Rajus

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Kshatriyas are the warriors and rulers in traditional Hindu society. Rajputs are regarded as the modern day representatives of the ancient Kshatriyas in northern India and are referred to as Rajus in southern India. This article is about the origins and history of the Rajus (Kshatriyas) of Andhra Pradesh, who make up about 0.5% of the state population and are concentrated mainly in the West Godavari, East Godavari, Krishna District, Guntur District, Prakasam District,Vizianagaram District, Vishakapatnam District and Chittoor District. They are one of the wealthiest communities in Andhra and Tamil Nadu.

Note: Raju is also a pet name among Indians as most of Indian Women lovingly call their male children.The Term Raju is derived from sanskrit word Rajanya derived from dhatu or sanskrit root Ranjanam meaning 'Pleasing'.This should not be confused as lot of people keep raju added to their name and belong to different castes.

Rajus
Caste: Kshatriya
Divisions: Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi
Gotras: Dhananjaya, Kashyapa, Kaundinya and Vasishta
Clans: Ikshvaku, Matsya, Vishnukundina, Eastern Chalukya, Paricheda, Kota Vamsa, Eastern Ganga, Gajapathi, Vashisti, Karvetnagaram and Nandimandalam
Found in: Andhra Pradesh (East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Vishakapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Chittoor, Cuddapah), Karnataka (Bellary Distict), Tamil Nadu (Rajapalayam and North Arcot), Orissa
Language Telugu
Religion Hindu

Contents

[edit] Etymology

Raju translates to mean "King". It was a title used by rulers in southern India. It is now a name synonymous with the Kshatriya caste in Andhra Pradesh whose members refer to themselves as Rajus or Rajulu. Kshatriyas have Raju or Varma as an agnomen, and like other Telugu communities have their gotra as the first name. Ex: Alluri Sita Ram Raju would be interpreted as Sita Ram of the Alluri clan and the Raju (Kshatriya) caste. A book entitled Sri Andhra Kshatriya Ratnakaram elaborates on the traditional accounts and genealogy of the Raju community and was written by Varahala Raju Buddharaju.

[edit] Origin

  • Traditional accounts claim descent from Ikshavaku, Matsya, Vishnukundina, Varnataka, Parichedi, Kota Vamsa and Nandimandalam.
  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.
  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 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 Vizianagaram Royal family. 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 and related to the Eastern Ganga Dynasty and Gajapati of Orissa.[1]
  1. Suryavanshi include Ikshvaku, Vishnukundina, Eastern Ganga and Gajapati.
  2. Chandravanshi includes Matsya, Eastern Chalukyas, Paricheda, Kota Vamsa and Kalachuris.
  1. Dhanunjaya Gotrikas are from the Kota dynasty
  2. Kashyapa Gotrikas belongs to the Kalachuri (Haiheya) dynasty.
  3. Kaundinya Gotrikas belongs to the Vishnukundina dynasty.
  4. Vasistha Gotrikas belong to the Eastern Ganga, Pericheda, Gajapati and Ikshvaku dynasty

Sage Kaundinya was the son of Vasishtha and nephew of Agastya. Due to this members of the Vasistha and Kaundinya gotras traditionally can't marry each other as they would technically be considered brother and sister.

  • Each Gothram is again sub-divided into over one hundred 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.

Edgar Thurston in his Castes and Tribes of Southern India Vol. 6 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 postulated that their claim to being Kshatriyas was legitimate in the military sense but he was unsure of their link to the ancient Indo-Aryan Kshatriyas, as he felt since they ate meat that they could'nt be true Kshatriyas. They probably might have immigrated from Orissa and belonged to the tribals with whose features they bear resemblance.

They were tyrannical in their attitude towards the local populace . They grabbed lands from the cultivators and are continuing to do so by occupying government and poor peoples lands in AP .



[edit] See Also

Forward Castes

[edit] References

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