united states map blank printable # # # # # # # # # f SR NAGAR AMEERPET BANJARA HILLS SOMAJIGUDA MASAB TANK SAIFABAD Hussain Sagar Ban

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 united states map blank printable 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 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 activity, when monks came from around 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 united states map blank printable around united states map blank printable 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 united states map blank printable to teach and construct stupas 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. 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 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 united states map blank printable 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.

# # # # # # # # # f SR NAGAR AMEERPET BANJARA HILLS SOMAJIGUDA MASAB TANK SAIFABAD Hussain Sagar Banjara Lake KBR Park Jalagam Vengala Rao Park Chacha Nehru Park Ameerpet Rd Rd No 3 Panjagutta Rd Lakdi-ka-pul Rd Mahavir Marg RdNo 1 Rd No 2 Greenlands Rd Rd No 14 YellareddygudaRd RdNo 5 Rd No 13 Rd No 7 Rd No 10 AmeerpetRd Rd No 12 Balkampet Rd YousufgudaMain Rd Srinagar Colony Rd Necklace Rd Necklace Rd Train Station Khairatabad Train Station Begumpet Train Station Lakdikapul Train Station 20 19 18 12 14 5 10 6 9 8 15 17 2 13 11 1 16 7 3 4 Care Hospital 4

In 1724 the Hyderabad viceroy, Asaf Jah, took advantage of waning Mughal power and declared Hyderabad an independent state with himself as leader. The dynasty of the nizams of Hyderabad began, and the traditions of Islam flourished. Hyderabad became a focus for the arts, culture and learning, and the centre of Islamic India. Its abundance of rare gems and minerals the world-famous Kohinoor diamond is from here furnished the nizams with enormous wealth. united states map blank printable (William Dalrymple s White Mughals is a fascinating portrait of the city at this time.)