Telugu people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Telugus
Total population
81 million
Regions with significant populations
India  Malaysia 103,000  France 10,000  South Africa
Languages
Telugu
Religions
Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and others
Related ethnic groups
Dravidian people Brahui people · Kannadigas · Malayalis · Tamils · Telugus · Tuluvas

Telugu people are an ethnic group primarily located in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India and neighbouring areas such as Pondicherry, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Orissa (the areas bordering Andhra Pradesh).

Many have emigrated to countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Mauritius, Fiji, Réunion and Malaysia.

[edit] See also

• Kakatiya dynasty - one of the great Telugu kingdoms that lasted for centuries
• List of people from Andhra Pradesh
• Castes of Andhra Pradesh
• Andhra Pradesh
• List of notable Telugu people
• Telugu language

From the lush green rice fields on the banks of Krishna river to the diamonds of Cudapah valley, Andhra Pradesh represents a fertile land of resources and ideas. In the fourteenth century, during the Vijayanagar kings, Andhra Pradesh represented the epitome of Indian prosperity, and in 1983 the people of Andhra Pradesh strongly came together to defeat one of the greatest threats to Indian democratic system (by restoring the government of N.T. Rama Rao by popular demand). We bring you this Potpourri of topics on Andhra history and culture, to honor a great people.

The logo (shown on the left) for the series is from a beautiful mural in Lepakshi in Anantapur district and depicts a man wearing headgear similar to that worn by Krishnadevaraya, a great former king of Andhra.

Different fields of art comprise the Culture of Andhra Pradesh. The rich cultural heritage of Andhra Pradesh is evident from the internationally renowned Carnatic music.

The region is home to some of the most popular classical musicians like Thyagaraja and Annamacharya. The state's popular form of dance, Kuchipudi showcases immense talent and creativity. This dance form had originated in 300 BC and since then it has been a great contribution to Indian classical dance.

The local language of the region, Telegu is an extremely intense language and many compositions and poems have been written in this language. The nuances of the language highlight the depth of the language. Influenced by Sanskrit, Telegu is an exceptionally rich language.

The museums of Andhra like the Salar Jung Museum display a wide selection of sculptures, artifacts, paintings and ancient objects that were left behind by the different rulers of the region. The museums highlight the Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu influences on the region.

The culture of Andhra Pradesh is an integral part of the rich cultural heritage of the country. The art and crafts of the region like Kalamkari, Bidri, the fabulous weaving of Gadwal and Venkatagiri, the exclusive metal ware, brass, stone and wood carving highlight the immense talent of the Andhra craftsmen.

Andhra is an ancient society of India. There are several references about Andhras in epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, and Buddhist Jataka Tales, which confirm the ancient existence of Andhra society.

It is only in the Mauryan age, there is historical evidence of the existence of Andhras as a political power in the southeastern Deccan. Megasthenes, who visited the Court of Chandragupta Maurya (322-297 BC), mentioned that Andhras had 30 fortified towns and an army of a million infantry, 2000 cavalry and 1000 elephants.[specify] Buddhist books reveal that Andhras established their kingdoms in the Godavari Valley at that time. Asoka referred in his 13th rock edict (232 BC) that Andhra was under his rule.

An aniconic representation of Mara's assault on the Buddha, 2nd century CE, Amaravati.The continuous political and cultural accounts of Andhra Pradesh begins with the fall of the Mauryan Empire. It commences with the rise of the Satavahanas as a political power. According to Matsya Purana there were 29 rulers of this dynasty. They ruled over the Andhra desa for about 456 years from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. According to an inscription at Nasik, it was under GautamiPutra Satakarni, the 23rd Satavahavana, the kingdom included most of the southern peninsula and some southern parts of present Indian states like Maharastra, Orissa and MadhyaPradesh. The royal language used by Satavahanas was Prakrit. Buddhism flourished throughout this age, and several Buddhist Stupas including Amaravati, Chaityas and Viharas are constructed during this time, although the kings followed Vedic religion.

The fall of the Satavahana empire left Andhra in political chaos. Local rulers carved out small kingdoms for themselves. From 180-624 AD, Ikshvaku, Brihatpalayana, Salankayana, Vishnukundina, Vakataka, Pallava, Ananda Gotrika, Kalinga and others ruled over parts of Andhra with small kingdoms. Most important among these small dynasties was the Ikshvaku. Nagarjuna Konda was their capital and they patronised Buddhism, though they followed the vedic ritualism. Sanskrit mostly replaced Prakrit as the language of inscriptions.

[edit] Andhra identity Between 624 AD and 1323 AD a significant change came about in social, religious, linguistic and literary spheres of Andhra society. During this period the Telugu language, emerged as a literary medium subsuming the predominance of Prakrit and Sanskrit. As a result, Andhra achieved an identity and a distinction of its own. This change was brought by the Eastern and Western Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas and the early Cholas.

The Western Chalukyas consisted of two dynasties. The Early Chalukyas ruled from Badami (550-750) and the later Chalukyas from Kalyani (973-1195). Throughout this period and up to the 11th century, Telugu language was written in old Telugu script. Al-Beruni (1000 CE) referred to old Telugu script as "Andhri" in his "Kitab Al-Hind". The emergence of the Telugu script from the old Telugu script started around 11th century and culminated in the 19th century.

The Eastern Chalukyas were a branch of the Chalukyas of Badami. Pulakesin II, the renowned ruler of Chalukyas conquered Vengi (near Eluru) in 624 and built the splendid vesara style Navabrahma temples at Alampur and installed his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana (624-641) as its ruler. His dynasty, known as the Eastern Chalukyas, ruled for nearly four centuries in all. Vishnuvardhana extended his dominions up to Srikakulam in the north and Nellore in the south.

The Eastern Chalukyas occupied a prominent place in the history of Andhra Pradesh. Since the time of Gunaga Vijayaditya in 848, inscriptions show Telugu stanzas, culminating in the production of literary works in the coming centuries. Later in the 11th century, the Mahabharata was translated partly by the court poet Nannaya under the patronage of the then Eastern Chalukya King Rajaraja Narendra.

After a brief period of sovereignty under Gunaga Vijayaditya, the Vengi region again came under the Rashtrakuta rule and later the Kalyani Chalukya rule from the beginning of 10th century to the 11th century, when the Cholas managed to wrest control from the Chalukyas. However by 1118 AD, with the defeat of the Kulottunga Chola at the hands of Vikramaditya VI of the Kalyani Chalukya dynasty and the victory of Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana over the Cholas at Talakad, Vengi once again came under Chalukya rule. The Kalyani Chalukya power itself went into decline after the death of Vikramaditya VI. By the end of the 12th century, their empire was split into several local kingdoms, namely the Hoysala Empire, the Kakatiya dynasty and the Yadavas.

Ref. http://www.teluguworld.org/ http://www.teluguwebsite.com/Telugu_Culture.html

http://gleez.com/blog/sandeep/telugu_culture_heritage_museum_on_kailasagiri http://www.lonweb.org/link-telugu.htm