Raju

Raju is a Sanskrit word meaning King. It is a commonly used first name as well as a title used by rulers. It is also the word used to refer to the ancient warrior caste found amongst Telugu society. This caste is native to Andhra Pradesh, with a population barely comprising 1.2% of the state’s population. They are most prominent in the north coastal districts of the state with pockets in the Rayalaseema region and in the district of Bellary in Karnataka, North Arcot and Virudhunagar Districts of Tamil Nadu. It is a proud community that claims to belong to the Kshatriya Varna of the Hindu caste system and is the only one recognized as such by the state census. This community uses Raju or Varma as an agnomen in their name. They follow the Telugu traditions of using their family name as the first initial followed by the given name and the caste title as the last name. For example A. Rama Raju would actually be Alluri Rama Raju and would mean Rama of the Alluri family and the Raju caste. Half the modern community lives in villages and is agricultural landlords and half is located in towns and cities engaged in professional and business occupations. A significant amount has also migrated outside the country. In their most recent history a significant number of families were hereditary Barons called Zamindars. Of the Zamindars the most prominent are The Rajas of Vizianagaram, Karvetinagaram and Anegundi of Karnataka.

Ethnicity

Members of community have generally claimed to have descended from ancient Kshatriya clans from the north that settled into Andhra Pradesh. This was difficult to prove due to lack of recorded evidence and scientific evidence. However a couple of studies, one observational performed in the 19th century and a scientific study in 2001 seem to shed some light on this subject.

Edgar Thurston did a comprehensive study of the communities of South Indians in his Castes and Tribes of Southern India Vol. 6. His was a man of his time and his premise was that the caste system was a type of racial apartheid and that all upper caste North Indians were a degraded version of the ancient Indo-Aryans and that all South Indians were representatives of the ancient Dravidians as such it was not possible for there to a Kshatriya caste in South India. With this criterion he observed that many communities in Andhra referred to themselves as Rajus and Kshatriyas but in fact originated from other castes. About the true Rajus he acknowledged their martial history but was hesitant to connect them with the ancient Kshatriyas.

Thurston: "The Maharajas of Vizianagaram are Kshatriyas from the Rajputana and the leaders of the people of gotrams said to have come to the Northern Circars centuries ago. It is noted in connection with the battle of Padmanabham in the Visakhapatnam district (1794 AD) that Rajputs formed a rampart round the corpse of Vijay Rama Raju. Padmanabham will long be remembered as the Flodden of the Rajputs of Vizianagaram."

"As a class they are the handsomest and best developed men in the country and differ so much in feature and build from other Hindus that they may usually be distinguished at a glance...In religion they are mostly Vaishnavites, and their priests are Brahmans...Claiming to be Kshatriyas, the Rajus of course assume the sacred thread, and are very proud and particular in their conduct, though meat eating is allowed. In all the more well-to-do families the females are kept in strict seclusion...The Brahmanical rites of Punya Havachanam (Purification), Jata Karma (Birth ceremony), Nama Karanam (Naming ceremony), Chaulam (Tonsure), and Upanayanam (Thread ceremony) are performed...At weddings the Kasi Yatra (Mock flight to Benares) or Snatha Kavritham is performed...In some villages, Rajus seem to object to the construction of a pial, or raised platform, in front of their houses. The pial is the lounging place where visitors are received by day. The Rajus claim to be Kshatriyas so other castes should not sit in their presence. If pials were constructed, such people might sit thereon, and so commit a breach of etiquette."

