Phanigiri

The 2nd-century BCE to 4th-century CE Buddhist monastic site at Phanigiri in Suryapet district, Telangana, 150 kilometres from Hyderabad — one of the most important recently-excavated Buddhist sites in India, with major excavations by the Telangana Archaeology Department from 2003 revealing a stupa complex, a chaityagriha, and 23 monastic cells. The 2020-23 excavation uncovered a 2nd-century CE Mahachakkavattin stele (universal monarch relief) comparable to the Jaggayyapeta pieces, and a limestone-stucco plaque with a Buddha-and-Bodhisattva scene identified as among the earliest surviving Mahayana imagery in India. Phanigiri's chronological span from Hinayana (Theravada) through early Mahayana makes it a key site for the religious transition in Deccan Buddhism. ASI protection and Telangana state conservation since 2003.