March 17, 2012
Vijayawada
History
Vijayawada, the land of victory as it literally means, is the
third largest city of Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Vijayawada which was
earlier known as Bezwada has several mythological stories about its origin. As
per one of the legends Arjuna (a famous character of Mahabharata) created the
Vijayawada after he got the blessing of the lord Shiva. Another mythological
story states that goddess Durga got Vijaya (victory) by killing a demon there
and thus the place came to be known as Vijayawada ( the land of victory). Vijayawada
was also formerly known as Bezwada and there is another legend related to the
region’s acquiring the name of Bezwada. According to the legend goddess
Krishnaveni (Krishna River) once requested to Arjuna to create a passage for
her to meet the Bay of Bengal. Arjuna honoring her request made Bejjam (hole)
through the mountains. And thus the place began to be called as Bejjamwada and
then was changed to Bezwada.
Dynasties and kingdoms
ruling Vijayawada changed from time to time until the arrival of British.
Vijayawada was an important center for Buddhist during 7th century.
During this time the famous Chinese traveler called Xuangzang visited the
place. In the early history of
Vijayawada it also served as the headquarter of Chalukyas of Badami. Vijayawada
was once conquered by the great king of Krishna Deva Raya of Chalukyas. During
the rule of British it experienced development works on large scale. But
Vijayawada witnessed its real growth only after the independence of India in
1947.
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