NELLORE: Dr. Govindu Surendra, assistant professor of history at SKR Government Degree College, Gudur, has traced the historicity of Gandavaram village in Nellore district to AD 1182 and has identified its historical landmarks from the pages of history.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Dr. Surendra said Chola King Manuma Ganda Gopaludu, then ruler of Nellore region holding the title Ganda, built this village as well as the Udaya Kaleswara Temple in Gandavaram during AD 1182.
The temple is so named because Cholas built it in such a way that rays of sunrise touch Lord Kaleswara every day.
There are five stone inscriptions at this temple. As per these inscriptions, Shri Kulottanga Chola Maharaja, crowned as Tribhuvana Chakravarti, donated generously to this temple. While one inscription is completely unknown, the remaining four talk about construction of the temple, surrounding villages, and various land grants and constructions in various stages of development. All inscriptions are in ancient Telugu and Tamil languages.
The inscriptions mention details of donations made in the presence of rulers for the temple festivals, maintenance of the flower garden and incense lamp offerings.
There is another ancient temple of Lord Venugopala Swamy in this village, which was built in 1613 A.D. An inscription in the temple states that Obanainin, a local resident belonging to Pacharla Gotra, paying respects to Tirumala Tatacharyulu, the Sima ruler Velugoti Venkatapati Nayiningaru, built the stone compound wall of the temple in honour of his ancestors and parents.
Dr. Govindu Surendra wants state government and officials to preserve these monuments with many historical features for creating awareness about the past glory of the region within the future generations.
He suggested that Udaya Kaleswara Temple could also be included in the heritage tourism circuit, as it is reachable in just 10 minutes from NH-16 near Rajupalem.
