Guntur district
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- This is an article about Guntur District; see also Guntur (disambiguation).
Guntur is a district in Andhra Pradesh state of southern India. Guntur City is the administrative center of Guntur District. One of the largest universities of India, Acharya Nagarjuna University, is located in the city of Guntur.
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[edit] Guntur district
Guntur district covers an area of 11,391 km²., and has a population of 4,465,144 of which 28.80% is urban as of 2001. [1] The Krishna River forms the northeastern and eastern boundary of the district, separating Guntur District from Krishna District. The district is bounded on the southeast by the Bay of Bengal, on the south by Prakasam District, on the west by Mahbubnagar District, and on the northwest by Nalgonda District.
Paddy, tobacco, cotton and chillies are the main agricultural products cultivated in the district.
Places of historical importance in Guntur District are Amaravathi, Bhattiprolu, the Undavalli caves and the archeological museum in Guntur.
[edit] History
Guntur District is home to the second oldest evidence of humans in India, in the form of Palaeolithic (old stone age) implements. Ancient history can be traced from the time of Sala kings who ruled during the 5th century BCE.
Guntur district roughly straddles the ancient Kammanadu / Kammakaratham. It is probable that the region in the Krishna river valley, where Buddhism prevailed, got the name from Theravada Buddhist concept of Kamma (Pali) or Karma (Sanskrit). This region was under the control of Satavahanas, Ikshvakus, Pallavas, Eastern Chalukyas and Telugu Cholas. Inscriptions mentioning Kammanadu are available since 3rd century A.D. The first records of the word Kammakaratham appeared in the Jaggayyapeta inscription of Ikshvaku King Madhariputra Purushadatta (3rd century A.D.). The Kammarashtram extended from the Krishna River to Kandukur (Prakasam Dt.). The next record was that of Pallava King Kumara Vishnu II followed by that of Eastern Chalukya king Mangi Yuvaraja (627-696 A.D.). The subsequent inscriptions of Telugu Chodas and Kakatiyas also mentioned Kammanadu (E.g., Konidena inscription of Tribhuvana Malla – 1146 A.D.). Part of this region is also known as Pallavanadu /Palnadu due to Pallava rule.
The earliest reference to Guntur, a variant of Guntur, comes from the Idern plates of Ammaraja I (922-929), the Vengi Chalukyan King. Guntur also appears in another two inscriptions dated 1147 and 1158.
Since the beginning of Buddhist epoch, Guntur stood foremost in matters of education. Buddhists established universities in ancient times at Dhanyakataka (Amaravathi) . Acharya Nagarjuna, an influential Buddhist philosopher, is thought to have been from the district, and is said to have discovered Mica in this area around 200 BCE.
The Kingdom of Pratipalapura (5th century BCE), identified with Bhattiprolu, appears to be the earliest known kingdom in Guntur District. Inscriptional evidence shows that king Kubera was ruling over Bhattiprolu around 230 BCE, followed by the Sala Kings. Guntur was successively ruled by famous dynasties such as the Satavahanas, Ikshvakus, Pallavas, Ananda Gotrikas, Vishnukundina, Kota Vamsa Chalukyas, Cholas, Kakatiyas, Reddies, Vijayanagara and Qutb Shahis during ancient and medieval times. Later, several subordinate kingdoms ruled the region. These subordinate dynasties also indulged in mutual wars, one of which culminated in the famous battle of Palnadu which is enshrined in legend and literature as "Palnati Yuddham"" (Andhra Kurukshetra) in 1180.
Guntur became part of the Mughal empire in 1687 when the emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Qutb Shahi sultanate of Golconda, of which Guntur was then a part. In 1724, Asaf Jah, viceroy of the empire's southern provinces, declared his independence as the Nizam of Hyderabad. The coastal districts of Hyderabad, known as the Northern Circars, were occupied by the French in 1750. Guntur was brought under the control of the British East India Company by 1788, and became a district of Madras Presidency.
The Guntur region played a significant role in the struggle for independence and the formation of Andhra Pradesh. India's independence came in 1947, and Madras Presidency became Madras State. The northern, Telugu- speaking districts of Madras state, including Guntur, advocated for a separate state, and the new state of Andhra Pradesh was created in 1953 from the eleven northern districts of Madras.
[edit] Temples
Kotappakonda:
Kulothunga Chola's inscription date 1172 A.D. reveals the history of this temple. [2] After that Raja Mallaraju renovated it in 1763. Wherever we see the temple we can see three places at a time. They are called Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra peaks. That’s why this temple is called as ‘Trikotadrai’. Sivaratri festival is celebrated on a grand scale here. Gods on the three peaks are known by different names Brahma Sikharamu (Trikoteswarudu), Rudra Sikharamu (Papa Koteswarudu) and Vishnu Sikharamu (Papa Vishnu Saneswarudu). Kotappakonda is short of 12 KM from Narasaraopet.
Bhavanarayanaswamy temples at Bapatla and Ponnuru are famous among the devotees from in around the state.
Number of temples were constructed during the reign of Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu. Tall towers (Gaali Gopuram) of these temples in many villages and towns of Guntur district stand testimony to his devotion and munificience.
[edit] Guntur trivia
- Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen (1824-1907) discovered the existence of Helium in Guntur, in 1868, while watching a complete solar eclipse. The unusual length of the eclipse, about ten minutes, had attracted many scientists to view it.
- The only Indian family on the Titanic from India was from Guntur.
- The village of Durgi is known for originating Durgi stone craft, the carving of idols and other items in the 15th century.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Andhra Pradesh Topics | History | Politics | Telugu people |
|---|---|
| Capital | Hyderabad |
| Districts | Adilabad • Anantapur • Chittoor • East Godavari • Guntur • Hyderabad • Kadapa • Karimnagar • Khammam • Krishna • Kurnool • Mahbubnagar • Medak • Nalgonda • Nellore • Nizamabad • Prakasam • Rangareddi • Srikakulam • Visakhapatnam • Vizianagaram • Warangal • West Godavari |
| Major cities | Anantapur • Adoni • Chittoor • Kadapa • Eluru • Guntur • Kakinada • Karimnagar • Khammam • Kurnool • Machilipatnam • Nandyal • Nalgonda • Nellore • Nizamabad • Ongole • Proddatur • Ramagundam • Rajahmundry • Sangareddi • Secunderabad • Srikakulam • Tirupati • Vijayawada • Vizianagaram • Visakhapatnam • Warangal |
