Previous Year Question

The Amaravati Mahastupa, situated near the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh, was a major centre of Buddhist architecture. One of its distinctive architectural features was the presence of ayaka platforms and ayaka pillars.

At each of the four cardinal directions of the circular drum of the stupa, a rectangular ayaka platform projected outwards. Each platform carried five ayaka pillars. Thus, the completed stupa was designed to have a total of 20 ayaka pillars.

These sets of five pillars are commonly interpreted symbolically in relation to five major events in the life of the Buddha—birth, Great Departure, enlightenment, first sermon and Mahaparinirvana.

Sculptures and representations of stupas recovered from Amaravati also depict these ayaka pillars. Archaeological Survey material describing Amaravati explicitly records projections on the drum at the four cardinal directions, with five ayaka pillars on each projection.

However, an important archaeological qualification is necessary here. Ayaka platforms and ayaka pillars were not confined to Amaravati. The Great Stupa at Nagarjunakonda also possessed ayaka platforms at the four cardinal points, each supporting five ayaka pillars. Archaeological Survey accounts of Nagarjunakonda explicitly record this feature and themselves compare it with Amaravati.