name Agniveerudu is very signiticant, meaning "fiery valour" Vairiciierla has become a surname and is adopted by his descendants. Nothing is known of about five or six generations subsequent to Agniveerudu, and the name on record after him is Vairicherla Pedda Sanyasiraju. From historical accounts, we understand that Sivarama Raju, the son of Pedda Sanyasi Raju, was the contemporary of Seetharam Raju of Vizianagram, and we can therefore safely say that the origin of the Zemindari was about the middle of the 15th century.
The next in line of succession after Vairicherla Pedda Sanyasiraju was his son Vairicherla Sivarama Raju, who succeeded to the estate with good credentials as he was Dewan to his father. We take the following about Sivarama Raju from Mr. Carmichael's Vizagapatam District Manual:—
"Sivarama Raju of Kurapam joined heartily in the rebellion against the Pusapaties, which broke out about the period of the establishment of the first chief in council, and when the Company's troops under Captain Mathews advanced into Jeypore in the year 1774, he attacked the rearguard and cut off their supplies. On their return from Jeypore, the Pusapaties led Captain Mathews to Kurapam and arrested Siva Rama Raju with all his family. The Zemindari was restored to the old family by the Collector of the Northern Division in 1706, and the pe manent settlement of 1802 was made with Sivarama Raju's son Chinna Sanyasiraju."
Chinna Sanyasiraju was the first to rule the estate under the Permanent Revenue Settlement for a period of 28 years, from 1802 to 1830. He instituted many salutary reforms, established agraharams, and dug tanks. As he
