Guntur

Guntur is an important district of Andhra Pradesh covering an area of 11,391 sq. km on the Deccan[?], the first home of man in India. Palaeolithic (old stone age) implements have been found, suggesting that man then roamed the region. The Kingdom of Prati {alaputra (5th century BC), identified with Bhattiprolu, appears to be the earliest known kingdom in Guntur District. We also have an inscriptional evidence to show that king Kubera was ruling over Bhattiprolu around 230 BC followed by the Sala Kings. Guntur was successively ruled by famous dynasties such as the Satavahanas, Ikshavakus, Pallavas, Anandagothrins, Vishnu Kundins, Chalukyas, Cholas, Kakatiyas, Reddies, Vijayanagara and Jutub 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 a famous battle of Palnadu which is enshrined in legend and literature as "Andhra Kurukshetra" in 1180 AD[?].

During the period of Nizam rule, the French occupied Guntur in 1750. Guntur was brought under control of the British East India Company by 1788 AD.

The Region played a remarkable role in the freedom struggle and the formation of Andhra Pradesh.

There are several opinions on the meaning and origin of the word Guntur. The word owes its origin to words like gundu (a rock), gunta (a pond) and kunta (1/3 of an acre). We know that in Sanskrit Guntur is called Garthapuri (Guntlapuri).

The earliest reference to Guntur, a variant of Guntur, comes from the Idern plates of Ammaraja I (922-929 AD), the Vengichalakyan 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 education. Buddhists established universities in ancient times at Dhanyakataka (Amaravathi) and Nagarjunakonda. At present, with many educational institutions, Guntur leads the other Andhra Districts in matters of education.

Some places of historical importance in Guntur District are Amaravathi, Nagarjunakonda, Bhattiprolu, the Undavalli caves and the archeological museum in Guntur.

Paddy, tobacco, cotton and chillies are the main agricultural products cultivated in the district.

Unique to Guntur:-

• Guntur is also the historical place where helium was discovered. In 1869, Guntur witnessed a complete solar eclipse for about ten minutes. The eclipse attracted many British scientists to the place, and so helium was discovered on Sun's surface.

• There was only one family in the famous Titanic from India and that was from Guntur.