6 o
ChLWTiiH II
The physiographical region that forms the focus of present archaeological study is situated between 13*30’ and 13’ 45' N and 79"l6' and 79®45’ ii and is in Chittoor district of Southeast coastal Andhra Pradesh. This region
(the area of investigation) is hereafter referred to as the
Tirupati valley. Tirupati, the famous pilgrimage centre in
.:30uth India is situated at the foot of a picturesque range of hills kno\m variously as *Seshachala', 'Venkatachala’, 'Balaji' and more popularly as Tirupati hills. The tovm of Tirupati nestles in the midst of an amphitheatre formed by this range of h ills. These hills rise to a level of about 1104 m A.'1SL.
Curves and loops of these hills give a serpentine appearance v/hen seen from above, and in the pious imagination of devotees these hills are believed to be the body of the divine serpent
'Adisesha’ on whose body Lord Vishnu reposes. The seven hills — Vrushabhadri, Anjanadri, Neeladri, ieshadri, Garudadri,
Narayanadri and Venkatadri of Tirupati are said to represent the seven hoods of 'Adisesha'.
Tirupati town, easily accessible by road, rail and air, is about 140 Icm northwest of Madras. It is 15 krn to the west of Renigunta railway junction which is on the Madras-Bombay section.
Legendary loipoirbance
Tirupati is the most important pilgrimage centre dedicated to Sri Venkatesvrara Calso known as Balaji, Venkanna and 'Lord of Seven liills') to which lakhs of pilgrims from all over India pay visit throughout the year. It is believed that Tirumala, where actually the temple is situated, was once part of liount Meru. Legend has it that, as a result of a fight between Adisesha and Vayu, the great mountains broke and fell to earth. Parvas declare that the hill is the dearest to Lord Vishnu and that one would benefit by a pilgrimage to Venkatachala.
Alwars or Vaishnava Acharyas and preceptors have all sung (in praise) of the Lord of Venkatachala who is consi dered as the most glorious and amenable form of Lord Vishnu.
The great Acharyas have been closely associated v/ith the worship of ■Uie deity. Tirumala nambi, a descendant of
Nathamuni, devoted himself to the service of Sri Venkate- swara at Tirumala. It was his nephew, the great Kamanuja- charya vdio later performed a pilgrimage to this temple and reformed the rituals and modes of worship in the temple which are followed to this day. It was also Sri Ramanuja who is reputed to have installed Sri Govinda Raja Swami 8
temple in Tirupati town. The town itself is said to have been planned by 3ri Rama^’uja, and, according to epigraphs, the temple at Tirupati was built by him.
The puranic legends say that after the Pralaya Kalpa preceding the great deluge, the supreme being, Waha Vishnu, revealed himself in the form of white boar *Sweta Varaha’ , rescued the earth and recreated it, and re-established the universe. He decided to stay on the earth for sometime to protect the good and destroy the evil. Thus God Vishnu revealed Himself in the comer of a bank of Swami Pushkarani at Tirumala. The manifestation of Vishnu as the white boar is enshrined in the Adi Varahaswami temple on the west bank of the Swami Pushkarani (tank) at Tirumala. This temple is believed to be older than the temple of Lord Venkateswara and claims precedence in worship. The town of Tirupati has several other temples dedicated to Govindaraja, Kodandarama,
Siva, Padmavati, Nancharamma etctT-T*o-f<»<»i:3-7^.
^A sto rip a l Impo.rt^nji^e
The great dynasties of the southern peninsula have paid their homage to this ancient shrine. The Palavas of
Kanchipuram (9th century A .D .), Gholas of Tanjore (lOth century), Pandyas of Madurai and the kings and chiefs of
Vijayanagara (l4th-15th century) were devotees of Lord
Venkateswara and they vied v/ith each other in endowing 9
the temple with rich offerings and benefactions.
It was during the Vijayanagara dynasty that the nximber
of benefactions increased. After the decline of Vi;Jayanagara
dynasty, other nobles and chiefs from all parts of the
coimtry continued paying their homage and gifts to the
tenple. The i4aharashtrlan General Ranghoji Bhonsale visited
the temple and set up a permanent endowment for the worship
in the temple. He also offered to the deity valuable jewels
including a great emerald which is still preserved in a box named after him. Among the later rulers who have endowed large benefactions are the rulers of Mysore and Gadwal in
Hyderabad. In 1843 A .D ., however, the East India Company
divested itself of the direct management of non-christian places of worship and the control of the shrine of Sri
Venkateswara with a number of estates was transferred to
the head of Hathiram;3i Mutt at Tirumala, and for nearly a
century, till 1933 A .D ., the tanple was under the admini
strative charge of the liahant, the head of this Mutt.
The Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams committee was
entrusted with the power of administration and control
through a commissioner by a special Act in 1933.
By another enactment. Act XIX of 1951, the administ
ration was entrusted to a Board of Trustees and an executive. 10
At present in addition to a Board of Trustees, an iSxecutive
Officer, who is an Indian Administrative iervice official is deputed by the State Government to look after the admini stration(T-T-t> nbx--7-'1)
Ihe, ,.Ya.U-^y
Chittoor district is divisible into two distinct physiographical regions — southwest upland and northeast lowland. The lowland includes Chandragiri, Sri Kalahasti and parts of Puttur and Venkatagiri taluks. The present study covers the lowland region which, broadly speaking, forms the
Tirupati Valley, The striking feature of the valley is that it is encircled by hill ranges which form a component of the
Eastern ||hats.
In the northeast, from Chandi^agiri, Seshachalam hills stretch towards east. Beyond Tirupati, these hills take a turn towards northeast and taper into Velikondas. The Veli- kondas run further north towards Nellore on the east coast.
On the southeastern fringes of Chandragiri, further south to
Tirupati, Sanambatla hills are situated. These stretch parallel to Tirupati hills and also take a northeastern turn beyond Tiruchanur and run further northeast to merge with Nagari hills. Thus the above two parallel hill ranges
form a cresent over 800 sq km area.
