- published: 03 Aug 2015
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The Telugu people or Telugu Prajalu are a Dravidian linguistic group. The majority of Telugus reside in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Telugu language is the most-spoken Dravidian language, the third-most spoken language in India and the fourth most in the Indian subcontinent, following Hindi, Bengali, and Punjabi.
Andhra in Indian epic literature first appears at the time of the death of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in 232 BC. This date has been considered to be the beginning of the Andhra historical record. Various dynasties have ruled the area, including the Satavahana dynasty, Sakas, Andhra Ikshvakus, Eastern Chalukyas, Pallava dynasty, Pandyan dynasty, Chola dynasty, Telugu Cholas, the Bobbili, the Vijayanagara Empire, the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda, and the Nizams of Hyderabad.
The term Kalinga has been historically relevant to this region, incorporating northeast Andhra Pradesh and modern day Odisha. Buddhist references to Andhras are also found.