Moogooru Karnataka
Encyclopedia
Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins (HKBs) are a sect of Kannada speaking Smartha Brahmins and follow Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...

 propounded by Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...

charya. They are also known as Moogoor (Mugur, Mooguru) Karnataka Brahmins . HKBs are essentially Rig Vedic brahmins and are known to follow Dharmaśāstra
Dharmasastra
Dharmaśāstra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the śāstra, or Indic branch of learning, pertaining to Hindu dharma, religious and legal duty. The voluminous textual corpus of Dharmaśāstra is primarily a product of the Brahmanical tradition in India and represents the elaborate scholastic...

 extensively in their life.

Etymology

The term Halenadu Karnataka comes from two words Halenadu meaning old region and Karnataka which obviously refers to the state of Karnataka. Both these words refer to the regions. Historically brahmins, especially Smartha Brahmins in Karnataka are divided on regional lines. Hence most of the Smartha Brahmin communities in Karnataka are also recognized by their region. For example Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins mainly concentrated in regions ruled by Hoysala kings, Badaganadu Brahmins orginating from Northern part of South Karnataka, Sirinadu Brahmins concentrated in Tumkur
Tumkur
Tumkur is one of the busiest industrial towns located in the state of Karnataka. Since 28 August 2010, Tumkur has been accorded the status of a Corporation city. It is situated at a distance of 70 kilometers north west of the city of Bangalore along National Highway 4...

 District. Going by this system of naming Smartha Brahmin communities it can be concluded that Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins belong to Halenadu region in Karnataka. The general consensus of scholars is that Halenadu refers to Mysore region conmprising of Mysore, Mandya
Mandya
Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of Mandya district and is located 40 km from Mysore and 100 km from Bangalore.-Etymology:...

 and Chamarajanagar
Chamarajanagar
Chamarajanagar is a town in the southern end of Karnataka, a state in India. It is also the headquarters of the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. It is named after Chamaraja Wodeyar IX , king of Mysore, who was born in the town...

 of modern Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 state. Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins are also concentrated in this region. Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins are also known as Muguru Karnatka Brahmins. Muguru is a village in T.Narasipura taluk of Mysore district. Once upon a time T.Narasipura and its surrounding areas were the center of political activities.

However there are some arguments against the above conclusion. The main reason is the name "Halenadu Karnataka" is of fairly recent in origin. Halenadu Karnataka is the name by which Sringeri Mutt recognizes the community though Muguru Karnataka is also equally known. Sringeri Mutt records show these names from 18th century onwards. So, many people conclude "Halenadu" signifies that HKBs are one of the first brahmin communities to come into existence in Karnataka.

Origin of Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins

Scholars are split in their opinion on the origin of Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins. But general consensus is that Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins originated in Karnataka and mostly natives of Karnataka from the beginning or at least well settled in Karnatka since very long period. One can see word "Karnataka" suffixed to name of community in almost all records in the history which refers to the community makes it pretty conclusive that the community belongs to Karnataka.(Halenadu Karnatakas are one of the two brahmin communities to use this word as part of community name till date; the other being Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins
Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins
Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins are one of the prominent communities of Kannada-speaking Smartha Brahmins. The community has many eminent scholars, musicians, philosophers, generals and religious pontiffs...

)

There are two theories of origin which are known.

Southern Origin Theory

According to this theory Muguru Karnataka/Halenadu Karnatakas originated in South Karnataka comprisng of Mysore, Mandya
Mandya
Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of Mandya district and is located 40 km from Mysore and 100 km from Bangalore.-Etymology:...

 and Chamarajanagar
Chamarajanagar
Chamarajanagar is a town in the southern end of Karnataka, a state in India. It is also the headquarters of the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. It is named after Chamaraja Wodeyar IX , king of Mysore, who was born in the town...

 of modern Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 state. Some people identify the region to include northern part of Tamil Nadu which was ruled by Pandyas of Madurai in their peak period. Many HKB families have settled in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu indicates this. There is also a belief that Halenadu Karnatakas were in the court of Pandya kings. However, no concrete evidence is available so far to confirm this.

The biggest argument which supports this theory is that almost all Halenadu Karnatakas were settled in South Karnataka including Hassan district in the beginning of 19th century. The other supporting argument in favour of this theory is that historically HKB/MKBs occupied prominent positions in the court of kings and regional chieftains in South Karnatka. HKB/MKBs were backbone of the administration and occupied various official and quasi-judicial positions in the kingdom of these regional chieftains including Wodeyars of Mysore. Normally only local Brahmin communities were appointed by kings/chieftains to do this work because the local chieftains and kings used to trust only local Brahmin communities who have lived there for centuries. Since almost all villages in Halenadu region had MKBs/HKBs as administrators, accountants etc it is very likely that Halenadu Karnatakas are the natives of South Karnataka. This view is strongly supported by Tagaduru Ramachandra Rao, veteran freedom fighter and prominent leader of community in his book on the MKB community.