A 2001 examination of male Y-DNA by Indian and American scientists indicated that higher castes are genetically closer to Western Eurasians than are individuals from lower castes, whose genetic profiles are similar to other Asians. Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) is a type of DNA that is only carried by men and is only inherited from their fathers. Men who share a common paternal ancestor will have virtually the same Y-DNA, even if that male ancestor lived many generations ago. According to Bamshad et al. (2001), higher caste Telugus have a higher frequency of haplogroup 3 (R1a1) than lower castes. Haplogroup 3 is also characteristic for the Eastern Europeans. In the study, Bamshad and his team wrote, "Our results demonstrate that for biparentally inherited autosomal markers, genetic distances between upper, middle, and lower castes are significantly correlated with rank; upper castes are more similar to Europeans than to Asians; and upper castes are significantly more similar to Europeans than are lower castes." There is some evidence that a few millennia ago, a group of people with (Eastern) European genetic affinities migrated into the Indian subcontinent from the northwest. In the abstract to their paper Bamshad et al stated, "In the most recent of these waves, Indo-European-speaking people from West Eurasia entered India from the northwest and diffused throughout the subcontinent. They purportedly admixed with or displaced indigenous Dravidic-speaking populations. Subsequently they may have established the Hindu caste system and placed themselves primarily in castes of higher rank" [1]. However, critics point out that a South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh might not be the best place for such a study. One of the upper castes, Kshatriyas, belongs to the minuscule part of Telugu population. Also, historically South Indian royal families had marital relationship with Central and East Indian royal families. In other words, Kshatriyas were not as isolated as Chenchu tribe. The study also revealed another classic anthropological observation, that women are significantly more mobile in terms of caste and hierarchical class than men, who are barely socially mobile at all in terms of caste and hierarchical Social class. Genetic evidence reveals that over millennia men from higher casts have married women from lower castes, but women from higher casts have rarely married men from lower castes. Thus the researchers imply that caste and class to a large extent is perpetuated by women and has also thereby contributed to the minimal mixing of Aryan blood with the natives. Recent paper in Current Biology, Cordaux et. al. (2004) confirms the Bamshad (2001) results and concludes that the paternal lineages of Indian caste groups are primarily descendants of Indo-European speakers who migrated from Central Asia about 3,500 years ago.

History

Myths

• V. Rama Chandra Rao postulates that most of the Kshatriya families can trace their origins to the Vishnukundina and Chalukya period.^[2] and lists the traditional claim of descent from Ikshavaku, Matsya, Vishnukundina, Varnataka, Parichedi, Kota Vamsa and Nandimandalam. In this he elaborates that:

1. Founders of the Ikshvaku Kingdom in Andhra are thought to be a distant branch of the older Ikshavaku dynasty of Lord Rama in Kosala, Uttar Pradesh who migrated to the south and established another dynasty there.
2. The Matsya of Oddadi are linked to the ancient kingdom that lay to the south of the Kurus and were a part of the Chedi Kingdom of Madhya Pradesh, Bundelkhand region.
3. A folktale claims Madhav Varma of the Vishnukundina dynasty led the original members of their gotras to Andhra. Officially the Vizianagaram dynasty of the Pusapatis was founded by Amala Raju who took the fiefdom during Qutb Shahi times in the 16th century and built the village of Poosapadu, which is located in the Nandimandalam Taluq. But closer examination indicates the clan is far older than 16th century.
4. Varnataka is likely to be Karnataka and the Chalukyas.
5. Parichedis were an ancient clan mentioned during the Chalukya reign who may have originated from the ancient Chedi clan or the Nagpur, Parchure area of Maharashtra.
6. Kota Vamsa were another ancient clan in Andhra.
7. Nandimandalam is named after a region of Andhra and it generally refers to the border clans of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Their is a relation to the Eastern Ganga Dynasty and Gajapati of Orissa.^[3]

• They are divided into sects called:

1. Suryavanshi (Sun Dynasty) include Ikshvaku, Vishnukundina, Eastern Ganga and Gajapati.
2. Chandravanshi (Lunar Dynasty) includes Matsya, Eastern Chalukyas, Paricheda, Kota Vamsa and Kalachuris.

When it comes to claims to being descendents of the sun or moon, it is merely a myth. Ancient rulers throughout the world have used this to legitimise their to make it seem that they are descendents of gods. But these myths continued to be perpetuated.

Gothram

File:Pashupati.gif

An Indus Valley seal with the seated figure termed pashupati

• Suryavanshis and Chandravanshis are further subdivided into five clans named after Rishis called Gothrams.

1. Dhananjaya
2. Kashyapa
3. Kaundinya
4. Pasupati
5. Vasishta

• Each Gothram is again sub-divided into hundreds of endogamous sects based on surnames that are named after villages of origin, a famous member of the clan, personality etc. See Gotras for common surnames.
• Sage Kaundinya was the son of Vasishtha and nephew of Agastya.

Hindu society is predominently a patriarical society and the significance of the gotras is to continue the family line without risking percieved incest. The various rishis (saints) were thought to be the spiritual guides of the clans and the original student of these saints were thought to have been their ancestor. The descendents of this ancestor are part of the same family and thus considered brother and sister. As the popultation of the clans grew, they started using their village names as their family name so it became important to know ones gotra to prevent prevent a percieved incestuous alliance. This is also the symbolic rational for preventing members of the Vasistha and Kaundinya gotras from marrying as they were uncle and nephew.