In fact, during pre-cambrian period, when parts of 11
Chittoor, Cuddapah and Kurnool districts were under local
sea, these tvro parallel hill ranges formed a single mass
(iuryanarayana, 1976). Further, the region includes the hill ranges of Panapakam, Mungilipattu, Syamala, Nagapatla, oanambatla, Puttur, iiri Kalashasti and Nagari hills inter cepted by some more narrow valleys.
In contrast to the low lying valleys and slopes, there are five peaks which rise from 948 m to 1104 m MSL,Th€*e
are: (l) Narayanagiri (1104 m),(2) Kakulakonda (979 m),
(3) Gantamantapam (976.5 m), (4) Muralagiintapeta (950 m) and (5) Gannerakula tippa (948 m).
The plains are constituted of soils intercepted by outcrops of granites and dyke rocks. The slope of the plains tends from Chandragiri towards Yerpedu, then widens towards
Venkatagiri and iiri Kalahasti areas stretching out closer to
Nellore on the east coast.
Geological .iuccession (Fig. 1)
The geological formations in the region under study
comprise (l) Archaens, (2) %>archean unconformity, (3)
Pursinas, and (4) Quartemary deposits.
(l) Archaeans: The oldest Archaean rocks in the
Tirupati valley are the gneisses. The Archaeans are partly of basic igneous origin and partly of unfossiliferrous 12
sedimentary formations. They contain schists and quartzites which are traversed by (a) granites and (b) dolerite dykes.
(a) Granites: The area is included under undifferenti ated crystalline rocks (Pascoe 1931; Krishnan 1951; Hoy
1962). There are innumerable dyke rocks of considerable width and linear extent in the granites. Throughout the
valley, granite occurs as bed rock in highly weathered state
as at Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam Dairy farm well and in
relatively fresh state as at Kalyani dam water reservoir located to the north\irest of Tirupati town. The granite rocks are grey in colour and are composed of smoky quartz, turbid
felspar of dull lustre, and dark grains of hornblende. Under
microscope the relative proportions of quartz, microchinse and plagioclase show such a high variation that they may be classified as granites, quartz granites, adamallites and
quartz gramodiorites (Reddy 1981). All these types of rocks
are generally called granitic rocks only.
A few rock structures encountered in the study area are fresh granite rocks with fractures and joints. Apart
from a number of vertical joints, these rocks show exten
sive development of horizontal jointing at places. This is
conspicuous in the granite quarry at Ithepalle village. The
predominant direction of jointing is along northeast to east.
The other important joint directions at Ghandragiri Fort are 13
along north northwest and northeast,
(b) Dvke rockst Granitic rocks are at places traversed by dyke rocks, which sometimes extend to a few kilometers. They tend almost in every direction (An;Janappa
1964), but the one extending in an east or east-north-east direction is most common. The fractured nature of dyke rock is exposed at Nagapatla spill way. Dyke rock, weathered as intensively as granitic rocks is noticed in some wells as at
Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University well located to the west of Tirupati town. The composition of the dykes varies from pure dolerite to epidiorite, the latter being an altered dolerite,
(2 ) Veins: Apart from dyke rocks, veins of quartz and pegmatite, with green epidote as an essential mineral, traverse the granite terrain along the predominant joint direction. Their width ranges from a few centimeters to a
few meters weathering into tors and boulders. In certain places they are much kaolinised. The granite is made up of vitreous, colourless quartz, and white as well as pink fels par, The most common accessory is homblend, Biotite is occasionally present (Heddy 19S1),
( 3) Quartzose sandstones: Overlying the granite with a distinct unconformity, are the quartzose sandstones. 14
There is a local conglomorate zone varying in width from
five to eighteen centimeters overlying the granite.
In the west-.m part of the Chandragiri hill region,
the quartzose sandstones overlie granites at an elevation
of about 136 m A14SL.
xhe quartzose sandstones are massive and are made up
of many layers with distinct bedding planes. The thickness
of these regularly layered beds varies from 0.25 to 3 meters.
Sometimes, hovrever, these beds bulge out into lenticular masses up to a few meters in length and one meter in thickness
Greenish shale and mudstone of about 3 to 9 cm in thickness
occasionally occur as intercaltions in quartzose layers.
Irregular columnar jointings are observed in the top layers in the north eastern slope of these quartzose rocks and a little below them, v/here exposed in sections, horizontal
sheeting is quite coimnon tiix'oughout the area. The quartzose
sandstone is usually reddish brx>'^ in colour with lighter
shades in the freshly exposed sections.
(4) Quartzite shale bands: 'ilie quartzite shales lie
conformably over the quartzose sandstones. They are alter
nating bands of quartzites and shales. The thickness of an
individual band varies from 20 to 120 cm. The bedding
planes of these are slightly undulating though, on the whole, 15
they show roughly the same amount of dip, namely 10® due northeast.
Vertical sections of these rocks are exposed near
3/1» 5/l» 5/3 and 7 km on the new ghat road to the temple.
The western extension of these rocks cannot be traced very much beyond the 7th km stone. It may be due to a thick cover of vegetation. A small hill stream flowing towards Kalyani dam cuts at the bottom shaley layer and exposes these bands to a length of a little more than one kilometer.
(5) Intrusives: A dolerite dyke about 20 m in width and about 600 m in length due east-north-east and east-south-west cuts through the granite and the overlying quartzite sandstones. The vertical contact between the dolerite and quartzose sandstones could be seen near the
9th km stone. The intrusive is obviously younger than the quartzose sanastones.
According to King (187®) there is a fault running from a little west of Tirupati to Karakanabadi, a distance of about
15 km, the down throw side being towards north. Hence it is possible that the greater inclination of the bed along the eastern direction and the change in strike is due to this fault.
Uie to tectonic movements the hills which were IG
submerged under the Precambrian sea developed a fault
length-wise and ;noved apart ( ;iuryanarayana 1976) leaving
an area of about 800 sq km above 500 m MdL in a valley.
(5) Faults? Followed by the initial fault which
resulted in the fonnation of the valley, later tectonic movements also produced similar but smaller faults. There
are four other major faults, all running east-west and para
llel to another. The observation shows that the faults have
an expression of vertical east-west running cliffs, or steep
scarps facing south as described hereunder:
(i) One fault is parallel to the Chandragiri-
Tirupati-Sri Kalahasti bus road, parallel to which the
^wamamukhi river flows tov/ards the southeast coast.
