Previous Year Question
In which one of the following regions was Dhanyakataka, which flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas, located?
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Dhanyakataka was located in the ancient Andhra region. It is generally associated with the present-day Amaravati–Dharanikota area in the Krishna River valley of Andhra Pradesh. The Archaeological Survey of India has also described the Buddhist Mahachaitya at Amaravati as the Mahachaitya of Dhanyakataka.
The Buddhist archaeological site of Amaravati lies on the Krishna River, and evidence indicates the presence of a Buddhist community there from at least the third century BCE. It subsequently developed into an important centre of Buddhist worship and learning.
The Mahasanghika connection is the key to this question. Oxford Academic notes that from around the second century CE, the Krishna River valley of Andhra became a major centre of different Mahasanghika sub-schools.
Inscriptions from Dhanyakataka and its neighbourhood refer to groups such as the Purvasailas and Aparasailas, which are associated with branches of the Mahasanghika tradition. Epigraphic and literary studies therefore connect Buddhist establishments at Dhanyakataka with the Mahasanghikas and their offshoots.
The Amaravati Mahachaitya was also one of the major Buddhist monuments of southern India, and the region became renowned for the sculptural tradition conventionally known as the Amaravati School of Art.
Therefore:
Dhanyakataka → Krishna Valley → Andhra → Major Buddhist Centre