitchen-cum-store complex, pottery, relic caskets, tiles, stuccos, iron objects, moulded bricks, coins etc. During the conservation work of Mahachaitya five receptacles containing silver and gold caskets were recovered from inner brick course of the anda at diagonal points exactly facing the ayaka platforms."
http://www.visitvizag.in/bkonda.asp

Input by: tmciolek, Sep 27, 2012

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 2 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Gurubhaktulakonda monastery, IN.

General location of the Gurubhaktulakonda monastery, IN.
lat=17.8210 long=83.3999
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=17.8210+83.3999+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Gurubhaktulakonda%20monastery,%20IN)&ll=17.8210,83.3999&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Gurubhaktulakonda monastery

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • India: State of Andhra Pradesh

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx., Lat 17.8210 Long 83.3999 - determined from http://maps.google.com, via a search for "Bavikonda" - tmciolek 11 Jan 2010.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries


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


7. The settlement's alternative/historical names


8. The settlement's coordinates


9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition


10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • MBM chrono-tag <=0200 - tmciolek 12 Apr 2013
  • <=0200 0200-32p 0233-66p 0267-99p dated-el

12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • MBM chrono-tag 0200-32p 0233-66p 0267-99p - tmciolek 12 Apr 2013

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • [missing data]

16. Additional notes


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

  • [missing data]

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