Revision as of 16:02, 14 July 2019

Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu (r. 1783–1816) was a zamindar of Chintapalli, later Amaravathi, in the Guntur district of India, under the Nizam of Hyderabad and the British East India Company. He had under his control 552 villages and towns located in Guntur and Krishna districts and their environs.^[1] Peeved by the perceived mistreatment by the East India Company, he abandoned his hereditary palace at Chintapalli and built a new palace and town at Amaravathi, the site of the ancient Satavahana capital. In the process of its construction, his workers unearthed the famous Amaravati Stupa as well as causing considerable damage to it.^[2]

Family

Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu
Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu
Raja of Amaravathi
	Venkatadri Naidu Statue at Fort in Amaravathi
Reign	1783–1816
Predecessor	Vasireddy Jagga Bhupathi
Successor	Vasireddy Jagannatha Babu
Born	1761
Died	1816

The Vasireddy family were Kammas. The Vasireddy zamindari family might have been founded by Vasireddy Verappanaidu, who obtained appointment as a Deshmukh of the Nandigama pargana in 1670 under the Golkonda Sultanate. Shortly afterwards, Golkonda became part of the Mughal Empire, but his estate was apparently continued. After his death, the estate got divided among his three sons, Ramanna, Jagganna and Venkatadrinaidu, with Jagganna receiving the estate of Chintapalli in the Guntur district (16°41′23″N 80°08′23″E / 16.6898°N 80.1397°E / 16.6898; 80.1397).^[3]

Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu was born on 27 April 1761 to Jagganna (Jagga Bhupathi) and his wife Acchamamba.^[3] According to journalist Potturi Venkateswara Rao, Jagganna fought against the Nizam and died when Venkatadri Naidu is at very small age. After death of Jagga Bhupathi his wife Acchamamba committed Sati.^[4]

Venkatadri Nayudu was four year old when his parents died. He was brought up by his uncle Ramanna. After the death of Ramanna, it would appear that Nayudu inherited the joint estate of his father as well as uncle.^[3]^[5]

Meanwhile, the sands were shifting. The five coastal districts that came to be known as Circars became the key ground for Anglo-French rivalry. The fourth Nizam, Salabat Jang, had ceded effective control over them to the French East India Company in return for their help in his accession. The French control however ended with the British conquest of Masulipatnam in 1759. The British received the grant of the Circars from the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II in 1765, confirmed by the Nizam in 1768. The British were now the true overlords of the Vasireddy family.^[6]

Rule

Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu was coronated as Zamindar in the year 1783. He ruled from 1783 until the advent of the British (27 April 1783–1816). The original seat of power was Chintapalli in present-day Guntur district. Venkatadri Naidu shifted his capital to Dharanikota and later constructed a new city Amaravathi across the Krishna river in Guntur district and from then made it as his capital.^[7] He was a patron of the arts and literature, and a builder of numerous temples in the Krishna river delta. He renovated the ancient temples at Amaravathi, Chebrolu, Mangalagiri, and Ponnuru.^{[citation needed]}

Venkatadri successfully eliminated Pindaris who were robbing the people in Guntur region.^[8] During his reign, Chenchus (forest tribe) were raiding villages around Amaravathi. Venkatadri invited about 600 of the Chenchu men to a luncheon and ordered them to be killed. The villages where this incident took place is today called Narukulapadu ('Naruku' in Telugu language means 'to axe' or 'to chop'). After this incident the Rajah became repentant and came to Amaravathi and devoted his entire life, time and revenues to building temples to Lord Siva. He renovated the Amareswaraswamy temple here, got nine learned archakas to be brought for the daily archana of the Lord, and provided them with all the needs of livelihood, including 12 acres (49,000 m²) of land to each. The temple as it stands now owes much to him.^{[citation needed]}

Venkatadri was assisted by a very able minister and poet Mulugu Papayaradhya. There were several poets and scholars in the court of Venkatadri.^[9]

Gallery of fort in Amaravathi

Venkatadri Naidu Fort Amaravathi
Venkatadri Naidu Fort Amaravathi, View from Entrance
Stag Structure at Venkatadri Naidu Fort Amaravathi
Photographs at Venkatadri Naidu Fort Amaravathi

Notes

^ Frykenberg, Elite Groups in a South Indian District 2011, pp. 269–270.
^ Ramaswami, Indian Monuments 1971, pp. 115–116.
^ ^a ^b ^c Office of the Registrar General (1962), Census of India, 1961: Andra Pradesh, Manager of Publications, Government of India, pp. xix–xx
^ Potturi Venkateswara Rao, Amaravati Prabhuvu Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu, Emesco Books, 2016
^ Ramaswami, Indian Monuments 1971, pp. 115–116: "From his uncle, who died in 1778, Venkatadri inherited vast wealth and the great influence that goes with it."
^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Circar" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 380.
^ "This Raja knows how to hold the fort – Times of India". The Times of India.
^ The Journal of Asian Studies, Association for Asian Studies, 1965, Vol. 24, No. 1, p. 296, ISSN 0067-7159
^ Life and History of Venkatadri: http://www.openlibrary.org/details/rajavasireddyven022548mbp Sri Raja Vasireddy Venkadadri Nayudu by K. Lakshminarayana 1963, Ponnuru

Bibliography

Frykenberg, Robert Eric (2011), "Elite Groups in a South Indian District: 1788–1858", The Journal of Asian Studies, 24 (2): 261–281, doi:10.2307/2050565, ISSN 0021-9118
Ramaswami, N. S. (1971). Indian Monuments. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-0-89684-091-1.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 '''Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu''' ({{reign|1783|1816}}) was a [[zamindar]] of Chintapalli, later [[Amaravathi (village), Andhra Pradesh|Amaravathi]], in the [[Guntur district]] of India, under the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]] and the British [[East India Company]]. He had under his control 552 villages and towns located in Guntur and [[Krishna district|Krishna]] districts and their environs.{{sfn|Frykenberg, Elite Groups in a South Indian District|2011|pp=269–270}} Peeved by the perceived mistreatment by the East India Company, he abandoned his hereditary palace at Chintapalli and built a new palace and town at Amaravathi, the site of the ancient [[Satavahana dynasty|Satavahana]] capital. In the process of its construction, his workers unearthed the famous [[Amaravati Stupa]] as well as causing considerable damage to it.{{sfn|Ramaswami, Indian Monuments|1971|pp=115–116}}
-==Family=
+=Family=
 The Vasireddy family were [[Kammas]]. The Vasireddy zamindari family might have been founded by Vasireddy Verappanaidu, who obtained appointment as a [[Deshmukh]] of the [[Nandigama]] ''pargana'' in 1670 under the [[Golkonda Sultanate]]. Shortly afterwards, Golkonda became part of the [[Mughal Empire]], but his estate was apparently continued. After his death, the estate got divided among his three sons, Ramanna, Jagganna and Venkatadrinaidu, with Jagganna receiving the estate of Chintapalli in the Guntur district ({{coord|16.6898|N|80.1397|E}}).<ref name="census 1961">{{citation |author=Office of the Registrar General |title=Census of India, 1961: Andra Pradesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yt4cAQAAMAAJ |year=1962 |publisher=Manager of Publications, Government of India |pp=xix–xx}}</ref>

Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu: Difference between revisions