Telugu Brahmin

Telugu Brahmins[lower-alpha 1] are Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, who speak the Telugu language.[1][2]

A Telugu Brahmin performing rituals.

History

According to the Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda, the Andhras left north India from the banks of the River Yamuna around 800 BCE and migrated into peninsular India. Telugu Brahmins are also called Andhras.[3][4][5]

The Apastamba Dharmasutra is posited to have been composed in the region of modern-day Andhra Pradesh between the Godavari and Krishna rivers, but this is not certain.[6][7] It is dated to approximately 600-300 BCE,[8] and more narrowly to between 450 and 350 BCE.[9]

Classification

Telugu Brahmins fall under the Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in India.[10][11]

The Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana mainly include Vaidikis, Niyogis, Deshasthas, Telugu Madhvas, Golkanda Vyaparis, Dravidulu.[12][13][14][15] They are divided on the basis of Vedic traditions that they follow such as Smartha, Madhva, and Sri Vaishnava.[16][17]

Vaidikis and Niyogis are mainly Smarthas, while Sri Vaishnavas and Telugu Madhvas are Telugu Brahmins who converted to Ramanuja and Madhvacharya faith respectively.[18] Telugu Madhvas and Deshastha Madhvas are mainly followers of Uttaradi Matha, Raghavendra Matha and Vyasaraja Matha,[19] While Telugu Smarthas are followers of either Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham or Sringeri Sharada Peetham. Telugu Sri Vaishnava Brahmins form a single distinct sect called Andhra Vaishnava and are not sub-divided into Tenkalai and Vadakalai unlike their Dravidian Iyengar counterparts.[20]

Deshastha Brahmins are mainly divided into two groups Deshastha Madhva Brahmins and Deshastha Smartha Brahmins.[21] In Telangana, Deshastha Brahmins are spread throughout all the districts of the state, while in Andhra Pradesh, they are mainly concentrated in Rayalaseema, Nellore,[22] and Godavari-Krishna delta, especially in the cities of Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa, Chittore, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Guntur and Hyderabad.[23][24][25][26] Marriage alliance between Deshastha Brahmins, other Telugu Brahmins and Karnataka Brahmins takes place quite frequently.[27] The Dravidulu are migrants from Tamil Nadu.[28]

Occupation

During the Medieval & Modern India

Niyogi Brahmins served as village record keepers (karnams), poets, and sometimes ministers. Deshastha Brahmins also served as village record keepers (karnams)[29] but the majority of them served as high-level administrators and bureaucrats such as Deshmukhs, Sheristadars, Tehsildars, Deshpandes and Majumdars under Qutb shahis of Golkonda and Nizams of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[30]

Niyogi Brahmins and Deshastha Brahmins also ruled Andhra Pradesh as Zamindars. In Guntur district, one of the four major Zamindars i.e., Manur Rao family of Chilakaluripet and Sattenapalle (started as one family and later became two) were Deshasthas, whose title was "Deshmukh".[31][32] The Polavaram Zamindari of West Godavari district and Lakkavaram Zamindari of Prakasam district were ruled by Niyogi Brahmins. Due to their secular occupations marriage alliances between Deshastha Brahmins, Golkonda Vyapari Brahmins and Niyogi Brahmins was very common since centuries.[33][34] Vaidiki Brahmins and Dravidulu are priests and teachers.[35][36]

Population distribution

As per an estimate, in United Andhra Pradesh, Brahmins constituted three percent of total population.[37] According to a survey by Outlook India in 2003, Brahmins were estimated to be around 5% of Telugu states population (combined both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana).[38]

Notable people

Religious leaders

Social Activists

Politics

Bureaucrats

Literature

Music

Films

Notes
  1. Now they are sometimes referred as Andhra Brahmins and Telangana Brahmins after the bifurcation of the states.

