Andhra is an ethnonym used for Telugu people since antiquity.[20] The earliest mention of the Andhras occurs in Aitareya Brahmana (c. 800 BCE) of the Rigveda.[21][22][23] They were also mentioned in the Mahabharata and Buddhist Jataka tales.[24] In the Mahabharata the infantry of Satyaki was composed by a tribe called Andhras, known for their long hair, tall stature, sweet language, and mighty prowess. Megasthenes reported in his Indica (c. 310 BCE) that Andhras were living in the Godavari and Krishnariver deltas and were famous for their military strength which was second only to Mauryans in all of India.[25] The first major Andhra polity was the Satavahana dynasty (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE) which ruled over the entire Deccan plateau and even distant areas of western and central India.[26][27][28] They established trade relations with the Roman Empire and their capital city, Amaravati was the most prosperous city in India in 2nd century CE.[29] Inscriptions in Old Telugu script (Vengi script) were found as far away as Indonesia and Myanmar.[30]
In the 13th century, Kakatiyas unified various Telugu-speaking areas under one realm.[31] Later, Telugu culture and literature flourished and reached its zenith during the late Vijayanagara Empire.[32] After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, various Telugu rulers called Nayakas established independent kingdoms across South India and served the same function as Rajput warriors clans of northern India.[33][34]Kandyan Nayaks, the last dynasty to rule Sri Lanka were of Telugu descent.[35][36] In this era, Telugu became the language of high culture across Southern India.[37][38][39] Vijaya Ramaswamy compared it to the overwhelming dominance of French as the cultural language of modern Europe during roughly the same era.[39] Telugu also predominates in the evolution of Carnatic music, one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music.[39][40][41][42]
Speakers of Telugu refer to it as simply Telugu or Telugoo.[59] Older forms of the name include Teluṅgu and Tenuṅgu.[60]Tenugu is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word *ten ("south")[61] to mean "the people who lived in the south/southern direction". The name Telugu, then, is a result of an "n" to "l" alternation established in Telugu.[62][63]
P. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao note that Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, calling it the Trilinga Śabdānusāsana (or Trilinga Grammar).[64] However, most scholars note that Atharvana's grammar was titled Atharvana Karikavali.[65][66][67][68]Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote that Telugu was derived from Trilinga. Scholar Charles P. Brown made a comment that it was a "strange notion" since the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation.[69]
George Abraham Grierson and other linguists doubt this derivation, holding rather that Telugu was the older term and Trilinga must be the later Sanskritisation of it.[70][71] If so the derivation itself must have been quite ancient because Triglyphum, Trilingum and Modogalingam are attested in ancient Greek sources, the last of which can be interpreted as a Telugu rendition of "Trilinga".[72]
Andhra
Andhra is an ethnonym used for Telugu people since antiquity.[20] As per Iravatham Mahadevan, non-Aryan people living beyond the borders of the region inhabited by the Indo-Aryan speakers were known as the Andhras.[23] Mahadevan notes that since most Dravidian-speaking men had names ending with the suffIx -(a)nṟ, the Dravidian etymon-(a)nṟ was borrowed as a loanword into Indo-Aryan as andha and later as āndhra to denote the name of the neighbouring Dravidian-speaking people.[23]
History
Andhra (Telugu: ఆంధ్ర) was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata.[24] It was a southern kingdom, currently identified as Indian state of Andhra Pradesh where it got its name from. Andhra communities are also mentioned in the Vayu and Matsya Purana. In the Mahabharata the infantry of Satyaki was composed by a tribe called Andhras, known for their long hair, tall stature, sweet language, and mighty prowess. They lived along the banks of the Godavari river. Andhras and Kalingas supported the Kauravas during the Mahabharata war. Sahadeva defeated the kingdoms of Pandya, Andhra, Kalinga, Dravida, Odra and Chera while performing the Rajasuya Yajna. Buddhist references to Andhras are also found.[73][74][75]
The first major Andhra polity was the Satavahana dynasty (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE) which ruled over the entire Deccan plateau and established trade relations with the Roman Empire.[26][27][82] The kingdom reached its zenith under Gautamiputra Satakarni. Their capital city, Amaravati was the most prosperous city in India in 2nd century CE.[29] At the end of the Satavahana rule, the Telugu region was divided into Kingdoms ruled by lords. In the late second century CE, the Andhra Ikshvakus ruled the eastern region along the Krishna River. During the fourth century, the Pallava dynasty extended their rule across southern Andhra Pradesh and Tamilakam and established their capital at Kanchipuram. Their power increased during the reigns of Mahendravarman I (571–630) and Narasimhavarman I (630–668). The Pallavas dominated the southern Telugu-speaking region and northern Tamilakam until the end of the ninth century. Later, various dynasties have ruled the area, including the Salankayanas, Cholas, Vishnukundinas and Eastern Chalukyas.[78]
Telingana, a term referring to the land inhabited by Telugus, was first used during the 14th century CE.[86][87] In 1323 the sultan of Delhi, Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, sent a large army commanded by Ulugh Khan (later, as Muhammad bin Tughluq, the Delhi sultan) to conquer the Telugu region and lay siege to Warangal. The fall of the Kakatiya dynasty led to an era with competing influences from the Turkic kingdoms of Delhi and the Persio-Tajik sultanate of central India. The struggle for Andhra ended with the victory of the Musunuri Nayaks over the Turkic Delhi Sultanate.
