Bapatla district holds a distinguished place in Telugu heritage as the birthplace of ‘Telugu Thalli’ (Mother Telugu), a concept deeply revered by all Telugu people.
Vijayawada:Forum For Better Bapatla is set to celebrate the third anniversary of the formation of Bapatla district on April 4. Bapatla district holds a distinguished place in Telugu heritage as the birthplace of ‘Telugu Thalli’ (Mother Telugu), a concept deeply revered by all Telugu people.
The term ‘Telugu Thalli’ was introduced into Telugu literature by Bapatla's Rayaprolu Subba Rao, who was also a visionary poet, and it became so important that ‘Maa Telugu Thalliki’ became the official song for the state government.
The district is also known for its literary heritage, some of which dates back centuries for example, around the 14th century, when Yerrapragada translated Mahabharatam and was a court poet of the Reddy dynasty of Addanki, marking the importance of the region in classical Telugu literature.
Bapatla has a lot of archaeological history from the fourth century, which makes this region very important. The town of Bhattiprolu in the district is famous for the Buddha Stupa built in the 3rd century BC. This site demonstrated one of the earliest Brahmi inscriptions in South India on an urn that had the remains of Buddha. The ‘Bhattiprolu script’ is recognised as a significant landmark for the evolution of South Indian languages.
The district also claims Yazali village in Karlapalem mandal as the birthplace of Acharya Nagarjuna, the influential Buddhist philosopher. The Addanki Inscription, dating to 848 AD, revolutionized understanding of Telugu literary history by proving the existence of sophisticated Telugu poetry two centuries earlier than previously believed. This poetic inscription, also known as the Panduranga inscription, is considered one of the earliest forms of Telugu poetry.
