Rayagada 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' ...

Rayagada district Rayagada district is a district in the southern Odisha States and union territories of India, state in India. Rayagada became a separate district in October 1992. Its population consists mainly of Adivasi, tribes, primarily the Khonds and t ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district.

History

The city of Rayagada was founded by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati (1527-1531 CE) of the

Suryavansh The Solar dynasty or (; ), also called the Ikshvaku dynasty, is a legendary Indian dynasty said to have been founded by Ikshvaku. In Hindu literature, it ruled the Kosala Kingdom, with its capital at Ayodhya, and later at Shravasti. They wor ...

dynasty of Nandapur Kingdom. It served as the capital of an extensive dominion that stretched from the confines of Bengal to Telangana in the south and was a great center of trade and commerce in the coastal regions of the country. There was also a fort constructed by the king and a row of shrines built along the river Nagavali including the temple of

Majhighariani Temple Majhighariani Temple is a shrine to a goddess in the Rayagada township of Odisha. It was built by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati of the Suryavansh dynasty of Nandapur - Jeypore kingdom. It is believed that he made Rayagada his capital and after the ...

who was considered the guardian deity of the place. Until 1947, the city was in the domains of the Jeypore Maharajahs.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Rayagada had a population of 57,732. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. In Rayagada, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. The population of Rayagada town as per 2011 census is 71,208 out of which male population is 36,036 and female population is 35,172.Rayagada has an average literacy rate of 64%, lower than the national average of 74.4%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 56%

Notable people

* Purnachandra Bidika, a gold medalist in Asian Power lifting Championship *

Varun Sandesh Jeedigunta Varun Sandesh (born 21 July 1989) is an Indian actor known primarily for his works in Telugu cinema. He made his debut with Sekhar Kammula's coming-of-age blockbuster drama ''Happy Days (2007 film), Happy Days'' (2007), and went on t ...

, an actor in Tollywood films *

Ritesh Agarwal Ritesh Agarwal (born 16 November 1993) is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, a hospitality chain. He has been a panellist on '' Shark Tank India (season 3)'' in 2024. Agarwal listed among Top 10 youngest I ...

, the current CEO and the founder of Oyo rooms

Politics

The current MLA from Rayagada (ST) assembly constituency is Kadraka Appala Swamy(INC). Previous

MLAs A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...

from Rayagada (ST) Assembly Constituency include Makaranda Muduli, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

candidate, who won the seat in State elections in 2019 and Lalbihari Himirika of BJD who won this seat in 2000. After serving as deputy speaker of Odisha assembly, he was serving as a cabinet minister for SC and ST development minister. Rayagada is part of Koraput (Lok Sabha constituency). Shri Jayram Pangi (Biju Janta Dal) won the general election 2009 defeating Dr. Giridhar Gomango (INC) who represented this constituency 9 times. Jhina Hikaka who won in 2014 elections. Current MP is Shri Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka from INC. Hanging-Bridge

Currently N. Bhaskar Rao has been elected to

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

from Rayagada.

Education

* Divine Public School

References

External links

Official website of Rayagada district
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Rayagada district