[1][6] Constructed during the Satavahana dynasty, the Chandavaram Buddhist site houses a double terraced main stupa built on an elevated platform situated on a hilltop.

It has carved panels that portray the Dharmachakra (the wheel of Dharma, one of the Ashtamangala of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism).

Since 1964, the Chandavaram Buddhist site has been excavated four times, and fifteen regular-sized and approximately one hundred small stupas have been discovered.

Made out of granite, the statue was carved by 200 sculptors in two years and on completion it weighed 440 tonnes with an overall height of 17 metres (56 ft).

[1][7][8] One MahaStupa, fifteen regular-sized and approximately one hundred small Stupas have been discovered in the Chandavaram Buddhist site.

Apart from the Maha Chaitya, Silamandapa, Vihara and the Votive Stupas, more than two dozen "Buddhist slabs" (decorated with designs and inscriptions) have also been discovered.

In Oct 2000, two 9 feet (2.7 m) long panels, with engravings of the Bodhi tree and of the Chaitra were uprooted from a cement platform and stolen from the site's museum.