Nellore district is the southern most coastal district in Andhra Pradesh with Nellore as the District Head Quarters. The area of the district is 13076 sq. km. Situated on the north bank of Pennar River, Nellore lies in the southern part of the Andhra Pradesh State. It is at a distance of 173-km from Chennai and is the headquarters of the district.
It is believed that it derived its name, as paddy is extensively cultivated in and around the other neighbouring areas of Nellore, where 'Nellu' means paddy and 'Ur' means a town. Nellore was also known as Vikramasimhapuri. Historically, the place is very important. Culturally, Nellore town stands unique among the other towns of Andhra Pradesh as it is supposed to be the place where the greatest of the Telugu poets, Tikkana Somayaji, who translated the Mahabharata into Telugu, lived.
