Eluru (erstwhile HELAPURI) is located 160-14′ north latitude and 81°- 05′ eastern longitude on the globe.
It is situated on alluvial terrain in between the Krishna and Godavari deltas.
It is a Class I town with a population of 2.17 lakh in 2011 covering an area of 11.52 sq.km, with 50 municipal Divisions.
Eluru is the district headquarters of West Godavari District located along the rail and road route connecting Kolkata and Chennai cities
Historical importance
From 3rd century BC, West Godavari region has been hub of various activities.
Many kings ruled over the region. Helapuri (Eluru) was part of the Buddhist kingdom of Vengi.
Guntupalli near Kamavarapukota was the place of a Buddhist monastery of the 3rd century BC during the regime of Satavahanas.
Later Ikshwakhs, Bruhatyalayanas, Salayankas, etc. established their Kingdoms.
Pedavegi near Eluru had been their capital for long and more over it was centreof learning in those days.
Denduluru near Eluru was the capital for VikramendraVarma’s empire during the 6th century A.D. Historical evidence can be found at the villages of Pedavegi and Guntupalli (Jilakarragudem).
Raja RajaNarendra who patronized great poets and scholars such as Nannaya, NarayanaBhattu and Mallana belonged to this dynasty.
ChalukyaVeerabadhadra, husband of Rudrama Devi was the ruler of Nidadavole in West Godavari district.
Eluru then became a part of the Kalinga Empire until 1471. Later it fell into the hands of the Gajapathis. In 1515 Srikrishnadevarayacaptured it.
After the fall of the Vijayanagara Kingdom, it was taken by the Sultan of Golkonda, Kutub Shah.After the British established control over South India, Eluru and surrounding areas were merged into the Madras Presidency.
During the division of Northern Cirkars into districts, Eluru was made a part of Machilipatnam district.
Later, it was included in the Godavari District in 1859. Subsequently, Eluru was made part of the Krishna District. Finally, in the year 1925, West GodavariDistrict was formed with Eluru as its Headquarters and all the district offices and regional offices were set up in Eluru city.
Leave a Reply