Bojjanakonda / Sankaram

The 4th-6th century Buddhist rock-cut complex at Sankaram (Bojjannakonda and Lingalakonda) in Anakapalli district, Andhra Pradesh, 42 kilometres from Visakhapatnam — one of the finest surviving Mahayana rock-cut Buddhist sites of coastal Andhra. The Bojjannakonda hill holds a two-storey rock-cut vihara, 11 Mahayana Buddha figures in the main cell, three rock-cut stupas and a cave shrine with a seated Buddha. The Lingalakonda hill holds about 50 monolithic rock-cut stupas scattered across the slope. The site is thought to have been active during the Vishnukundin and Eastern Chalukya patronage of Andhra Buddhism (4th-6th century). ASI protection since 1920. The nearby Thotlakonda and Bavikonda Buddhist complexes complete the Vishakhapatnam Buddhist monastic triangle.