(i i ) The river takes a northeasterly course to the
east and turns northwards and flows parallel to the north-
south fold axis at Sri Kalahasti.
(i i i ) The Am i river at Narayanavanam also runs east along the third fault plane. Its tributary running west-
south along v/ith an anticlinal fold axis also follows the
same plane.
(iv) The southernmost river is the Nagari vrtiich,
running eastwards, follows the fourth fault plane. The
adjustment of these river courses to the structural features
of the area is very striking (Suryanarayana 1976), 17
2. The j^parchean Unconformity (Fig.2^)
The iiparchean unconformity is markedly seen at the
Tirumala Hill range at the escarpment slopes, road cuttings and gorges. Also to the north of the Tirupati township, a gently northerly dipping quartzite is exposed in the verti cal cliffs forming a panorama of escarpment. The unconfor mity can be recognised even from a distance by its total absence of vegetation in the overlying quartzite and a thin cover of soil and feeble vegetation on the granite. The colour contrast, the yellowish brom colour of the quartzite, and the dull greyish green colour of the vegetation on the granite are further marked features of uncomformity. The escarpment has an east-west trend, and the line of uncon- formable junction is irregular.
The Basal Conglomerate
The basal conglomerate makes an interesting study.
It occurs as a -ttiin bed, like a shoestring, of 15 to 45 cm thickness. It forms the base of the quartzite that over lies the granite and dolerite. The conglomerate is totally absent where the granite presents a domical surface to the quartzite. It is thicker where the eroded surface of the granite is flat, and thickest at the hollows (Suryanarayana
1975* 195).
The constituents of the conglomerate are variable in 18
composition, size and shape. They are of the nature of both oligomiet and petroniet conglonierates.
The weathering of granite in the valley having taken place after the uplift of Cuddapah basin is a later pheno menon. The overlying quartzites and shales are highly jointed. The surface waters infiltrated along the joints.
This water having met the granite barrier beneath, flowed along the granite-quartzite contact. This brings about much wide-spread alteration, such as, Kaolinisation of granite pebbles, and the granite basement itself. The unconformable contact is exposed at several places in verti cal cliffs because of faulting and, at places, removal of sedimentary cover. The weathering of gnanite is then due to atmospheric action of geologically recent times. The second ghat road to the temple runs along the granite which is at places highly weathered to soil several below the unconformable contact. The presence of weathered surface is often cited as an evidence of unconformity.
3. i-^uranas
The formation belongs to Cuddapah group. The rocks of this group are well developed in the district in general and the valley in particular. This group is divided into four series after King (1872): 19
1. Krishna series 2,000* iirisailam quartzites Kolamala shales Irlakonda quartzites
2. Nallamallai series 3»400* Cumbum shales Bairenkonda quartzites
3. Cheyyair series 10,000' Tadpatri shales Pulivendala quartzites
4. t^apagni series 4,500' Verapalle dolorites mud stones Ciuiraalacheruvu quartzites,
iiven tliough the occurrence of all the four is found in the district, the valley represents the last tv/o only.
Their principal characteristics are as follows:
x^aoafjcni series
The Papagni series is named after the river in the
gorge (Gandi) of which they are best exposed on the western
fringes of Tirumala h ills. This group consists of two stages,
the lower one called Guwalacheruvu and the upper one called
Vempalle. The Guwalacheruvu consists of conglomerates,
quartzites, and sandstones with their intercalations of
shales. They are grey, red buff and dirty white in colour.
They are fine to coarse grained, sometimes flaggery, and
gritty. The sandstones are generally quartzitic and contain
pebbles of Jasper and veins of quartz derived fro/n the
i^iarwarian (Krisiinan 1956). At the type locality near
Guwalacheruvu they attain a maximum v/idth of 6 to 8 km. 20
The Vernpalle stage consists mainly of dolo:nites of different colours and mudstones and also layers of rocks belonging to crypto-crystalline group. They are well exposed in the vicinity of Renigunta and also through to Kodur and
Guddapah. The hills of this region are composed of these rocks and have rounded tops because of the action of diffe rent weathering agents. They contain the veins of barytes towards northwest to Renigunta and Kodur.
Chovvair series
This series, named after the river of the same name, is v/ell exposed along the Cheyyair river in the district.
It is well developed in two areas, (l) Penner valley on the northwest, and (2) Cheyyair valley on the northeast of the district.
The lower divisions of the series called Pulivendala consist of quartzites, sandstones, grits, flags, pebbly beds and con-^lomerates. The pebbles and conglomerates are to some extent derived from the chert bands of Vempalle formations
(Krishnan 1956). Shale formations are well represented in
Karakambadi, i-^apanaidupeta and Merlapaka areas of the valley.
The upper division in the north west is called the
*Tadipatri stage*. This forms a thick sequence in which shales predominate with thin strata of silicious limestone. 21
chert, jasper and Intrusive basic Among these chert and slate bands occur in a sizable proportion between
Renigunta and Yerpedu, The limestone is found to occur under the quartzites of Seshachalams towards north of
Tirumala.
4. Uuatemarv deposits (Fig.l)
The quaternary deposits of the valley consist of ancient alluvimi and subrecent fluvial deposits.
The ancient alluvium is the most common geomorphic feature in the region. It comprises basal gravels overiain by red silt# and red sandy loams. The basal gravels are observed forming the bottommost coarse deposits in all the river systems. In some exposed sections of the Rallakalava river, granite bed rock weathered to grit, is present below the basal gravels. Similarly, in a section of Merla- paka, exposed by a hill stream, weathered granite grit is at present below the basal level. The ancient alluvium forms extensive terraces on either bank of the rivers.
Laid against the ancient alluvial terraces are relatively younger deposits which comprise finer gravel (second gravel) and yellow silt. This second cycle of deposits belongs to a depositional phase and can be called the 2nd terrace.
Archaeologically, the basal gravel yields rolled Lower 2 2
ir^alaeolithic artefacts. On top of red sandy loams occur workshops of late Acheulian ciilture. Middle Palaeolithic artefacts occur in association with fine gravels or, in a primary context on the ancient alluvial surfaces. Similar
are the occurrences of Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic
artefacts.
