Srikalahasti is a town in

Tirupati district Tirupati district () is one of the eight districts of Rayalaseema region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.The district headquarters is located at Tirupati city. This district is known for its numerous historic temples, including the Hindu ...

located in the Indian state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. It is a

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

and the revenue division of Srikalahasti mandal and

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 the

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 No ...

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

History

Srikalahasti, derives its name from the combination of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

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

Shiva lingam A lingam ( , 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. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

here and attained

moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

. As per another legend,

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

and

Adishesha Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod ( naga) and king of the serpents (Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the p ...

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''; ; ; , ) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part ...

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

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

, Srikalahasti,

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as 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 being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...

, Thiruenkoimalai, Rajathagiri, Neerthagiri,

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

, 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 States and territories of India, state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to th ...

central.

Demographics

Census of India The decennial census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1872. Post 1949, it has been conducted by the R ...

, 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 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, also spelt as Nelluru, is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India.Tirupati Airport Tirupati Airport is an international airport serving Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is situated in Renigunta, a suburb of Tirupati. It is away from National Highway 71 (previously NH-205), from Tirupati and from Venkateswara Temple ...

is located 25 km from the town.

References