Explores the importance of Buddhism as it developed in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra (modern-day Andhra Pradesh) and its influence.

Offering perspectives from a distinguished group of international scholars, this book provides a multidisciplinary inquiry into the various forms of Buddhism that thrived during the early centuries of the common era in the Krishna River Valley areas of what is now the modern state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The contributors explore not only the factors that led to the rise of Buddhist communities, but also the significance of these early Buddhist communities in the unfolding of the greater history of Buddhism throughout the Asian world.

Sree Padma Holt's profile page

A.W. Barber's profile page

Sree Padma Holt is Administrative Director of the ISLE Program at Bowdoin College. She is the author of Costume, Coiffure, and Ornaments in the Temple Sculpture of Northern Andhra. A. W. Barber is Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Calgary. He is the editor of Tibetan Tripitaka, Taipei Edition.

"?the volume is a first serious attempt to understand a longer history of Andhran Buddhism in [a] comprehensive and interdisciplinary manner. It is certainly a major contribution to the further development of this important but less-noticed subject." — International Journal of Hindu Studies

"?a welcome addition to the growing body of research that attempts to better understand the history of Indian Buddhism through a multidisciplinary approach — a valuable resource for both the general reader and the specialist scholar interested in one of the various methodologies or historical periods addressed in individual chapters." — Religion

"This book will fill in scholarly lacunae where little has been published on the history of Buddhist communities in Andhra and their influence on historical and contemporary developments in this tradition, including in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. It forms a well-crafted whole and offers valuable insights into this neglected and understudied region." — Juliane Schober, editor of Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia