Karvetinagar or Karvetinagaram is a village in
Chittoor district
Chittoor district () is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The district headquarters is located at Chittoor. It has a population of 4,170,468 according to 2011 census of India. It lies in ...
in 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 ...
n state of
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 ...
. It is the headquarters of Karvetinagar
mandal
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
.
The town is known for
Venugopalaswamy Temple, that was constructed during the reign of Venkataraja dynasty.
Geography
Karvetinagar is located at .
Falling Rain Genomics.Pachikapalam
/ref> It has an average elevation of 252 meters.
Connectivity
The nearest railway station is Puttur ( distant) in Andhra Pradesh. Some express trains stop here. Frequent buses run from Puttur to Chittoor
Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popul ...
via Karvetinagar or from Pallipattu
Pallipattu is a town in Tamil Nadu and a border town located between the Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh and Tiruvallur District of Tamil Nadu . It is known for its rich and fertile agricultural lands and is blessed with the flowing of rive ...
() in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. The nearest international airport is at 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 ...
(115 km), and Renigunta (Tirupati) (45 km) away.
History
Karvetinagar was a former zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
, most prominent during the Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...
. The Bommaraju family trace their origins back to an ancestor who migrated from the Pithapuram area of the Godavari Delta in the 8th or 9th century. One ancestor obtained the favor of the Eastern Chalukya
Eastern Chalukyas, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi, were a dynasty that ruled parts of South India between the 7th and 12th centuries. They started out as governors of the Chalukyas of Badami in the Deccan region. Subsequently, they became ...
king Vimala Aditya, and Saluva Narasa was appointed the chief of the country around 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 refe ...
, where he founded his capital called Narayanavanam
Narayanavanam is a census town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Narayanavanam mandal in Sri Kalahasti revenue division. The town is known for Kalyana Venkateswara Temple dedicated to Lord Ven ...
. The rulers later built their new capital, Nagaram, here by clearing the forest. Narasa was granted permission by his patron to use the royal seal and boar-signet of the Chalukyas, a proud distinction still kept up. At one point Saluva Venkatapati was deposed by the Cholas
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
, but Saluva Bhima recovered their territory. Saluva Narsimha assisted a Keralan king named Kirti Varman and assumed independence, ruling for 36 years. Saluva Bhujanga was defeated and became a feudal of Western Chalukya king Someswara and was taken prisoner to Kalyan
Kalyan (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, É™ljaËɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) ...
, where he died. Subsequent descendants recovered the estate, and in 1230 AD a part of the estate was taken over by Raja Raja Chola the second, of the Chola dynasty. During the next four generations, as the power of the Cholas declined, the fortunes of the Karvetinagar family rose, the family became feudatories of Vijayanagar, and had marriage alliances with the Saluva and loyalties to the Aravidu dynasty
The Aravidu Dynasty was the fourth and last Hindu dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire in South India. Its founder was Tirumala Deva Raya, whose brother Rama Raya had been the masterful regent of the last ruler of the previous dynasty. Rama Raya's deat ...
over the next two hundred years. Around the 16th century the family changed their name to the current Bommaraju, retaining Saluva as a title. After Bommaraju, prominent among their dynasty are Raja Kumara Venkataperumal Raja Shadur, last ruler of the erstwhile zamindar of Karvetinagar in 1940. After his death his brother Raja Kumara Kumaraswamy Raja was confirmed with the rajah title and became the First M.L.A of Puttur. He donated Lashmi Mahal Palace for use as a Government High School, at present a junior college and degree college located in the same palace premises. He died without issue in 1952. After his death his co-brother Raja Kumara Srinivasa Varma Son Raja Kumara Venkataperumal Raju, alias Raja Kumara Janardhana Varma, was confirmed raja by the then presidency of the Madras Government. As a holder of the rajah title he was honoured by the temple's management of constructed karvetinagar rajahas, like Tiruttani and Narayanavanam, Appalaya gunta temples etc. during his lifetime. He died in the 2008. He has two sons, Raja Kumara Bramha Raja Varma (alias Srikanth Varma) and Raja Kumara Harsha Vardhana Varma, at present residing at Karvetinagaram.
References
{{reflist
Mandal headquarters in Chittoor district
Princely states of India