Bhatraju
Introduction
Bhatraju is an Indian caste found mainly in southern parts of AndhraPradesh,Telangana,Karnataka,Tamilnadu,Kerala and also in Allahabad, Lucknow,Punjab,Bengal,Bihar,Orissa,Delhi,Kashi,Maharastra,Sarnath, Uttarpradesh,Gujarath,Rajasthan.They have Raju,Singh,Varma,Bhatt in their names.They are also known as BhattuRajulu,BhattaRajulu,BhattuMurthulu,KaviRajulu or PandithaRajulu.[1] Historians states that Bhatraju is derived from Sanskrit word (भटट)Bhatt which means scholar,Priest,Teacher,Poet" and Raju is from Sanskrit word (राजन्)Rajan is a royal title used for Indian monarchs. Bhatturaju's belong to bramhin varna.They further state that the Bhat “are an offshoot of Brahmins, their name being merely a corruption of the term Brahmin.” They are considered as Bramhin for Bramhins and Kshyatriya for Kshyathriya for Kshyathriyas. [2]
Bhatraju population is concentrated in North Western part of Telangana and Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh to where they were posited to have migrated from Northern Circars. They were by attached to the courts of the Hindu kingdoms as poets and bards and later devoted their duties as temple coordinators, priests and they switched to singing religious songs,[3] poetry and praises of richer land lords and performing their respective Dharmic traditions in wedding and other auspicious occasions. They use Raju as their caste title.[4] Bhatrajus are classified under the Other Backward Classes in most states of Southern India, with less than 500,000 living in AP/TS regions today.[5][6][7]
History
Bhatraju population is concentrated in North Western part of Telangana and Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh to where they were posited to have migrated from Northern Circars. They were originally attached to the courts of the Hindu kingdoms as poets, bards or professional troubadours, reciting ballads in poetry in glorification of the wondrous deeds of local princes and heroes. They were described as, "having a wonderful faculty in speaking improvisatore, on any subject proposed to them. But their profession is that of chanting the exploits of former days in front of the troops while marshalling them for battle, and inciting them to emulate the glory of their ancestors."[4]
Notable people
References
- ↑ Singh, Kumar Suresh (1992). People of India: Andhra Pradesh (3 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. p. 339. ISBN 978-81-7671-006-0.
- ↑ Singh, Kumar Suresh (1992). People of India: Andhra Pradesh (3 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. pp. xlii. ISBN 978-81-7671-006-0.
- ↑ Singleton, Mark; Goldberg, Ellen (2013-11-27). Gurus of Modern Yoga. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-937495-3.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Spurr, Michael James. "Sathya Sai Baba as Avatar: "His Story" and the History of an Idea" (PDF). University of Canterbury.
- ↑ Central List of OBCs for the state of Andhra Pradesh, p. 4 (64 - Bhataraju)
- ↑ Department of Backward Classes Archived 2012-02-13 at the Wayback Machine, #8 - Bhatraju
- ↑ Central List of OBCs for the state of Tamil Nadu, p. 1 (12 - Bhatraju)
- ↑ Rao, A. Srinivasa. "A phenomenon called Sathya Sai Baba". India Today. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ↑ Srinivas, Tulasi (2010-06-10). Winged Faith: Rethinking Globalization and Religious Pluralism through the Sathya Sai Movement. Columbia University Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-231-52052-2.
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