Srikalahasti is a holy town in

Tirupati district Tirupati district () is one of the twenty-six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Andhra Pradesh state. The district headquarters is located at Tirupati city. Tirupat ...

of the Indian 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 a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and the revenue division of Srikalahasti mandal &

Srikalahasti revenue division Srikalahasti revenue division is an administrative division in the Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.This division headquarters is located at Srikalahasti .It is one of the four revenue divisions in the district and compr ...

. It is a part of

Tirupati Urban Development Authority The Tirupati Urban Development Authority, also known as TUDA is a government agency and the principal planning authority for Tirupati and its neighbourhood areas in Tirupati District of the Indian state of Andhra pradesh. It was notified on 6 N ...

, which is located on the banks of the River Swarnamukhi.

History

This town, Srikalahasti, derives its name from the combination of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

words Sri (spider), Kala (snake) and Hasti (elephant), which once worshipped the Shiva

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

here and attained

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriology, ...

. As per another legend,

Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the ''Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...

and

Adishesha Shesha (Sanskrit: शेष; ) , also known as Sheshanaga (Sanskrit: शेषनाग; ) or Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod (Naga) and Nagaraja (King of all serpents), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Pura ...

had a dispute to find out who is superior. To prove their superiority, Adishesha encircled

Mount Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It h ...

, Vayu tried to disentangle him by creating a vortex. The vortex resulted in 8 parts from Kailash fell into 8 different places which are

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

, Srikalahasti,

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, Thiruenkoimalai, Rajathagiri, Neerthagiri,

Ratnagiri Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for ...

, and Swethagiri Thirupangeeli.

Geography

Srikalahasti is located at on the bank of river Swarnamukhi. It is located 38 km north of

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 ...

central.

Demographics

Census of India The decennial Census of India has been conducted 16 times, as of 2021. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881. Post 1949, it has been conducted by ...

, the town had a population of 80,056. The total population constitute, 38,995 males and 41,061 females – a sex ratio of 1053 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 8,224 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 4,227 are boys and 3,997 are girls – a ratio of 946 per 1000. The average literacy rate stands at 78.66% (male 85.15%; female 72.57%) with 56,501 literates, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.

Education

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government-aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state. The medium of instruction followed by different schools are English and Telugu. SKITENTRANCE

Srikalahasti has educational institutions ranging from elementary schools to engineering and degree colleges. Sri Kalahastheeswara Institute of Technology is an engineered by Sri Kalahasteeswara Trust board.

Transport

Srikalahasti railway station Srikalahasti railway station (station code:KHT) is an Indian railway station in Srikalahasti town of Andhra Pradesh. It lies on the Gudur–Katpadi branch line and is administered under Guntakal railway division of South Coast Railway zone ...

is located on the Gudur–Katpadi branch line section of Guntakal (GTL) Division of the South Central Railway (SCR). Andhra Pradesh state-owned bus services APSRTC operates buses from

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 ...

and

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the List of cities in ...

Tirupati Airport Tirupati Airport is a domestic airport serving Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. It is situated in Renigunta, a suburb of Tirupati. It is away from National Highway 71 (India), National Highway 71 (previously NH-205), from Tirupati and from Venkat ...

is located 25 km from the town.

References