At the Stone Age Site at Hallakalava, Isukakalava,
^uravarajupalle and Tirupati Airport, calcarious gravel and
gritty ferruguinous gravel occur on top of weathered
granitic bed, sometimes in association with red sandy loam.
P£ajJl^e_Patte^
The valley is drained by the Swamamukhi river and
its tributaries (Fig.4) which flow in northeastern direction
into the Bay of Bengal.
The important tributaries of the river in the area are:
(l) Kalyani, (2) Bhima, (3) iJosallavanka, (4) Kagapatlavanka,
(5) Jarlakona, (6) Isukakalava, (7) Vanka Kalava, (8) Halla
Kalava, (9) Konamadugu, and (10) Verapedu river.
Kalvanii Kalyani is a hill stream having its origin
in the Syamala ranges of Seshachalam h ills. After receiving
water from a number of rivulets, it flows in an easterly 23
diTGction and Joins the Svramarnukhi river at Kalur v illa g e .
A network of streams feeds the Kalyani. The streams are:
(i) Saddikudu vanka, (ii) Kukkala kona vanka, (iii) Anupa vanka, (iv) Ragimanu vanka, (v) ."la»nidiraanu vanka, (vi) fagada gundla vanka, (vii) Tuiabur kona, (viii) Tellabandla kona and (ix) Chintagunta vanka. All these 'vankas* (small streams) and *konas’ (small hill streams) rise in the south western vicinity of Tirumala tanple and flow into the i^>.alyani.
Bhima; The Bhima river rises in the west of Chandra- giri in the Falakonds hill ranges and takes its course in an easterly direction to Join the Swamamukhi at Kotala village.
Dosalla vankat Dosalla vanka rises from the hill slopes of the Sanambatla Reserved Forest. It flows in an easterly direction to drain into the S\/amamukhi to the east of Chandragiri town.
r>iagapatla vanka; A nu’nber of runnels from Nagapatla
Reserved Forest put together are known as Nagapatla vanka where it flows across the plains of drivarimettu village before Joining the owamaniukhi river.
Jarlakona: Jarlakona is a small hill stream wiiich rises from Tirupati hills and flows towards the east to
Join the Isukakalava to the south.i^est of Renigunta. 24
Isukakalava: Isukakalava originates at the northeastern foot of Tirupati hills. Its origin and course through the hilly tract are almost parallel to those of the Hallakalava.
It joins the ivallakalava about 3 north to Henigunta.
*%llakalavai r^allakalava is also a hill stream arising in Tirupati hills near Avacharikona. After flowing through a hilly tract, it flows across a level plain and flows dovm towards the Swamaiaukhi and Joins it to the east of the
Airport,
Vankakalavat It is a narrow hill but perennial stream which rises froia Vadamalapeta hill ranges. It flov/s in a northwesterly direction towards the Swamamukhi and opens to the west of Papanaidupeta village. It drains whole of the area surrounding Vadamalapeta and Henigunta.
i^onamadURu: Konamadugu, a hill stream rises from the vicinity of i^ka Devatalakona in the Velikondas. After
flowing through a narrow valley, in a curved xract, it opens into wider plains and immediately loses its identity by joining the iiallakalava.
Vemoudu rivert Vempedu stream originates from the
Velikondas. It is the major drainage source for the whole
of the plains of Yerpedu smd ciri Kalahasti. After a short 2 5
northeasterly course in the northern plains of Merlapka lake, it ^Joins the ^wamamukhi river midway between Yerpedu and ciri iialahasthi.
The majority of the hill streams are found to have subterranean drainage into lakes, iiuch lakes are innume rable between Kenigunta and Yerpedu. Hence Renigimta -
Yerupedu area enjoys drainage round the year.
There are seven important springs v iz ., (l) Akasaganga,
(2) Papavinasam, (3) Akka Devatalakona, (4) Marri makula kona,
(5) Vankakalava kona, (6) Bugga kona, and (7) oitarampeta kona.
The first two springs are found in Seshachalam or Tirupati hills while the rest (excepting Vankakalava) are all located in the Velikondas. Venkakalava rises in Nagari hills.
Lakes CTel. *Cheruvu* or *Kunta*)
There are as many as 136 lakes ranging between 250 sq km (i4anchineellakunta) to 2 sq km (Rayalacheruvu) in dimension.
These lakes are major sources of irrigation in this area.
Though the lakes are of natural origin, they have been bunded in view of agricultural use, probably during early historical times. Quite a few of them have water round the year because they have subterranean drainage from the nearby hill ranges 2G
such as (l) Nagapatla, (2) Panapakkam, (3) i^makambala,
(4) Papanaidupeta, (5) ditarampeta, (6 ) Mallanadugu and (7)
Anjamedu cheruvu.
Waterfalls (Fig.O)
There are also w aterfalls, both seasonal and perennial.
The perennial ones are found in the midst of Tirupati h ills.
There are three small waterfalls viz., (1) Aakasaganga, (2)
Papavinasam teerthaa (both in Tirupati h ills near ^ri Venka- teswara iihrine) and ( 3 ) Kapila teerthain (at the foot of these h ills in the northern vicinity of Tirupati town, where there is a shrine of 3iva).
Tlnaatl h ills and its intra-drainage
The water from Narayanagiri watershed drains into
Chakrateerthamu vagu, which Joins Avacharikona vagu, the source for the origin of Kallakalava.
The Kothakona watershed drains into Bodeddula vanka. ciimilarly, the water from Utlakona drains into Ippakona vanka.
Both these vankas flow towards northeast of the h ill to eirarage as Isukakalava.
The water firora Tiruraipenta watershed drains into iiaddikudu vanka which is one of the rivulets of the Kalyani.
iiim ilarly the water from Japalateertham and Akasanganga 2 7
watershed flows down the southern slopes of the h ills to Join iiapilatheerthara. Thus, a ll these feeders and streams of the h ill ranges contribute to the drainage pattern of the i»wama- mukhi river.
C lim a te
The annual clim. tic cycle consists of four seasons.
