Gowda (surname)

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Gowda (also known as Gauda, Goud, Gouda or Gonda [1] [2] ) is a surname native to Karnataka state of India. It is mainly found among the Vokkaligas in South Karnataka, Kuruba Gowda and the Lingayats in north Karnataka. [3] [4] It is also used by other communities like Namadhari Naiks, [5] Billavas. [6] Gowda was originally an honorific used by the administrative head of a village. Typically, such a head owned land and held political and social sway in the village. [7] Among Reddy, it was used to refer to the head of the community. [8] [9]

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Etymology

According to historian Suryanath U. Kamath, the word Gowda derives from Gavunda. [10] The German Indologist Gustav Oppert opined that the root of ‘Gowda’ is a Dravidian word meaning "mountain". [11] The term Gowda and its archaic forms in Old Kannada such as Gamunda, Gavunda, Gavuda, Gonda, appear frequently in the inscriptions of Karnataka. The Epigraphia Carnatica is replete with references to land grants, donations to temples, hero-stones (Veeragallu), stone edicts and copper plates dating back to the age of the Western Ganga Dynasty (est. 350 CE) and earlier. [12] The Gavundas were landlords that collected taxes and rendered military service to the Kings. [13] Noboru Karashima says the Gavundas had functions corresponding to that of the Chola Vellala Nattars. [14] While the majority of the gavundas were derived from the Vokkaligas; by the 10th century, the term gavunda also came to denote chiefship of a community or group and was adopted by the heads of other communities assimilated into the early medieval state. [9]

Notable people with surname Gowda

Kempegowda I, founder of the Bengaluru city Kempegowda.jpg
Kempegowda I, founder of the Bengaluru city

Notable people with the surname Gowda:

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Related Research Articles

Arebhashe or Aregannada or Gowda Kannada is a dialect of Kannada mainly by Gowda communities in the region Madikeri, Somwarpet, and Kushalnagar taluks of Kodagu district, Sullia, taluks of Dakshina Kannada district; Bangalore and Mysore districts in the Indian state of Karnataka. As well as Bandadka, Kasaragod District in the Indian state of Kerala, Arebhashe is also called Gowda Kannada. The language was recognized by the Karnataka State government and formed an academy in 2011 to preserve the culture and literature of the Arebhahse Region which is named as Karnataka Arebhashe Samskruthi mathu Sahitya Academy supported by then Chief Minister D. V. Sadananda Gowda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kempe Gowda I</span> Founder of Bangalore (1510–1569)

Kempe Gowda I locally venerated as Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda, or commonly known as Kempe Gowda, was a governor under the Vijayanagara Empire in early-modern India. He is famous for the development of Bangalore Town in the 16th century. Kempegowda erected many Kannada inscriptions across the region.

Hegde or Heggade Pergade is a common surname found primarily in the Kanara, Tulu Nadu and Konkan regions of India. It is prevalent among various Hindu communities in these regions, including the Kuruba Gowda, Bunt, Saraswat Brahmins, Kannada Jain, Havyaka Brahmin, and Vokkaliga communities of Karnataka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Ganga dynasty</span> Ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India

Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 1000 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over Kalinga. The general belief is that the Western Gangas began their rule during a time when multiple native clans asserted their freedom due to the weakening of the Pallava empire in South India, a geo-political event sometimes attributed to the southern conquests of Samudra Gupta. The Western Ganga sovereignty lasted from about 350 to 550 CE, initially ruling from Kolar and later, moving their capital to Talakadu on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vokkaliga</span> Group of castes in Karnataka

Vokkaliga is a community of closely related castes, from the Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magadi</span> Town in Karnataka, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chavundaraya</span> Indian Jain ruler

Cāmuṇḍarāya or Chavundaraya was an Indian Jain ruler. He served in the court of the Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad. A person of many talents, in 981 he commissioned the construction of the monolithic statue of Bahubali, the Gomateshwara, at Shravanabelagola, an important place of pilgrimage for Jainism. He was a devotee of the Jain Acharya Nemichandra and Ajitasena Bhattaraka and was an influential person during the reigns of Marasimha II Satyavakya, (963–975). Rachamalla IV Satyavakya, (975–986) and Rachamalla V (Rakkasaganga), (986–999).

