"His opulence became legendary," so said Robert Frykenberg about Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu, who was born on April 27 (today) in 1761. The first thing that comes to many minds that hear his name is temples. The numbers of temples that were built, added to, or restored . . .

in coastal Andhra by him are easily in the hundreds. Among them include the famed the Mangalagiri Narasimha Swamy Temple, Amaravati Amareshwara Temple, Chebrolu Chatarmukha Brahmalingeswara Swamy Temple, Bapatla Bhavanarayana Swamy Temple, and Kethavaram Narasimha Swamy Temple.

This fact is quite unmissable to frequenters of temples in this region. There are statues and portraits of Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu that are still in these major temples, including the one at the Amaravati Amareshwara (his golden sanctum statue above), Mangalagiri . . .

Narasimha (his portrait above), and Ponnur Bhavanarayana (statue here).

To quote Frykenberg on Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu, "legendary sums were spent on festivals, sacrifices, fire offerings, and marriages. He bestowed his weight his weight in silver and gold upon . . .

Brahmans several times."

N. S. Ramaswami adds about Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu, "He kept a retinue of several thousand men, 300 horses, 80 elephants, 50 camels and uncounted bullock carts. His palaces in Amaravati, Chebrolu, and Chintapalli, his town house in Guntur, . . .

and other residences reflected his prosperity. He built temples . . ."

The last line is what I associate Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Naidu, a remarkable and regal Telugu aristocrat, with and remember for on his birth anniversary.