Hinduism: Details about 'Kuruba'
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home
|
The Kurubas are a community of people who reside in south India. Certainly an indigenous community, they are known to have resided in the area since time immemorial.
EtymologyThe word "Kuru" means "do or seek" in Sanskrit, and "Kuruhu" means "trust" in Kannada. "Kuruba" can be inferred to mean "doers" or "trustworthy (male person)". Kuruba can also be inferred to mean Seeker of Knowledge, Kuru (seek), Bha (Knowledge, Light). History and OriginsKurubas have known to be existing since the times of Mahabharata ( Kuru (India) ). Kurubas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have yadav as surnames which proves that yadavas and kurubas are one and the same. Pallava dynasty was the earliest Kuruba dynasty, pallavas were thought to be descendants of the parthians of persia(Iran). Kuruba Gowdas are very tall, well built and have sharp features when compared to other people of south india which also points towards the origins from central asia and Iran. After the fall of the pallava empire many kurubas setttled down in south india as small land owners and farmers, some kurubas took to hiding in the forests of south india and adopted to a lifestyle in forest, they developed their own culture and traditions different from others due to their prolonged isolation like the Jenu Kurubas, Kadu Kurubas and Betta Kurubas. Majority of Kurubas lived in small settlements and villages. They once again rose from the ashes to save Hinduism from the onslaught of Islam by establishing the greatest hindu empire ever the Vijayanagara Empire. Clan BackgroundPeople of the Kuruba community have long essayed a variety of professions, and have not been confined to their traditional (and still predominant) occupation as shepherds and farmers. They have sprung several ruling dynasties, most recently the Holkars of Indore; indeed, Chhatrapati Shivaji, founder of the Maratha empire, was born of a Kuruba mother. It has also been surmised by some scholars that the Hoysala dynasty may have hailed from this community. Undeniably, a very large section of rural gentry in Karnataka, and many chieftains and feudal barons in past eras, have belonged to the Kuruba community. Prominent Kurubas have been Hakkaraya and Bukkaraya, founders of Vijayanagara Empire, Hoysalas, Holkars, Rashtrakutas, Shivaji (kuruba mother), Sangolli Rayanna etc. Kurubas have also been social thinker and poets. Great poets like Kalidasa, Kanakadasa are Kurubas. CultureKurubas are Hindus follow Halumatha. Worshiping Almighty Source in stone (Linga) form might have originated from Halumatha. Stone is the source for the soil. Soil is the source for the plants. Plants are the source for the animals. This may be the reason for worshiping Almight in Stone. Through the ages, this stone worship tradition might have lead to worshiping Shiva(Pashupati) as Beeralingeswara, Mailara Linga, Malladevaru, Mahadeshwara, Nanjundeswara, Mallappa, Mallara, Mallikarjuna, Junjappa etc. Even the worshiping of shakti as Yellamma, Renuka, Chowdamma, Kariyamma, Chamundi, Bhanashankari, Gullamma etc might have come from this tradition. Even today ancestoral worship as deities is very common. The worship of ancestors like Revanasidda, Rama, Hanuman, Krishna,Keshava, Ranganatha, EeraThimmanna, Tirupati Thimmappa, Venkateswara, Kalidasa, Siddarama, Kanakadasa etc as Devaru very much exists in Kuruba traditions. Beeralingeswara temples have "Balaga" with Gowda, Buddhivanta, Bandari, Kolkara etc. Generally priets in Beeralingeshwara and Milaralingeshwara temples are kurubas. Kurubas were great warriors and had established many ancient kingdoms such as the the Hoysala kingdom in Karnataka and Pallava kingdom in present day Tamil Nadu; they reached their zenith of prosperity between AD.1300 & AD.1600 under the great Vijayanagara Empire. Other Names and Sub-CastesKurubas are known by different names in different regions of the country. These include Kuruba Gowda, Doddi Gowda, Halumatha, Dhangars, Yadavas, Naikers, Heggades, Andar, Poduvar, Idyar, Kurumba Gowndar, Kalavar, Gollavadu, Kurupu, Yadavalu, Kuruma , Kurumavaaru, Kurkhi, Gaddi, Ahir, Palaru, Bharavadaru, Paala Kshatriya, to name some.Some locations in Karnataka, People from Kuruba Community also use Naiker as surname. It means the same as Gowda or Patel, Like a leader of village or temple.There are sevaral Sub-Castes like Kadu Kuruba, Jenu Kuruba, Betta Kuruba, Gonda Kuruba etc. Tribal communities like Heluva, Sudagadu Sidda, Gidabudaki, Jogi etc may be part of kuruba communities. There may be more than 500 bedagus in kuruba community. Kurubas TodayTraditionally being warriors and farmers, kurubas were late to take up modren day education, but have made a fast progress in many fields. They are today developing into a vibrant and dynamic community coming out of the nutshell of inferiority complex which was being imposed on them since the fall of Vijayanagara empire. The community is being ably led by many politicians and social thinkers who are today not only leading the kuruba community but also all the deprived sections of the society. Kurubas today have become the voice of all the deprived communities of the society grouped under Backward Castes. More work has to be done to help the vast majority of Kuruba Gowdas living in the villages to come out of the inferiority complex and make a life for themselves. TraditionsTraditionally Kuruba Gowdas celebrate most Hindu festivals. They have their own costumes, songs, ballads and plays in praise of god like
Some famous Kuruba Gowdas
References
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||