Telugu Brahmin

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

History

Origin theories

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.[2][3][4]

Classification

Telugu Brahmins fall under the Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in India.[5][6]

The Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana mainly include Vaidikis, Niyogis, Deshasthas and Dravidas.[7][8][9][10] They are divided on the basis of Vedic traditions that they follow such as Smartha, Madhva, and Sri Vaishnava.[11]

Vaidikis are Smarthas, while Niyogis have both Smarthas and Sri Vaishnavas among them.[12] Deshasthas are divided into two groups Deshastha Madhva Brahmins and Deshastha Smartha Brahmins.[13]

Occupation

During the Medieval & Modern India

Niyogi Brahmins are generally village record keepers (Karnams), poets and sometimes ministers, while Vaidiki Brahmins are priest and teachers.[14] Deshastha Madhva Brahmins served as high level administrators such as Deshmukhs, Deshpandes and Majumdars under Qutb shahis of Golkonda and Nizams of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh,[15] while Dravidulu served as priests under local rulers, zamindars and chieftains.[16] Deshastha Brahmins also ruled Andhra Pradesh as Zamindars. In fact two out of five Zamindars of Guntur were Deshasthas, whose title was "Deshmukh".[17][18]

Post Independence of India

Brahmins followed a distinct tradition, "Brahminism". This is inculcated in how they worship. Thus, several earlier generation brahmins of some sect were priests by profession in ancient India. Modern India still observes only Brahmins as priests for their capacity to be vedic experts. Being experts in four vedas, they have long known to be teachers by profession too. Old times has seen Brahmins as landlords too. Brahmins today are professionals like doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers due to their insistence on professional education. Several Brahmins are profound musicians with national and international recognition. Classical music was more prevalent among Brahmins.[19][20][21][22]

Population distribution

According to 1921 Census of India, In Telugu states (combined both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) Brahmins constitute three percent of total population.[23] 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).[24]

Notes
  1. Now they are sometimes referred as Andhra Brahmins and Telangana Brahmins after the bifurcation of the states.
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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. "Dance Dialects of India". Ragini Devi. Motilal Bansarsi Dass. ISBN 81-208-0674-3. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  3. "History of Andhra Pradesh". AP Online. Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  4. Ancient and medieval history of Andhra Pradesh. P. Raghunadha Rao. Sterling Publishers, 1993. 1993. p. iv. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  5. The Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India. Anthropological Survey of India. 2002. p. 194.
  6. Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's communities, Volume 1; Volume 5. Oxford University Press. p. 552. (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.
  7. Vinod Kumar Rawat. Knowledge-Power/Resistance: Beyond Bacon, Ambedkar and Foucault. Partridge Publishing. p. 160. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. 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.
  12. Y. Subhashini Subrahmanyam (1975). Social change in village India: an Andhra case study. Prithvi Raj Publishers. p. 73-74.
  13. 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.
  14. Alpana Pandey. Medieval Andhra: A Socio-Historical Perspective. Partridge Publishing. p. 34. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  15. 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
  16. Kumar Suresh Singh (1992). People of India: Andhra Pradesh (3 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. p. 567. 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.
  17. The journal of Asian studies, Volume 24. p. 264. Indeed, the official titles of the Zamindars of Guntur had been Desmukh ( Executive-Collector), Mannavar (Head of Police), and Despandi (Chief Accountant); moreover, two of the five zamindari families were Desastha.
  18. Coenraad M. Brand (1973). State and Society: A Reader in Comparative Political Sociology. University of California Press. p. 116.
  19. "Brahmin, brahmana, caste, tribe, gotra, rishi, ritual, india, hindu, religion, Mana Sanskriti (Our Culture), Issue 69". www.vepachedu.org. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  20. history, Kallie Szczepanski Kallie Szczepanski has a Ph D. in; College, Has Taught at the; U.S, high school level in both the; Korea. "Who Are the Brahmin Caste in India?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  21. Tilak, Sudha G. (16 February 2017). "How an Indian maestro is taking classical music to the masses". Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  22. "'Carnatic music is a Brahmin-dominated male chauvinistic world'". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  23. "Upper caste quota? Telangana and Andhra already running Brahmin corporations". Times of India. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  24. "Distribution Of Brahmin Population". Outlook India. Retrieved 16 June 2003.
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