There is one interesting incident in history which show some light on the origin and elevation in the status MKBs in society in medievel period.

During the rule of Mysore Wodeyars in the 17th century, the brahmins in the court of then Mysore King had a scholarly debate. One group of 64 brahmin scholars lost the debate. These 64 brahmin scholars wanted to regain their prestige in the court after the loss. So, they went in search of a vedic scholar. There was a scholar by the name of Jagannatha Acharya who was well versed in vedas and also believed to have intutive powers. The '64 brahmins' learnt vedashastras under Jagannatha Acharya for several years and became scholars. After returning to Mysore, they invited other brahmins who had won against them for another debate in the court. This time 64 brahmins could win the debate on vedashastras. The king was pleased after their victory and granted many gifts, positions and other facilities for these 64 brahmins. As a result this group of 64 brahmins elevated in the status and occupied key positions in the administration and also they were identified separately as Muguru Karnataka Brahmins/Halenadu Karnataka brahmins. Interestingly, the name of MKB/HKBs do not occur in any records or epigraphs till 18th century. The records in Sringeri Mutt and Mysore Gazetteer of British mention the name of MKBs only from 18th or early 19th century onwards. It is not clear whether MKBs were known as MKBs before 17th century or it was the name given to '64 brahmin scholars' after they demonstrated their knowledge in the royal court.

North Karnataka Origin

Some community members believe that they were earlier residents of northern Karnataka and migrated towards South Karnataka after the fall of Vijayanagar empire. They support their arguments by referring to Kuladevatas of their families which are located in north Karnataka. But there is not much support to this theory as only a small percentage of Halenadu Karnatakas worship deities located in north Karnataka as Kuladevathas. However, it is likely that when Vijayanagara kingdom was at its peak many MKBs were spread across north Karnataka and later migrated towards South Karnataka.

Geographical Distribution

Majority of the Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins reside in the southern districts of Karnataka - Chamrajanagar, Mysore, Mandya
Mandya
Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of Mandya district and is located 40 km from Mysore and 100 km from Bangalore.-Etymology:...

, and Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, though Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins have moved to different parts of India and abroad. Some HKB families are settled in Hassan district of Karnataka and Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. HKBs speak Kannada as their mother tongue. HKBs settled in Tamil Nadu speak Tamil but their mother tongue continues to be Kannada.

There are some evidences to suggest that Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins were spread across much broader geographic area earlier including north Karnataka. However today most of the HKBs are concentrated in South Karnataka. The collapse of Vijayanagara empire could be the reason for many Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins from other areas to settle down in South Karnataka. The brahmin families that settled South of River Kaveri, in and around the place Mugur are called Mugur Karnataka brahmins. Those who settled North of River Kaveri, in a place called Sosale are called Sosale Karnataka brahmins.

Geographical Location of Mugur, Karnataka.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Muguru+Karnataka&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=3zt3SurGEaGStgfr09SWCQ&t=h&ll=12.233997,76.876831&spn=0.469735,0.583649&z=10

Population

It is difficult to ascertain the population of MKBs as even caste based census is not conducted in India let alone sub castewise census. However, based on the community organizations and census conducted by British, it can be estimated at 30,000 to 35,000. (According to British census records in the middle of 19th century the number of MKBs were rounghly around 7500 to 8000 with 5/6th of them living in Mysore, Mandya and Chamarajanagar districts)

Occupation

Historically Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins occupied high positions during the rule of Vijayanagara kings and later during the rule of Wodeyars of Mysore. They were also involved in the administration of Pandya kings of Madurai. Apart from the administration, sizeable number of HKBs had agricultural land. Today most of HKBs have migrated to cities like Mysore, Bangalore and Mumbai. As a result agriculture is not the main profession.

One special aspect about HKBs is that almost all of them pursue secular professions like teaching, accounting, law, engineering or medicine. Though there are quite a few number of HKBs who are performing priestly activities, these are mainly to cater to the need of vedic rituals within the community.

