Which of the following statements on the Amaravati Stupa and its relief sculpture is/are correct?
- 1.It was located in the lower Krishna valley.
- 2.In India, it was next only to the Sanchi Stupa in size.
- 3.The Amaravati school of sculpture made a lasting impact on the later South Indian sculpture, and its products were carried to Sri Lanka and South-east Asia.
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only
Amaravati, on the Krishna in coastal Andhra (the old Vengi region), had a great stupa (mahachaitya) whose lively relief slabs created a style that shaped later sculpture in the Deccan and the south and travelled overseas with Buddhism. It was not a smaller 'runner-up' to Sanchi, so statement 2 fails.
- ✓ 1. Amaravati lies on the Krishna in Andhra Pradesh, among the Vengi stupa sites such as Jaggayyapeta, Bhattiprolu and Nagarjunakonda; the Amaravati school of sculpture flourished in the lower valley of the Krishna and Godavari.
- ✗ 2. NCERT calls the Amaravati stupa one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built (Britannica gives a diameter of about 50 m), so it was not a smaller 'runner-up' to Sanchi.
- ✓ 3. NCERT notes works that show the influence of the Amaravati style, and Britannica records that the style spread to Sri Lanka (Anuradhapura) and to much of South-east Asia.
Remember · Amaravati stupa: Krishna valley, Andhra (Satavahana–Ikshvaku era); dynamic relief narratives; style spread to the Deccan, Sri Lanka and South-east Asia.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 4 “Vengi in Andhra Pradesh has many stupa sites like Jagayyapetta, Amaravati, Bhattiprolu, Nagarjunkonda, Goli, etc. Amaravati has a mahachaitya”
- NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 4 “They show the influence of the Amaravati style of sculptures of the third century C.E.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 4 “the structure at Amaravati was one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built.”
- Art of the Satavahanas, e-PG Pathshala module script (CEC, UGC, nic.in), Fine Arts ↗ “Amaravati School of art, a thoroughly native school of sculpture, flourished in the lower valley of Krishna and Godavari”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Amaravati sculpture ↗ · reference work “The style also spread to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), as seen at Anurādhapura, and to much of Southeast Asia .”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·