¬Vipravinodis – A Dependent Sub-Caste of B...

¬Vipravinodis – A Dependent Sub-Caste of Brahmin Community in Andhra Pradesh

Author Name : Dr. P. Sadanandam

ABSTRACT

Vipravinodis are take donations from Brahmins only. They are Lingayats known as Vipravinodis because they perform acrobatic feats to entertain the Vipras or Brahmins. One of their favorite feats is throwing up three stones or wooden balls in the air and catching them or rolling them over various parts of body. Historically this magic was very popular between 15^th and 17^th centuries. These Vipravinodis were adoring the Vijayanagara court. Their magic is called Vipravinodi vidya. They are a sub-set in Brahmin caste. There is one more impratant magic even ‘Rope trick’ which the Viprovinodis perform. After the decline of the native Kingdoms, they had to depend on general public and slowly the art has faded away. Now we can hardly find them giving any performances.

Key words: Varna, Jati, Chaturvarnas, Nara vidya varu, Vipravinodi vidya, Performance, Magic show, Rope trick, Gotras and sutras, Dependent, Patron community.