Recorded History

While the history of the Zamindari families are fairly well documented not much is now about the origins of the lesser members of the community. The was never a great need to go beyond the usual folktales of their origins in the every day lives of the community, but a recent concerted effort was made Mr. Varahala Raju Buddharaju who went from village to village looking to birth certificates and talking to elder members of the community to piece together their genealogy in order to get an understanding of their origins. It is titled Sri Andhra Kshatriya Ratnakaram. It however only goes back 500 years and it is restricted to the families located in the north coastal regions of AP.

Ikshvaku

Based on the similarity of the names, historians have tried to link the Ikshvaku of Andhra with the Ikshvaku dynasty of Ayodhya. The hypothesis is that they may have been a distant branch of the main Ikshvaku family who migrated to the Deccan and established their own kingdom in the Krishna River-Guntur region.

A Kannada poem called “Dharmamrita” and Buddhist writings aver that the Ikshvakus of Andhra were the descendants of the renowned Ikshvakus of Northern India. Historians like Buhler and Rapson are in agreement with this view. According to the Vayu Purana, Manu, the great patriarch of ancient India had nine sons of whom Ikshvaku was the eldest. Ikshvaku was the reputed founder of the Solar dynasty of monarchs. His capital was Ayodhya. He had a hundred sons, and the eldest Vikushi succeeded his father as the ruler of Ayodhya. Of the rest, fifty sons founded small principalities in Northern India. Forty eight of his sons migrated to the south and carved out kingdoms for themselves. According to the Vishnu Purana, the founder of the Dakshina Kosala Kingdom was Kusa. His capital was Kusasthali. Several northern Indian Kshatriya scions came down to the south and founded the Matsya, Pandya and Kekaya principalities there.

The Puranas mentions them as the Sriparvatiyas (Foresters), Rulers of Sriparvata (forests) and Andhrabhrityas (`Servants of the Andhras'). The Satavahanas were also referred to as Andhras. Though seven kings are said to have ruled for 100 years in all, only a few are known by name from Inscriptions. Originally they were feudatories of the Satvahanas and bore the title Mahatalavara. Other than these citations from ancient texts and the fact they practiced Vedic principles, there so far is no concrete evidence to link this clan with the Raju community.

Vishnukundina

The royal family of Vizianagaram claim to be direct descendents of the Vishnukundinas, one of the ancient Kshatriya clans found in Andhra Pradesh in the 5th and 7th century. In family lore it is believed that a Madhava Varma of the Vishnukundinas led his Vasistha clan (Gotra) along with the four other clans against the Salankayanas and established his kingdom. As far as actual documented history the biographer of the Pusapati clan, Edward B. Eastwick stated that the Maharajas of Vizianagaram descent from the Maharanas of Udaipur and is of the Vasistha gotra or the Sisodia branch of the Gehlot tribes. A brother of the Maharana migrated to Oudh, and his descendant, Madhava Varma, marched with 5 clans into the Deccan, and conquered the country from Ramanad to Cuttack. His descendants reigned over this area for 921 years. They were eventually subjugated by Sultan Kuli of the Golkonda dynasty. The 5th King of that line was made Subahdar of the North Circars. The Emperor Aurangzeb confirmed the Subahdar in his office and gave him a two-edged sword (Zulfikar), which is still used in the coat-of-arms of the family. In 1827 he died at Banaras. In 1845 his successor, Maharajah Vijay Rama Gajapati Raju III had several honors conferred on him by the British Government. Lord Northbrook obtained for him the title of His Highness, and had his name enrolled among those of chiefs entitled to return visits from the Viceroy. His son was born December 31st 1850 and a daughter is married to His Highness Maharaj Kumar Singh, cousin and heir apparent of H.H. Maharajah of Rewah. The Rajahs of Vizianagaram obtained the title of 'Gajapathi', after the battle of Nandapur, in the Northern Circars in the 16th century.

The Rajus of Rajapalayam are descendents of a clan of families led by the brother of the Vizianagaram Maharajah, Chinna Raju and settled at Kila-Raja-Kulara-Man at first and then moved their settlements to Rajapalayam. The descendents of the original emigrants were said to have served under the Chokkanath Nayak, king of Madurai (1659 -1682). They purchased land from Vijay Ranga Chokkanath Nayak (1706 -1732) and constructed Rajapalayam in 1885. The word 'palayam' is frequently used in many Tamil cities as a suffix and it translates roughly as a 'fort'

Varnataka / Karnataka

Badami Chalukya Territories

• Chalukya

Chalukyas were a royal dynasty that succeeded the Vishnukundinas and ruled large parts of southern and central India between 550 and 750, and again between 973 and 1190. As early as the 1st Century, they were mentioned as being vassals and chieftains under the Satavahana rule. Historians agree that the Chalukyas originated from Karnataka were led into Andhra by Pulakesin and appointed his brother Vishnu Vardhana as his Viceroy. After Pulakesin’s death he declared independence and were referred to as the Eastern Chalukyas.

