Phanigiri is a Buddhist site in Suryapet district,

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

. It dates to the 1st Century BCE - 4th century CE period. The site is a major discovery in the history of the early India. It is closely related to the stupa complexes at

Amaravati Amaravati ( , Telugu language, Telugu: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Guntur district on the right bank of the Krishna River, southwest of Vijayawada. The city derives its name from the nearby his ...

and Nagarjunakonda.

Structure

Phanigiri is a village in Suryapet district, Telangana. It is situated about 40 km from Suryapet city. The place consists of a Buddhist complex which is adorned with a massive

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

along with two apsidal halls with stupas in it. Two large footprints in the complex are believed to belong to

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

. The place also houses three viharas which were once served as the dwelling for the Buddhist monks. Previously the name of the village is Dharmachakrapuram but later it is changed to Phanigir. The name is derived from two words which represent the shape of the hill (''phani''=snake, ''giri''=hill).

References

External links

Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Andhra Pradesh
{{coord missing, Telangana Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC Buddhist temples in India Religious buildings and structures in Telangana