Summary: Guntur and the entire state of AP has some connection with Buddhism and it is stated that Gautam Buddha himself has spent some days in Guntur.

The earliest recorded reference of Guntur is known to have aroused from the Idern Plants of Ammaraja between 922 and 929 CE. The Agastyeshwara temple in this district is known to have been built during the Treta Yuga. It is also believed that nagas ruled this region and not just Hinduism, this district is also known to have connection with Buddhism as well.

Guntur and Buddhism connection:

The region between the Krishna and Godavari Rivers in which the city called Amaravati that belongs to Guntur District lies was an important place for Buddhist from the 2nd century BCE. It is found that king Ashoka has built a Buddhist Stupa in this region during the 200 BCE. This was done by the king with panels that clearly depict the story of the holy Buddha. But, after some decades when Buddhism was declined in this region, the stupa was neglected and it buried under rubble. However, an inscription from the 14th century from Sri Lanka states that repairs were made to the stupa and after that it was forgotten. It was also found that the stupa is related to the Vajrayana teachings of Kalachakra. This is something that is still followed even today by Tibetan Buddhists.

It is still believed that Gautam Buddha taught the holy ritual of ‘Kalachakra’ in Amaravathi, Guntur. To remind Buddha, there is a huge statue for Buddha in Amaravati in meditating posture. This is why Amaravathi and the district of Guntur are stated to be the holy place for both Hindus and Buddhists.

Summary: Guntur has many old colleges and the district also houses the first missionary college in entire India.

Guntur holds the pride of hosting the first missionary college in the entire nation called as Andhra Christian College. This college was established in the year 1885. Guntur also houses other missionary institutions like Stall Girls High School and Guntur Medical College. Generally, when talking about any old institution, we would be interested in knowing about the popular alumni of the institution and Andhra Christian College has alumni, who gained popularity in different fields like politics, cinema, literature, theology, education and business. The institute holds the pride of having educated the veteran N.T. Rama Rao, who was both a politician and a film artist.

History of the first missionary college:

This college as mentioned earlier was established in the year 1885 in Guntur City and the college also holds the pride of being the first college in India to offer graduate courses. This institution was actually established by the protestant missionaries from the United State of America. The United Lutheran Church in America that was existing at that time was responsible for the establishment of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church on the 31st of July 1842. This was done through Father Heyer. This educational institution is the part of educational enterprise of the Protestant Churches and students are admitted to intermediate, UG and PG courses in this college that functions under the affiliation of Acharya Nagarjuna University.

Even though, it is stated to be a Christian college, students form other communities also join the college, mainly because of the disciplined educational pattern followed.

Guntur, a city that is popular in many other aspects is also popular for educational service as she hosts the first ever graduation college in the entire nation.

Summary: Most of us relate the term ‘Kohinoor’ to diamond. You have rightly judged, we are going to analyse the connection between Kohinoor diamond and Guntur.

Kohinoor is nothing, but the world’s famous diamond and this diamond is known to have been mined from Guntur District from the place called Kollur. Now, the diamond is at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC at the United States of America.

About Kollur diamond mine:

The Kollur diamond mine, which is known to be the birthplace for the popular Kohinoor diamond is one of the most productive diamond mines all over the world. Kollur is a village located in the Guntur district at a distance of about four kms off the bank of Krishna River. It is also stated to be the first major diamond center. This mine is situated on the right bank of the eminent Krishna River. It was in operation between the 16th and middle of 19th century. When the production of diamond was at its highest level in this region, it was recorded that nearly 60,000 people were employed in the mine, which includes not just men and women, but also children of all age groups.

But, after some years, the Indian mines were depleted and the diamond center was moved to Brazil as a good amount was discovered in Brazil.

About Kohinoor diamond:

Kohinoor is a term that denotes ‘Mountain of light’ is a diamond that was obtained from the Kollur mine. When different invaders ruled this region, the diamond was brought under different rulers and now it is a part of the crown of the Queen Elizabeth.

Recent claim by India:

India has recently claimed that the diamond was illegally taken from the nation and so it should be brought back. When Queen Elizabeth II came to India in the year 1997 to mark the 50th Indian independence event, many groups claimed that the diamond should be returned to India. However, until recently British has refused to return the diamond to India. Let us hope that we will get back the diamond mined at Guntur.

Summary: Do you know, where was the first known evidence of Telugu Script found? Yes, your guess is right, it was found in Guntur. Let us explore some details:

Telugu script is stated to be an abugida and it belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts. The Brahmi scripts are used to write in Telugu, which is talked in the south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and also in other neighbouring states in South India. The script of this language is known to have gained prominence during the Vengi Chalukyas era. The important thing to remember about Telugu script is that it shares many similarities with that of the script of Kannada language.

Where was the early evidence found?

You might be surprised to know that the earliest evidence of Brahmi script in South India came from Bhattiprolu, Guntur. The calligraphy was found on an urn that contained the relics of Buddha. The calligraphy was given the name as Bhattiprolu alphabet. Historians are of the opinion that this calligraphy would have been the foundation stone for the Telugu and Kannada scripts. From the inscriptions, it is believed that King Kuberaka was ruling over the Bhattiprolu region around 230 BC.

About Bhattiprolu calligraphy:

This is a variant of the Brahmi Script and it was found in old inscriptions at Bhattiprolu, which is a small village in the Guntur District of the state of AP. It is actually located in the fertile Krishna river delta. The inscription dates to 3rd to 1st century BCE, thereby turning out to be the earliest evidence of Brahmi writing in Southern India.

Conclusion:

Besides having much significance in the history, Guntur also has the significance of acting as the place of birth of Telugu script in the entire southern India.