The three months from December to February are comparatively c o o l and d r y . The summer from March to I4ay i s fo llo w e d by the south west monsoon from June to ;ieptember. The post monsoon season ranges from October to November/December, In general, the climate is hot and semi-arid. The monthly mini- mum, and mean temperatures are 1 2 . 5 0 “ c, 44.2 c and 27.5 c, respectively (Table l). March to May (sumraar season) records the hii^hest temperature. The months of November, December and
January are mild winter. itainfall (Fig. 7 and 8 ; Table 3 and 4)
ITie mean annual rainfall in the valley is 872 ram. The rainfall generally increases from the valley to Tirumala hilltops. The northwestern part of the Tirumala h ills, closest to Kalyani the dam, receives rainfall ranging from 573 to
1077 nKfl. It is mostly experienced between the months of
July to November. 'The heaviest rainfall occurs generally during October-Noveiaber. However, it may vary from year to year. During the last 79 years from 1901 to 19 8 0 the highest 2 8
r a i n f a l l was 1690.6 nun and the lowest was 400.8 mm (Tables**/),
The r a i n f a l l f o r ti-ie l a s t 7 9 years shows that no two consecutive
decades enjoyed siuiilar rainfall.
Temperature (Table 1 )
llie winter season from the fag end of November to the onset of February forms the coolest part of the year.
The data of temperature from 1967 to 1977 shows normally
December as the coolest (21.56* c - 1969) month and May as the hotest (41.19* c 1974) with the average temperature about
33* c. From the middle of February it gradually rises while
from the middle of August it falls. The weather is very
oppressive during the summer but less so in winter. iiumiditv (Table l)
The humidity ranges from 2156 to 91^ with a mean of
505«. It is generally high from iieptember to December. The predominant wind direction is east during north-west monsoon
and west during nortii-east monsoon.
ITie sunshine hours range ffom 1 0 . 7 to 3 * 8 w ith an average of 7*6 hours. The computed daily evaporation by pan method ranges from 2.4 to 11.3 mm v/ith an average of
5.2 mm. Maximum evaporation is noted in April ’xidiile it is
minimuiQ in December. 'The computed mean yearly evaporation 2 9
is 19^ cm. Details on te.aperature, huraidity, wind velocity sunshine Jiours, computed and pan evaporations in the valley are furnished in Table 2,
Cloudiness (Table 2)
From about the end of May to the beginning of December, the skies are generally clouded particularly on the top of the h ills. During the rest of the year the sky is moderately clouded and sometimes very clear. iinds (Table 1)
jfith the onset of autumn, the winds set in and last for a period of about two months and cease with the beginn- in^j of the southwest monsoon. Generally, the winds are mode rate to heavy though gales are often experienced in the coastal region.
Flora (Fig. 9)
i’he total forest area of the district is 1 1 , 2 2 ,1 6 7 acres constituting 30 per cent of the land area.
The forest of the district is of a dry deciduous type. The considerable variation in the condition and density of floristic distribution is due to factors like altitude, soil type, and the amount of rainfall they receive. Until the second half of the seventeenth century, these forests were rich enough to sustain even wild elephants (Lakshinipathy 30
n .d . 390>-
The average height of large tree crop ranges from a to 10 meters and the girth is below a meter. In the valley and the h ill ranges encircling iieshachalam, Palakonds,
Velikonda, ^anambatla Reserve Forest, Hagari Reserve Forest and ^ri Kalahasti, the rainfall is strikingly high, thus supporting more dense and extensive crop. The most common trees of these h ill ranges are given below:
■a*No. V e rn a c u la r ncime B o ta n ic a l name
1 . iio u r u ju la Acacia latronum
2 . Sundra Acacia sundra
3 . ttudraganapa /t.dina c o r d i f o l i a
4 . i'laredu Aegle mannelos
5 . Uduga Alannuim lamarkii
6 . C h ik a ra n i >U.bizzia amara
7 . i i i r i s e ^llbizzia labbeck
8 . Cinduga Albizzia odoratissima
9 . Yelama Anofieissus latifo lia
1 0 . i'lunukudu Atalantea monoohvlla
1 1 . Vepa Azadirachta indica
1 2 . i4odugu Butea frondosa
1 3 . Nillagilledu CalotroiJis KiKantea
14. Duttangi CalvcoDteris floribimda
1 5 . Nalla balasa G anthuin didvmum 31
S.No. Vernacular names B o ta n ic a l name
1 6 , Pedda Kalini Carissa carandus
1 7 . iialini Carissa StJinarum
18 . I’angedu Cassia auriculeta
19 . iiela Cassia fistula
2 0 . B i l l u Chloroxylon swietonia
2 1 . «!odisa Cleistanithus collinus
2 2 . Kondama;nidi Conimipliora candates
23. I r i k a Gordia mixa
24 . J i t t e g i jJalbergia latifo lia
25. P a c c a r ! jJalbergia paniculata
2 6 . V e t tu r i Dichrostachys chinerea
2 7 . Ulinda iJiospyros nuclainoxylon
28. T oki iJiospyros melaraoxylon
29. B an d ari Dodonanea viscosa
3 0 . Neredu iJolichandrone cripsa
3 1 . Cittini ruddi i^lichondrone falcata
32. I'le fid i iilacodevodran glaucura
33. iJewadari i.rth y ro x y lo n monogynum
34. Neredu JUfiinia jambalana
3 5. i4arri Ficus bengalensis
3 6 . A t t i Ficus ^onurate
3 7. Ragi or raw! Ficus reli^iosa
38. Y e r r i j u w i Ficus restusa
39. B ek ki Gardemia fsuramefera 3 2
isiia* Vernacular name Botanical name
40. Yerribukki Oardmla turgida
41. ^lidabba Gelonlum lamcolatum
42. Gonji Glvcosmls pentaphvlla
43. i'ialla^Java Grewia aslatlea 44. Wallajama
45. Peddajama arewla tllllaefolla
46. Danti ^Yfflnpspomja2iitaaa 47. Yepa tiardwichla binata
48. Gubatada Helleteres Isora
49. Kolamuki iiolarrfiBna antidvsetenlca
5 0 . T a p asi a.9lQ£tel.e.3, ,n4.ete.a3:lfqlla 51. Gonvi or goripi Ixora parviflora
52. Adavinimma Llmonla acldlssuma
53. U U li^ba,„^uxj^.|olla 54. Vudrakanpa itLmosa r u b l c a l l s
55. Pala I'llmusops hexandra
5 6 . K.arepaku rlurrav konigii
57. Kanuga Pongamla glabra
58. Nari*aa 'Premna tomentosa
59. Jammi kampa ^,rQsoj24.s.3picA^e^
60. Y e g i Pterocarous massupium
Red sanders (Pterocarous santalinus) occurs as one of the richest crops. I'his is the main source of red sanders in 33
the whole of the iiastem Ghats.
