Home > Society > Religion in India > History of Reddi Community
History of Reddi Community
The Reddi community has a rich history of their own.

Share this Article:

To free their land from the Muslim rulers, who probably belonged to the Delhi Sultanate, there were serious revolutions. Prominent among the leaders of liberation were Prolaya Nayaka and his cousin, Kapaya Nayaka. It is said about seventy-five lesser Nayakas (feudatory chieftains) assisted them in their enterprise, including the celebrated Prolaya Vema, founder of the Reddy kingdom of Addanki and Kondavidu. About 1331, the entire coastal region from the Mahanadi to the Gundlakamma in the Nellore District had been freed from the Muslims.

Of the many Reddi kingdoms that flourished for one hundred and twenty-five years after the end of the Kakatiya Empire, the one at Kondaveedu, founded by Prolaya Vema in 1320, was the most important.

Most of the Reddi kings were enlightened patrons of learning, literature and the fine arts. Prolaya Vema`s court was particularly distinguished because of the presence of the illustrious Sanskrit scholar, Mahadeva. The greatest poet of the Reddi age was Srinatha, a Brahmin whose patron was Peda Komati Vema.

King Veerabhadra Reddi of Rajamathendiravaram was another celebrated aesthete and scholar with knowledge of music and literature.

Another major Telugu poet of the age of the Reddi kings was Vemana who probably lived in the earlier part of the fifteenth century and is believed to have been a Reddy. His succinct, four thousand odd aphorisms in verse, constitute the Bible of the Andhras.

It was thus that the Reddi kingdoms came into being which retained their power for over a hundred years (1325 to 1448). Although the Reddi rulers inherited the responsibilities of their Kshatriya predecessors, they acquired none of the rights as they were Sudras and were debarred from participating in the Vedic rituals. Nevertheless the Kshatriya rulers of Warangal and their Reddi chieftains were associated through social interaction such as occasional intermarriage.


Share this Article:

Related Articles

More Articles in Religion in India


Religion in Indus Valley Civilization
Religion in Indus Valley Civilisation included Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Details about the religion in Indus Valley Civilization have been gathered from archaeological artefacts.
Shaivism Religion
Shaivism is the second largest “religious community” in modern India with its roots deeply seated in the Hindu Vedic belief.
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is among the more popular denominations of Hinduism, with its own distinctive ideas about spirituality and morality. Vaishnavism concentrates on worshipping god Vishnu and of his incarnations.
Hinduism Religion
Hinduism is more of a philosophy which is a way of living according to the understanding of the principles of Vedas and Upanishads.
Islam
Islam is a religion that beliefs in Allah as the one and only God and creator of the Universe. Islamic law or Sharia is characterised by the five pillars of Islam which comprise the essential duties of every Muslim.
Christianity
Christianity is a religion based on the teachings and life of Jesus Christ and it is the largest religion in the world.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and a philosophy that encompasses a wide variety of beliefs, practices and traditions that are chiefly based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha and its later disciples.
Jainism
Jainism chronologically preceded the religion of Buddhism. It is considered as one of the oldest religions of India. Jainism in India shared with Hinduism and Buddhism. It is an integral part of South Asian religious belief and practice, but it is not a Hindu sect and not a Buddhist heresy, as earlier scholars believed.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism, closely related to Judaism, Christianity and Islam was founded by Zoroaster.
Sikhism
Sikhism is a religion started by Guru Nanak in land of Punjab in 15th century A.D.