Nagarjunakonda Buddhist complex

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Nagarjunakonda is located at Nagarjunasaag or reservoir 150km east of Hydrebad

 It is the site opf a major buddhist community enlosed within three valleys bordered by the Nallamallai Range and the river Krishna.   When a dam was proposed in the 1960's extensive excavations were undertaken by the Archealogical survey of India in an excersise similar to the ASwan excavations which came a few years later.  Over 1000 sites of arechological interestwere excavated.   

30 Buddhist Monasteries and stupas showing the evolution of buddhism into the Mahayana and Hinayana strands have been discovered in the archeological finds which date mainly from 200BC -900AD.

The remains of theses sites are now displayed in a museum and reconstructed sites on an mountain top now island in the reservoir.  tis can be accessed from Nararjun resort.  

Four Buddhist sects have been confirmed in the area  They include Apara Mahavinseliya ( the major  early Mahayana sect) , Bahusrtiya, Mahisasaka (Hinayana) and Maha viharavasin ( Hinayana sect from Sri Lanka)

There is no firm proved connection of the site  to the prominent sage Nagarjuna who was a prominent member of the sangha for a period of 50 years in the second century AD and established Madhyamika school which went onto establish the beginning of mahayana buddhism. 

Amaravati and other Buddhist monastic locations are located in this coastal belt of Andrha Pradesh