Nayakar, Nayakkar, Nayaker, