Nellore

About Nellore

Nellore, also spelt as Nelluru, is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore Urban mandal, Nellore Rural mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the fourth most populous city in the state. It is at a distance of 279 kilometres (173 mi) from Vijayawada, 660 kilometres (410 mi) from Visakhapatnam, 455 kilometres (283 mi) from Hyderabad and about 170 km (110 mi) north of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and also about 380 km (240 mi) east-northeast of Bangalore, Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Nellore District.

There are various theories linked to the origin of the name Nellore. According to a story from the Sthala Purana, the name is connected to a sacred lingam in the form of a stone found beneath a Phyllanthus emblica tree, also known as the nelli tree (nelli, meaning 'emblica tree' in Old Tamil and Telugu). The presence of the nelli tree in this story is believed to be one of the etymological roots of the region's name.

Another theory is that the name "Nellore" is derived from the Tamil word "nellu", which means "paddy" or "rice." The region is...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.