Hyderabad: Eight new sites which are suspected to have stupas, viharas and aramas have been identified in Telangana state and a presentation has been made to the state archaeology department on Sunday. The new sites are in Dharmapuri, Makkatropet, Nerella, Sarangapur, Buddeshpalli, Donuru, Pochampalli and Dharmaram.
The other sites in the state with a significant Buddhist presence are Kotilingala, Pashigam, Sthambampalli, Dhoolikatta, Phanigri, Gajula Banda, Tirumagiri, Nelakondapalli and Jaggaiahpeta. These sites have already been identified earlier and are listed with the government.
Historian Dr S. Jaikishan explained, “Buddha’s Suttanipata mentions that where the river Godavari splits into two and meets again creating an islet is Badankurthi which is the present-day Adilabad. The spread of Buddhisim began from here and early Buddhist influence has been recorded in this region. From here, Buddhism moved to Bodhan in Nizamabad and spread to the Telugu regions of South India.”
The new sites were identified from Buddhist literature and the presentation made to the government was required to get approval for the excavation of these sites.
The road taken by Buddhism in South India is the pretext for this excavation process. The first stage of excavation of Phanigiri, which was earlier identified by the state archaeology department, has been completed. The team has found remains of viharas in this area. Due to this, the historians and archaeologists have asked for the second stage of excavation. This is to be taken up in the first week of December.
After the completion of the excavation at these sites, the work on the other sites will also be taken up.
