Amaravathi is a village on the banks of the Krishna River, in the Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Amaravathi mandal, and forms part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region with its headquarters at new Amaravati east, whose name is also borrowed from that of the older Amaravathi. Amaravathi was founded by Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu in the 1790s as the new capital of his Zamindari estate. He moved there from his former capital Chintapalli in protest of alleged mistreatment by the British East India Company. Amaravathi is named after the ancient Amaravati Stupa, which was unearthed in the process of the town's construction. It is adjacent to the ancient Satavahana capital Dhanyakataka (now called Dharanikota). Amaralingeswara temple in the village is one of the Pancharama Kshetras for Hindus. The place was also a historic Buddhist site, as shown by the presence of Amaravati Stupa built during the second century BCE and the third century CE, as well as the Dhyana Buddha statue, a large 21st-century Buddha statue in Dhyana posture. It is one of the sites selected for the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme of Government of India, to preserve the rich cultural heritage of India. Etymology The word Amaravathi translates as the place for immortals. It was also known as Dhanyakataka and Andhranagari. History The recorded history of Amaravathi and nearby Dharanikota dates to the fifth century BCE. It is a town said " a continuous history of at least 2,300 years." It was the capital of Satavahanas who ruled from the third century BCE to the third century CE. After the decline of Satavahanas, Andhra Ikshvakus and later Pallava kings ruled Krishna river valley. Subsequently, Eastern Chalukyas and Telugu Cholas held sway over the region, and it also became the third capital of the Vishnukundina empire. Kota Kings were in control of Amaravathi during the medieval times. Kota kings were subdued by Kakatiyas in the 11th century CE and Amaravathi became part of the unified Telugu empire. The Skanda Purana gives a picture of the place and the Siva temple located here. Amaravathi was part of Delhi Sultanate, Musunuri Nayaks, Bahmani Sultanate, Vijayanagara Empire, Sultanate of Golconda and Mughal Empire successively before the founding of the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1724. It was ceded to France in 1750 but was captured by England in 1759. Guntur