Vijayawada (/ˈvɪdʒəjəˈwɑːdə/ ⓘ Vijay-uh-waw-duh), also known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and commercial hub in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

[14] There is a legend which says that Arjuna, one of the heroes of the Indian epic Mahabharata, prayed on top of the Indrakeeladri Hill in the city and won the blessings of the Lord Shiva to get the Pashupatastra to win the Kurukshetra War.

It is predicted to be the world's, and India's, tenth fastest growing city economy through 2035 by an Oxford Economics report.

[24] Due to its high ratings in entertainment, construction, food, education, health care, and transport,[25] it is ranked as India's ninth most liveable city as per Ease of Living Index 2018, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs[26] and the second most liveable city in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

[31] The epic Mahabharata refers to the Indrakiladri hills as the place where Arjuna secured Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva.

[32] A tale behind its acquiring the name Bezawada is that Goddess Krishnaveni (River Krishna) requested Arjuna to make a passage for her to merge into the Bay of Bengal.

[33][34] Other names of Vijayawada were being Vijayavata,[33] Beejapuram, Kanakaprabha, Kanakapuram, Kanakawada, Jayapuri, Vijayapuri, Phalguna Kshetram and Jananathpura in the twelfth century CE.

There are ten pillars and a mutilated slab (recognised as monuments by Archaeological Survey of India) with inscriptions in the Telugu language.

[38] In the early 16th century, during the reign of Qutb Shahi dynasty (also known as Golconda Sultanate), diamond mines were found near Vijayawada on the banks of Krishna River.

Three canals originating from the north side of the Prakasam Barrage reservoir — Eluru, Bandar, and Ryves — flow through the city.

[66] The metropolitan area covers Vijayawada municipal corporation and merged villages of Ambapuram, Buddavaram, Done Atkuru, Enikepadu, Ganguru, Gannavaram, Gollapudi,[59] Gudavalli, Jakkampudi, Kanuru, Kesarapalle, Nidamanuru, Nunna, Pathapadu, Penamaluru, Phiryadi Nainavaram, Poranki, Prasadampadu, Ramavarappadu, Tadigadapa, Kankipadu, Vuyyuru, Katuru, Bollapadu, Mudunuru and Yanamalakuduru.

[79] Likewise, the city has a large number of CNG fuelled auto-rickshaws that support public transportation needs.

However, auto-rickshaw operators have frequently suffered disruption in CNG supply and usually endure long queues to refuel.

[86] The sectors that contribute to the city economy are construction, education, entertainment, food processing, hospitality, registrations, transport, etc.

[90] It is also a hub for storage, bottling, and transportation of petroleum products of all major companies like BPCL, HPCL, and IOCL.

HCL Technologies, Wipro, the Noida-based Indian multinational is constructing its Vijayawada campus in Kesarapalli village, near to Gannavaram.

[92] There are two major IT parks one at Gannavaram and other in Mangalagiri there are big companies like TechMahindra, HCL, PI Data Center, VSoft, Efftronics, KJ Systems, and EPSoft.

[93] There is also a cyber security office that is operating by Tech mahindra.And the Wonderla an amusement park is trying to invest around 250 crores rupees to expand its branch in between guntur and vijayawada in 50 acres.

These toys are known for their intricate designs and vibrant colours, made from soft Tella Poniki wood and painted with natural dyes.

[113][114] The major commercial areas include the stretch of MG Road and from Benz Circle to Ramavarappadu Ring.

[citation needed] The primary modes of intra-city public transport are city buses and auto rickshaws.

[126] In 2016, APSRTS has discontinued city services on the BRTS corridor due to poor response from the commuters.

Covering a 2.9 km stretch from the Police Control Room to Benz Circle, it was launched as a Proof of Concept for the Smart City initiative by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

[141] Supported by Cisco Systems, the project provides facilities such as free Wi-Fi, intelligent street lighting, smart parking, and digital kiosks.

The project also introduced Remote Expert Government Services, allowing citizens to communicate with officials via video calls.

[citation needed] Suburban rail services are operated from the railway station to the nearby cities of Guntur and Tenali.

[citation needed] The city of Vijayawada has several satellite stations such as Gannavaram, Gunadala, Krishna Canal, Ramavarappadu,[152] Kondapalli, Rayanapadu,[153] Madhura Nagar,[154] and Nidamanuru.

[172] VMC & VBFS Research and Reference Library is a reader's room/library maintained by Vijayawada Book Festival Society.

[180] It hosted its only men's One Day International (ODI) on 24 November 2002, played between India and West Indies.

[190] Such a good ranking can be accredited to policy measures such as the introduction of waste disposal vehicles in the city by N. Chandrababu Naidu.