Guntur

Andra Pradesh > Guntur

Kalyana Venkattaramasami temple

Guntur is an important district of Andhra Pradesh with its head quarter located at Guntur town. 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.

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 2001AD. 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. It is divided into 57 mandals

Guntur is the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The town was founded in the mid-18th century by the French, but in 1788 it was ceded permanently to the British. It became a municipality in 1866. A railroad junction and trade centre, Guntur's economy is dominated by the growing of jute, tobacco, and rice.

History of Guntur

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. The earliest reference to Guntur, a variant of Guntur, comes from the Idern plates of Ammaraja I (922-929AD), the Vengi Chalukyan King. Guntur also appears in another two inscriptions dated 1147.AD and 1158.AD

Since the beginning of Buddhist epoch, Guntur stood foremost in matters of culture,education and civilization. Lord Buddha preached at Dharanikota/Dhanyakatakam near Guntur and conducted Kalachakra ceremony, which takes its antiquity to 500 BCE. Taranatha, a Buddhist monk writes: "On the full moon of the month Caitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, the Buddha emanated the mandala of "The Glorious Lunar Mansions" (Kalachakra) . Buddhists established universities in ancient times at Dhanyakataka and Amaravathi. Acharya Nagarjuna, an influential Buddhist philosopher taught at Nagarjunakonda and is said to have discovered Mica in 200 BCE. Guntur district roughly straddles the Kammanadu / Kammakaratham, the region in the Krishna river valley, where Buddhism prevailed, got the name from Theravada Buddhist concept of Kamma (Pali) or Karma (Sanskrit)

Pilgrimage Centers Guntur

Mangalagiri Panakala Swamy Temple, Kotappakonda Temple, Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple at Ponnuru, Sri Laxmi Chennakesava Swamy Temple at Macherla, temples at Amaravati, Tenali, Hinkar Thirtha Jain temple and Phirangipuram Mary Matha Church.

How to Reach Guntur

• By Air : Guntur town is well connected by air, rail and road. The nearest airport to Guntur is Hyderabad, just 4.5 hours travel from the town.
• By Rail : Almost all the 4 metro cities and state capitals can be accessed through this transit point. It comprised of few Stations: the Central/Main Station (near Arundel Pet and Railpet) and the others at Nallapadu, University-Center (Namburu), New Guntur (Reddipalem).
• By Road : Guntur town is connected to all major and local towns of the state. Two National Highways passing through the city are Madras - Guntur - Kolkata High Way, Guntur- Hyderabad - Mumbai Highway.