An Overview of the Archaeological Study of a ...

An Overview of the Archaeological Study of a Few Prehistoric Sites of Telangana

Author Name : Dr. M. Kumara Swamy

Etymologically, the word "Telangana" is derived from Trilingadesa ("land of three lingas"). It is located between three shrines of Lord Shiva. They are Kaleshwaram, Srisailam, and Draksharamam. The first is in Telangana, and the other two are now in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state. Muhammad bin Tuglak, after his conquest of Warangal, termed this region Mulk-i-Tilang in 1324. Though debatable, for Jayadhir Thirumala Rao, a former director of Andhra Pradesh Oriental Manuscripts Library and Research Centre, the name Telangana is of Gondi origin. Rao asserts that it is derived from "Telangadh", which according to him, means "south" in Gondi and has been referred to in "Gond script dating back to about 2000 years".