Bhavanarayana Temple, Bapatla – History

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.