shortest route maps Down the hill and 3km to the right is the small Siddheshwara Temple. The Bhadrakali Temple, featurin

Down the hill and 3km to the right is the small Siddheshwara Temple. The Bhadrakali Temple, featuring a stone statue of Kali seated with a weapon in each of her eight hands, is high on a hill between Hanamkonda and Warangal.

910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its vast archaeological and karmic wealth. But the state is packed with impressive ruins of its rich Buddhist history. Only a few of Andhra s 150 stupas, monasteries, caves and other sites have been excavated, turning up rare relics of the Buddha (usually pearl-like pieces of bone) with offerings such as golden flowers. Nagarjunakonda and Amaravathi were flourishing Buddhist complexes, and near Visakhapatnam were the incredibly peaceful shortest route maps sites of Thotlakonda, shortest route maps and Bavikonda and Sankaram, looking shortest route maps across seascapes and lush countryside. They speak of a time when Andhra Pradesh or Andhradesa was a hotbed of Buddhist activity, when monks came from around shortest route maps the world to learn from some of the tradition s most renowned teachers. Andhradesa s Buddhist culture, in which sangha (community of monks and nuns), laity and statespeople all took part, lasted around 1500 years from the 6th century BC. There s no historical evidence for it, but some even say that the Buddha shortest route maps himself visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely disciples of Bavari, an ascetic who lived on the banks of the Godavari shortest route maps River and sent his followers north to bring back the Buddha s teachings. But the dharma really took off in the 3rd century shortest route maps BC under Ashoka, who dispatched monks across his empire to teach and construct stupas enshrined with relics of the Buddha. shortest route maps (Being near these was thought to help progress on the path to enlightenment.) Succeeding Ashoka, the Satavahanas and then Ikshvakus were also supportive. At their capital at Amaravathi, the Satavahanas adorned shortest route maps Ashoka s modest stupa with elegant decoration. They built monasteries across shortest route maps the Krishna Valley and exported the dharma through their sophisticated maritime network. It was also during the Satavahana reign that Nagarjuna lived. Considered shortest route maps by many to be the progenitor of Mahayana Buddhism, the monk was equal parts logician, philosopher shortest route maps and meditator, and he wrote several ground-breaking works that shaped contemporary Buddhist thought. Other important monk-philosophers would emerge from the area in the following centuries, making Andhradesa a sort of Buddhist motherland of the South. 1 Sights Fort FORT (Indian/foreigner 5/100; h9am-6.30pm) Warangal s fort was a massive construction with three distinct circular strongholds surrounded by a moat. Four paths with decorative gateways, set according to the cardinal points, led to the Swayambhava, a huge Shiva temple. The gateways are still obvious, but most of the fort is in ruins. It s easily reached from Warangal by bus or autorickshaw ( 200 return). Admission includes entry to nearby Kush Mahal, a 16th century royal hall with artefacts on display.

Victoria Jubilee Museum MUSEUM (MG Rd; admission Indian/foreigner 20/100, camera 3; h10.30am-5pm Sat-Thu) The best part of this museum is the building itself, built in 1887 to honour Queen Victoria s coronation jubilee. In 1921 it hosted the Congress meeting