UPSC Prelims 2023 Q41: Dhanyakataka and the Mahasanghikas — Explained
In which one of the following regions was Dhanyakataka, which flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas, located?
- Andhra
- Gandhara
- Kalinga
- Magadha
Answer: (a) Andhra
Statement-wise explanation
- a: correct — Dhanyakataka (also written Dhanyakata) is today's Dharanikota, beside Amaravati on the right bank of the Krishna river in coastal Andhra Pradesh. It was a royal city of the Satavahanas, who are called 'Andhras' in the Puranas. The site holds the Amaravati Mahachaitya, which was begun around the 3rd–2nd century BCE and enlarged up to about the 3rd century CE. In the 7th century, Xuanzang described two monasteries near the city, Purvashaila (east hill) and Aparashaila (west hill). They gave their names to two Mahasanghika sub-schools of Andhra.
- b: incorrect — Gandhara is the north-west of the subcontinent: the Peshawar valley and Taxila, in today's Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Its Buddhist golden age came under the Kushanas, and it is known for the Greco-Roman style of Gandhara sculpture. It is far from the Krishna valley, where Dhanyakataka lay.
- c: incorrect — Kalinga is coastal Odisha. It is linked with Ashoka's Kalinga war (c. 261 BCE), the rock edicts at Dhauli and Jaugada, and the Jain king Kharavela of the Hathigumpha inscription. Kalinga lay north of the Godavari, so the Krishna-valley city of Dhanyakataka was not part of it.
- d: incorrect — Magadha is south Bihar. Its centres were Rajagriha, where the First Buddhist Council met, and Pataliputra; Nalanda grew up there later. The Mahasanghika split came at the Second Council at Vaishali in north Bihar, but the Mahasanghikas' great southern centre, Dhanyakataka, was in the Krishna delta, not in Magadha.
How to eliminate
You cannot get this from the wording alone. There are no absolute words, and every option names a real Buddhist region. You can still narrow it down. 'Dhanyakataka' sounds like a southern place name: 'kataka' or 'kadaka' means a royal camp or capital, as in Cuttack. That removes Gandhara in the far north-west. 'Mahasanghika' is a second clue. After the split at the Second Council, the Mahasanghika sub-schools (Chaitikas, Purvashailas, Aparashailas) became strongest in the Andhra country around Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda. Magadha was the Buddha's home ground, not a Mahasanghika stronghold. Kalinga is better known for Ashoka's war and for Kharavela, who was Jain. The fact to remember: Dhanyakataka = Dharanikota/Amaravati on the Krishna, a Satavahana capital in Andhra.
Know more
Buddhism in the Andhra country (Krishna–Godavari delta)
The first split in the sangha came at the Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali, about a century after the Buddha's death. The monks divided into the Sthaviravadins (elders) and the Mahasanghikas (the 'great community'). The Mahasanghikas later spread south. Their sub-schools, the Chaitikas (Chaityakas), Purvashailas and Aparashailas, became strongest in Andhra. That is why they are often called the Andhakas.
The Andhra sites had several patrons. The Satavahanas (Dhanyakataka was one of their capitals) and later the Ikshvakus (capital Vijayapuri, near Nagarjunakonda) were royal patrons. Merchants, guild members and lay women also funded stupas, as their donative inscriptions show. Andhra tradition also links Acharya Nagarjuna, the founder of Madhyamaka philosophy, with this region.
| Site | District / river | Key feature |
|---|---|---|
| Amaravati (Dhanyakataka) | Krishna | Mahachaitya; limestone reliefs of the Amaravati school |
| Nagarjunakonda | Krishna (Palnadu) | Ikshvaku-period monasteries; site moved when the Nagarjuna Sagar dam was built |
| Bhattiprolu | Krishna delta | Relic-casket inscriptions in an early southern Brahmi script |
| Ghantasala, Jaggayyapeta | Krishna | Stupas linked to sea trade |
| Salihundam, Thotlakonda, Bavikonda | North coastal Andhra | Port-linked monasteries |
Art. The Amaravati school is one of three classic schools of early Indian sculpture, with Gandhara and Mathura. It used pale greenish-white Palnad limestone and showed crowded, lively narrative scenes from the Jatakas and the Buddha's life. In the early panels the Buddha is shown by symbols such as a throne, footprints or a stupa. Later panels show him in human form.
Remember: Gandhara = north-west, Kushana period, schist and stucco. Mathura = Yamuna valley, red sandstone. Amaravati = Krishna valley, Satavahana–Ikshvaku period, white limestone.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Sthaviravada and Mahasanghika: The question names the Mahasanghikas. Knowing they are one half of the first sangha split helps you place their main centre.
- Satavahana dynasty: Old texts call the Satavahanas 'Andhras', and Dhanyakataka was one of their royal cities on the Krishna.
- Amaravati school of art: The Amaravati school of sculpture grew up at the very stupa site the question describes, in the lower Krishna valley.
- Second Buddhist council: The Second Council at Vaishali is where the Mahasanghikas first broke away, which explains the sect named in the question.
- Ikshvakus of Andhra: The Ikshvakus carried on patronage of Mahasanghika monasteries in the same Krishna valley after the Satavahanas.
- Gandhara school of art: Gandhara is one of the options. Its north-western location and Kushana-period art set it apart from Krishna-valley sites.