• Eastern Chalukya

The Eastern Chalukyas, also known as Vengi Chalukyas, ruled large parts of Andhra from 624-1190 AD. Pulakesin I established the dynasty in 550 AD. by taking Vatapi (Badami) under his control. In the east, Pulakesin II overthrew the Vishnukundinas and appointed his younger brother Vishnu Vardhana, the Viceroy of Vengi. They parceled out their territory into many small principalities (estates) held by the nobility consisting of collateral branches of the ruling house such as those of Elamanchili, Pithapuram and Mudigonda, and a few Kshatriya families closely connected by marriage ties (Kona Haihayas (Heheya, Kalachuris), Kolanu Saronathas, and other non-Kshatriya families (Kota Vamsas, Chagis, Parichedas, Velanadus, Velanti Chodas, Kondapadamatis etc.), who were raised to high position for their loyalty, Valor and statecraft.^[4]

Yuan Chwang, who travelled in the Andhra country after the establishment of the Eastern Chalukya kingdom, noted that the people were of a violent character, were of a dark complexion and were fond of arts. The society was based on hereditary caste system. Besides the four traditional castes, minor communities like Boyas and Savaras (Tribal groups) also existed.

The Brahmins were held in high esteem in the society. They were proficient in Vedas and Shastras and were given gifts of land and money. They held lucrative posts such as councillors, ministers and members of civil service. They even entered the army and some of them rose to positions of high command. The Kshatriyas were the ruling class. Their love of intrigue and fighting was responsible for civil war for two centuries. The Komatis (Vaisyas) was flourishing trading community. Their organisation into a powerful guild (Nakaram) which had its headquarters in Penugonda (West Godavari) and branches in seventeen other centers had its beginnings in this period. It seems there used to be a minister for communal affairs (Samaya Mantri) in the government. The Sudras constituted the bulk of the population and there were several sub-castes among them. The army furnished a career for most of them and some of them acquired the status of Samanta Raju and Mandalika.

Satya Narayan Kambhampati mentioned in his article that the Kshatriyas continued to be the ruling caste, but now they were not the only fighters. From records he found that anyone, including Brahmins, Vaisyas and Sudras could take up arms during times of danger. Latitude was shown to Kshatriyas marrying women of lower castes, because such unions added to the number of Kshatriyas. Kings belonging to the Sudra caste enjoyed equal status with those of higher birth. So any discussion of caste lost its old meaning. A couple of generations of independent rule or even high office as governor or feudatory prince encouraged an ambitious family to claim Kshatriya status and trace a descent from the Sun or Moon. (P. Srinivasachari: Hyderabad Archeological Series No. 13, Part 1).

Matsya/Chedi/Perichedi/Kalachuri/Chagi/Kota

The Matsyas, Chedis, Perichedis, Haihayas and Kalachuris seem to share a common Vedic ancestry. They all seem to share a common origin myth but it would be difficult to make a conclusive link between the myth and currently available historical information. In the Puranas the Matsya (Sanskrit for fish) was the name of a tribe and state found in the Vedic civilization of India. It was founded by a fisherman who later attained kingship. Mahabharata (V.74.16) refers to a King Sahaja as the son of a Chedi king named Uparichara Vasu who ruled over both the Chedis and the Matsyas which implicates that Matsya once formed a part of the Chedi Kingdom. Other than this Matsya kingdom the epic refers as many as six other Matsya kingdoms. The Pandya Kingdom in the extreme south also bears the icon of a fish on its official banner showing some connection with the Matsya kings and a branch of Matsya is also found in later days in Visakhapatnam region.

• Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yadav kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh.

• Haihaya kingdom was one of the many kingdoms ruled by Chandravanshi Kshatriya kings in central and western India. It had the powerful ruler Kartavirya Arjuna who defeated Ravana. Its capital was Mahishmati (modern city of Maheswar) on the banks of river Narmada in Madhya Pradesh.

