Kurma

In Hinduism, Kurma (Sanskrit: कूर्म; Kūrma, lit. turtle) was the second Avatar of Vishnu, succeeding Matsya and preceding Varaha. Like Matsya, this incarnation also occurred in Satya Yuga. The temples dedicated to Kurma are located in Kurmai, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, and Srikurmam, Andhra Pradesh.

Samudramanthan (The Churning of The Ocean)

Purana scripture indicates that the sage Durvasa had given a garland to Indra, the king of Gods. Indra placed the garland around his elephant, but the animal trampled it, insulting the sage. Durvasa then cursed the gods to lose their immortality, strength, and divine powers. After losing the kingdom of heaven, they approached Vishnu for help.

He advised that they had to drink the nectar of immortality to regain their glory. To obtain it, they needed to churn the ocean of milk, a body of water so large they needed Mount Mandara as the churning staff, and the serpent Vasuki as the churning rope. The Devas were not strong enough to churn on their own, and declared peace with their foes, the Asuras, to enlist their help.

Kuruba

Kuruba (also known as Kuruma, Kurumbar or Kuruba Gowda) is a Hindu caste whose traditional occupation was that of shepherding and farming. The community is present in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. They are known by different names such as Dhangar,Hatkar and Telwar Lingayat in Maharashtra.

Some sources connect them to Pala, the shepherd dynasty of the Ahirs and suggest that Kuruba is a Dravidian name for Ahir. But this relation is contested by other sources on the grounds that the Ahirs are spread over a large area of Kutch, Kathiawad, Khandesh, Central Provinces, Central India, Bengal and North Western Provinces but everywhere they are known as Ahir only then how they came to be known by a different name Kuruba in south.

Etymology

The term kuruba is derived from kuri, meaning sheep; kuruba means shepherd.

History

The Kurubas are said to have been connected to the Yadu or Yadava lineage mentioned in Puranas. Traditional sources claim that the Kurubas founded the Sangam dynasty and the Vijayanagara Empire.