Bhattiprolu, Guntur Overview

Located in the Guntur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Bhattiprolu is a small village which is mainly known for its Buddhist stupa that is a centrally protected monument of national importance.

The village was an ancient Buddhist town that has a rich and diverse history. Nowadays, it is not only visited by Buddhist monks and devotees but also by regular tourists who visit here to look at the ruins of the village and to admire the beauty of the magnanimous Buddhist Stupa.

History of Bhattiprolu

Originally known as Pratipalapura, Bhattiprolu was ancient Buddhist town that used to flourish during the rule of the Sala Dynasty. As per the records, King Kuberaka used to rule this town around 230 BC. The famous Buddhist Stupa is known to have been built around 2nd and 3rd century BC.

Buddhist Stupa in Bhattiprolu

The main USP of the village of Bhattiprolu is the magnificent Buddhist stupa that was found in the excavations conducted here between 1870 and 1892. Boasting of a diameter of 40 m, and an additional basement of 2.4 m, the great stupa is also called the Mahachaitya. The Mahachaitya also has a large halls with several pillars, some ruined votive stupas which have several stupas of Lord Buddha. Besides this, there were also some stone receptacles found- which contained a copper vessel, silver casket and golden casket, with enclosed beads of bone and crystal etc.

Another important thing found here in Bhattiprolu during the excavations is the Brahmi script. This script was found written on an olden urn with the relics of Buddha. This script has been named as the Bhattiprolu Alphabet and experts believe that the Telugu and Kannada script was inspired by the same.