• Kalachuri is the name used by two kingdoms who had a succession of dynasties from the 10th-12th centuries, one ruling over areas in Central India (west Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan) and were called Chedi or Haihaya and the other southern Kalachuri who ruled over parts of Karnataka. They share a common ancestry belief.
• Origin Myths
  • Haihaya is supposed to be derived from haya (a horse).
  • They believe they are descendents of a prince of the lunar race.
  • The Vishnu Purana represents them as descendants of Haihaya of the Yadu race, but they are generally associated with borderers and outlying tribes.
  • In the Vayu and other Puranas, five great divisions of the tribe are named as Talajanghas, Vitihotras, Avantis, Tundikeras, Jatas, or rather Sujatas.
  • According to the Mahabharata, they were descended from Saryati, a son of Manu.
  • Kaartaveerya-arjuna, of a thousand arms, was king of the Haihayas, and he was defeated and had his arms cut off by Parasurama.
• The southern branch of Haihayas (Kalachuris) further adds to the legend:
  • Kalli meaning long moustache and Churi meaning Sharp knife is the source of their dynastic name.
  • An 1174 record says the dynasty was founded by one Soma who grew a beard and moustache, to save himself from the wrath of Parashurama, and thereafter the family came to be known as Kalachuri.
  • Their emblem was Suvarna Vrishabha or the golden bull.
  • They worship Krantivirya Sahasrarjun who killed Bhagwan Parshurama's father Rishi Jamadagni.

Historians such as Dr. P.B. Desai are emphatic about the central Indian origin of the Karnataka Kalachuris. They were also referred to as Katachuris (shape of a sharp knife), Kalanjara-puravara-dhis-vara (Lord of Kalanjara) and Haihaya (Heheya). Mount Kalanjara is in north central India, east of the Indus Valley floodplain. The Vindhya Mountains would seem to have been the home of these tribes; and according to Colonel Todd, a tribe of Haihayas still exists: Near the very top of the valley of Sohagpur, in Bhagelkhand, aware of their ancient lineage, and though few in number, still celebrated for their valor.

Before the arrival of Badami Chalukyas, the Kalachuris had carved out an extensive empire covering areas of Gujarat, Malwa, Konkan and parts of Maharashtra. However after their crippling defeat at the hands of Badami Chalukya Magalesa, they remained in obscurity for a prolonged period of time.

Historians have also pointed out that several Kalachuri kings were related to Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas by matrimonial alliances and had ruled from places like Tripuri, Gorakhpur, Ratnapur, Rajpur. By the time they are mentioned in the Telugu epic Battle of Palnadu, they referred to as the Haihaya family of the Kona region (Amalapuram and Razole taluqs of the present East Godavari District) and the Haihaya family of Palanadu and were modest feudatories of the Chalukyas. The Jaiswals of North India and the Somavamshiya Sahasrarjun Kshatriyas also claim to be descended from the Haihayas.

In the same tale the Perichedis are also mentioned also as minor feudatories of the Chalukyas. According to V. Rama Chandra Rao they have been linked to the ancient Chedi Kingdom. They had two branches with Kollipaka and Bezawada as their capitals. He also mentions that the Vastsavai dynasty of Peddapuram may be related to the Matsya dynasty as there is evidence of a branch found in the Vishakapatnam area. Kota kings ruled from Dharanikota during the 11th and 12th century AD. The royal family of Rama-Chandra-Puram, the Kalidindi royal family of Mogalthur, the Uppalapathi royal family of Mutta Talaga Chirala, of which the current direct descendent is actor turned politician Krishnam Raju Uppalapathi, uncle of popular Telugu actor Prabas Uppalapathi, all claim descent from the Kota kings. The Royals of Kota Uratla/Thangedu Zamindar all claim to be descendents of the Chagis, with their name changing over time to Sagi. V. Rama Chandra Rao is in agreement with all these claims. This seem inconsistent with the statements made in the Palnadu epic which clearly states that they were non-Kshatriyas. However as observed by various witnesses there seemed to be an inclination to accept non-Kshatriya clans into the fold in order to increase the size of the Kshatriya. All these clans were important participants in the battle of Palnadu. It was battle over social changes. In it a Brahma Naidu sought the cooperation of all the royal families to bring about change in society that did away with caste distinctions and brought about a more egalitarian society. He was opposed the Chalukya clans and especially the Haihaya clans as well as their loyal supports who wanted to keep the current rigid social system that was being practiced. It was supposedly a very bloody battle in which Brahma Naidu's faction lost but in the long run it brought about the demise of the caste system as it was practiced amongst Telugu royals as they Chalukyas eventually merged into the Cholas and eventually lost control to the Kakatiyas.

