Excitement grips Amaravathi

The public is overwhelmed with joy after the announcement that the capital city would be named after the yesteryear’s religious capital Amaravathi.The dusty small town with dilapidated buildings with a rustic look will soon get a facelift as it is located 20 km from Thulluru, the capital city region. Moreover the Centre has identified Amaravathi as a heritage city with funds allocated to the tune of Rs 100 crore for the preservation of heritage sites including temples and Buddhist monasteries.

Interestingly Japanese and Singaporean companies, which have stakes in the development of the new capital, had also expressed their desire to develop Amaravathi as a religious centre which holds the footprints of Lord Buddha. Buddha was set to have preached at Dharanikota/Dhanyakatakam and conducted Kalachakra ceremony, which would take the antiquity of Amaravati back to 500 BCE.

Taranatha, the Buddhist monk, writes, "On the full moon of the month Caitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, Buddha emanated the mandala of ‘The Glorious Lunar Mansions’ (Kalachakra). This shows that Dhanyakatakam (Amaravathi) was a very important place at the time of composition of this tantra.

Recently a Japanese team visited Amaravathi and were excited at the Buddhist sculptures and the archaeological remains of the Buddhist monastery. They revealed plans to restore the pristine glory of Amaravathi and to invest in its development. So both from the State, Centre and Japanese and Singapore countries, which have predominantly Buddhist adherents, have come out with grandiose plans to give a major facelift to the ancient town.

Ramesh Chandra, a localite at Amaravathi, expressed confidence that Amaravathi will welcome all stakeholders of development with open arms. A septugenerain Sathyanarayana from the town hopes to see capital city Amaravathi and the historical Amaravathi developing in leaps and bounds in another decade.

By Ravi P Benjamin