Gowda is usually the name given to the head of the family or family group in the state of Karnataka in India.
It is derived from Archaic Kannada term Kavunda denoting a village or family head. People belonging to certain castes and communities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu use it as a surname. Gowda or Gowdar is commonly used as surnames by people belonging to Kuruba, Lingayat,Vokkaliga, Ediga, Tigala, Uppaara communities. Many more people of different communities use Gowda as surnames and it often signify
a particular caste (example Vokkaliga). In kannada Vokkaliga means farmer. Communities like Vokkaliga, Ediga, Kuruba, Yadava, Golla, Uppaara, Nayaka have similar culture and food habits (eg. non-vegetarians by diet, Hindus by religion). However there are certain Gowda's sect that are strictly vegetarians. For example Namadhary Gowdas are strict vegetarians. Some sects of lingayats in Karnataka use Gowda as surname and they are also very strict vegetarians. However all these communities are forming centric village communities. Vokkaligas are an Indian caste or social group found mainly in the Old Mysore Region of southern Karnataka state. Vokkalathana in Kannada language means tilling land and Vokkaliga means one who tills land. Vokkaligas are believed to be originally from Tamil Nadu and their kin group in Kongu Nadu are the Kongu Vellalar. They are believed to have settled in southern Karnataka many centuries ago[1]. The Yelahankanadu (14 Kms. from Bangalore) Prabhus were Gowdas or tillers of the Land. They belonged to Morasu Vokkalu sect, the ancestors of which were migrants from Morasunadu near Kanjeepuram (16 miles from Bangalore on the Bangalore-Madras Hwy.). Fourth in succession from Rana Bhairave Gowda, founder of the dynasty of Avanti Nadu Prabhus and great grandson of Jaya Gowda, who established separate dynasty, the famous Yelahanka Nadu Prabhus, Kempe Gowda I ruled for 46 years commencing his reign from 1513. Jaya Gowda accepted the sovergnity of the Vijayanagar emperor. There were the Gangadicara Gowdas of other parts of Karnataka. The name Gangadicara, which is derived from the word Gangawadi-kara, meaning the inhabitant of Gangawadi is a relic of Ganga Rule and has since survived in this part of Karnataka. However the MorasuVokkalu sect got assimilated with the other gowdas of Karnataka who are now called Vokkaligas. Today the Vokkaliga community embraces within its fold the Morasu Vokkaligas, the Gangadicara Vokkaligas, Reddy Vokkaligas, Kunchitiga Vokkaligas, Hallikaru Vokkaligas and so on. Kempe Gowda was a great ruler, was concerned in the welfare of his subjects and spent lavishly in the construction of tanks, agraharas, temples and forts. The Vokkaligas rendered great service in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry and soldiery. He conquered Sivaganga principality, 30 miles from Bangalore on Bangalore-Poona Hwy. Next he annexed Domlur which is on the road from Bangalore to Bangalore Airport. Within this vast forest area he erected a fort and built the Township of Bangalore in 1537. Kempe Gowda next annexed Ulsoor and Hesaraghatta. Bangalore four main streets Chickpete and Doddapete leading to Ulsoor gate, Sondekoppa gate , Yelahanka gate and Anekal gate were laid. Kempe Gowda shifted his capital from Yelahanka to Bangalore. Emperor Achuta Raya granted Kempe Gowda the neighboring villages of Begur, Jigani, Varthur, Kengeri, Banavara and Kumbalgode, besides many other hamlets yielding a revenue of 30,000 varahas. Kempe Gowda built the cave temple of Gavi Gangadhareswara at Gavipur, the Bull Temple in Basavanagudi, the Kempambudhi Tank and Dharambudhi Tank. His successor Kempe Gowda II built the Ulsoor Tank, the Karanjee Tank, the Sampangi Tank, the Someswara Temple of Ulsoor, the famous four Kempe Gowda Towers and the Ranganatha Temple in Balapete, Bangalore. There is an inscription dated 1628 in this Ranganatha Temple in Telugu. The English translation of this is "Be it well, When Rajadhi-Raja-Parameshwara Vira Pratapa Vira-Maha-Deva Maharaya seated in the Jewel throne was ruling the empire of the world: When of the Asannavakula, the Yelahanka Nadu Prabhu Kempanacharya-Gauni's grandson Kempe Gowda' 5 son, Immadi Kempegaunayya was ruling a peaceful kingdom in righteousness with the decline of the Vijayanagar empire, the eclipse of the rule of Yelahanka Nadu Prabhus took place at the dawn of the 17th century.Today the Vokkaliga community embraces within its fold the Morasu Vokkaligas, the Gangadicara Vokkaligas, Reddy Vokkaligas, Kunchitiga Vokkaligas, Hallikaru Vokkaligas and so on. Some divisions show Telugu origins as well. Some surnames used are Gowda, Patil or Reddy. In Tamil nadu they are known as Okkaligar and use Gounder as a title.
