Ahead of Buddha Purnima on May 16, Buddhavanam, a Buddhist heritage theme park developed by the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation at Nagarjunasagar in Nalgonda district, is all set to be inaugurated on Saturday.
Minister for IT, Industries and Municipal Administration K.T. Rama Rao along with chairman of the Telangana State Legislative Council G. Sukender Reddy, Ministers G. Jagadish Reddy and V. Srinivas Goud will inaugurate the theme park, developed in an area of 274 acres on the left bank of Krishna river.
The project was executed with financial assistance from both the Central and State governments. The theme park was developed to attract local as well as foreign tourists, particularly those coming from South-East Asian countries.
According to the project officials, it is divided into eight segments with an elegant entrance plaza – ‘Buddhacharitavanam, Jatakavanam (Bodhisattva Park), Dhyanavanam (Meditation Park), Stupavanam, Mahastupa’, and Buddhist education centres such as monasteries, educational institutions, Buddhist art and craft village, and budget hotels and resorts, auditoriums, a convention centre and wellness centres such as meditation centre, and traditional Buddhist medical centre.
It is going to be the first theme park in the country having many thematic segments depicting major events from the life of Gautama Buddha and his previous birth stories and miniature stupas. The State Department of Archaeology and Museums has established a Buddhist Heritage Museum on the ground floor of the Maha Stupa.
The Government of Sri Lanka has donated the replica of Avukana Buddha statue (27 feet height) and Dhamma Bell under Indo-Sri Lankan Cultural Exchange programme. The Sri Lankan Government has also evinced interest in building ‘Simhala Vihara’ complex on the premises of the Buddhavanam. The replica of Maha Stupa (Amaravathi style) with sculptural embellishments is going to be the main attraction of the theme park.
Virtual sky view
The Maha Stupa, the main attraction of the Buddhavanam project, with a width of 42 metres and 21 metres in height is embellished with sculpture panels of Buddhist themes on its drum and dome portions all around.
Inside the stupa, the ceiling is decorated with lotus petals against a sky background with 25-feet Panchadhyani Buddhas in seated postures on all four sides. The lotus petals and sky panels are engineered and manufactured with German technology.
