Gorantla is a village and mandal headquarters on the banks of the Chitravathi River in the Sri Sathya Sai district of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The village is around 120 km from Bengaluru and is well-connected with

National Highway 44 (India) National Highway 44 (NH 44) is a major north–south National Highway in India and is the longest in the country. It passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, ...

. Gorantla is home to the historical Madhavaraya Temple (dedicated to

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

) built in the year 1354 A.D. by Narasimha Saluva of the Vijaya Nagar Empire. This temple ranks first among centrally protected

monuments of national importance This article contains lists of Monuments of National Importance in India. An Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 defines an "Ancient Monument" as follows: A "Monument of National Importance" is designated by the Archaeological Survey o ...

. The city is also known for its

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

saree A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

masala dosa Masala Dosa, also called Masale dosey ( ಮಸಾಲೆ ದೋಸೆ ), is a South Indian dish. It is a type of dosa and has its origin in Udupi cuisine of Karnataka. It is made from rice, lentils, Urad dal, Chana dal, fenugreek, puffed ric ...

and more.

History of Madhavaraya Temple

According to the district gazette and the

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

Epigraphical Report of 1912, the temple was built by King Narasimha of the Saluva dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire in Saka 1276 (1354 A.D). Between the period 1610 and 1904, the nose of the presiding deity (idol of Madhavaraya Swamy) was broken, making the idol ineligible for worship and disrupting the daily rituals of the temple. The temple was declared a protected monument by the colonial British government.

Architecture

The temple consists of a small shrine chamber, a large central hall enclosed with walls, and a large pillared mandapa in the front. The most ornamented portion of the building is the pillared porch in front. The plain portions of the massive pillars are decorated with bas-relief sculptures representing scenes from

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

and the Puranas. The entrances are richly carved with

Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

figures. The Garbha Griha features a small image of Lord Madavaraya. A large stepped well in front of the temple contains

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

believed to be beneficial by the locals for treating

skin diseases A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of thi ...

. The historical site is full of sculptures and the Pillared Mandapa is renowned for its numerous stone carvings. A lush green park surrounding the temple is used by locals for recreational purposes.

Religious importance

Residents of Gorantla practice a variety of religions. Hindu Temples: Madhavaraya Temple, Varasidhi Vinayaka Temple, Chowdeshwari Devi Temple, Kanyaka Parameshwari Temple, Gangamma Temple, Rama & Shiva Alayam and Anjineyaswamy Temple are visited by many

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s. Mosques: Jama Masjid and Madina masjid are often attended by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

from surrounding areas. There are at least 10 mosques in town. Churches: There are a few churches available, namely C&IG and Baetal Church.

Transportation

Gorantla is well-connected with National Highway 44 (NH 44), which passes within the mandal limits and connects to the state highway between Hindupur and

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is re ...

. Buses are available between Gorantla and Bangalore, Hindupur, Kadiri, Dharmavaram, Anantapur, Tirupathi,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Kadapa Kadapa (colonial spelled Cuddapah) is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. As of the 2022 Census of India, the city had a popul ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, and

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises N ...

. The nearest railway station is SSPN Railway Station, which is about 20 km from the town. The nearest operational airport is Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore, which is located about 100 km from the town.

Krishnapatnam Port Krishnapatnam Port popularly known as KPCL is a privately built and owned all weather, deep water port on the east coast of India, located in the Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. It is located about 190 km north of the Chennai Port and ...

is located around 300 km from the town.

Vendors and services

Gorantla is famous for its critically acclaimed

and dosala mohan,

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

dosa Dosa may refer to: People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas * Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher * Dosa or Dossa Júnior * Edward Dosa-Wea Neufville ...

T VENKATESH near RTC BUSTAND roadsoda and mirchi bajji are also available for food enthusiasts. Khan's ka Biryani is a newly popular dish from the area. There are two operational hotels, which can be found near the bus stop. There are 10 function halls, including Raj Convention Hall, Vasavi, TTD, Ranga Mahal, and SVT. Gorantla has a police station that dates back to the pre-independence era. The C.I and the S.I enforce law and order in the town. * Current C.I. - Jaya Naik (9440796837) * Current S.I. - Sreenivasulu (9440901876) Gorantla has 3 theaters, namely CTC, RK, and a newly constructed theater named Cinema Timings expected to be open by February 2020. All these theaters share similar screening times, starting at 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, 6:30 pm, and 9:30 pm. There are currently 3

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

s operating in Gorantla: SBI, KVB, and APGB. These banks are equipped with 7 ATM centres and a few NBFC's like Kosamattam and Muthoot. Gorantla has more than 5 supermarkets, including Sai supermart, Arun supermart, 9 to 9 store, and Supermart. Assembly Constituency: Fuel Stations: Sahastra, Vinayaka, Aditya and

Indian Oil Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL; d/b/a IndianOil) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It is a public sector under ...

Geography

Gorantla is located at .Gorantla at Fallingrain.com
/ref> It has an average elevation of 646 metres (2,119 ft).

Demographics

According to the Indian census, the population of the village was 34,271 in 2019, with a male population of 14,771 and a female population of 14,655. 4,845 children are under 6 years of age. The average

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

is 69.8%.

Economy

The economy of the town is dependent on the

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

industry, predominantly the manufacturing of sarees by power looms. Another major source of income is

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. Farmers depend on

rainwater Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water fo ...

due to the lack of water resources. A major crop in this area is ground nuts.

References

{{reflist Villages in Sri Sathya Sai district Mandal headquarters in Sri Sathya Sai district