Anantapur

Anantapur takes its name from Anantasagaram, a great tank whose name means “endless ocean.” Tradition attributes the villages of Anantasagaram and Bukkarayasamudram to Chikkavodeya, a minister of Bukka I of Vijayanagara. In the sixteenth century the town and surrounding country were granted to Hanumappa Nayudu of the Hande family, in recognition of his help to Rama Raya. The town came to be known as Hande Anantapur after its chiefs.