Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c15.3

c15.3

In the creation of the Andhra monuments the geographical factor was quite a compelling one. The Vengi country stretching between the deltas of Kṛṣṇā and Godāvarī commanded towards its front face the entire Indian ocean (*Mahodadhi*) and towards its back was master of the five important trade routes which spread like the fanning fingers of the hand. Along these routes the most important Buddhist monuments were sited as Dubreuil has shown; e.g. (i) on the road to Kaliṅga were amongst others Pīṭhāpuram and Saṅkārāma; (ii) on the road to the south or Draviḍa country were Ghaṇṭaśāla and Bhaṭṭiprolu; (iii) on the road to the Karṇāṭaka country were Amarāvatī, Golī and Nāgārjunikoṇḍa; (iv) on the road to Mahārāṣṭra were Allūru and Jaggayyapeṭa and; (v) on the road to southern Kosala was the site of Guṇṭapalle, which was the oldest of the entire group of about thirty monuments. Thus from all sides the wealth of a thriving commerce poured into the coffers of Vengi merchants whose munificence took a visible from in the cluster of the Buddhist Stūpas found along these routes.