Amaravati, a small village on the banks of the Krishna 30km west of Vijayawada, is the site of a Buddhist settlement, formerly known as Chintapalli, where a stupa larger than those at Sanchi was erected over relics of the Buddha in the third century BC, during the reign of Ashoka. It was originally surrounded by grey stone railings with gateway at each of the cardinal points, one of which has been reconstructed in an open courtyard. Its decoration, meticulously carved and perfectly preserved, shows the themes represented on all such Buddhist monuments: the Buddha's birth, renunciation and life as an emaciated ascetic, enlightenment under the bodhi tree, his first sermon in the Deer Park, and parinirvana, or death. Several foundation stones of monastic quarters remain on the site.

Exhibits at the small but fascinating museum range in date from the third century BC to the twelfth century AD. They include statues of the Buddha, with lotus symbols on his feet, a head of tightly curled hair, and long ear lobes, all traditional indications of an enlightened teacher. Earlier stone carvings represent the Buddha through such symbols as the chakra (wheel of Dharma). A throne, a stupa, a flaming pillar or a bodhi tree, all being worshipped. The lotus motif, a central symbol in early Buddhism, is connected with a dream the Buddha's mother had shortly after conception, and has always been a Buddhism symbol of essential purity: it appears repeatedly on railings and pillars. Later sculptures include limestone statues of the goddess Tara and bodhisattva padmapani, both installed at the site in medieval times when the community had adopted Mahayana teachings in place of the earlier Hinayana doctrines. What you see here are some of the finer pieces excavated from the site - other remains have been taken to the Madras Government Museum and the British Museum in London.