The arrival of Europeans (the French under the Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau and the English under Robert Clive) altered polity of the region . In 1765, Clive and the chief and council at Visakhapatnam obtained the Northern Circars from Mughal emperor Shah Alam. The British achieved supremacy when they defeated Maharaja Vijaya Rama Gajapati Raju of Vizianagaram in 1792.
India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947. Although the Muslim Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain independence from India, he was forced to cede his kingdom to the Dominion of India in 1948 to form Hyderabad State. Andhra, the first Indian state formed primarily on a linguistic basis, was carved from the Madras Presidency in 1953. In 1956, Andhra State was merged with the Telugu-speaking portion of Hyderabad State to create the state of Andhra Pradesh. The Lok Sabha approved the formation of Telangana from ten districts of Andhra Pradesh on 18 February 2014.[89]
Telugu is a South-Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. The oldest inscriptions with Telugu words date to 400 BCE found at Bhattiprolu in Guntur district.[90] Other early inscriptions with more refined language were found in Kantamanenivarigudem, Guntupalli in West Godavari district and Gummadidurru and Ghantasala in Krishna district. The earliest inscription completely written in Telugu dates to 575 CE were found at Kalamalla village in Kadapa district.[90]
Kuchipudi, originating from the eponymous village in Krishna district, is of the eight major Indian classical dances.[91][92] It is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra.[93] It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India.[94] Other Telugu performing arts include:
Amaravati School of Art is an ancient Indian art style that evolved in the region of Amaravati (then known as Dhānyakaṭaka) from 2nd century BCE to the end of the 3rd century CE.[45][95][96] It is also called the Andhra School or Vengi School.[95] Art historians regard the art of Amaravati as one of the three major styles or schools of ancient Indian art, the other two being the Mathura style, and the Gandharan style.[43][97] Amaravati school flourished under the local Sada rulers, Satavahanas, and Andhra Ikshvakus till 325–340 CE. Amaravati Stupa is the most famous monument of this style, and it was for some time "the greatest monument in Buddhist Asia",[98] and "the jewel in the crown of early Indian art".[99] Apart from Amaravati, the style is also found in Nagarjunakonda and Chandavaram Buddhist site.
Largely because of the maritime trading links of the East Indian coast, the Amaravati school of sculpture had great influence on art in South India, Sri Lanka, and South-East Asia.[44][45][95][97][100] Buddha image in sculptures which later on became the prototype of images in different Buddhist countries was standardised here.[97][101] The Amaravati style of Buddha image retained its popularity in Sri Lanka till the 12th century.[101]
Dasara in September/October. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
Atla Tadde 3rd day in bright half of Ashviyuja month (falls in September/October in Gregorian calendar). However, the exact date may vary according to the Hindu calendar.
Deepavali (date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
Nagula Chavithi is in October/November. (The exact date may vary as per the Hindu calendar.)
Telugu is the third most common language in India, right behind Bengali. Telugu is predominantly spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, although it’s also the official language of several other states like Andaman and Nicobar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa, Kharagpur of West Bengal, Bellary Of Karnataka. It is a part of the Dravidian language family, which has been around for about 5,000 years.
Outside Telugu states the largest number of Telugu speakers are found in Tamil Nadu (4.2 million) and Karnataka (3.7 million), making them the second largest language groups in those neighbouring states.[106] In Tamil Nadu, Telugu people who migrated during the Vijayanagara period have spread across several northern districts and constitute a significant percentage of the population in Chennai city. In Karnataka, Telugu people are predominantly found in the border districts with majority in Bengaluru city and Bellary city. In Maharashtra, the Telugu population is over 1.4 million, followed by 0.7 million in Orissa. Other states with significant populations include West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat with 200,000, 150,000 and 100,000 respectively.[106]
^ abWolpert, Stanley A. (1989). A New History of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 75, 76. ISBN978-0-19-505636-5. Apparently originating somewhere between the peninsular rivers Godavari and Krishna, homeland of the Dravidian Telugu-speaking peoples whose descendants now live in a state called Andhra, the great Andhra dynasty spread across much of south and central India from the second century BC till the second century AD.
^ abWolpert, Stanley A. (1989). A New History of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 75, 76. ISBN978-0-19-505636-5. Amaravati on the banks of the Krishna, which was later the southeast capital of the Satavahanas, flourished in its trade with Rome, Ceylon, and Southeast Asia, and may well have been the most prosperous city of India during the second century of the Christian era.
