Pericchedi

The Paricchedi Kings were an ancient ruling clan in Andhra and are ancestors of the Pusapati royal family. Paricchedis built Bezawada (Modern Vijayawada) off the river Krishna by 626 AD and another capital in Kollipaka establishing themselves for nine centuries there. [A History of Telugu Literature. Pg. 36 [http://books.google.com/books?id=4ZUOAAAAYAAJ&q=&pgis=1] ]

History

Paricchedis were staunch patrons of Hindu Dharma in contrast to the Chalukyas, who initially were patrons of Jainism. [Mediaeval Jainism: With Special Reference to the Vijayanagara Empire By Bhasker Anand Saletore [http://books.google.com/books?id=D71KAAAAMAAJ&q=paricchedi&dq=paricchedi&lr=&pgis=1] ] The family name was changed to Pusapati after moving to the coastal region. The name is derived from the Sanskrit "Pushavat" ("Pushan"), meaning of the sun, to highlight their Suryavanshi lineage. They founded the city of Vizianagaram, named after Vijay Rama Raju, spelled with a "Z" to differentiate it from the Vijayanagar Dynasty in Hampi. They obtained the title of "Gajapathi", after the battle of Nandapur, in the northern circars in the 16th century.

The Maharaja of Vizianagaram is stated to be descended from the Ranas of Udaipur, [Hindu Tribes and Castes [http://books.google.com/books?id=8V4IAAAAQAAJ&dq] ] the Sisodia branch of the Guhilot tribe and Vasishta gotra. According to the traditions of the Udaipur house, a member settled in Ayodhya (Oudh) and in the 6th century AD emigrated to Telingana, accompanied by representatives of the Vasishta, Dhanunjaya, Kaundinya and Kasyapa gotras. In 1484 Pusapati Rachi Raju wrote "Vasistha Gotra Kshatriya Sisa Malika." [Social and Economic Conditions in Eastern Deccan from AD. 1000- AD 1250. A. Vaidehi Krishnamoorthy. 1970. Deccan India, Originally presented as the author’s thesis, Osmania University. Pg. 159]

The Rajas allied themselves with the Gajapathi Emperor of Orissa against the Vijayanagar Empire initially but after being conquered by Krishna Deva Raya they became their fuedal allies. They, along with the other allies of Vijayanagar were conquered by Sultan Kali, the founder of the Qutub Shahi dynasty of Golkonda but by 1652 the 5th King of the subsequent Pusapati line was made Subahdar of the Northern Circars and they re-established themselves in the Vizagapatnam country. Emperor Aurangzeb confirmed the Gajapathi title and gave him a two-edged sword (Zulfiqar), which is still used in the coat-of-arms of the family. [Vizianagaram History [http://vizianagaram.ap.nic.in/History.htm] ] By 1713 they erected the fort at Vizianagaram where they have since resided. In 1827 Maharajah Vijay Rama Gajapati Raju III [Vizianagaram Zamindar [http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/v/vizianagram.html] ] had several honors conferred on him by the British Government. Lord Northbrook obtained for him the title of His Highness, and had his name enrolled among those of chiefs entitled to return visits from the Viceroy with a 13 gun salute. A daughter was married to His Highness Maharaj Kumar Singh, cousin and heir apparent of H.H. Maharajah of Rewah. [Rewah Zamindar [http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/r/rewah.html] ] In 1848 the late Maharaja of Vizianagaram visited Bezawada, the home of his family for so many centuries. His visit is recorded in a telugu inscription. [The Manual o the Krishna District. Pg. 219 [http://books.google.com/books?id=430nAMZz8LwC&dq] ] A descendent of this line Sir P. Vijay Anand Gajapathi Raju inherited the family estate in Benares, married the princess of Kashipur and was a captain of the Indian cricket team in the 30's. [The Encyclopedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. 11th edition. Vol. xxviii Vetch to Zymotic Diseases. New York. The Encyclopedia Britannica Co. 1911. pg 165] [The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical dictrionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled or Decorated of the Indian empire. Sir Roper Lethbridge. Elibron Classics. 2005 Adamant Media Corporation ISBN 14021093280-9] [The Imperial Gazetteer of India. William Wilson Hunter. Pg 482-497 Vol. xiii Published 1887 Trubner & Co. India] Distant relatives of this family include P.S. Kumar Swamy Raju former Chief Minister of the Madras State and P.R. Venkat Rama Raju, founder of Ramco Industries.

Marital Alliances with other Rajput Clans

The Pusapatis are related to:
#The Rathore Rajputs of Kashipur in Uttaranchal. Who are descended from the old Rajas of Kumaon.
#The Jhala dynasty Wadhwan princely state located in Saurashtra founded about 1630 as an offshoot of the Dhrangadhra princely state founded in 1090 by Harpal Dev Mokwana, the founder of the family tree of Dhrangadhra and Wankaner. Wankaner was founded in 1605 by a grandson of Raj Chandrasinhji, the ruler of Dhrangadhra. The Maharaja married the Maharani of Jodhpur.
#The Bais dynasty of Kasmanda in (Sitapur district) Orissa. The Royal family of Kasmanda is descended from Raja Salivahan of the Satavahana dynasty who defeated Raja Vikramaditya in 78AD. Raja Dinesh Pratap Singh married the daughter of Raja of Payagpur and had:
##Rajkumar Divyakar Pratap Singh who married Rani Jaya Rajya Lakshmi, daughter of the Rana of Nepal.
##Rajkumar Dinraj Pratap Singh married the sister of the Maharaja of Jaisalmer.
##Daughter married the Raja of Hindol,Orissa.
#The Sen (Chandravanshi) dynasty of the Keonthal princely state in Himachal Pradesh and brother in law to the Udaipur Maharana who is also married to the Nepal Royal family that is currently related to the Scindia Royal family of Gwalior of Maratha origin.
#The Vyricharla Raju dynasty of Kurupam, founded about 1450. They were granted the estate by the Raja of Jeypore,Orissa Raja Vyricharla Married the daughter of the Raja of Daspalla,Orissa, whose son was married to the daughter of the Pusapati Ananda Gajapathi Raju.
#Vatsavai royals of Peddapuram (Descendents of the Chagi Dynasty)
#Vejerla's

ee Also

*Gajapatis of Orissa
*Rajus
*Pusapati
*Vizianagaram

References