Orissa/Nandimandalam

Kalinga in 265 B.C.E.

The region between Cuttack and Vijayawada was known as Kalinga (ancient Orissa), and was controlled often by the Oriya rulers the Gangas. The early Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinga-nagara (Mukhalingam near Srikakulam Andhra Pradesh). They shifted their capital to Cuttack in the 12th century. The religious leader Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the Raja Choda Ganga Deva who re-built the temple at Puri. Narasimha Deva built the Sun Temple at Konark. The Gangas were succeeded by the Suryavanshi Gajapati rulers. Two copper plates of the early Pallava dynasty have been found in the Kolleru Lake, traces its history to Gajapati Langula Narasimha Deva an Oriya ruler. According to legend, the Gajapathi fort was located at Kolleti Kota on one of the eastern islands of the lake. The enemy general encamped at Chiguru Kota located on the shores. In some ways, the lake protected the Oriya forces. The enemy finally tried to excavate a channel, the modern-day Upputeru, so that the water of the lake would empty into the sea and the level would fall so that they could attack the Gajapathi fort. The Orissa army general sacrificed his own daughter to propitiate Gods and ensure his success against his enemies. Her name was Perantala Kanama.

The Bhoi and Surya Vansi Gajapatis of Orissa, on the height of their power in the 15th century, ruled over a kingdom extending from the Ganga river in the north to the Kaveri in the south under Gajapati Kapilendra Deva. But by the early 16th century, the Gajapatis lost great portions of their southern dominion to Vijayanagar and Golconda. This period was marked by the influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and by the construction of Jaganatha temples across the length and breadth of the empire. The last independent Oriya emperor was Gajapati Mukunda Deva.

As far as their connection to the Rajus, it was common for the Zamindari families of the border region of Orissa and Andhra to have alliances. Early on they actually sided with the Gajapathis against the Vijayanagar Empire. There was a notable exception with inscriptional confirmation of a Rachi Raju Pusapati being one of the two Kshatriya generals fighting on the side of Krishna Deva Raya. Of the modern clans, the Virycharla royals of Kurupam, the Sanyasiraju clan of Salur, and the Satrucharla clan of have more in common with the Orissa royals then they do with the Andhra clans.

Kakatiya

The Kakatiyas proudly declared that they were from the Sudra Varna early in their career but near the later stages of their reign started to follow Brahmanical Hinduism and claimed Kshatriya status as evidenced by an inscription found on the huge Nandi pillar lying near the ruined temple in Malkapuram, Guntur Taluk, Guntur District. No. 395. (A. R. No. 94 of 1917.) (Published in the Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society, Vol. IV, pp. 147-64.) S. 1183. (Durmati) which gives a detailed account of the Kakatiya family and are described as belonging to the Solar race of Kshatriyas.

The Raju clans had no direct link to the ancient Kakatiya rulers. Cynthia Talbot noted that there were inscriptions describing the population of the capital in which the number of Kshatriyas living there was listed as 2,000 Kshatriyas and were part of the army. There are also 9 inscriptions found during Kakatiya rule mentioning the Sagi rulers, 6 inscriptions mentioning Pericheda Bhimaraju ruling in the Guntur region and 2 inscriptions of Kota kings of the Vasistha gotra also ruling in the Guntur region.

Interestingly, the royal family of Bastar believes that Kakatiya King Pratap Rudra's brother, Annam Deo, left Warangal and established his kingdom at Bastar, Chhattisgarh around the late 14th century. A later descendant named Raja Rudra Pratap Deo's daughter, Praphul Kumari Devi ascended the throne in 1922. Later in 1927, she was married to Praphul Kumar Bhanj Deo, who belonged to the royal family Mayurbhanj of Orissa. Praphul Kumari Devi died in 1936 in London and her elder son Maharaja Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo Kakatiya ascended the throne in 1936 at a minor age. Praphul Kumari Devi is believed to be the last link to the Kakatiyas. The current descendant of this dynasty is Praveen Chandra Bhanj Deo.

