Tel: విశాఖపట్నం viśākhapaṭnaṁ
‘Visakha’s City’ [Waltair] City/District, Andhra Pradesh
From Visakha and Tel: paṭṭaṇam, ‘(port/coastal) town’, ‘city
There are many candidates for this derivation:
(1) Sri Vishākhā Devi, a gopi deity associated with Lord Krishna; (2) Visakha , the god of valour whose temple is rumoured to lie underwater 2km off the coast; (3) Visakha, the chief female patron of the Buddha (this was once a Buddhist kingdom).
Waltair was a British corruption of the name, Vizag is an abbreviation.
Visakhapatnam is the fourth largest city in South India and, with a GDP of $43.5 billion, the ninth largest contributor to India economic performance.
Its economy is centred around its port, seafood exports, IT, shipbuilding and pharmaceuticals.
For related place names see Indian Place names and Andhra Pradesh place names.
An aerial view of Visakhapatnam/Vizag Candeo gauisus
