Andhra Pradesh - Guntur   

Sitting Buddha, standing tall

Ramesh Susarla

PIECE OF ART: The 125-foot tall Dhyana Buddha statue at Amaravathi in Guntur district

GUNTUR: India's tallest Buddha statue being sculptured at Amaravathi in Guntur district is nearing completion.

The 125-foot-tall statue in Dhyana Buddha posture is visible even from Vijayawada-Hyderabad Highway.

The Buddha himself, in sitting posture, is 98-foot-tall.

A Government officer, -- Guntur Deputy Director of Social Welfare R. Mallikarjuna Rao, conceived the Rs.1.7-crore project in 2003.

The works began in January 2004 on a five-acre site.

It is a fusion of 50 types of Buddhist sculptures and statues from 145 major heritage sites all over India.

He has taken the essence of Buddhist teachings found in 24 chapters and 424 stanzas to create 200 panels in the main hall `Dhyana Mandiram'.

Recreating Mahastupa

Every panel of the Amaravathi Mahastupa (constructed over 500 years), which are in various museums in London, Chennai, New Delhi, and Kolkata, have been recreated here so that visitors will get a feel of the real magnitude and intricacy of the Amaravathi school of sculpture.

"The 27-metre-high Mahastupa, when it was intact, used to function as a lighthouse for shipscoming from the sea through the Krishna river. So we decided to build this statue sufficiently tall so that it is visible from the National Highway symbolically explaining the greatness of the monument of yore," Mr. Mallikarjuna Rao said.

"It is difficult to work on the cement structure due to heat, but we propose to throw open the monument to the public by October," he said. "People already keep flocking to the area to watch the half-finished structure."

The number of visitors in last year was around 5 lakh, including Dalai Lama.

Other facilities

All around the boundary wall there will be 300 small Dhyana Buddha statues facing the main statue.

The complex also houses a seminar hall and 20 luxury suites for international Buddhist tourists, apart from an International Buddhist Study Centre.

This is considered a holy place as a relic of Lord Buddha found in the Mahastupa is kept here.

Eight 20-foot Ashoka pillar replicas, are the main attraction all around the statue.

Different dome structures found at Dhoulagiri, Amaravathi, sculptures of Ajantha and Ellora, Guntupalli have been constructed over the eight entrances to the main hall.

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