Other branches of the Bhanj dynasty are Baud, Nilgiri, Keonjhar (which was founded in the 12th century by Adi Singh Kachhawa (Bhanj)) and Daspalla, who's former ruler Purna Chandra Deo Bhanj (Chairman of Daspalla Hotels) was married to Rani Kamala Devi of Chemudu. Their daughter, Rani Preeti Devi married Raja Vyricharla Kishore Chandra Deo Raju of Kurupam (MLA and MP from Kurupam). Raja Kishore Vyricharla's aunt was married to Raja Bir Udit Pratap Shekhar Deo of Gangpur. Raja Kishore Vyricharla's son is married to Sudhani Devi, daughter of the former Maharaja of Vizianagram, Pusapati Ananda Gajapathi Raju (MLA and MP) and who's brother Ashok had been the Finance Minister of the TDP regime of Chandra Babu Naidu.^[5][6]

Vijayanagar Empire

Vijayanagara Empire, 1446-1520 CE

This empire was founded by the Sangama brother Hakka and Bukka. Some historians claim that the founders of the Vijayanagar empire were generals in the Kakatiya empire that ended up forming their own empire, others claim they were the five sons of the Hoysala King, another theory claims they were northern officials of the Mughal empire sent to administer the territory for them but ended up declaring their independence under the influence of a Hindu sage. Most reliable historians believe they are originally from Karnataka and from the Kuruba or Yadava caste. The Vijayanagara Empire (1336-1646) was founded as the last bastion of Hinduism against Islamic oppression from Tughlaq rule in the Deccan. It lasted for more than two centuries as the dominant power in South India.

The capital Vijayanagar was built in an easily defensible position south of the Tungabhadra River. The city was a royal ceremonial and administrative center and the nexus of trade routes. Foreign travelers and visitors were impressed by the variety and quality of commodities that reached the city, the architectural grandeur of the palace complex and temples, and by the ceremonial significance of the annual Mahanavami celebrations, at which the Nayakas and other chiefs assembled to pay tributes. The kingdom's expansion in the first century of its existence made it the first South Indian state to incorporate different linguistic and cultural regions under a single regime, albeit with sub regional and local chiefly powers exercising authority as its agents and subordinates.

The Empire was divided for the purposes of administration into a number of kingdoms and provinces called Rajas. They were also known as Mandalams. A governor, known by different names like Samanta Raju, Nayaka, Danda-Nayaka, and Mandal-eswara etc., were appointed over each province by the central government at Vijayanagar. Although technically under the direct control of the central power, they enjoyed a good measure of local autonomy within their jurisdiction without interference from the central government as long as they discharged their obligation to it regularly. They held their own courts and maintained their own armies. There were also areas which were administered through feudal vassals who claimed to enjoy a semi-independent status.

Under Vijayanagar rule, temples emerged as major political arenas. Monastic organizations (Mathas) representing various religious traditions also became focal points of local authority, often closely linked with the Nayak chieftains. A fairly elaborate and specialized administrative infrastructure underlay these diverse local and regional religio-political forms.

In all four clans ruled the empire, of which two claimed to be of the Kshatriya Varna. The Saluva clan was the first to declare this and in Robert Sewell's, Historical inscriptions of Southern India pg. 387, he states the Rajas of Karvetinagar claim descent form the Saluva lineage.

The other clan that claimed to have been Kshatriyas was the Aravidu Dynasty. The government of Karnataka acknowledges Raja Achutya Deva Raya as the recognized direct descendent of this line. He was extensively interviewed by Robert Sewell in order to help him in his research of his book Vijayanagar: A forgotten Empire. In his royal biography he takes on the title of Zamindar of Anegundi, Senior Representative of the Royal House of Vijayanagar, born 4th August 1936, adoptive son of Rani Lal Kumari, Guru (Religious Head) of the Hindu Kshatriya Community, enjoys the customary privileges and honors at Hampi Temple and at Anegondi Temple, during all religious functions as well as Muslim festivals.

During Vijayanagar rule, a few such as Samanta Raju Krishna Raju Nandyala (Kurnool Dt.), Mahamandeleshwar Rama Raju Tirumalaraju, Krishna Raju Ganapathiraju, Konda Raju and Thirupathiraju were put in control of parts of Andhra as feudatories. As mentioned before in Robert Sewell’s book he repeats an inscription in which two Kshatriya generals including Rachi Raju Pusapati as part of his army.

Nizams

Hyderabad and Berar, 1903

After Vijayanagar was destroyed in the Battle of Tallikota in 1565 AD from the combined forces of the Muslim states of Golconda, Bijapur, Ahmednagar, and Bidar, the tributary kingdoms that were under Vijayanagar fell under the control of the Sultans of Golconda and Bijapur. Golconda and Bijapur Sultans employed Velamas, Reddys, Kapus and Kammas as the governors of estates and had them collect taxes and pay tribute. This is how many Samsthanams or Zamindars came into existence. The Golconda Empire came under the control of The Mughal Dynasty in 1686 and became known as Deccan Subah. Mughal rule didn't last long however. Nizamul Ul Mulk Asaf Jah controlled Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu and Orissa as the governor of the Deccan.

