LatonyaOconnor at 12:36, 21 March 2026

2026-03-21T12:36:35Z

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{{Short description|Indian social group}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox tribe
| image = Madakarinayaka statue.jpg
| location = [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Telangana]], [[Karnataka]], and [[Tamil Nadu]]
| religion = Hinduism
| name = Nayaka ( bedar)
| language = [[Telugu language| Telugu]], [[Kannada]], and [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| caption = Statue of a nayaka chieftain
}}

The '''Nayak''' (also referred to as '''Nayaka''', '''Bedar''')<ref name=":0" /> is a disparate Indian community found in the South Indian states of [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Telangana]], [[Karnataka]], and [[Tamil Nadu]]. They are traditionally considered a "militant caste",<ref name=":4" /> who ruled parts of South India and had served the ruling powers as administrators ([[Nayakas of Chitradurga|Nayakas]]), raiders and had other martial pursuits.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ud_zjw5OLOEC&pg=PA88 |title=Medieval Indian culture and political geography |first=K. |last=Satyamurthy|year=1991 |isbn=9788170244424 }}</ref>

In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu they are listed in the [[Other Backward Class]] category.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Backward Classes approved by Government of Tamil Nadu |url=https://www.bcmbcmw.tn.gov.in/bclist.htm |website=Department of Backward Classes Most Backward Classes and Minorities Welfare (Tamil Nadu) |access-date=10 Jan 2023}}</ref>

==History==
In 1909 the scholar [[Edgar Thurston]] wrote that the Bellary Gazetteer said: {{bq|the only caste which goes in for manly sports seems to be the Bōyas, or Bēdars, as they are called in Canarese. They organise drives for pig, hunt bears in some parts in a fearless manner, and are regular attendants at the village gymnasium (garidi mane).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Bēdar - Wikisource, the free online library |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Castes_and_Tribes_of_Southern_India/B%C4%93dar |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=en.wikisource.org |language=en}}</ref>}}

The earliest reference to "Boyas" is found in an inscription of the [[Eastern Chalukyas|Eastern Chalukya]] ruler [[Vishnuvardhana II]], where land grants are made to several people from a variety of different villages, all with ''Boya'' appended to their name. Earlier colonial scholars thought it simply meant an "inhabitant of"; later scholarship suggests the recipients could have been from the Boya community.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Nandi|first=R. N.|title=The Boyas—Transformation of a Tribe into Caste|date=1968|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141458|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=30|pages=94–103|jstor=44141458|issn=2249-1937}}"Boya, in Telugu, means a savage, barbarian, inhabitant of the forest, huntsman, fisherman, etc., but it is never used in the sense of inhabitant."</ref>
The early Boyas were thought to have been a tribal community who were gradually acculturated into caste society. This is based on evidence from clan names in both inscriptions and in present-day, which seem to be occupational in nature.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Nandi|first=R. N.|title=The Boyas—Transformation of a Tribe into Caste|date=1968|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141458|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=30|pages=94–103|jstor=44141458|issn=2249-1937}} Similarly, the Pulavanaboyas meaning flower-men and Minalavaru meaning fishermen were florists and fishermen catering to the needs of rural or urban population.</ref>

[[File:1 of 7 concentric walled layers of Chitradurga fort.jpg|thumb|[[Chitradurga fort]] built during the reign of Madakari Nayaka|left|415x415px]]

In medieval Kannada areas the Bedars had the power to give land grants. Others had titles such as ''arasa'' and ''nayaka'', indicating they were part of the ruling class. To further their interests, inscriptions also reveal Bedars formed associations to promote their welfare and glorify themselves. Many others were often glorified in ''viragallu''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Nayaka |first1=Hanuma |year=2010 |title=Situating Tribals in the Early History of Karnataka |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44147477 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |language=en |volume=71 |pages=97–109 |jstor=44147477 |access-date=2021-02-23}}</ref>

At the fall of the [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara]] empire, the power vacuum that ensued allowed many communities to come forward. Many Bedar chieftains, who had previously been subordinate, began to control territory more openly. Many of these ''polygars'' began to amass large forces of Boya troops. [[Keladi Chennamma|Rani Chennamma of Keladi]] famously deployed her Bedar infantry to protect the Maratha [[Rajaram I|King Rajaram]] from the Mughal forces of [[Aurangzeb]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kamath |first=Suryanath U. |title=A Concise History of Karnataka: From Pre-historic Times to the Present |publisher=Jupiter Books |year=2001 |page=222 |oclc=7796041}}</ref> The Bedar warriors utilized guerrilla tactics in the dense forests of Malnad to harass the Mughal supply lines.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sardesai |first=Govind Sakharam |title=New History of the Marathas: Vol. 1 |publisher=Phoenix Publications |year=1946 |pages=328–330 |url=https://archive.org}}</ref> The entirety of Bellary was under their control at the time of its accession to the East India Company.
The Bedars were heavily recruited into the armies of [[Mysore State|Mysore]] during the reigns of [[Hyder Ali]] and [[Tipu Sultan]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Thurston |first=Edgar |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Castes_and_Tribes_of_Southern_India/B%C4%93dar |title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India}}</ref>

Many of the Poligars whom [[Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet|Sir Thomas Munro]] found in virtual possession of the country when it was added to the Company belonged to this caste, and their irregular levies, and also a large proportion of Haidar's formidable force, were of the same breed. Harpanahalli was the seat of one of the most powerful Poligars in the district in the eighteenth century. The founder of the family was a Bōya taliāri, who, on the subversion of the Vijayanagar dynasty, seized on two small districts near Harpanahalli. <ref name=":2" />

In some districts, there are Boya Poligars, who as a rule are poor.<ref name="auto"/>

==Status==
The early status of the Boyas is hard to pin down. As they most likely originated as a tribe, they were outside the caste system and within the same community its members could pursue different occupations. However different sections of the community who were pursuing different occupations would identify themselves with their occupation in Brahminical society, such as ''[[Brahmin|Boya-Brahmanas]]'', who were generally accepted. However, they did not accept all the claims of the varnas they were in.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nandi|first=R. N.|title=The Boyas—Transformation of a Tribe into Caste|date=1968|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141458|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=30|pages=94–103|jstor=44141458|issn=2249-1937}} But more striking is tke absence of any gotra-name in the case of a majority of boya brāhmaņas.</ref>

The Bedars worked in a variety of fields. Although some remained raiders and huntsmen, many others were granted high administrative positions such as collection of revenue.<ref name=":1" />

==Dynasties==
*Kampili Kingdom
*[[Nayaka dynasties|Nayaka of Shorapur]]
*[[Nayakas of Chitradurga]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [http://www.odi.org.uk/livelihoodoptions/papers/wp179.pdf#search='caste%2C%20class%2C%20and%20social%20articulation' Caste & Class Articulation of Andhra Pradesh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720172106/http://www.odi.org.uk/Livelihoodoptions/papers/wp179.pdf#search='caste%2C%20class%2C%20and%20social%20articulation' |date=20 July 2006 }}
* Precolonial India in Practice By Cynthia Talbot
* Kiratas in Ancient India By G. P Singh
* Vol.XXXVIII, Part IV V ''1986 Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society'' By Dr. N. Venkataramanayya

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boya}}
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Social groups of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Social groups of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Other Backward Classes of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Other Backward Classes]]

{{India-stub}}

Boya caste - Revision history

LatonyaOconnor at 12:36, 21 March 2026