Very large Rock-cut Buddha Cave has been discovered recently at Dhanamkonda hill in Mogalrajapuram of Vijayawada. It could supposedly be dated nearly to 1st century Before Christ. The finding was done by an Archeologist named Dr. E Sivanagi Reddy, who is the CEO of the Cultural Centre of Vijayawada and Amaravati (CCVA) on Sunday. It is a part of the Awareness Campaign named ‘Preserve Heritage and Posterity’ which is launched by CCVA. Reddy is a specialized Buddhist Archeologist.
Dr. Reddy with Mr. Subhakar Medhasani, who is a well known Buddhist heritage activist and president of Antra Pradesh Society for Buddhist Heritage put in efforts in identifying the cave. It is cut into the hill itself with a height of 200 feet from the Ground level. The dimensions of the cave are like 15 feet in length, 16 feet in height and 8 feet in depth.
He observed that the rock-cut cave is chopped up into two stories. The ground floor was used as a retreat from Rain for the Buddhist monks. It is originally called Varshaavasaa. While the top floor was designed by carving a Stupa Motif (A Buddhist floral design with a dome). Its measurement was reported as 5 feet x 5 feet.
The new discovery is accessible through a ramp which could also be called steps. This entrance is opposite to Boyapati Madhavarao Street in Mogalrajpuram in the city. Yet the cave and the stupa is without any kind of fancy decoration. This makes it strikingly similar to the one located at Bojjannakonda (Sankaran) near Anakapalli in Visakhapatnam district. That one was also chiseled up during the time of Satavahana, Said Reddy.
Theravada monks used it as a retreat during the four months of the rainy season. It is believed to belong to them. Due to the historical importance of the Buddhist caves, Dr. Reddy and Subhakar Medasani requested the Andra Pradesh Tourism Authority to add it on the Vijayawada Buddhist line.