History of Vijayawada

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 7^th 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.