Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju

Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju (December 31, 1850 – May 23, 1897) was a Rajah of the Vizianagaram kingdom in North East Coastal Andhra Pradesh, India.

Royal Family

The Pusapati Royal family belongs to the Solar Kshatriyas of the same genealogical tree of which Ramachandra of Ramayana.

According to Edward B. Eastwick, The Maharajah of Vijayanagaram claims descent from the Maharanas of Udaipur and is of the Vasistha Gotra or the Sisodhya branch of the Guhilot tribes. A brother of the Maharana emigrated to Oudh, and in the 529 A.D. his descendant, Madhava Varma, marched with Four clans into the Dakhan, and conquered the country from Ramanad to Katak. His capital was Vijayanagar, afterwards transferred to Bezawada. His descendants reigned over this kingdom for 921 years. In 1512 they were subjected by Sultan Kuli of the Golkonda dynasty. Under the 5th King of that line an ancestor of the present ruler of Vijayanagaram was made Subahdar of the North Sarkars. The Emperor Aurangzeb confirmed the Subahdar in his office and gave him a two-edged sword(zulfikar), which is still used in the coat-of-arms of the family. In 1817 the father of the present ruler made over his estate to Government to clear off his debts of 200,000 rupees. In 1827 he again made over his estate and died at Banaras, leaving a debt of 1,100,000. His successor, the later Maharajah Vijayarama Gajapati Raju III, was recognized in the room of his father in 1845 and had several honors conferred on him by...
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