Pusapati

Pusapati or Poosapati was the ruling clan of the Kalinga Vizianagaram (founded in late 16th century AD). They were Kshatriyas of the Suryavanshi race.

History

The Paricchedi Kings were ancestors of the Pusapati royal family who 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] ] They 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.

Pusapati Rulers

*Pusapati Amala Raju (Founder)
*Pusapati Rachi Raju [ [http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/v/vizianagram.html Vizianagaram Zamindars] ]
*Pusapati Tama Bhupaludu (b.1620-d.1670)
*Pusapati Peda Vijayarama Raju (b.1670-d.1757)
*Pasupati Ananda Raju (d.1760)
*Pusapati Chinna Vijayarama Raju (1760-1794)
*Pusapati Narayana Babu Raju (1794 - 1845)
*Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju (1845-1879)
*Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju (1879-1897)
*Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju (1897-1922)
*Pusapati Alaka Narayana Gajapati Raju (1922-1937)
*Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju (1945-1995)
*Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju (1950- )

Gajapati literally means "Lord of elephants"

Recent Famous People of Pusapati

*Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju - Former Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
* Poosapati S Kumaraswamy Raja - Former Chief Minister of Madras Presidency(Tamil Nadu) (1949-52) and Governor of Orissa (1954-56). [ [http://www.rajapalayam.org/kumarasamyraja.html Rajapalayam History] ] [ [http://www.virudhunagar.tn.nic.in/psk.htm Virudhunagar Official Weblink] ]
* Poosapati A.C Ramasamy Raja - The founder of the Ramco Group of Industries, established in the year 1936. [ [http://www.ramcoindltd.com/about_ramco_industries.asp Ramco website] ]
* Poosapati R Ramasubrahmaneya Raja - Chairman - Ramco Group of Companies.
*Sir Pusapati Vijayananda Gajapathi Raju also known as Maharajkumar of Vizianagram or Vizzy - Former Indian cricketer, Cricket administrator and Politician.

ee Also

*Rajus
*Kshatriyas

References