Faith

HKBs worship The One Universal God in many aspects and forms as per the tradition of Advaita. The presiding deity of Moogur is Lalita Tripura Sundari
Tripura Sundari
Tripurasundarĩ or Mahã-Tripurasundarĩ , also called Śoḍaṣĩ , Lalitã and Rãjarãjeśvarĩ , is one of the group of ten goddesses of Hindu belief, collectively called Mahavidyas.As Shodashi,...

. Some of the Kula Devatas (Kuldevta
Kuldevta
Kuladevata or Kuladevi, also known as Kuladev and Kŭladaiwat, stands for "family deity, that is either a god or a goddess" within Hinduism, as distinct from personal ishta-devata and village deities...

) are
  • Sapthamathruka (chowdeswari), Kamarawadi, Chamarajanagar District(1 branch temple at Vijayanagar, Mysore)
  • Srikanteswara (Nanjangud
    Nanjangud
    Nanjangud is a town in Mysore district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a temple town and is on the banks of the river Kapila , and lies at a distance of 23 km from the city of Mysore.Nanjangud is famous for Srikanteshwara Temple...

     Nanjundeswara)
  • Badami
    Badami
    Badami , formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for rock cut and other structural temples...

     Banashankari - worshipped mainly by families belonging to Srivatsa gotra
  • Hulaganamaradi Venkataramanaswamy (deity worshipped as Venkateshwara, Srinivasa)
  • Biligiri Rangaswamy (deity worshipped as Venkateshwara, Srinivasa and Ranganatha)
  • Talakadu Vaidyanatheshwara & Parvathi Devi
  • Mudukuthore
    Mudukuthore
    Mudukuthore is a pilgrim centre situated on the banks of the river Kaveri. Mudukuthore is a quiet village with a backdrop of a hillock called Somagiri. Mudukuthore is located at a distance of 48 km from Mysore, 25 km from Somnathapur, 18 km from T.Narsipur and is close to Talakad....

     Mallikarjuna & Bhramaramba Devi
  • Kandegala Parvathi Devi and Ishwara
  • Himavad Gopalaswami (Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta
    Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta
    Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, is a hill located in the Chamarajanagar district of the state of Karnataka,at a height of 1450m India and is extensively wooded. It is also the highest peak in the Bandipur National Park. It lies in the core area of the Bandipur National Park and is frequented by wild...

    )
  • Haralukote Anjaneya Swami
  • Venu Gopala swami
  • Tirupati Venkateshwara Swami
  • Sowmya keshva, Belur, Hassan

Gotra

Gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...

 indicates the Rishi
Rishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...

 or sage who was the patrilineal forebearer. HKBs follow the Brahmin gotra system
Brahmin gotra system
The word "gotra" means "lineage" in the Sanskrit language. Among those of the Brahmin caste, gotras are reckoned patrilineally. Each gotra takes the name of a famous Rishi or sage who was the patrilineal forebearer of that clan...

 and affiliation of a brahmana consists (1) gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...

, (2) pravaras
Pravaras
Literally, Pravara means the most excellent . Pravara is the number of the most excellent rishis who belonged to that particular gotra to which the wearer of sacred thread belongs. Gotra is the name of the founding father...

 (3) sutra (Kalpa
Kalpa
Kalpa is a small town in the Sutlej river valley, above Recong Peo in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, Northern India, in the Indian Himalaya. Inhabited by Kinnauri people and famous for its apple orchards. Apples are a major cash-crop for the region...

) and (4) shakha
Shakha
A shakha , is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a ...

.

Gotras of HKBs are as below.
  • Atri
    Atri
    This article is about the sage named Attri. See also the gotra named Atri. For the Italian city, see Atri, AbruzzoIn Hinduism, Attri or Atri is a legendary bard and scholar and was one of 9 Prajapatis, and a son of Brahma, said to be ancestor of some Brahmin, Prajapatis, kshatriya and Vaishya...

     - Atreya
  • Bharadwaja
    Bharadwaja
    Bharadwaja was one of the greatest Hindu Arya sages descendant of rishi Angirasa, whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas. He was one of the Saptarshis in the present Manvantara; with others being Atri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Kashyapa.Bhardwaj Rishi was father of...

  • Kashyapa
  • Srivatsa
    Srivatsa
    The Śrīvatsa, Shrivatsa, or Sri Vatsa is a figure of South Asian symbology. Shrivatsa was married to Rudrani. Chandra et al.. state that it denotes "...the auspicious mark represented by a curled noose emblematical of love...".Shrivatsa is an ancient auspicious symbol in India...

