Niyogi Brahmin
ClassificationForward caste
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesTelugu (primary)
Other Dravidian languages[1]
CountryPrimarily India

Niyogi Brahmin is a Telugu Brahmin subcaste[2] native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but are spread throughout South India and Maharashtra.[3][4] The traditional occupations of the Niyogi Brahmins are settled cultivation and priesthood.[5] But majority of them took up various secular vocations including military activities and patwaris. They were associated with administration, economics, literature, music composing, politics, scholarly, scientific, engineering, defense and warfare careers.[6][7]

Etymology

Niyogin in Sanskrit means "employed", "appointed" or "assigned" and it is probable that Niyogis were given this name because they accept secular employment.[8] As per Eastern Chalukyan records, Brahmins who were appointed to a 'Niyoga', commission, charge or office, were called 'Niyogins', officials or functionaries. The term 'Niyogikavallabha' finds mention in a record of Eastern Chalukyan king Mangi Yuvaraja (r. 682 – 706 CE).[9]

Sub-divisions

Niyogis are divided into groups like Aruvela Niyogis, Pakanati Niyogis, Prathamasaki Niyogis and others.[10] Golkonda Vyaparis were said to be a part of Niyogis. The word "vyapari" means trader. While Niyogis were Smartas, Vyaparis are Vaishnavas.[11][12][13] In Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, there are some sections of Niyogis such as Aruvela and Prathamasaki who follow Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacharya.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ William Joseph Jackson (1994). Tyāgarāja and the Renewal of Tradition: Translations and Reflections. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 226. ISBN 978-8120811461.
  2. ^ Vinod Kumar Rawat (22 October 2014). Knowledge-Power/Resistance: Beyond Bacon, Ambedkar and Foucault. Partridge Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 9781482839166. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  3. ^ C. J. Fuller; Haripriya Narasimhan (11 November 2014). Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste. University of Chicago Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0226152882.
  4. ^ Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's Communities, Volume 6. Oxford University Press. p. 2644. ISBN 9780195633542. In Maharashtra, the Niyogi Brahman have eleven subgroups like Aruvela Niyogi and Kammelu Niyogi. They have migrated from Andhra Pradesh. In social practices and rituals they do not differ from their original stock in Andhra Pradesh.
  5. ^ Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's Communities, Volume 6. Oxford University Press. p. 2645. ISBN 9780195633542. The traditional occupations of the Niyogi Brahman of Andhra Pradesh are settled cultivation and priesthood. They were Patwaris also.
  6. ^ Sanatha Dharma, Religion, Gothra, Sages, Saints & Rishis of Vedic Era
  7. ^ Ancient India: A History of its Culture and Civilization, Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi, p. 166-170
  8. ^ Hopkins, Religions of India, p. 192 states: "As to the fees, the rules are precise, and the propounders of them are unblushing."
  9. ^ Epigraphia Indica, Vol. III, p. 239.
  10. ^ Sekaram, Kandavalli Balendu (1973). The Andhras Through the Ages. Sri Saraswati Book Depot. p. 28. Among the Niyogis, there are Aruvela Niyogis, Pakanati Niyogis and others.
  11. ^ "Madras' milieu beheld from the eyes of a dewan". The Times of India. 15 November 2016. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  12. ^ Subrahmanyam, Y. Subhashini (1975). Social Change in Village India: An Andhra Case Study. Prithvi Raj Publishers. p. 71.
  13. ^ Aiyar, Cuddalore Ramachandra (1891). Collection of the Decisions of the High Courts and the Privy Council on the Hindu Law of Marriage and the Effect of Apostacy After Marriage, Up to March 1891. V.K. Iyer. pp. 26–28.
  14. ^ Karnataka State Gazetteer: Mysore. Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. 1988. p. 157. The Madhwas are followers of the Dwaitha philosophy of Madhwacharya and have sub-sects like the Badaganadu, Aravelu, Aravathuvokkalu, Deshastha, etc.
  15. ^ Kumar Suresh Singh (1998). India's Communities, Volume 6. Oxford University Press. p. 2044. ISBN 9780195633542. In Tamil Nadu, the Madhwa Brahmins are migrants from Karnataka. They have six sub-groups, they are Aruvela, Aruvanththuvakkalu, Badaganadu, Pennaththurar, Prathamasaki and Desastha and Badaga. They are concentrated in the Madras, Coimbatore, Coonoor and in Ooty.

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