Located at a distance of 150 kms from Hyderabad, Nagarjunasagar is an important irrigation dam on river Krishna. This is the tallest and biggest masonry dam in the world and is about 150 Km away from the metropolitan city of Hyderabad. It creates the third largest man-made lake in the world. Apart from this, some remains of the Buddhist civilization dating back to the 3rd century A.D, are seen on an island called Nagarjunakonda located in a man-made lake on the other side of the river Krishna. These relics of Buddhist civlization found during excavation unveiled the traces of Mahachaitya, the most sacred of the stupas. An inscription in Brahmi characters states that the sacred relics of Lord Buddha lie within the Mahachaitya.

Similar excavations of the surroundings have brought to light the remains of a university, vihara and monasteries. This University was flourished under Acharya Nagarjuna, the great Buddhist saint, scholar and philosopher who migrated to Nagarjunakonda from Amaravati to spread the message of the Buddha. An "Ashwamedha" sacrifice, altar of tools from Paleolithic and Neolithic times were also found here. The remains of a Buddhist University were found during an excavation while constructing the Nagarjuna Sagar dam.