HISTORY OF VIJAYAWADA

                  
                 HISTORY OF BEZAWADA

       
     Vijayawada earlier known as Bezawada, is the third largest city in Andhra Pradesh, India, located on the banks of the Krishna River and bounded by the Indrakiladri Hills on the West and the Budameru River on the North. Vijayawada literally translates to "The Place of Victory". Its prominence as a major trading and business center has earned it the title of, “The Business Capital of Andhra Pradesh”. 

     Situated along the Madras-Howrah and Madras-Delhi Railway route, this is the largest railway junction of the South Central Railway region. The city is in Krishna District, about 282 kilometres (171 mi) from the state capital Hyderabad. The very mention of Vijayawada, first brings to mind delicious mangoes  and pickles. Lying in the rich coastal delta of the state, the cuisine of Vijaywada is spicy and deliciously varied.

     The discovery of Stone Age Artifacts remains along the banks of the river from Machilipatnam to
Nagarjuna Sagar indicates that this area was inhabited at that time. Vijayawada is also a centre of Andhra culture, and is a religious center. The Chalukyas of Kalyan once conquered this place, and the famous Chinese Xuanzang (Hsuan-tsang) had visited this place in  639 AD when Buddhism was at its zenith in the region. Kings Choda Gangadeva and Ananga Bhimadeva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty in the 12th century whose capital was in modern  Bhubaneswar and who built the Lingaraja temple had re-annexed considerable part of modern Andhra region and marched up to Godavari but could not cross the wide river bed. He established a town 'Vijaya Bahuda' which means 'return after winning' which became known as Vijayawada.

    During the British Raj the city experienced significant growth. In particular, the completion of the
 Prakasam Barrage in 1959, and railway bridge on the Krishna River have helped the region expand
its agriculture and commercial base. Vijayawada Railway station is one of the busiest railway junctions in India. The regions around the city have fertile soil and are irrigated by the river Krishna.