Place · riverside temple town · India
Macherla
Also known as Macherla
The town of Macherla in Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh, 100 kilometres from Guntur city centre, on the right bank of the Krishna river across from the Nagarjunakonda archaeological zone and the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir. The town's 11-century Chennakesava Swamy temple is counted among the Palnadu temple circuit. Macherla is central to the 12-century Palnadu Yuddham (the Palnadu civil war between the two Haihaya Kalachuri factions of Nalagama and Malideva, recorded in Srinatha's Palnati Veera Charitra Telugu epic). The 1952 Nagarjuna Sagar dam construction (across the Krishna 10 km from Macherla) displaced the Nagarjunakonda Buddhist complex, which was relocated and reassembled above the reservoir waterline.
- Function
- Authority & administration
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 16.476, 79.403
Connections (1)
- Companion in the same setVinukonda
Vinukonda and Macherla together frame the Palnadu plateau on the right bank of the Krishna river. Both towns are central to the 12-century Palnati Yuddham narrative (the Palnadu civil war between Nalagama and Malideva recorded in Srinatha's Palnati Veera Charitra Telugu epic). The Vinukonda hilltop fort and the Macherla Chennakesava temple together anchor the medieval Palnadu political-religious geography. The 2022 Palnadu district formation unified these towns administratively.
Sources
Standard reference; district gazetteer and Wikipedia.
Open Macherla in the repository →