Nelakondapalli

Nelakondapally, also referred to as Nelakondapalli or Nela Kondapalli, is a town and headquarters of a mandal in Khammam district, Telangana, India. It is also an archaeological site important to early Buddhism and Hinduism, where excavations have discovered a major stupa site near an ancient manmade lake, another site where Buddhist and Hindu artwork were carved in pre-3rd century India, both sites also yielding hundreds of ancient rare coins with Shaiva and Vaishnava inscriptions from the dynasties of Andhra Ikshvakus and Vishnukundinas. Nelakondapally is also the birthplace of Bhakta Ramadasu.

==Location== Nelakondapalli is located 21 kilometers southwest of Khammam, 58 km east-southeast of Suryapet and close to the Telangana–Andhra Pradesh border. It is connected to the Indian national highway grid with NH365A, the link between Khammam to Kodad and Kusumanchi. Nelakondapalli is not to be confused with Kondapalli, another different ancient town in the Deccan region. Historic Telugu and Sanskrit inscriptions mention Kondapalli, where the context clarifies whether they refer to Nelakondapalli or the other Kondapalli located over a hill and was once a hill-fort. In contrast,Nela means land and Nelakondapalli was linked to major Deccan cities on one of the ancient trade roads connecting north, east and south India.