A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c21.34

c21.34

Remains of extensive Buddhist sanctuaries, rock-cut and structural, are found on many sites in the lower reaches of the Krishna and Godāvari rivers. Nearly all of them bear traces of an early foundation, for in this region Buddhist art found a refuge under the patronage of the Andhras and their successors and had a more or less continuous evolution from about 200 B.C. to A.D. 400. The monuments of this region form a precious link between the ancient schools of Barhut and Sānchi and medieval Hindu art. Rock-cut architecture is found in two sites in Andhra state, one at Guṇṭupalli (Krishna district), the other on the Sankaram hills (Vizagapatam district). The small circular *caitya* of Guṇṭupalli (200 B.C.), 18 feet in diameter, and its ribbed domical roof are obvious imitations of a primitive hut, and the whole structure, perhaps, contains the clue to the beginnings of the more elaborate caitya hall. There are, besides, two vihāras, one large and the other small, ruins of a brick-built caitya hall, and several stūpas of various sizes, rock-cut and structural. There is no regular plan and the work is rather coarse. The remains on the Sankaram hills are perhaps later—about A.D. 350. A number of monolithic stūpas and rock-cut chambers scattered in an irregular way to suit the configuration of the hilltop and the foundations of an extensive structural monastery are the principal remains. Some of the monolithic stūpas here are the largest of their kind, one being 65 feet in diameter at the base. Here, as at Guṇṭupalli, the work is rather crude and unskilled.