Telugu Brahmins are a community of Indians who practice Hinduism and who speak the Telugu language (a member of the Dravidian language family and the third largest language spoken in India by population). This Telugu-speaking Hindu community both self-identifies and also is identified by their larger family of Hindu coreligionists with the Brahmin-caste by those Hindus who choose to maintain such social categories.
According to the Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda, the Andhras left north India from the banks of the River Yamuna and migrated into peninsular India. They are mentioned at the time of the death of the great Mauryan King Ashoka in 232 BCE. They mainly hail from the Indian States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, although several populations from among them have settled in various regions throughout India. Although Telugu Brahmin communities have immigrated to countries outside of India, they continue to maintain deep ties to India for religious and familial reasons.