suncoast parkway map 910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its va

TAXI For prepaid taxis, pay at the counter inside the terminal, then get your cab at the PTC. Meru (%44224422) and Easy (%43434343) radio taxis queue up outside arrivals and charge 15 per kilometre, 18.75 at night. The trip to Abids or Banjara Hills shouldn t exceed 450. Going to the airport, try Yellow Taxi (%44004400).

Golconda Fort FORT (off Map p894; Indian/foreigner 5/100; h9am5pm) Although suncoast parkway map most of this 16th-century fortress dates from the time of the Qutb Shah kings, its origins as a mud fort have been traced to the earlier reigns of the Yadavas and Kakatiyas.

910 STATE OF GOOD KARMA In its typically understated way, Andhra Pradesh doesn t make much of its vast archaeological and karmic wealth. suncoast parkway map 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 suncoast parkway map of the Buddha (usually pearl-like pieces of bone) with offerings such as golden flowers. Nagarjunakonda and Amaravathi were flourishing Buddhist complexes, suncoast parkway map and near Visakhapatnam were the incredibly peaceful sites of Thotlakonda, and Bavikonda and Sankaram, looking across seascapes and lush countryside. They speak of a time when Andhra Pradesh or Andhradesa was a hotbed of Buddhist suncoast parkway map activity, when monks came from around the world to learn from some of the tradition s most renowned teachers. suncoast parkway map Andhradesa s Buddhist suncoast parkway map 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 himself visited the area. Andhradesa s first practitioners were likely disciples of Bavari, an ascetic who lived on the banks of the Godavari River and sent his followers north to bring back the Buddha s teachings. But the dharma really took off in the 3rd century BC under Ashoka, who dispatched monks across his empire to teach and construct stupas suncoast parkway map enshrined with relics of the Buddha. (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 Ashoka s modest stupa with elegant decoration. suncoast parkway map They built monasteries across the Krishna Valley and exported the dharma through their sophisticated maritime network. It was also during the Satavahana reign that Nagarjuna lived. Considered suncoast parkway map by many to be the progenitor of Mahayana Buddhism, the monk was equal parts logician, philosopher 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.