The floristic abundance is divided into throe primary
zones based on the elevation and the important species of plants that occur in that elevation. These ares
^ 1. Terai or Fuel forest upto 244 a elevation,
2m Hill forests or red sanders between 245 and 6lO m
elevation,
-ahorea laagenia species occupying above 611 m
elevation.
The important species of plants of these three zones are as follows:
I , The Terai or Fuel forests
The peripheral occurrences of the Terai forests, easily accessible to people inhabiting them contain "Qiomy species,
Uuite in the interior of the Terai zone, the thorny species tend to disappear and non-thomy species appear. These are clearly observed at the northeastern slopes of Tirupati hill ranges towards Renigunta and Yerpedu, The coinraon species of Terai zone are:
3,i
1, Chandanamu Fterocarpus samtalinus
2. iiiki Pterolobium indicum
3* i'ianga F ^d ia dumenforum 34
3 .No. Vernacular name Botanical name
4. K-unkudu iiapindus emerginatus
5. PuLasaram iiehleichera terijuga
6. Garika iScutia indica
7. Tamba 3horea tumbuggaia
8. iiomi cioyinida febrifuga
9. Battaganopa :>tephegyne parriflora
10. liusti iitrychnos nux-vomica
11. Cilia Strychnos potatorum
12. Tellamaddi Terrainalia aryana
13. Tondra Terminalia bellerica
14. i> 15. Mullapulaga Teriiiinalia paniculata 16. Inumaddi Terminalia tomentosa 17. iiemalidaga Vitex altissiaia 18. Lukki Vitex alata 19. rfayala Vitex negundo 20. Reppala irightia tinctona 21. Hegu Zizyphus jujuba 22. Gotti Zizyphus xylopeyrms II. The hill forests known as red sanders zone occur 245-610 m contour. This can be further divided into three sub-zones. (l) llardv/icks binetea. (2) Anogeissus latifoli^. and (3) ^terocaruus santalinus. 35 1» The Hardwicks blnetia: It occurs on the lower reaches of the zone. This zone is characterized by guggilam (Bos wellia serrata) . The wood is used for the manufacture of agricultural implements and construction purposes* The leaves are good fodder for cattle. The bark is used in fabricating ropes. 2. The .Jiogeissus latifo lia; It occurs above the iiardwicks zone. It is primarily used as timber for posts, beams and rafters and also as fuel. The species is highly sensitive to drought. 3* The Pterocarpus santalinus: This zone succeeds the Anogeissus inclination. It shows highest density of the ever green species even from loops of the old ghat road to the Tirumala temple towards Henigunta and i Important species of this zone are: ii,i^o. Vernacular name liotanical name 1. Hudraganapa Adina cardifolia 2. iilama Anogeissus latifolia 3. iippa Bassla latifolia 4. Gug^ilam Boswellia serrata 5. iiara Buchanania latifolia 6 . i’'iodugu Butea frondosa 7. i'Jallabalasa Canthjum didynum o i i .W O . Memacular name Botanical name 8 . itela Cassia fistula 9. Billu Ghloroxylon swietenia 10. iiondamanidi Coramipora candata m Jitiegi Dalbergia latifolia 12. Paccari Oalbersia paniciilata 13. Tukl Diosphros melanoxylon 14. Neredu iJLaeodendron glaucum 15. Dewadari *:.rythroxylan mono/^yuum 16. i’^iagi i^enia alternifolia 17. Bikki Gardenia icainimifera 18. Peddabikki Gardenia talifolia 19. iirribikkl Gardenia tur/^ida 20. Tellapoliki Givotia rottleri formis 21. iMalla^ava Grenia asiatica 22. Nallajava Grewia latifolia 23. Peddajava Growia laevigata 24. Kummarapoliki Gryocarpus amenicanus 25. iiipi Hardinickia binata 26. wubatada Helecters isora 27. fllra Henicyclia sepiani 28. i:U)lainukhi Holarrhene antidysentina 29. liorwi Ixora Darviflora 30. Cermangi Legerstrocnia oarviflora 31. vifasanta Mallotus Dhilliopinensis 3 7 Vernacular naine iiotanical name 32. Pogada iliinusops elengi 33. r*ala MiiQusops hexandar 34. Kakkamogi Ociina beddomci 35. Neramainidi Polyathea cerasosidus 36. Narawa Preinna toinantosa 37. % i Pterocarpus marsupium 3a. Kunkudu Japindus emerginatus 39. i-^ilasara ^cheichera tri.luga 40. Taraba cihoea tumbggaia 41. ^aii Jgymida febrifuga 42. Battaganapa otephefcvne paruflora 43. Yerrapoli citerculia urens 44. i'lusti otrychnos nuxvoiaica 45. Cilia Strychnos potato ruin 46. Teku Tectona ^crandis 47. Tellamaddi TertTiinalia arjuna 48. Tandra Terainalia bettenca 49. i’Jallakarakkaiya Terminalia cebula 50. Inuinaddi Terminalia tomentosa 51. i^emali udaga Vitex leucoxvlon 52. Lukki Vitex lecoxYlon I I I , :»horea~ Eugeni a zone The occurrence of this zone is quite widespread at 38 the hill tops above the escarpment on the Seshachalain hills, and at similar elevations on all the hill ranges. It consti tutes 85i» of the crop among these hills. The most signifi cant among the crops of this zone are: Aoenix svlvestries (Ita); and oYcas circinalis (Perieta). These are noticed even from a distance and they fo m a part of the seasonal fruits to the local inhabitants. The other species we