Colonial Rule

In the beginning the French had influence over Hyderabad but when Salabat Jang came to power, he realized that the French were losing ground to British and realigned himself with them. In 1761, the British East India Company helped Nizam Ali Khan depose his brother Salabat Jang and occupy the Deccan Subah. The East India Company initially leased the coastal regions of Andhra from the Nizam. However the accords of 1768 and 1779 gave the East India Company complete control of these regions and were named Circars. Telangana remained under the Nizam.

In 1802 the British government restored the rights and powers of the Kings of Andhra under a revenue settlement agreement. The estates were however rapidly broken up. In 1857 the British decided to realign the bigger brigands into "Princely states" and the lesser ones as "Zamindars" or "Jagirdars". Since the British had no caste bias, some individuals with cash and influence were able to buy large temple estates and the title that came with them. This allowed locally prominent tax collectors to become Rajas. In the Andhra context, Raju is also a title and did not necessarily refer to the specific Kshatriya community. There were Zamindaris lead by Rajus and other Telugu castes. These zamindars were abolished after the formation of the Indian Union in 1947.

Thus far it certainly appears that clans regarded as Kshatriyas have been present in the Andhra region since at least the Iskvahu times of the second and third century and they are not only referred in ancient myths but their presence has been recorded throughout the eras. They were not necessary rulers every time but did continue to serve in the army and the administration of the empires throughout this time. At least from the 14th and 15th century this communities histroy is fairly well documented, but further research is needed regarding the connection to the ancient dynasties, as so far there is very little concrete evidence directly connected to the Raju community. Of interest is that there seem to be a convenient willingness at times to marry outside the caste as the information suggests that some of the lineages may not have been part of the supposed original clans. Which would explain the current ethnic make of the community.

• 
  Map of the Madras Presidency, 1909
• 
  Map of the Hyderabad State, 1909

Modern Community

A couple of government acts greatly affected many families in the early days of independence. One was the repeal of the Privy purses to the Zamindars and Princely states and the other was the land reform acts of the P.V. Narasimha Rao government in the 70's, which forced many to sell their lands, greatly affecting their economic position. Some of the families had enough foresight to invest their proceeds from land sales into industries, others into education. Some of the early industrial houses that were formed were the SIRIS group, Nagarjuna group, Ramco group and Biological Evans.

In the 80's and 90's, amongst the educated, there was a large migration to the west and other parts of the world for economic opportunities. Unlike the 70's, in the 90's P.V. Narasimha Rao's economic liberalization acts gave an opportunity for many to attain wealth. The existing industrial houses gained greater wealth and new companies such as Satyam computer services, Deccan Cements, Visual Soft etc. grew. Overall it is designated a forward caste. The government of India has stopped classify caste into upper and lower and now uses the term forward and backward castes. The definition of forward caste is that it is a community that is well to do enough that it does not need government allocation for educational, government job and governmental representative position quotas or financial development aid. The community grades high in overall education and fares even better in the financial status. Politically there is usually 2-3 representatives from the community out of the almost 300 members of the legislative assembly but it is proportionate to their population in the state.

• Gotras
• Inscriptional evidence
• Zamindaris
• Customs
• Towns of origin of the Rajus

References

• ^ Vepuchedu-Andhra Kingdoms [7]
• ^ Chalukyas [8]
• ^ Bastar [9]
• ^ Mayurbhanj[10]
• ^ The Andhras through the Ages
• Robert Sewell: A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): a contribution to the history of India
• Prabhu [11]
• Caste politics in the North, West and South India before Mandal[12]
• A study of the history and culture of the Andhras: Kambhampati Satyanarayana
• The Andhras through the Ages: Kandavalli Balendu Sekharan.
• Precolonial India in Practice: Cynthia Talbot
• Genetics and Archaeogenetics of South Asia
• Rajus (Vepachedu) [13]
• Kalachuri (History of Karnataka) [14]
• Chalukya [15]
• Vishnukundin [16]
• History of the Andhras [17]
• Hindu Kingdoms [18]
• Vizianagaram [19]
• Chamudu (Kurupam) [20]
• Rani Chandramani Devi[21]
• Daspalla [22]
• Gagpur [23]
• Baudh [24]
• Karvetnagar [25]
• Caste Transformation (Winners and Losers) [26]
• Bioline [27]
• Andhra Kingdoms[[28]]
• Rajus[[29]]