    References
    1. Abstracts: Daśam Antarrāshṭrīya Nr̥vaijñānika evaṃ Nr̥jātīya Vijñāna Mahāsammelana : Xth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, India, December 10 to 21, 1978, Volume 3. National Committee for ICAES. 1978. p. 3.
    2. Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects. Thacker, Spink. p. 98. ISBN 1298966337.
    3. Dance Dialects of India. Ragini Devi. Motilal Bansarsi Dass. 1990. ISBN 81-208-0674-3. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
    4. "History of Andhra Pradesh". AP Online. Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
    5. Ancient and medieval history of Andhra Pradesh. P. Raghunadha Rao. Sterling Publishers, 1993. 1993. p. iv. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
    6. Patrick Olivelle 1999, p. xxvii.
    7. Robert Lingat 1973, pp. 21–22.
    8. Robert Lingat 1973, p. 22.
    9. Patrick Olivelle 1999, p. xxxi.
    10. The Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India. Anthropological Survey of India. 2002. p. 194.
    11. Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's communities, Volume 1; Volume 5. Oxford University Press. p. 552. ISBN 9780195633542. (pg 552) In Andhra Pradesh, all the Brahman groups except the Oriya Sahu Brahman are Pancha Dravida and are divided into Tamil Srivaishnava, Andhra Srivaishnava, Kamme Brahman and Maharashtra Desastha Brahman.
    12. Vinod Kumar Rawat (22 October 2014). Knowledge-Power/Resistance: Beyond Bacon, Ambedkar and Foucault. Partridge Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 9781482839166. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
    13. People of India: A - G., Volume 4. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 3317. In Andhra Pradesh, the Deshastha Brahman have settled in various parts, particularly in the cities of Rayalaseema, Anantapur, Kurnool, Tirupati, Cud- dapah and Hyderabad.
    14. Robert Eric Frykenberg; Richard Fox Young (2009). India and the Indianness of Christianity: Essays on Understanding -- Historical, Theological, and Bibliographical -- in Honor of Robert Eric Frykenberg. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 9780802863928.
    15. Kandavalli Balendu Sekaram (1973). The Andhras through the ages. Sri Saraswati Book Depot. p. 29. One of the very important sections among the Telugu Brahmins are Dravida Brahmins. Their very name indicates their South Indian or Tamil origin. A very large number of Brahmin families migrated from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh
    16. Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society, Volume 26. Indian Anthropological Society. 1991. p. 230. The Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh who speak Telugu can be divided into Vaishnavites, Smarthas and Madhwas. They are strictly vegetarians.
    17. Journal of the Andhra Historical Society, Volume 36, Parts 2-4. Andhra Historical Research Society. 1976. p. 70. The Brahmans were either Smartas, Vaishnavas or Madhwas accordingly as they are followers of Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya.
    18. Y. Subhashini Subrahmanyam (1975). Social change in village India: an Andhra case study. Prithvi Raj Publishers. pp. 73–74.
    19. Sharma, B. N. Krishnamurti (2000). A History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature, 3rd Edition. Motilal Banarsidass (2008 Reprint). p. 227. ISBN 978-8120815759.
    20. Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects. Thacker, Spink. p. 98. ISBN 1298966337.
    21. Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's Communities, Volume 6. Oxford University Press. p. 3317. ISBN 978-0195633542. The Deshatha Brahman in Andhra Pradesh have two groups, namely Smartha and Madhva which are divided into exogamous surnames (intiperu) to indicate one's ancestry and regulate marriage alliances.
    22. Gazetteer of the Nellore District: Brought Upto 1938. Asian Educational Services. 2004. p. 101. ISBN 9788120618510. There are several Karnatakas and Desastha Madhwas in the district.
    23. Robert Eric Frykenberg; Richard Fox Young (2009). India and the Indianness of Christianity: Essays on Understanding -- Historical, Theological, and Bibliographical -- in Honor of Robert Eric Frykenberg. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 9780802863928.
    24. People of India: A - G., Volume 4. Oxford University Press. 1998. p. 3317. In Andhra Pradesh, the Deshastha Brahman have settled in various parts, particularly in the cities of Rayalaseema, Anantapur, Kurnool, Tirupati, Cud- dapah and Hyderabad.
    25. K. S. Singh (1998). India's Communities. Oxford University Press. p. 552. ISBN 9780195633542. The Maharashtra Desastha Brahman are distributed in the districts of Telangana.