come across are: Vernacular name ■botanical name 1. Udaga iilangium lamarki 2. rfelama Anogeissus latifolia 3. Bonta Brindalia retusa 4. ^ara Buchamarmia latifolia 5. i'ioduga Butea frondosa 6. Billu Chloronylon swietensia 7. iadi se Cleistantlus collinus 3. Jettigi Dalberi^ia latifolia 9. Tuki Jiospyros melanoxylar 10. iMeradi xiLaeodenron glaucum 11. Weradu iiugenia ^ambola 12. i^tti Ficus ^lomerata 13. xiikki (iardemla gunnifera 14. iirribikki Gardenia turgida 15. viubatada Helicteres isora 16 . Goriu Ixora paviflora 17. iPogada Myaiusops elengi 3 9 Vernacular name Botanical name 18. i'^ukkamagi 0china beddomei 19. ivonda ita r’hoenix ecaulis 20. Aonda ita r^hoenix farinifera 21. Ita Phoenix sylvestris 22. ^gi Pteroceipus marsupium 23. Candanarau ir’terocarpus santalium 24. Jala Chorea talura 25. Tamba Chorea termbuggaia 26. Battagenappa Stephegyne pamilora 27. Yerrapoliki iiterculia urens 26. iMallakalabanda Terminalia pallida 29. i'-iaddi Terraimalia tomentosa Fauna The important wild species found in the forests are as follows: ■a,i4o. Vernacular name Zoolofcical name uxass maiiiiactiis Oixier primate 1• Koti 2 . Koti i'’lacaca radieta 3. Kondamuchu i^resbvtis centillus Order carnivora 1 • iPeddapuli i^anthera ti^n.l 40 Vernacular name ZooloA-ical name 2. Chirutapuli i”lacaca radieta 3. Kondamuchu Presbvtis centillus Order carnivora 1. Feddapuli Panther^, tii^rijg 2. Chirutapuli Panthera oardus 3. Gunta nakka Hyena hvena 4. Adavi pilli Felis ahans 5. I'iakka Vuloes benaalensis 6 . Todelu ^ ^ s .u r u § 7. Yelugu banti /lelusus ursimus 8 . liesukukka U e S iG cy^naiApinvis Order Hodentis 1. Kundelu Lepus ni^rLcpllis 2. Pandikokku Bandicoota indica 3. i^auka Wus.2latY.tiid^ 4. Chitteluka Mus lausculas 5. Yentava Heroastes edwardsii 6 . Udata B'unambulus d alma rum 7. Lethudata Katufa Indlca Order Artiodactvla 1. iXippi 2. Arecea jinka liuntiacus raunta.iac 3. Kaniti Cervus unicolor 4 . Advi pandi ous scrofa cristatus 41 ■Ye^7La9-^.a.r A ^ e Zoological name 5. i-iundla pandi H.Ystri;?c indica 1. Udumu Varanus varanaus 2 . Tabelu Ohelouia sp. Hare or extinct gps. 1. i:«UgU xJLephus maxonus 2 . i^arubolu Bos elephus trafcocamelus 3. i4undla pandi Antilope cervi caora 4. Cinkara Gazella ;;a2ella 5. Alawa Manls crassicaudata Out of these wild species, the most common and important (i) small game are: 1. Hare ^epus nigricollis 2. Bandicoot Bandicota indica 3. Field mouse ^ius booduKa (Grey) 4. ^'ladras langur Presbvti s entellus 5 . i'^iouse i^us musculus 6 . Mongoose Aerpestes edv\fardsi (Geffroy) 7. Squirrel i^otufa indica (Brxleben) 8 . Porcupine Hystrlx indica 9. Monitor lizard 42 (2) Big game areJ 1 • Barking deer Mxmtiacu3 munt.iak (Zimmermann) 2. iipotted deer Axis axis (rirxleben) 3. Sambar Cervus unicolor (Kerr) 4. «’ild boar 3us scrofa (Linn) i'lost of the small game animals are found in the scrub jungle with thorny thickets. The big game animals found in the hyatic ranges - Shorea - iitigenia and red sanders zone. The Panthera oardus is found in small nxambers in the Seshachsilam-Palakonda and Velikondas. The Aeroestes edv/ardsi« the Cards aereus. the Vuloes bengalensis commonly found in all the hill ranges. The ;jus scrofa is mostly confined to rocky hills as found in Chandragiri area to the west of i>lashachalam. The Ratufa indiea occurs in these hill ranges specially on hilly zones beyond Papavinasam towards Dalepalli. The Hvatrix indica and the Leous nigricollis occur in all the forests all over the hill ranges. They occur in high concentra tion towards Konamadugu gorge. The species of Gazelle are reported from Nagari and Sri Kalahasti hill ranges towards down south. Cervais Anlcolor are plenty in the valley area. Axis axis is quite common along the perinnial water sources. iio at almost all the hill streams, ponds and lakes these species appear very often. 4 3 PiijQPLK According to the latest available figures (Census 1961), the total populations of the district is 19,14,639. The distribution of populations among -tiie various taluks has been consistently uneven as can be judged from the wide spectrum of figures between Puttur taluk and in the lowland (of the study area) and Kuppam taluk in the uplandof the districts. In 1961, Puttur led the other taluks with a total popialation of 2,46,446. The density of population in the district per square 1,600 meters is 328 as against the state figures of 339. The important aspect of the population pattern is its distribution among the various religious groups. The Hindus who number 17,53,157 constitute the bulk of the population with tlie Muslims (1,39,015) and the Christians (22,386) coming as a distant second and third (Gazetteer 1979). Urban and Rural There are 1,553 revanue villages in the districts. Of these, 1,429 are inhabited accounting for 89 percent of the total population. The population of the dominant type of village is between 1,000 and 1,999 persons. The urban area consists of 13 towns, among which Tirupati, Tirumala and Renigunta are found. Thus after this nature of villages. 