Nayak, Nayaka, Nayakar, or Naik was historically a honorific title conferred on a Kshatriya captain[1] upon achieving a successful military expedition in various feudal states of the Indian subcontinent, as a derivative of the ancient Sanskrit word Nāyaka.[2] The title often came with a prize in the form of a palayam, jagir, zamindari, or similar grant of a fief carved out of the newly annexed territory. Today, they are also used as surnames by the descendants of the original recipients and as the modern military rank of Naik, while the film industry has co-opted the term with Katha Nayagan and Kathanayakudu. The title is closely related to the Telugu Nayakudu, Nayudu, or Naidu, the Malayali Nair, and the Tamil Nayakar, Nayakan, Naicken and Naicker. Nayaks are mostly Hindu with a few Sikhs.[3]
- ^ "Sanskrit - Dictionary". Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "Search results for nAyaka". www.learnsanskrit.cc.
- ^ Kumar Suresh Singh (2002). People of India: Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-19-564444-9.