Tel: అదిలాబాదు adilābādu ‘Cattle Town’ [Eddulapuram, Edlabad] City/District, Telangana. From Tel: eddu(lu), ‘bullock(s)’, ‘ox(en)’; and Skt: puram, ‘fort’, ‘city’; Urd: ābād, ‘city’, ‘town’. Some suggest that Adilabad is named after Yusuf Adil Shah, 15-16thC founder...
Telangana (Tel) Tel: తెలంగాణ telaṅgāṇa ‘(People or Land of the) South‘. From Gon: telangadh/telnar, ‘southern (people or language)’ [Pdr/Tam: teṉ, ‘south’, ‘southern region’; Tel: tenugu/telugu, ‘people/language (of the south)’]. The name of the language...
Tel: గోల్కొండ కోట gōlkoṇḍa kōṭa ‘Shepherd’s Hill’ [Golkonda, Qila Muhammadnagar] Fort/Historic City, Telangana From Tel: golla, ‘herdsman’, ‘shepherd’; or Tel/Urd: gōḷ/gol, ’round; and konḍa, ‘hill’, ‘mountain’. Golconda was a fort and (initially) a capital...
Tel: హైదరాబాద్ haidarābād ‘Lion City’ [Bhagyanagar, Baghnagar] City/Capital/District, Telangana From: Ara: h(a)ydar/hyder, ‘lion’; and Urd: ābād, ‘city’, ‘village’. There are two different sets of derivations. The first revolves around Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib,...
Tel: జగ్తిఅల్ jagtial ‘Jack and Tal Fort’ City/District, Telangana Jagtial Fort was designed and built in the 17thC using the expertise of two French engineers, Jack and Tal. In those days the French were world leaders in military architecture and the fort has many...
Tel: కరీంనగర్ karīnnagar ‘City of Karimuddin’ [Elagandula, Sabbinadu] City/District, Telangana The city was founded in 1905 by Syed Karimuddin at a time when the Elgandal fort, 10km away, was still the seat of government. Syed Karimuddinwas the Quildar or Fort...
Tel: ఖమ్మం khammaṁ ‘Pillar Rock’ [Stambhadri, Kambhadri, Kambham mettu] City/District, Telangana From Tel: stambhamu/kambamu, ‘pillar’ The name is derived from the vertical rock under the Narasimha Swamy hill-top temple. The Khammam fort was built in the 13thC by the...
Tel: మహాబుబ్నగర్ mahābubnagar ‘City of Mahbub Ali Khan’ [Rukmammapeta] City/District, Telangana Mahabubnagar was named after Mir Mahbub Ali Khan Asaf Jah VI, the Nizam of Hyderabad, in 1890. The name replaced the former Rukmammapeta [Tel: rukmama, gold’,...
Tel: మెదక medaka ‘City of Boiled Rice’ [Methukuseema, Gulshanabad, Methukudurgam] From Tel: meduku/metuku, ‘(boiled) rice’, ‘rice grain’; and sīma, ‘country’, ‘district’. Medak is a corruption of Methukuseema. Methuku means a grain of cooked rice. The region...
Tel: మిర్యాలగూడ miryālagūḍa ‘Pepper Village’ City, Telangana From Tel: miriyālu, ‘black pepper’; and gūḍa, ‘village’. Miryalaguda is one of the top markets in Telangana for rice and its 45 acre agricultural market is the largest. in the state. For related place...
Tel: నల్గొండ nalgoṇḍa ‘Black Hill’ [Neelagiri, Nalgunda, Nalagonda] City/District, Telangana From Tel: nīlam, ‘blue’, ‘purple’, ‘deep blue’; nalla, ‘black’; koṇḍa, ‘hill’; giri, ‘hill’. Apart from a disagreement about colour the name has remained the same for two...
Tel: నిజామాబాదు nijāmābādu ‘City of Nizam-Ul-Mulk’ [Indur] City/District, Telangana From Nizam and Urd: ābād, ‘city’, ‘village’. It was originally named after the 10thC Rashtrakuta ruler, Indra III. The Rashtrakuta was an Indian dynasty ruling large parts of...
Tel: రామగుండం rāmaguṇḍaṁ ‘Rama’s Tank’ City/District, Telangana From Rama and Tel: gunta, ‘pool’, ‘pond’, ‘tank’. The Sri Rama Gundalu temple in the old city is the site of numerous springs. Legend connects the area with Rama and Sita and it is...
Tel: రంగారెడ్డి raṅgāreḍḍi District, Telangana Ranga Reddy or R.R. District split from Hyderabad District in 1978. It is named after Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy, who fought for the independence of Telangana from the Nizam state and for the accession of Telangana to...
Tel: సికింద్రాబాద్ sikindrābād ‘Sikander’s City’ [Lashkar, Sikandarabad] City, Telangana From Sikander, Urd: ābād, ‘city’, ‘village’; and Urd: lash’kar, ‘military camp’; ‘army’. Secunderabad was founded as a cantonment after the British East India Company...
Tel: సూర్యాపేట sūryāpēṭa ‘Sun City’ [Bhanupuri] City/District, Telangana From Skt: bhānu ‘light’, ‘brightness, ‘sun’; puri, ‘fort’, ‘city’; sūrya, ‘sun’, ‘sun-god’; and Tam: pēṭṭai, ‘suburb’, market’. Suryapet was judged one of the ten ‘cleanest cities’ in India and...
