NAGARAM TALUK.
Nagaram taluk consists of the small island of that name which lies in the south-west corner of the delta and is surrounded by the Vainatéyam and Vasishta branches of the Gódávari and by the sea on the east. It is sometimes known as the Tátipáka Síma ('country'), after the village of that name within it. It is called after the unimportant village of Nagaram, but its head-quarters is Rájavólu. Till October 1st 1904 it was part of the Narasapur taluk, and the usual statis- tics are not always available for it. Certain figures appear in the separate Appendix, however. It is now the charge of a temporary tahsildar. It is the smallest and the most densely peopled taluk in the district. It is particularly fertile and is irrigated entirely by means of the great Gannavaram aqueduct referred to on p. 86.
Nagaram contains an important centre of pilgrimage in the Vaishnavite temple at Antarvédi, and several other places of religious interest. A fair amount of weaving is done in Jagannapéta, Mori, Sivakódu and Tátipáka; and the work of the first of these is well known. Tátipáka has a certain historical interest.
The whole of the taluk belongs to Government with the exception of Lankala Gannavaram village, which forms a part of the Palivela thána of the Pithápuram estate, and the whole inam village of Gudumulakhandrika. This originally belonged to the old Peddápuram zamindari, was purchased at a sale for arrears, and, after one more sale, was left by will to the late zamindar of Pithápuram.
Antarvédi: Lies in the south-west corner of the taluk at the mouth of the Vasishta Gódávari. Population 6,583. It is the last and the most important of the sacred bathing-places comprised in the sapta-ságara-yátrá already referred to, and has other distinct claims to sanctity which are widely recognized. The god of the place is Lakshminarasimha-svámi, an incarnation of Vishnu, who at the prayer of the sage Vasishta and with the help of a local goddess killed another giant called Rakta Vilóchana. The local goddess' name was Asvarúdámba or Gurralákka; a small stone image of her, mounted on a horse, is to be seen in the village. Lakshminarasimha-svámi was entreated by Vasishta to remain in the locality, and he accordingly concealed himself in an ant-hill, where the existing image of him was found. This was originally enshrined in a shed by a shepherd, who had miraculously discovered it by the extraordinary insight of one of his cows; and one of its earliest devotees was a Sri Vaishnavite pilgrim who spent his life worshipping it, and from whom the Sri Vaishnavites of Antarvédi claim to be descended. The present temple, as is mentioned in an inscription within it, was built in 1823 by a pious Palli of Bendamúrlanka.
A well-known festival occurs in the village in Mákha (February-March), and at this the marriage of the god is celebrated. It lasts about a week, and is the largest in the district, as many as 8o,000 people sometimes attending it. The car is dragged round on the second day ; and on the last the god is taken down to the sea-shore, where his bronze quoit (chakram) is laid on the head of each of the pilgrims, who afterwards bathe in the sea.
A curious feature of this festival is the importance accorded thereat to the Kóna Síma Drávidas of Pérúru mentioned in the account of that place above. When the marriage of the god is performed they represent his bride's relations, and they are also allowed to go to considerable lengths in making fun of the Sri Vaishnavite Bráhmans of Antarvédi, who are the leading religious party in the place and represent the god himself at the marriage. On the last day but one of the festival they put on Vaishnavite sect-marks and sing abusive songs about the Vaishnavites, who show no resentment. The reason for all this is said to be the fact that long ago the chakram of the god was lost in the sea, and that one of the Tamil Bráhmans of Pérúru earned the everlasting gratitude of the people of Antarvédi by getting it back by the use of powerful charms (mantrams). It is even believed that the car cannot be drawn without the help of one of these privileged persons. It is solemnly asserted that 'in the year Vijaya' (1893-94) the villagers could not move the car in spite of all their efforts, because no one from Pérúru was pulling. Some men from there were sought out and prevailed upon to touch the ropes, and the car at once started; and nowadays they take care to have some one from Pérúru to help pull. The temple is a handsome building with a number of gópurams, but it is not of any great size. It is endowed with some 800 acres of land and receives an annual tasdik allowance of about Rs. 3,000.
Antarvédi is of no industrial importance. The painting done there is referred to in Chapter VI.
Jagannapéta : Four miles north-north-east of Rájavólu. Hamlet of Mogalikudúru, the population of which is 2,524. The place is noted for its weaving, which, though now said to be declining, still employs some 300 families of Dévángas. They weave white cotton turbans and cloths, ornamented with cotton or lace borders and sometimes with simple embroidery. They work with counts as fine as 150s, and their fabrics are noted for the closeness of the weaving.
Kadali : Three and a half miles east-south-east of Rájavolu. Population 3,687. Contains a small local fund market. The god of the place is named Kapótísvaradu and is said to have been first recognized by a certain hermit, who, with his wife, used to worship him in the form of a kapóta bird. One day the hermit was mistaken by a shikári for a real bird and shot while at his prayers- He fell into the pool called the Kapóta gundam at this place, and his wife flung herself in after him. It is considered a holy act to bathe in this pool on Sundays.
The village is known as 'the place of the five K's ' (Kakára panchakam), from five names of local importance which begin with that letter; namely, those of the god, of the village itself and of three families (the Kádambri family of Niyógi Bráhmans, the Kásibhatlu family of Vaidíki Bráhmans, and the Katika-reddi family of Kápus) which are largely represented in the village.
Nagaram : Five miles north-east of Rájavólu. Population 2,241, of whom about a quarter are Muhammadans. Contains a police-station and a small local fund market. It was presumably once of importance, as for at least the last 120 years it has given its name to the Nagaram island, but now, except that it does a certain amount of local trade, it possesses hardly any features of interest. It contains the remains of an old fort which is said to have been built by the Muhammadans.1[1]
Rájavólu (commonly called Rázóle by Europeans) has been the head-quarters of the Nagaram taluk since it was split off from Narasapur in 1904. It contains 2,553 inhabitants, a police-station, a sub-registrar's office, 'a local fund dispensary (opened in 1881) and a local fund choultry.
Sivakódu : Two miles south-east of Rájavólu. Population 3,541. Contains a travellers' bungalow and an English lower secondary school for boys. The Siva temple, like that at Rámésvaram still further south-east, is supposed to have been built by Ráma on his return from Ceylon in expiation of his sin of killing king Rávana, who was a Bráhman. It is supposed to be the very last one he made for this purpose, and to have completed the crore (kóti) of temples the construction of which was needed to cleanse him thoroughly of his sin. The name Sivakódu is supposed to mean 'the crore of Siva' and to be derived from this fact.
There are about 50 Dévángas in the village who weave plain cloths, using thread of counts as fine as 150s. A local carpenter carves wooden figures, bed-steads and door-frames well, and also makes musical instruments of fair quality.
Tátipáka: Three miles north-north-east of Rájavólu. Population 2,838. A small local fund market is held there. In one of the streets is a Jain image, buried up to its neck, the head of which is more than life size. Several large wells in the neighbourhood are called ' Jain wells.' The place is a centre of trade and of the jaggery industry. Some 50 Dévánga families weave plain cloths.
Tátipáka seems at one time to have been a place of some importance, since the local name for the Nagaram island (Tátipáka Síma) is derived from it. It is referred to in the accounts of the Muhammadan invasion of 1562-64. It was then held by a powerful zamindar, Narasinga Rao, and was strongly fortified and protected by a deep moat. The Muhammadans were detained a month in front of the walls and were finally driven to raise the siege. The place was attacked next year when the rains were over, and was then captured.
- ↑ 1 Sewell's Lists of Antiquities, i, 41.