The land of
Telugu people was referred during ancient times as ''Āndhra dēśa'' (country of Andhra) and ''Trilingadēśa'' (country of Trilinga).
The word ''
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
'' is ''believed'' to have been derived from ''trilinga'', as in ''Trilinga Deśa'', "the country of the three lingas". According to a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
chronicle,
Shiva descended as
linga on three mountains which marked the boundaries of the Telugu country, namely
Kaleswaram
Kaleshwaram is a village in Mahadevpur Mandal in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district in the Indian state of Telangana. This name refers more broadly to the state of Telangana & Kaleshwaram Temple.
Kaleshwaram is at the juncture of the rivers Goda ...
in
Telangana,
Srisailam in
Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema () is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises eight south western districts of the State namely, Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR, Annamayya, Tirupati and Chittoor districts ...
and
Bhimeswaram, also known as Draksharamam, in
Coastal Andhra. It was also believed that the word Telangana derived from
Telingana
Telingana is a genus of membracid tree hoppers found in Asia. They lay solitary eggs and the young do not aggregate as in some membracids. The genus was described by William Lucas Distant
William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845 Rotherhithe ...
, Telinga,
Trilinga.
In ''Andhra Kaumudi'', a Telugu grammar book, it was mentioned that
Andhra Vishnu, 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
yugas killed him in battle and took up his residence with the sages on the banks of the river
Godavari, since which time the Telugu country has been named Trilingam.
[A Grammar of Teloogoo Language - A D Campbell, introduction.]
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