Shivakotiacharya, a writer of the 9th-10th century, is considered the author of didactic Kannada language Jain text Vaddaradhane. A prose narrative written in pre-Old-Kannada, Vaddaradhane is considered the earliest extant work in the prose genre in the Kannada language. Scholars are, however, still divided about when exactly the text was written, with claims ranging from before the 6th century to the 10th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Karnataka</span>

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The Western Ganga Dynasty ruled large parts of southern Karnataka from the fourth century CE till the late tenth century CE with their regal capital initially at Kolar and later at Talakad in Mysore district, Karnataka. The origin of the Ganga clan prior to the fourth century is shrouded in legends and myths. Clarity into their history comes from such contemporaneous writings as Chavundaraya Purana in Kannada and Lokhavibhaga in Prakrit and from numerous inscriptions excavated in the Mysore, Bangalore and Kolar districts and Anantapur district. The Western Gangas played a pivotal role in the development of polity, culture and literature during their long rule in the region, at times as independent monarchs and at other times as subordinates of their larger neighbors: the Badami Chalukyas and later the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta. Their patronage to literature in Kannada and Sanskrit, their achievements in architecture including the famous monolith of Gomateshwara, their Hindu temples in the southern Karnataka, and their Jain Basadi's of Shravanabelagola and Kambadahalli are testimony to the rich contribution they made to the region.

The Economy of Western Ganga kingdom refers to the economic structure that existed during the rule of this important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka. They are known as Western Gangas to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over modern Orissa. The Western Ganga sovereignty lasted from about 350 to 550, initially ruling from Kolar and later moving their capital to Talakad on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district. Later, they ruled as an important feudatory of larger empires, the imperial Chalukyas of Badami and the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta.

The Western Ganga administration refers to the administrative structure that existed during the rule of this important dynasty of ancient Karnataka. They are known as Western Gangas to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over modern Orissa. The Western Ganga sovereignty lasted from about 350 to 550, initially ruling from Kolar and later moving their capital to Talakad on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district. Later they ruled as an important feudatory to the imperial Chalukyas of Badami and the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta.

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Tulu Gowda and Arebhashe Gowda (Gauda) are primarily found in South Canara District, Kodagu District, Indian state of Karnataka and Bandadka village of Kasaragod. They are officially considered a subsect of the Vokkaliga community but are culturally and linguistically different. They speak Tulu and Arebhashe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atakur inscription</span> 10th-century inscription in Karnataka, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulsi Gowda</span> Indian environmentalist

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References

  1. Census of India, 1961, Volume 11, Part 6, Issue 23. India: Office of the Registrar, General Manager of Publications. 1976. p. 10. ...Gowda (also spoken as Gonda colloquially)...
  2. Ramananda Chatterjee (1930). The Modern Review. Vol. 47. India: Prabasi Press Private, Limited. p. 80.
  3. D K Kulkarni (1992). "Tenants movements in Uttara Kannada district and the Kagodu Satyagraha". Peasant movements in Karnataka since 1900 their nature and results (PDF). Karnatak University / Shodhganga. p. 80. Retrieved 24 October 2016. Gowdas, literary means a village headman usually from Vokkaliga community in Southern district of Karnataka and Lingayat in Northern part
  4. George Matthew (1984). "Shift in Indian Politics: 1983 Elections in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka". Concept. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. The Mysore Tribes and Castles. Mittal Publications.
  6. A. S. Seetharamu (1997). Literacy Campaigns in India. APH Publishing. p. 131. ISBN   978-81-7024-814-9.
  7. K. T. Margaret, ed. (1999). The Open Classroom: A Journey Through Education. Orient Blackswan. p. 131. ISBN   978-81-250-1669-4.
  8. "152"  . Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu via Wikisource. According to Mr. Stuart, "each community of Kurubas, residing in a group of villages, has a headman or Gaudu. He acts the part of pūjāri or priest in all their ceremonies, presides over their tribal meetings, and settles disputes.
  9. 1 2 Malini Adiga 1997, pp. 145, 147.
  10. Kamath, Suryanath U.; Naik, R.A (1983). Gazetteer of India Government of Karnataka, Karnataka State Gazetteer Part II. Bangalore: Parishree Printers. p. 243-244.: ”Villages had gramakuta or gavunda (gauda), the village headman. He had under him the village militia^ later called as talaras and tolls.”
  11. Kumar Suresh Singh; Anthropological Survey of India (2002). People of India. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 408. ISBN   978-81-85938-99-8.
  12. Benjamin Lewis Rice, R.Narasimhacharya (1894–1905). Epigraphia Carnatica. Government Central Press, Bangalore & Mysore.
  13. Malini Adiga 1997, p. 139.
  14. Karashima, Noboru (2014). A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. India: Oxford University Press. p. 144-145. ISBN   978-0198099772.:”They are, for example, Gavunda chiefs and heggade revenue officers vis-à-vis the Chola Vellala nattars; kalnad military tenure vis-à-vis padai-parru or parigraham tenure in the Chola state”

Bibliography

  • Malini Adiga (1997). "Gavundas in Southern Karnataka: Landlords and Warriors (AD 600 to 1030)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 58: 139–148. JSTOR   44143897.