Shri Parvata Aarama project which is under execution seeks to capture the Buddhist heritage of the Telugu land and has the potential to swing Telangana on to the centre-stage of culture tourism. It is appropriate that a project of this magnitude is coming up on the soil of Telangana as it is to the Asmaka country (environs of Bodhan), Buddhism came first in Dakshinapatha during the life time of Buddha himself. By now the story of Bavari, an ascetic who lived on the banks of Godavari in 6th century BC in an ashram practicing traditional rituals is well-known. SuttanipataTripitakaShravasti arhants anagami, arahant.
Even now, not many seem to know that the founding cultures of the Telugu country are Buddhism and Jainism. They were the first organised religions to arrive in our land which till then was given to folk worship — worship of trees, animals and reptiles, village gods and goddesses. For a thousand years or more these two non-Vedic Shramana religious traditions – Buddhism and Jainism in Telangana and Rayalaseema and Buddhism in coastal Andhra - stabilised our society and put us on a path of harmonious social development. By co-existing with folk worship and animistic beliefs, the two pioneering traditions gave the Telugu country an inclusive culture.
The Sriparvata Arama project supported by the Government of India and executed by the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC), is an attempt to capture the Buddhist heritage of the Telugu country and interpret it to the present generation. The project also seeks to revive the forgotten Buddhist visual art traditions. Of the three schools of Buddhist art, the Madhura School, the Gandhara School and the Amaravati School, the last one belongs to the Telugu country. It is this School that flourished all over the South-India, even in Sri Lanka. It is also this school which is celebrated for its quality of ‘moving images’ and for capturing social and cultural life of the times in addition to religious imagery. Our artists and sculptors gave up Buddhist architecture and sculpture after the decline of Buddhism around the 7th Century CE; the later temple architecture and sculpture belong to the Pallavan and Chalukyan art traditions. The Arama project seeks to revive the forgotten Amaravati School of Art
The Arama project is set in 279 acres of land on the left bank of the Krishna river at Vijayapuri, the ancient capital of the Ikkaku (Ikshvaku in Sanskrit) dynasty which ruled in the 2-3rd Century AD. At the centre of the project is a 21-meter high hollow Stupa to commemorate the ancient Amaravati/Sriparvata Stupas. The Stupa would be embellished with sculpture and would give a good idea of the ancient stupas. The core area around the Stupa is divided into eight sectors to celebrate the eight-fold path of the Buddha, with each sector commemorating an important aspect of our Buddhist heritage.
In the first of the eight sectors is Buddha charitha Vanam which would present the major events in the life of the Buddha. b) Mahabhinishkramanam or the Great Departure from home c) Sambodhi or Enlightenment d) Dharma chakra pravartana or Setting the Wheel of the Dhamma in motion e) As the visitors walk along an imaginatively designed pathway, they see these narrative sculptures in chronological order in right ambience and get a good idea of the life and mission of the Buddha.
Stupa Park
Buddhism was the first, perhaps the only early religion in an otherwise insular India that promoted a missionary zeal inspired by the famous exhortation of the Buddha to early converts to move out and propagate the Dhamma for the benefit of all. “bahujana hitaaya, bahujana sukhaaya, lokaanukampaaya, arthaya, hitaaya deva manussanam” As the Dhamma spread to other countries, its places of worship, the Stupas acquired different shapes. We have bubble-shaped ( budbudha) stupas of India, bell-shaped ( ghanta) stupas of Sri Lanka, pagoda-type stupas of Myanmar, tower-shaped stupas of China, mammoth multi- tiered monuments like Borobodur and many others. In the stupa park of the project, midsized representative stupas of different styles are created to scale to give an idea to the visitors, of the spread and variety of the stupa architecture.
Jataka/Bodhisatva Park
Jataka stories illustrate the several lives of Bodhisatva through which he practised the Dasa paramitas or ten perfections – Dana, Sheela, Virya, Kshanti, Nekkhama, Metta, Upekkha etc- that would finally make him a Buddha. There are 52 Jataka stories illustrated in relief sculpture on the stupas of the Telugu country. These jatakas have been identified, brought together and illustrated in relief sculpture in the Bodhisatva/Jataka park. Stone panels in relief sculpture are fixed along a pathway that winds through an appropriately landscaped garden so that a walk-through would take a visitor to all the Jataka panels.
Nagarjuna Park
In the Nagarjuna park, the unique place of Nagarjuna in the history of Buddhism would be brought alive by illustrating his life in relief sculpture set in a garden with appropriate sutras. This sector would also have a semi-open (open on all sides with a roof) hexagonal convention hall for1500 people for major conferences and cultural performances. This would be set in a wooded place and would be elegant without being ostentatious.
Masters’ Park
Another sector is devoted to the great masters of Buddhism that came from the Telugu country like Buddhaghosha, Bhava Viveka, Aryadeva, Dharma kirti, Dignagh etc. There would be free-standing or relief sculptures illustrating their lives and work. Important Buddhist inscriptions and the dharmalipi of Ashoka at Erragudi will be reproduced in rough sand-stone. All these exhibits would be placed in a time-line to explain the evolution of Buddhist thought in this part of the country.
Krishna Valley Park
In the 2nd century AD, there were several minor and a few major Buddhist and other establishments — bathing ghats, public performance areas along the Krishna river banks. Yet another sector would try to capture in simulated landscape set to scale the original river-front ambience to bring home to the visitors the cultural importance of the river. This sector would also have an open-air performance area in a modern adoption of the architecture of its 2nd century AD ancestor which is now a reconstructed monument near Anupu!
For the present, these developments would comprise the project; three other sectors would be left for future developments.
The Buddha spent much of his life in the shade of trees – he was born under a Sala tree, experienced first meditational absorption under a jambu tree, attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree and finally passed away in a Sala grove at Kusinagara. The eight sectors surrounding the Stupa would be imaginatively landscaped and planted with 28 species of trees mentioned in the Buddhist literature explaining their significance in Buddhism.
The Stupa
The Stupa which stands 21 meters tall at the centre of it all, is a towering monument recalling the ancient Buddhist stupas. Being a hollow stupa, it will house a comprehensive Buddhist museum, a gallery for Buddhist art and an auditorium for talks and meetings, which would also double as a theatre for interpretation films. The stupa itself is embellished with relief sculpture in stone — both narrative and ornamental — that would illustrate the life and ministry of the Buddha. mudras
Living Buddhist Community
The Arama project is also designed to create an international living Buddhist community. The land around the core of the Stupa – about 170 acres in area – is reserved for Buddhist establishments – monastic establishments, training centre for monks and laymen, meditation retreats etc of different countries. Vipassana International has already started its imaginatively designed meditation centre. Buddhist organisations of Sri Lanka and Tibet have already taken land for their retreats and monasteries. Each of them is given one or two hectares of land depending on the kind of institution they want to establish. When it is all done, Sriparvata Arama would be a show piece of our Buddhist heritage amidst a living Buddhist community.
(The writer is formerly Chairman and Managing Director, AP Tourism Development Corporation)
