The Andhrabhṛtyas (Devanagari:आन्ध्रभृत्य) was an Indian dynasty mentioned in the Puranas. Lists of Andhrabhrtyas have been mentioned in various Puranas. They are mostly identified with Satavahanas which replaced the house of the Maurya in the Deccan about 230 BC, reigning until the end of 3rd century AD. At the height of its power the dynasty succeeded in extending it reign far to the north, possibly right up to the Magadha.[1] The term Andhrabhrtya has been used very ambiguously by some historians, sometimes it is used to mean the Satavahanas and sometimes it is used to mean their feudatories.[2] Yet again certain historians claim that the Chutus, who were Nagas, the younger branch of the Imperial Andhras were called Andhrabhrtya.[3]
The designation Andhrajātiya or Andhra is found in the Puranas which represents its founder as Bhṛtya or servant of the last Kaṇva king. Sir R. G. Bhandarkar following the Vishnu Purana styles the dynasty founded by Simuka as Andhrabhrtya, i.e. Andhras who were once servants.[4] But that designation is also applied to the seven Abhiras who are mentioned as the successors of the line of the Simuka.[5]
^Shastry, Nilakanta K.A. (1955). The Illustrated History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar Oxford India Collection. Madras: Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN9780198063568.
^Sukthankar, Vishnu Sitaram (1944). V.S. Sukthankar Memorial Edition, Volume 1. V. S. Sukthankar Memorial Committee, by Karnatak Publishing House. p. 257.
^Indian History Congress; Krishnarao, B.V. (1938). Proceedings. p. 71.
^Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (2006). Political History Of Ancient India. Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd. p. 336. ISBN9788130702919.
^Pargiter, F. E. (2009). The Purana Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age. BiblioBazaar. pp. IV, 24, 18. ISBN9781115375603.
