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Nagarjunasagar

Nagarjuna Sagar
Nagarjunasagar,
a massive irrigation project on the River Krishna, about 150 Km from
Hyderabad, has a rich and interesting past. It was a valley in the
Nallamala range of the Eastern Ghats with civilizations dating back to
thousand of years. recorded history, however, assigns the first signs to
the later Satavahanas and subsequently the Ilkshvakus in the third
century.
The Sriparvata and Vijaypuri of yore were really temples where the famous
savant and Bhuddist disciple Archarya Nagarjuna preached the message of
the Buddha.
The historic location takes its name from the Buddhist saint and scholar
Acharya Nagarjuna who is said to have set up a centre of learning here.
Today, Nagarjuna Sagar is home to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam - the world's
tallest masonry dam that irrigates over 10 lakh acres of land.
It was during the building of the dam that the ruins of an ancient
Buddhist civilisation were excavated here. Some of the relics unearthed
have been carefully preserved on a picturesque island called
Nagarjuna Konda, located in the centre of a man-made lake. The vestiges of
a sacred Buddhist
stupa, vihara, monastries, a university and a sacrificial altar have been
carefully reconstructed at Anupu on the east bank of the reservoir
Anupa: To prevent
submersion of the outstanding structures in the valley, a rare feat of
reconstruction of the remains was taken up. Anupu, 4 Km from the dam site,
was chosen for relocation of a Bhuddist University.
Nagaujunakonda:
As the area was threatened with submergence by the reservoir, an
Archaeological Survey team made determined efforts to virtually transplant
nine monuments from the valley onto Nagarjunakonda.
The hill forms an island in the middle of the reservoir. A museum at
Nagarjunakonda contains Buddhadatu or Buddist relics to virtually
transplant nine monuments from the valley onto Nagarjunakonda.
Tiger sanctuary: the largest wildlife sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh
lies between Nagarjunasagar and upstream Srisailam. Spread over 3,500
sq.kms, it encompasses thickly wooded hills in five districts- Nalgonda,
Kurnool, Mahboobnagar, Guntur and Prakasam.
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