Ghantasala (town)
Encyclopedia
Ghantasala is a town and Mandal headquarters in Krishna district
Krishna district
Krishna District is a district of India's Andhra Pradesh state. It is named after the Krishna River, the third longest river that flows within India, flows through the district and joins Bay of Bengal here in this district. It has a population of 4,529,009 of which 32.08% is urban as of...

 of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is 21 km west of Machilipatnam
Machilipatnam
Machilipatnam is a city and a special grade municipality in the Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located south east of state capital, Hyderabad.-History:...

 and 11 km east of river krishna.The largest city of this district, Vijaywada, is around 60 km away. It is a rare and reputed center for Buddhist sculptures. Boswell of the East India Company first reported Ghantasala as a historical site in 1870-71. Alexander Rea excavated the stupa at Ghantasala, which had a circumference of 112 feet and a height of 23 feet. The remains of an important Buddhist stupa and sculptural slabs were found in 1919-20.

Ghantasala was once a flourishing town of Indo-Roman trade as well as an important religious centre. The Buddhist relics and the Hindu structures at the place reveal its past glory. Carved limestone columns belonging to pillared halls associated with Buddhist monastic establishments (2-3rd centuries BC ) have been discovered. The ruined Maha Chaitya or stupa that was excavated here is of a unique design. A cube of solid bricks is set in the centre, inscribed with 12 constellations of the zodiac.

The chaityas had a texture and size unique to the Satavahana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...

 times and had separate dwelling places for Buddhist monks in the complex. All walls were found to have beautiful plastering with superfine lime mortar. A three-dimensional limestone carved structure, embellished on the dome portion of the stupa had two garland bearers, a dhamma chakra and a miniature stupa on a throne in the middle. Objects such as a four-by-three-feet 'Purna Kalasa' containing lotus flowers, indicating the birth of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

 were also discovered. The stupa had concentric inner wheels radiating towards a central chamber.

Some of the carved slabs have found their way to museums in Paris and London.

Now Ghantasala has its own museum which contains some of the important Buddhist stupa and sculptural slabs found in recent years. The Andhra Pradesh Government recognizes this village as one of the tourist centres.

Click here to view gallery http://www.managhantasala.net/Buddgallery.html

There is a temple for Lord shiva named as JALADHEESWARA SWAMY ( బాల పార్వతి సమేత జలదీశ్వర స్వామి )temple which was built by devathas and is called as chinna kasi. In this temple lord Shiva and goddess Parvathi are placed on the same peetham.

To know more about this village see http://www.managhantasala.net

Quick Getaways

Machilipatnam:
Known as Brundavanapuram by the local people, the city of Machilipatnam is extremely important from historical point of view. The city is known for its long serene beaches which attracts tourists to spend some quiet moments there. The city is also famous for Kalamkari textiles and paintings created using vegetable dyes, carpet-weaving industry and production of scientific instruments.

Adurru:
Adurru is a part of the East Godavari district and is known for a mahastupa which measures
around 17 feet in diameter. Excavation carried out here have brought to surface shreds
of jars, troughs, dishes and bowls of red and kaolin. Adurru is 17 km away from Machilipatnam.

Gudivada:
A census town and a mandal headquarters, Gudivada forms the meeting point of Vijayawada-
Machilipatnam-Bhimavaram-Nuzvid in the Krishna district. Archaeological excavations of the area
have revealed remains of Buddhist and Jain relics. There are around 99 low mounds with remnants
of Buddhist stupas, primary amongst them is a raised cylindrical mound with a semi spherical top.
The Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, also paid a visit to Gudivada to deliver a public address
on December 17, 1933.

To know the location in google map,
click here.

Getting Here

By Air

Vijaywada has an airport located some 20 km away at Gannavaram. Flights from here connect Vijaywada to both Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. The closest major airport is in Hyderabad.

By Roadways

Machilipatnam is connected by road and rail from Vijaywada. From Machilipatnam, buses as well as private transport are available to transfer you to Ghantasala. Buses and private transport are also available from Challapalle in Krishna district.

Village Administration

Sarpanch Andey Jagadeesh
Z.P Chair Person K. Nageswara rao
MLA A.Brahmaniah

Ghantasala Hand-loom

From years ago ghantasla hand-loom worker are creating wonders with there skills. At present only 200 people were working in hand-loom field, as the years passing the number of workers also decreasing in this filed.

A good range of Hand-loom sarees starts from INR 400. Now with the help of Hand-loom society these sales and manufacturing is carried away. People around the village come to ghantasala and buy sarees here.

Banks in Ghantasala

  • Andhra Bank
    Andhra Bank
    Andhra Bank was registered on 20 November 1923 and commenced business on 28 November 1923 with a paid up capital of Rs 1.00 lakh and an authorised capital of Rs 10.00 lakhs. The Bank crossed many milestones and the Bank's Total Business as on 30.06.2008 stood at Rs.83,256 Crores with a Clientele...

  • State Bank Of India
    State Bank of India
    The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...

  • Indian Bank
    Indian Bank
    Indian Bank is a major Indian Commercial Bank headquartered in Chennai , India. It has 22,000 employees, 1923 branches and is one of the big public sector banks of India. It has overseas branches in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and 229 correspondent banks in 69 countries...

  • Jaladeeswara Cooperative Bank

Villages in Ghantasala Mandal

The following is the list of villages in this Mandal.

  • Atchempalem
  • Birudugadda
  • Bollapadu
  • Chilakalapudi
  • China kallepalle
    China kallepalle
    Chinakalle palle is a village in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 30 km from Machilipatnam, the district head quarters, and nearly 70 km away from Vijayawada. It has a population of around 1000. It has one school, Panchayat Bhavan. The village is mainly dependent on farming....

  • Chitturpu
  • Chitturu
  • Daliparru
  • Devarakota
    Devarakota
    Devarakota is a village in the Ghantasala Mandal of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, India. Most of the people in Devarakota depend on farming and mainly cultivate paddy and sugarcane. Local landmarks in the village include Ramulavari Gudi, the Ganganamma Temple , and the Sai Baba Mandiram....

  • Elikala kuduru
  • Endakuduru
  • Ghantasala
  • Kodali
  • Kothapalle
    Kothapalle
    Kothapalli is a village and a Gampalagudem Mandal in Krishna in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India....

  • Lankapalle
  • Mallampalle
  • Pushadam
  • Srikakulam
    Srikakulam village
    Srikakulam is a Village located in Ghantasala Mandal in diviseema region of Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh.This place is known for the Srikakulandhra Vishnu temple built in the honor of a king named Andhra Vishnu who reigned before Satavahanas...

  • Tadepalle
    Tadepalle
    Tadepalle or Tadepalli may refer to :*Tadepalle, Krishna district: A village in Krishna district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.*Tadepalle, Guntur district: A village in Guntur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India....

  • Teluguraopalem
  • V.Rudravaram
  • Vemulapalle
  • Gotakham
  • Ghantasala palem
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