A Partially submerged hill of the Nallamal Range, Nagarjunakonda is located close to the right bank of the Krishna. It is named after the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, who is said to have lived here and propounded his doctrine of sunyavada.Nagarjunakonda has some original unmarked remains, a few relocated monuments from the flooded valley, an amphi Theatre and a museum containing sculptures and inscriptions ranging from more than two millennia to 200 years in age.The oldest reconstructed monuments here are the megaliths dating back to the 2nd century BCE. The megaliths, now a dug-up pit encircled by stones, mark burial spots. The 21 megaliths discovered skeletons, shards of bones and funerary items such as black and red ware and iron artefacts.There is a mahachaitya with a dated inscription, which is the earliest monument at the site. It came up before the advent of the Ikshvaku Dynasty, but was re-embellished by an Ikshvaku king in the 2nd Century CE, with financial aid from the subjects. Interestingly, 90 per cent of the donors were women.