Perike/Perika/Puragiri Kshatriya : The Perike Caste is a Social Grouping found in the State of Andhra Pradesh. They purely belong to kshatriyas. Perikas were kings, agriculturists, peasants, warriors and landlords.
This community is known as Perkiwar / Perki in Maharashtra and Perki in Madhya Pradesh.
The Perikes are a subsect of Kshatriyas. The word Perike is said to be derived from Sanskrit word "Vyaparak", meaning traders.
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According to their mythology, when Parashurama commanded the slaughter of the Kshatriya race, they saved themselves from the avenging Brahmin by declaring that they were traders.
The economy of Perika is agriculture, business and contractors. Therefore, the main resource is land. More than 50 percent of Perikas households have land ranging from 15 acres (0.061 km2) to 150 acres (0.61 km2).
Some of them, however, have attained considerable wealth, and claim that they are the descendants of the Kshatriyas who ran away (piriki, a coward) from the persecution of Parasurama. This is the reason they were called piriki rajus, with the word periki made up as in peraka kshatriyas.
Others again say they are Kshatriyas who went into retirement, and made the hills (giri) their abode (puri)." These Perike 'Kshatriyas' are known as "Puragiri Kshatriya".
The Perikas are described, in the Vizagapatam Manual, as chiefly carrying on cultivation and trade, and some of them are said to hold a high position at 'the Presidency' (Madras) and in the Vizagapatam district.
The usual titles of the Perikes are Anna and Ayya, but some style themselves Rao (= Raya, king) or Rayadu,Varma, Raju in reference to their alleged Kshatriya origin.
For the following note on the Perikes of the Godavari district, I am indebted to Mr. F. R. Hemingway. "Like some of the Kammas, they claim to be of Kshatriya stock, and say they are of the lineage of Parasu Rama, but were driven out by him for kidnapping his sister, while pretending to be traders. They say that they were brought to this country by King Nala of the Mahabharata, in gratitude for their having taken care of his wife Damayanti when he quit her during his misfortunes.
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Gode Suryaprakasha Rao : His widow established a Sanskrit School in Visakhapatnam in 1864.
Gode Venkata Jagga Rao : He has founded an Observatory in Visakhapatnam. Ankitam Venkata Narasinga Row, the founder of Mrs. A.V.N. College in Visakhapatnam married his only daughter Achayamma and inherited the entire estate of the father-in-law.
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Ketty Venkataswami Naidu grand son of Beri Thimmappa,K. Venkataswamy Naidu (also spelled as Venkataswami Naidu) was an Indian lawyer and politician from the Tamil Nadu, belonging to Indian National Congress. He served as the Mayor of Madras in the late 1930s. During 1952-54, he was the Minister for Religious endowments and Registration of Madras State(in C. Rajagopalachari's cabinet.
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Gampa Govardhan: He is a MLA of TDP from Kamareddy, Nizamabad district AP in 1994-99 and 2009.
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This article incorporates text taken verbatim from 'Castes and Tribes of Southern India by Edgar Thurson and K. Rangachari, originally published in 1909 and in public domain. Text may have been altered to deviate from that original source. To compare with the original, please see [1].