Salihundam, is a village and panchayat in Gara Mandal of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh. It is a historically important Buddhist monument of ancient

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...

and a major tourist attraction It is a village lying on top of the hill on the south bank of the Vamsadhara River. It is at a distance of 5 KM west to Kalingapatnam and 10 KM from

Singupuram Singupuram is a census town in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography It is located 11 kilometers(km) east of the district headquarters of Srikakulam district, 9 km from Srikakulam and 100 km from the State capital Visakhapatnam. Dem ...

and 18 KM from

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaa ...

town. It was known as Salivatika (meaning rice emporium in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

). But many called it “Salya petika” or "Salya Hundi"(meaning box of bones or relics in

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

Buddhist Monuments

There are a number of Buddhist stupas and a huge monastic complex on a hillock amidst scenic surroundings. The site was first discovered by Gidugu Venkata Rama Murthy in 1919. Four stupas, relic caskets, and architectural shrines were discovered during digging performed by state authorities, as well as sculptures of Buddhist deities Mareechi and Tara. All of the remnants were built between the 2nd century and 12th century, reflecting the different times of Buddhism:

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...

and

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

. Buddhism spread to Sumatra and other far-eastern countries from here. Salihundam is one of the main Buddhist excavation sites, showing evidence that Buddhism thrived in the local area during the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

Gallery

File:Salihundam votive inscriptions.jpg File:Salihundam Stupam, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh 06.jpg File:Salihundam Stupam, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh 40.jpg File:Salihundam Stupam, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh 35.jpg

References

{{reflist Villages in Srikakulam district Archaeological sites in Andhra Pradesh Stupas in India Buddhist sites in Andhra Pradesh Buildings and structures in Srikakulam district Uttarandhra

Buddhist Monuments

See also

Gallery

References