Padmashalis or Padmasalis are a social group or Telugu weavers' caste found largely in Andhra Pradesh. It is said Padmashali as a caste means brahminical not by birth but by deeds. Their mother tongue remains Telugu, except for a few migrants who had taken longer and numerous stages of migration such as the Shettigars of Dakshina Kannada. Most Padmashalis in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chatttisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa have Telugu as their mother tongue.