^ Miśra, Bhāskaranātha; Rao, Manjushri; Pande, Susmita, eds. (1996). India's Cultural Relations with South-east Asia. Sharada Publishing House. pp. 70, 71. ISBN 978-81-85616-39-1.
^Muthiah, S. (27 March 2017). "The Nayaka kings of Kandy". The Hindu. ISSN0971-751X. Retrieved 23 October 2020. All four worshipped at Buddhist and Hindu shrines, used Sinhala and Tamil as court languages (though they spoke Telugu), and encouraged their courtiers to take wives from Madurai and Thanjavur.
^ abcRamaswamy, Vijaya (25 August 2017). Historical Dictionary of the Tamils. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 88. ISBN978-1-5381-0686-0. In precolonial or early-modern South India, Telugu became the cultural language of the south, including the Tamil country, somewhat similar to the overwhelming dominance of French as the cultural language of modern Europe during roughly the same era. Therefore, Telugu predominates in the evolution of Carnatic music, and it is the practice to teach Telugu language in music colleges to those aspiring to become singers.
^Warder, Anthony Kennedy (2004). Indian Buddhism. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 336, 355, 402, 464. ISBN978-81-208-1741-8. Those of us who have studied the evidence above will prefer to locate this source of most of the Mahāyāna sutras in Andhra. (p. 355) From the internal evidence it appears that this sutra was written in South India, very likely in Andhra, in which case the country of origin of the Mahāyāna continued in the lead in the development of new ideas in India. (p. 402)
^Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd edition. Routledge, 2009, p. 47.
^(20 December 2007) Telugu is 2,400 years old, says ASIThe Hindu. Archived 3 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine "The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has joined the Andhra Pradesh Official Languages Commission to say that early forms of the Telugu language and its script indeed existed 2,400 years ago"
^"Wayang | Indonesian theatre". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 April 2023. Developed before the 10th century, the form had origins in the tholu bommalata, the leather puppets of southern India. The art of shadow puppetry probably spread to Java with the spread of Hinduism.
^Keith, Rawlings (November 1999). "Observations on the historical development of puppetry - Chapter Two". Retrieved 3 April 2023. Perhaps the most interesting of the south-Indian puppet types for me, however, were the tholu bommalata -- the articulated, leather, shadow puppets -- which are the probable ancestors of Indonesia's wayang.
^Currell, David (1974). The Complete Book of Puppetry. Pitman. p. 25. ISBN978-0-273-36118-3. The tolu bommalata shadow puppets are found in the Andhra region and may be the origin of the Javanese wayang kulit puppets.
^Sekaram, Kandavalli Balendu (1973), The Andhras through the ages, Sri Saraswati Book Depot, p. 4, archived from the original on 13 October 2022, retrieved 25 January 2017, The easier and more ancient "Telugu" appears to have been converted here into the impressive Sanskrit word Trilinga, and making use of its enormous prestige as the classical language, the theory was put forth that the word Trilinga is the mother and not the child.
^ abRamachandran, A. "Amaravati Buddhist Images in Srilanka and Southeast Asia." Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 53, 1992, pp. 686–91. JSTOR, JSTOR44142888. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.
^Satyanarayana, Adapa (2008). "Proceedings of the Indian History Congress Vol. 69 : Telugu Diaspora in South East/West Asia, 1871-1990". Indian History Congress. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Telugu Telugu language Telugu people Telugu cinema Telugu literature Zee Telugu Telugu-Kannada alphabet Maa Telugu Thalliki Lists of Telugu-language films Telugu Americans Malaysian Telugus Telugu states Telugu Brahmin Telugu Language Day Telugu Indian Idol MasterChef India – Telugu Telugu Chodas Telugu language policy Telugu Thalli Telugu grammar Telugu script Sivaji (Telugu actor) Zee Cine Awards Telugu Telugu names Poornima (Telugu actress) Telugu Christians Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University Telugu Yuvata Romanisation of Telugu List of Telugu films of 2004 ETV (Telugu) Telugu theatre Int…
ernational Telugu Institute Bigg Boss (Telugu TV series) List of Telugu people Telugu-language radio List of Telugu-language television channels Satya (Telugu actor) American Telugu Association Bible translations into Telugu Telugu Desam Party Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu Netherlands Telugu Community Telugu culture List of Telugu films of the 2010s Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Telugu TV9 Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu Bigg Boss (Telugu TV series) season 6 Filmfare Award for Best Comedian – Telugu List of Telugu films of 2013 Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist – Telugu Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Telugu SIIMA Award for Best Actor – Telugu Siva (1989 Telugu film) Bigg Boss (Telugu TV series) season 2 List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for Telugu Telugu Samskruthika Niketanam List of Telugu films of 2015 Bigg Boss (Telugu TV series) season 1 Surya (Telugu actor) MasterChef India – Telugu season 1 Bigg Boss (Telugu TV series) season 3 Telugu (Unicode block) Sangeeta (Telugu actress) List of Telugu films of 1940 Narasimha Raju (Telugu actor) List of Telugu films of 2002 List of Telug