Bhavanarayana Temple, Bapatla
– History
The temple is believed to have been constructed in 1465 CE by a Chola king named Krimikanta
Chola and was restored by King Vasireddi Venkatadri Naidu of Amravati kingdom
in 1856 CE. It is said that the Chola King installed eight village deities on
the eight corners of the village. The temple received extensive patronage from
Gajapati Kings and Vijayanagara Kings.
This temple suffered destruction at the hands of Muslim Kings and British. It is
said that the French demolished the eight deities in the village. The temple
was renovated by Divan Sri Raja Kadrengula Jogi Jagannath Rao Bahadur from
Rajahmundry and later by the Zamindari of Challapalli Raja Vasireddy
Venkatadri. The rajagopuram was built by the Zamindari of Challapalli, Raja
Vasireddy Venkatadri in 1850 CE.
The rajagopuram
collapsed on 23 Oct 2011 and the rajagopuram was rebuilt by the ASI. The temple is protected as
monuments of national importance by the central Archaeological Survey of India.
The town was formerly known
as Bhavapattana, Bhavapuri, Bhavapattu and Bhavapatta. It is said
that the town was named after the Bhavanarayana Temple located in the
town. Later, these names were transformed to the present name of Bapatla.
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