Ahobilam

The history of Ahobilam before the 16th century is obscure. One of the earliest literary references to Ahobilam is in the 9th-century Tamil-language religious work Periyatirumoḻi written by Thirumangai Alvar, where it is eulogized; this led to it being codified as one of the 108 canonical Divya Desams. Ahobilam finds subsequent mention in several Sanskrit and Telugu-language texts between the 12th and 16th centuries.^[3][4]

Inscriptions and other material evidence indicate that the shrines of the town received patronage from the Kakatiya and Reddi dynasties during the 13th and 14th centuries. The historical record is more prominent during the Vijayanagara period. The site received significant patronage from rulers of the Vijayanagara kingdom, starting with the Saluva dynasty in the 15th century, and sustained by the Tuluva dynasty in the 16th century. Most inscriptions at the shrines date to the Tuluva period. The ruler Krishnadevaraya visited and patronised the town's shrines in the 16th century. The town is also the birthplace of the Ahobila Matha, a monastic institution founded during the medieval period; scholars have proposed the late 15th or early 16th century as the possible periods of origin.^[4]

Ahobilam lost imperial patronage with the decline of the Vijayanagara kingdom.^[5] The site faced a raid in 1579 by Murahari Rao, a commander of the Golconda Sultanate. Ahobilam's temple was sacked and its bejewelled idol presented to Golconda's sultan.^[6]

Ahobilam is located at 15°08′00″N 78°43′00″E / 15.1333°N 78.7167°E / 15.1333; 78.7167.^[7] It is located in Nallamala Forest, along the Eastern Ghats.^[8]