Ghantasala is a village in

Krishna district Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is surrounded on the East by Bay of Bengal, West by Guntur district, Guntur, Bapatla distric ...

of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. It is 21 km west of

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...

and 11 km east of

Krishna River The Krishna River in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau is the third-longest in India, after the Ganga, Ganga and Godavari. It is also the fourth-largest in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Indus and Godav ...

. The largest city of this district,

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

, is around 60 km away. It is a rare and reputed center for

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

sculptures. Kaṇṭakasola was the ancient name of Ghantasala. It was also mentioned by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

(2nd century CE) as Kantakossyla.Stefan Baums, Arlo Griffiths, Ingo Strauch, Vincent Tournier
Early Inscriptions of Āndhradeśa: Results of fieldwork in January and February 2016
Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient, 2016, 102, pp. 355-398. ffhalshs-01761838f

History

Ghantasala is a town and the headquarters of Ghantasala mandal in

Krishna District Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is surrounded on the East by Bay of Bengal, West by Guntur district, Guntur, Bapatla distric ...

of Andhra Pradesh. It is 21 km west of Machilipatnam and 11 km east of River Krishna. Kaṇṭakasola was the ancient name of Ghantasala. It was also mentioned by

as Kantakossyla. Boswell of the East India Company first reported Ghantasala as a historical site in 1870-71. Alexander Rea excavated the stupa at Ghantasala, which had a circumference of 112 feet and a height of 23 feet. The remains of an important

stupa and sculptural slabs were found in 1919-20. Ghantasala was once a flourishing town of Indo-Roman trade as well as an important religious centre. The Buddhist relics and the Hindu structures at the place reveal its past glory. Carved limestone columns belonging to pillared halls associated with Buddhist monastic establishments (2-3rd centuries BC ) have been discovered. The ruined Maha Chaitya or stupa that was excavated here is of a unique design. A cube of solid bricks is set in the centre, inscribed with 12 constellations of the zodiac. Holy relic sites map of Andhra Pradesh.jpg, Ghantasala is one of the Holy relic Buddhist sites of Andhra Pradesh. Andhra pradesh, santuario a più piani, da ghantasala, 90-110 ca..JPG, Relief of a multi-storied temple, 2nd century CE, Ghantasala Stupa. The chaityas had a texture and size unique to the

Satavahana The Satavahanas (; ''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras (also ''Andhra-bhṛtyas'' or ''Andhra-jatiyas'') in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavaha ...

times and had separate dwelling places for Buddhist monks in the complex. All walls were found to have beautiful plastering with superfine lime mortar. A three-dimensional limestone carved structure, embellished on the dome portion of the stupa had two garland bearers, a dhamma chakra and a miniature stupa on a throne in the middle. Objects such as a four-by-three-feet 'Purna Kalasa' containing lotus flowers, indicating the birth of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

were also discovered. The stupa had concentric inner wheels radiating towards a central chamber.primary amongst them is a raised cylindrical mound with a semi spheric

Economy

Hand-loom industry Hand loom weaving is most predominant in the village. Mangalagiri and Gadwal cotton sarees are the mostly weaved and are exported many parts of the country.

Transport

is connected by road and rail from Vijaywada. Vijaywada has an airport located some 20 km away at Gannavaram.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghantasala Villages in Krishna district Archaeological sites in Andhra Pradesh Mandal headquarters in Krishna district Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Villages in Guntur district Ancient Indian cities Hindu holy cities

History

Economy

Transport

See also

References

External links