 It is named after its founder Maharaja Vijay Ram Raju, also known as Ananda Raju I (1671–1717), the Maharaja of Vizianagaram.The site for the fort was suggested to the Maharajas by a Muslim saint, Mahabub Valli, who was doing penance in that forest.The auspicious date chosen for the foundation laying ceremony corresponded, according to the Hindu calendar, to the year known as "Vijaya" on the tenth day of the Vijaya Dasami when the Dassara Festival is generally held in the country.It was also a Tuesday, which means "Jayavaram" ("victory day") in Telugu.