Legends History

Legends History :

There have been varying accounts about the origins of the Raju community. Some include them among the military tribes of Rajput descent.


Regarding this community Edgar Thurston in his seven volume Castes and Tribes of Southern India writes...The Maharajas of Vizianagaram claim to be Kshatriyas from the Rajputana and the leaders of the people of gotrams said to have come to the Northern Circars centuries ago. It is noted in connection with the battle of Padmanabham(in present Visakhapatnam district) in 1794 AD that Rajputs formed a rampart round the corpse of Vijay Rama Raju. Padmanabham will long be remembered as the Flodden of the Rajputs of Vizianagaram...as a class they are the handsomest and best developed men in the country and differ so much in feature and build from other Hindus that they may usually be distinguished at a glance...they are mostly Vaishnavites, and their priests are Brahmans...Rajus of course assume the sacred thread, and are very proud and particular in their conduct. Brahmanical rites of Punya Havachanam (Purification), Jata Karma (Birth ceremony), Nama Karanam (Naming ceremony), Chaulam (Tonsure), and Upanayanam (Thread ceremony) are performed...at weddings the Kasi Yatra (Mock flight to Benares) is performed...at their wedding they worship a sword, which is a ceremony usually denoting a soldier caste...they use a wrist string made of cotton and wool, the combination peculiar to Kshatriyas, to tie the wrists of the happy couple...in some villages, Rajus seem to object to the construction of a pial, or raised platform, in front of their houses. The pial is the lounging place where visitors are received by day.


Historically South Indian royal families of Kshatriyas (Rajus) had marital relationship with Central and North Indian royal families, like Rajas of Vizianagaram, Salur and Kurupam had marital relationships with the Rajputana royal families.


The history of South India and the Puranas reveal that the Andhra Kshatriyas descended from the Aryavarta (northern India) to the south due to internal conflicts, foreign invasions, famine etc. Vayu Purana, Buddhist and Jain literatures mention about migration of Ikshvakus Kshatriyas to southern India.


Rajus traditional accounts claim descent from Ikshvaku, Vishnukundina, Chalukya, Paricchedi and Kota Vamsa.


Some historians and traditional accounts link Rajus to ancient Andhra Ikshvakus, which was the first Kshatriya kingdom in Andhra which ruled during 2nd and 3rd Centuries CE and are purportedly linked to ancient Ikshvakus of Kosala.


According to most historians and by the inscriptional evidences of Paricchedi and Chagi ruling clans, during 4th - 5th century AD few Kshatriyas of four clans travelled from northern India to the south, where they initially worked as feudatories of Vakatakas before establishing the Vishnukundina Kingdom. While some Kshatriyas of Andhra are said to be descendents of Eastern Chalukyas and few other Kshatriya dynasties.