Assembly Hall

Buddhist Monuments Area, Anupu

As a center for Buddhist learning and scholarship, Nagarjunakonda represented a combination, in modern terms, of university and monastery. Indeed, it is not too far-fetched to think of individual viharas as the "colleges" of the university, each vihara being endowed by lay donors and housing a distinctive community of students and scholars. For example, the students in Simha Vihara came mostly from Sri Lanka.

The vihara seen here is one of several that was relocated to Anupu from Nagarjunakonda. It is much like Simha Vihara on Nagarjunakonda Island; they have the same kinds of features, including a pillared hall like this one, that was used for community assemblies (compare: the pillared hall at Simha Vihara).