    26. David Goodman Mandelbaum (1970). Society in India: Continuity and change. University of California Press. p. 18. ISBN 9780520016231.
    27. Maharashtra, Land and Its People. Gazetteers Department, Government of Maharashtra. 2009. p. 45. Marriage alliance between Deshastha Rigvedi and Telugu and Karnataka Brahmins takes place quite frequently.
    28. Kandavalli Balendu Sekaram (1973). The Andhras through the ages. Sri Saraswati Book Depot. p. 29. One of the very important sections among the Telugu Brahmins are Dravida Brahmins. Their very name indicates their South Indian or Tamil origin. A very large number of Brahmin families migrated from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh
    29. Rajagopal Vakulabharanam (2004). Self and Society in Transition: A Study of Modern Autobiographical Practice in Telugu. University of Wisconsin--Madison. pp. 57–58.
    30. Appasaheb Ganapatrao Pawar (1971). Maratha History Seminar, May 28-31, 1970: papers. Shivaji University. The ascendancy of the Qutb-shahis of Golkonda resulted in several Maratha Brahmins of the Madhwa sect, generally called Desasthas, being appointed to high positions. This is evident from several terms such as Deshmukh, Deshpande, Majumdar, Mannavar etc.used in the district's of Andhra to signify certain administrative posts
    31. Frykenberg, Robert Eric (1965). "Elite Groups in a South Indian District: 1788-1858". The Journal of Asian Studies. 24 (2): 261–281. doi:10.2307/2050565. ISSN 0021-9118.
    32. Coenraad M. Brand (1973). State and Society: A Reader in Comparative Political Sociology. University of California Press. p. 116. ISBN 9780520024908.
    33. Journal of the Andhra Historical Society, Volume 29, Parts 1-2. Andhra Historical Research Society. 1964. p. 11.
    34. Coenraad M. Brand (1973). State and Society: A Reader in Comparative Political Sociology. University of California Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780520024908.
    35. Alpana Pandey (11 August 2015). Medieval Andhra: A Socio-Historical Perspective. Partridge Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 9781482850178. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
    36. Kumar Suresh Singh (1992). People of India: Andhra Pradesh (3 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. p. 567. ISBN 9788176710060. Traditionally, the Dravidulu were engaged as priests by the local rulers, zamindars and chieftains, and donated to them Agraharams. Some of them followed the vedic texts and engaged themselves as purohits and acharyas.
    37. "Upper caste quota? Telangana and Andhra already running Brahmin corporations". Times of India. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
    38. "Distribution Of Brahmin Population". Outlook India. Retrieved 16 June 2003.
    39. "Nimbarka | Indian philosopher". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
    40. Ballard, Roger; Banks, Marcus (1994). Desh Pardesh: The South Asian Presence in Britain. Hurst. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-85065-091-1.
    41. Andersen, Walter; Damle, Shridhar D. (15 June 2019). Messengers of Hindu Nationalism: How the RSS Reshaped India. Oxford University Press. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-78738-289-3. Dr. Hedgewar, a Telugu Brahmin, was a trained medical practitioner, and founded the RSS in 1925
    42. Prakash Louis (2000). The Emerging Hindutva Force: The Ascent of Hindu Nationalism. Indian Social Institute. p. 38. ISBN 9788187218319. The third head of RSS, Balasaheb Deoras was another Telugu Brahmin.
    43. The Calcutta Historical Journal, Volume 18. University of Calcutta. 1996. p. 44. The second Andhra Conference, held at Bezwada (Vijayawada) under the presidentship of Nyapati Subba Rao Pantulu, a (Maratha-Telugu Brahman) Desastha descended from a long line distinguished civil servants, unanimously passed the resolution demanding a separate province for Andhras which had been drawn up the previous year in Bapatla
    44. Robert Oberst (27 April 2018). Government and Politics in South Asia, Student Economy Edition. Routledge. p. 53. ISBN 9780429962325. P. V. Narasimha Rao Congress (IP) 1921 2004 Jun. 1991–May 1996 Brahmin (Hindu) Telugu, South (AP)
    45. Prasad 2008, p. 305.
    46. "SP Balasubrahmanyam honoured with centenary award". Deccan Herald. 20 November 2016. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
    47. "S. Thaman". IMDb. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
    48. Salvadore, Sarah (26 March 2013). "I embody the spirit of Vizag: Sobhita Dhulipala - Beauty Pageants - Indiatimes". Femina Miss India. Retrieved 15 February 2022.

    Bibliography
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