  • Kaundinya
    Kaundinya
    Kaundinya also known as Ajnata Kaundinya was a Buddhist bhikkhu in the sangha of Gautama Buddha and the first to become an arahant...

  • Kaushika


Marriages within the same Gotra (Sagotra) is not prescribed.

Surnames

Common surnames include Rao, Atreya, Prasad, Sharma, Shastri, Pandit, Murthy, Kashyap, Bharadwaj.

Community Links

a) You may wish to join the google group: http://groups.google.com/group/moogur. Email: moogur@googlegroups.com.

b) For folks with account in social networking site Orkut, there is a Moogur Karnataka Brahmins community.

c) Moogur Karnataka Brahmana Sangha (MKBS) in Mysore (Sharadaniketana).

d) Pragna Pratishtana, Hanumanthanagar, Bangalore. Contact: Shri V.K.Ramanna. Every year many functions and events are organized including Rig Vedic Upakarma, Ganesh Chaturthi. Pragna Pratishtana is also one of the best managed schools where students learn both Vedas and formal education. It provides accommodation and boarding facilities for the brahmacharis
Brahmacharya
Brahmacharya is one of the four stages of life in an age-based social system as laid out in the Manu Smrti and later Classical Sanskrit texts in Hinduism. It refers to an educational period of 14–20 years which starts before the age of puberty. During this time the traditional vedic sciences are...

 from different parts of Karnataka during their school education.

Noted Halenadu Karnataka Brahmins

  • "Mysore Gandhi" Tagaduru Ramachandra Rao
    Tagaduru Ramachandra Rao
    Tagaduru Ramachandra Rao was a veteran freedom fighter from Karnataka . Ramachandra Rao was born in a Halenadu Karnataka Brahmin family in a place called Tagaduru which is in Nanjangud Taluk of Mysore district...

     - Founded the Khaddar Sahakara Sangha in 1925 and called the "Father of Political Unrest" in princely Mysore. Ramachandra Rao was arrested for opposing the visit of the Simon Commission
    Simon Commission
    The Indian Statutory Commission was a group of seven British Members of Parliament that had been dispatched to India in 1927 to study constitutional reform in Britain's most important colonial dependency. It was commonly referred to as the Simon Commission after its chairman, Sir John Simon...

     to India in 1928 and became the first political prisoner in Mysore State
    Mysore State
    The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...

    .

  • Gundu Rao - ex-CM of Karnataka

  • Kumar Malavalli
    Kumar Malavalli
    Kumar Malavalli is a noted techonology entrepreneur and philanthropist, with specific interests in education and healthcare.Kumar is a co-author of Fibre Channel, a technology for developing storage area networks...

     - Founder of Brocade Communications (www.brocade.com).

  • E. S. Venkataramiah - Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from 19-June-1989 to 17-December-1989.

  • Nataraj V Kote  - Hotel & Conference Centre Waterfront Plaza (Clarion Hotel) Indianapolis, USA, also Joint Treasurer of AKKA
    Akka
    Akka is traditionally a female spirit in Sámi and Finnish mythology.In Sámi mythology, the first akka was Maderakka and her daughters were Sarakka, Uksakka and Juksakka. Some Sámi thought they lived under their kota tents....


  • S. A. Ramdas - Minister for Higher Education, Karnataka State and MLA from Krishnaraja constituency, Mysore

  • T.V.Shrinivasa Murthy - Former Member of Legislative Council (MLC), Karnataka State

  • C.S. Vishwanath - Founder of Torsteel Research Foundation, Bangalore

  • S.V. Jayasheela Rao - Former Chief Reporter of Prajavani
    Prajavani
    Prajavani is a leading Kannada-language newspaper in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a sister publication of the Deccan Herald. , it had a circulation of 364,000, making it the second-largest-circulation newspaper in Karnataka , and the largest-circulation Kannada-language newspaper in the...

    and Founder-Editor of Munjaane

  • Shri Sheshanarayana - veteran Kannada novelist, Winner of many literary awards

  • H.S. Subba Rao - Famous storywriter and scriptwriter in Kannada film industry who has written stories/scripts for movies like Bandhana, Onti Salaga etc.

  • Dinesh Gundu Rao - Congress MLA from Gandhinagar and son of Late Gundu Rao

  • Murali M V - Noted Architect and Consultant, MURALI & RAO, Jayanagar, Bangalore

  • S. Srivatsa, Leading Businessman and Social worker, Jayanagar, Bangalore

  • Shankaranarayana, Social Worker, Vidyaranyapuram, Mysore


Feel free to add more noted halenadu karnatakans you know.
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