The land of the

Telugu people Telugu people (), also called Āndhras, are an Ethnolinguistic group, ethno-linguistic group who speak the Telugu language, Telugu language and are native to the India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Yanam district of Puducher ...

was referred to, during ancient times, as ''Āndhra dēśa'' (country of Andhra) and ''Trilingadēśa'' (country of Trilinga). The word '' Telugu'' is ''believed'' to have been derived from ''trilinga'', as in ''Trilinga Desha'', "the country of the three lingas". According to a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

chronicle, Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

descended as

linga 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 ...

on three mountains which marked the boundaries of the Telugu country, namely Kaleshwaram in

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

Srisailam Srisailam is a census town in Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Srisailam mandal in Atmakur revenue division, Nandyal district, Atmakur revenue division. It is located about from the distri ...

Rayalaseema Rayalaseema (IAST: ''Rāyalasīma'') is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises four southern districts of the State, from prior to the districts reorganisation in 2022, namely Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa, and ...

and Bhimeswaram, also known as Draksharamam, in

Coastal Andhra Coastal Andhra, also known as Kosta Andhra (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kōstā Āndhra), is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, comprising the coastal districts of the state between the East ...

. It was also believed that the word Telangana derived from Telingana, Telinga, Trilinga. In ''Andhra Kaumudi'', a Telugu grammar book, it was mentioned that

Andhra Vishnu Andhra Vishnu, better known as Srikakula Andhra Mahavishnu statue, was set up in Andhra in a pre-existing older temple. The previous deistic form worshiped in the temple is unknown. Āndhra Vishnu temple The deity of the temple is known as ...

, having built an immense wall connecting the three mountains with the Mahendra hills, formed in it three gates, in which the three-eyed Ishwara, bearing the trident in his hand and attended by a host of divinities, resided in the form of three lingams. Āndhra Viṣṇu assisted by divine angels having fought with the great giant Nishambhu for thirteen

yuga A ''yuga'', in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time. In the ''Rigveda'', a ''yuga'' refers to generations, a period of time (whether long or short), or a yoke (joining of two things). In the ''Mahabharata'', the words ''yuga' ...

s killed him in battle and took up his residence with the sages on the banks of the river

Godavari The Godavari (, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...

, since which time the Telugu country has been named Trilingam. "Trilinga" changed to "Telinga" over time and gradually again to "Telangana". Usage of "Telangana" came to distinguish the predominantly Telugu-speaking region of the erstwhile

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

from its predominantly

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

-speaking one,

Marathwada Marathwada () is a geographical region of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurang ...

. After Asaf Jahis ceded the Seemandhra region to the British, the rest of the Telugu region retained the name Telangana and the other parts were called Madras Presidency's Circars and Ceded."India Today • An encyclopedia of life in the Republic" • Vol. 1. Arnold P. Kaminsky and Roger D. Long, editors.
‑ CLIO.

Temples

References

{{coord missing, Andhra Pradesh Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Shiva temples in Andhra Pradesh Hindu holy cities Hindu temples in Telangana Shiva temples in India

Temples

See also

References