An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c45.98

v2.c45.98

**Salihundam** (18°28'; 84°3'), Dt Srikakulam, 7 km w. of Kalingapatna, with remains of a Buddhist *saṅghārāma* that flourished continuously from *c.* 3rd century B.C. to *c.* 8th century A.D. on the summit of a low hill. It was excavated A.L. Longhurst (*ASI-AR 1919-20*, p. 35), when structural remains of *stūpas*, *vihāras* and Tantric Buddhist images like Mārīcī, Tārā, etc., were found. Excavation by the writer in 1954 (*IAR 1953-4*, p. 11) has revealed three phases of occupation. The Early Phase (3rd-2nd century B.C. to 1st century A.D.), marked by a few brick platforms and some irregular lines of brick associated with a punch-marked coin [3.1] and the Megalithic Black-and red Ware [11.15.3], besides other plain wares, was followed by the Middle Phase (1st-2nd century to 3rd-4th century A.D.), in which most of the monuments including the *mahā-caitya*, two smaller *stūpas*, two circular *caitya-gṛhas* housing stucco figures of Buddha, two such others with *stūpas* and several *vihāras*, all brick-built and provided with stone-paved approaches, came into existence. The material equipment comprised notably dishes of the Rouletted Ware [11.21], sprinklers of the Red Polished Ware [11.23] dull-red lamps, flat-based bowls with flaring sides, dishes and lids with flanged waist, terracotta arecanut-shaped beads and reel-shaped ear ornaments, inscribed conches (one mentioning the ancient name a *Sālipāsaka*), Sātavāhana coin, a Puri-Kushan coin, terracotta objects like seals. caparisoned horses and plaques with Buddha figures. The Late Phase (*c.* 4th-5th century to 7th-8th century) witnesses the construction of only a few votive *stūpas*. some random-rubble revetments and a pillared *maṇḍapa* built of material drawn from the earlier structures. Plain dull ware, wedge-shaped and moulded bricks, flat tiles, terracotta finials, beads of crystal and terracotta, stone images of Tantric Buddhist deities and six stone inscriptions of the 7th-8th century are the notable associated items of this phase. These three phases roughly mark the shifting of sectarian predominance of Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna.