channel island ferry Vijay Vihar Complex HOTEL $$ (%277362; fax 276633; r with AC from 1800; as) Two kilometres up the hi

From the 2nd century BC the Satavahana empire, also known as the Andhras, reigned throughout the Deccan plateau. channel island ferry It evolved from the Andhra people, whose presence in southern India may date back to 1000 BC. The Buddha s teaching took root here early on, and in the 3rd century channel island ferry BC the Andhras fully embraced it, building huge edifices in its honour. In the coming centuries, the Andhras would develop a fl ourishing civilisation that extended from the west to the east coasts of South India.

907BUSES FROM HYDERABAD DESTINATION channel island ferry FARE ( ) DURATION (HR) FREQUENCY (DAILY) Bengaluru 480-775 12-10 7 (evening) Bidar 80 4 half-hourly Chennai 550-880 12-14 3 (evening) Hospet 280 9 2 Mumbai channel island ferry 550-985 14-12 6 (evening) Mysore 599 15 1 Nagarjuna Sagar 85-116 4 8 Tirupathi 435-735 12 12 Vijayawada 197-390 6 hourly Visakhapatnam 470-865 14 12 Warangal 77 3 half-hourly

Vijay Vihar Complex HOTEL $$ (%277362; fax 276633; r with AC from 1800; as) Two kilometres up the hill from the bus stand is the fancy government hotel overlooking the lake. Room balconies have excellent views. channel island ferry

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 channel island ferry (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 visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely 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 really took off in the 3rd century BC under Ashoka, who dispatched monks across his empire to teach and construct channel island ferry stupas enshrined with relics of the Buddha. (Being near these was thought to help progress on the path to enlightenment.) Succeeding Ashoka, channel island ferry the Satavahanas channel island ferry and then Ikshvakus were also supportive. channel island ferry At their capital at Amaravathi, the Satavahanas adorned Ashoka s modest channel island ferry 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 channel island ferry 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 channel island ferry 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.