44 the major region of the study area falls within rural background. In addition to caste populations the Tirupati valley includes a number of scheduled tribes (Table 5). Among the extant tribes, the Yanadis show ngpi^^cal domination not only in the district but on t j| | l. Jfcat«a|fevel also (Table 35), and male to female proportion they o c ^ ^ y a position next to Koyas (Table 36). However, within the southeast coastal districts, comparison between total caste population and other tribal population are made, the Yanauis are in high proportion (Table 37). iiiQilar trend is observed between the Yanadis and the other state level population (Table 38). In view of such predomi- nent rural nature, numerical significance and the confine ment of the Yanadi tribe to the southeast coastal region, the habitational area of this tribe, the extent available geo graphical area, forests etc., are presented (Table 6). A detciiled account of the Yanadis is presented in the chapters to fo llo w . O O ITk lO o\ O CM ON tSJ t- KN eg f\J CM CO cr> CM t- I s • • • ■ • • • • • t- r*- t** e- H m CM e n ^ £ HH H m H K\ SO S KN CO KN r v o\ a o> e - H CO VO << H irv H KN f - r - t - Kv O rH O iH ON O o% O I 00 co t - CO 00 (0 00 flO eo 0\ 00 a s V2 In 'vi) Ox CM O O v OV KN I f v tfN O ON CM H O H CM H t -i : CM VO CM 14 •• • « ••• • •• •• • ce CM ir> CO H CM H C^ CO 0 0 VO M K > K\ CM t-t - COOOOU>KNr-HO K> H o> tr\ VO UN o VO KS o H H 00 H O (V o KN o\ t- Ifv g •• • • • • • • •• •• irv lf\ tr\ cv fVI CM cv: oo p t- <& •o VO O* •»» g C-C^t-vOHHOC0fM00Olf\Ot » VO irv § • t^irvCJfVKN^OIOVOO^CMCUITv CVl o> o H ••• • • IfN t - t - 00 00 00 1 H H St 00 O K\voa>ovcoirvr<-KN O t- tvj • • • ••••••• t- CO o 00 r*- VO tr\ irv CM o mI -< E-i CMK>QOO'ii-l MHOcr>HOOincv CO » Ov V£> VO H H 0> tf> O (M CVI o KN OV O t - r - VO ON KN o H Fi Fl KN CM St KN VO K> Fi • •• • • • • • •• • •• o o O O O cr> VO t- t~ VO 00 Ov O H HH H HH a »« » «Q "S •p e • C0 § » "e e 4» O H p o « o o ►»►» SAllfFAlL DATA r,i Ralngaug* ^axisroR Eninas Taars Ho. station in fRf» in mm eonaidar«»d in wtr (Taar) (Tear) (Taar) 1 TUaalnrapot 1210 396 31 827 {1958) (1961) 2 Chftndradriri 1370 344 79 872 (1967) (1904) Kalyanl Dan 1077 673 6 920 (1974) (1973) Kodur 1327 576 25 1024 (1996) (1965) Pukala 2188 405 74 989 (1966) (1923) • Panapakaa 5069 731 6 2700 (1976) (1974) Pattur 1734 502 77 1008 (1943) (1945) S Tirnmlft 2063 806 28 1220 (1978) (1957) 9 Tirupati 1691 386 79 926 (1946) (1904) * Kot eonald«r«d in th« preeeatation of tho isohy*tal nnp 8* th« dftta l8 unr«Il«ble Table 5 Scheduled Tribes of Chlttoor District ( 1961) Ma les FemalesS.No. Name of Scheduled Total Males FemalesS.No. Tribe Persons 1. Yanadis 32,342 16,756 15,586 2. Sugalis 8,616 4,398 4,218 3. Yerukulas 8,509 4,436 4,073 h . Chenchus 747 382 365 5. Hanna Ohioras 265 155 110 6 . Koyas 117 68 49 7. Konda Lftioras 88 47 41 8. Reddl Eftioras 28 12 16 9. Konda Kapus 65 36 29 10. Malls 14 3 11 11. Kattunayakan 13 3 10 12. Kulia 6 4 2 13. Gaddabas 1 - 1 14. Savaras 6 3 3 15. Scheduled Tribes 115 70 45 not specified All scheduled Tribes 50,932 26,373 24,559 xssssisss=:5srsssss=ss3sasst3s:=ssrsss==:siis=ss3s s ss ss s =: s s s ss s s : ae S 3 S S3 =: 3 ss s:= s: ss s s = : = = = = = « = ; TABI.E A DISTRIBIITIOH OP RAIHPALL IN DIFFERENT SEASONS AT CHANDRAaiRI RAINOAUGE STATION (l918-67) (AFTER ANANDA REDDY AND SANSAR REDDY, 1969) SI No. Period Rainfall fi to total No. of raloy ^ of total in mm rainfall daye rainy days 1 Vinter 25.41 2.93 1.64 3.31 (Jan-Peb) 2 Hot Weather 88.91 10.24 5-36 10.80 (Mar-May) 3 S.W.Monsoon 377.36 43.46 24.42 49.21 (Jun-Sep) 4 N.E.r^bnsoon 376.54 43-37 18.20 36.68 (Oct-Dec) 5 Total Period 868.22 100.00 49.62 100.00 TP). Table 6 Land utllisatloix in the study area In hectares (1966-67) Kame of Taluk GeograxAiloal ?orests Barren and Land put to Cultivable SI area Cultlrable non-agrioultiaral Waste Ho. Vaste uses 1 . Chandrageri 1,40,895 77,235 12,876 7,960 5,101 2. Srlkalahaatl 1,57,886 54,506 23,337 18,157 14,925 3. Puttur l,55 ,a i4 45,521 34,938 8,969 5,354 Total: 4,54,595 1,77,262 71,151 35,096 25,380 I) CONTOUR ' river a s t r e a m s . railway line >’ roao 0 MIDDLE palaeolithic lakes Q LOWER palaeolithic STONE -A ^ e occupations IN THE TIRUPATI VALLEY FIG ^ FIG 5 V FIG G CHANDRAGIRI RAfNGUAGE STATION 1900-1978 500 r m a x im u m MEAN MINIMUM MONTHS 00 o» T fO cn z o 5 »- t/) UJ o < o z < a: q : C£ o 6V61 < < a: D z < X o o S3ai3wmiw Ni Noiiviidioadd cn O