Introducing Andhra Pradesh’s new ‘capital’ Amaravathi

ON THE BANKS OF KRISHNA
The city is on the right bank of the mighty Krishna in Guntur district, close to where the river is joined by its northern tributary, the Munneru. The new capital city zone is 35 km from old Amaravathi, where the government has procured nearly 33,000 acres between Vijayawada and Guntur through a land-pooling scheme.

WHERE THE RIVER FLOWS NORTH
Historian and archaeologist D Kanna Babu says Amaravathi is one of the few places where a river flows north instead of south or east. This is considered auspicious, and the Satavahanas chose the site to build their capital at Dharanikota, two km from Amaravathi town, well over 2,000 years ago. It is 32 km from Guntur and 39 km from Vijayawada.

A MELTING POT OF RELIGIONS
Amaravathi was a seat of Buddhism before the rise of the Satavahanas, a stupa and monastery having been built there during the reign of Emperor Ashoka (269-232 BC). The Satavahanas patronised Hinduism, and the ancient temple of Amaralingeshwara (Shiva) gave the city the name of Amararamam. Subsequent dynasties patronised Jainism as well, and the city came to be known as Sridhanyakataka or ‘City of Tolerance’.

COLONIALISM AND AFTER
It was in the 18th century that Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu, the last king of the Vasireddy clan, gave the city its name of Amaravathi, says Babu. In 1750, as part of the territory of Nizam of Hyderabad, Amaravathi was ceded to the French. The British took over in 1759, and with the establishment of the Madras Presidency, Amaravathi faded into insignificance.

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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The ancient city of Amaravathi is being developed separately from the new capital zone as a heritage town with funds from the Centre. Officials are working on linking the capitals separated by over two millennia. Amaravathi is now a gram panchayat with a population of 16,000, and will soon be part of the AP Capital Region Development Authority.