Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "பலிஜா" in Tamil language version.
On Sravana ba. 10 of Yuva of 146 years ago corresponding to S. S. 1558, (the Raya) granted the government of Penugonda to Koneti Nayadu, the son. of Kastuiri Nayadu, the son of Akkapa Nayadu, who was the son of Canca(ma) Nayadu of Candragiri, a member of the Vasarasi family of the Balija caste.
Moreover, Acyutadeva Maharaya formally crowned Viswanatha Nayadu of the Garikepati family of the Balija caste as the king of Pandya country yielding a revenue of 2 and 1/2 crores of varahas; and he presented him the golden idols of Durga, Laksmi and Lakshmi-Narayana and sent him with ministers, councillors and troops to the south. Visvanatha Nayudu reached the city of Madhura, from which he began to govern the country entrusted to his care. - taken from the Kaifiyat of Karnata-Kotikam Kings, LR8, pp.319-22
The Kapus, concentrated in Guntur, Krishna, West and East Godavari districts are listed among the forward castes. In Rayalaseema districts they are known as Balijas.
Kavarai (the Tamil word for Balija merchants)
The Nayak kings of Madura and Tanjore were Balijas , traders by caste
Madurai was a prosperous city ruled by Nāyaka kings who were Telugu warriors with Balija cultivators and merchant-caste affiliations
The Channapatna chiefs generally bore the name Rana . Jagadēva - Rāya , after the founder of the family in Mysore. He was of the Telugu Banajiga caste and had possessions in Bāramahāl . His daughter was married to the Vijayanagar king
Then Virabhadrappa Nayaka ascended the Gadi and retiring to Bidarur ruled over his country more peacefully than before. His rule lasted for 15 years from 1551 to 1566. During his reign the rule of Vokkaligas came to an end and was replaced by the rule of Banajigas. Sivappanayaka , grandson of Chikkasankanna Nayaka , was the head of administration as Yuvaraja under Virabhadra Nayaka.
Balija are the chief Telugu trading caste , scattered ! throughout Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
In the Telugu word balija or balijiga has the same meaning . It is therefore probable that the words vaļañjiyam , vaļañjiyar , balañji , baṇañji , baṇañjiga and balija are cognate and derived from the Sanskrit vanij
.
Kapus in the Telugu - speaking states do not form a neat homogenous category , as they comprise castes such as Kapu , Telaga , Balija and Ontari among many other variants
......many of the Telugu migrant groups who settled in Tamil Nadu from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries were led by Balija warriors . These Balijas and their descendants became local rulers under the auspices of Vijayanagara.
They are popularly classed as kota balijas, who are military in origin and claim kinship with the Emperors and Viceroys of Vijayanagar and the Kandyan Dynasty.
