Venkateswara temple in Veligonda MARKAPUR: A Telugu stone inscription at the historic Venkateswara temple in Veligonda has preserved a detailed record of land and village grants made during the reign of Vijayanagara emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya, offering a window into how temples in 16th-century Andhra were supported through agricultural endowments. The inscription, engraved on a stone slab fixed inside the Veligonda Venkateswara temple, dates to 1521 CE. According to the Arch

History of Telugu land. 1. Ancient Foundations and Antiquity (c. 800 BCE – 3rd Century CE) Early References and Tribal Beginnings The earliest textual references to the Telugu-speaking tract appear in Vedic literature, notably the Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda (c. 800–500 BCE). In these texts, the Andhras are described as a distinct non-Aryan tribal group living on the southern fringes of Indo-Aryan settlement near the Yamuna, who migrated across the Vindhya range into the