Draft:House of Jilakaraju

The House of Jilakaraju (Jilakaraju Vamsa)

Believed to be connected or descended from the daughters of Jagadevaraya of the Rangapathi Raju Samsthanam, this was a renknowned Kshatriya family which has traditionally upheld the traditions of their ruling Vijayanagara past.

Their gotra is Athreya, and consider themselves to be of the Lunar race, much like the Araveeti Raju Family, which is also related to Jagadevaraya's family.

Introduction

The Jilakaraju Family are Chandravamsha Kshatriyas who claim descent from the historic Rangapathi Dynasty.

History

Although they played an important role as feudal chieftains, they were involved in business as well. Occupational roles in relation to Varna in Southern India were not as clear-cut; it is recorded that several Brahmins and Kshatriyas took up merchantry in the past millenium and entered into trading guilds such as the 500 Lords of Ayyavole

Legacy

The Jilakaraju family had ruled areas in the modern-day Rayalaseema provinces and are believed to have roots to ancestors who fought against the Islamic invasions of Adil Shah of Bijapur. They supposedly "gave land and wealth" away to underdeveloped families in Tirupati during the British rule, garnering so much "public affection" that many young men threatened to commit suicide after the death of a member (Rajaputra Sri Ramachandra) in March of 1978. While they did not wield any political power by the mid 20th-century, they continued to uphold traditional customs such as the royal coat of arms and worship of weapons.

According to Sri Vaishnava Brahmin Acharyas such as Saraswati Putra Puttaparthi Narayanacharya, their clan has roots with Telugu Kshatriyas that ruled and organized administration and powerful mercantile expositions of the Vijayanagara Empire.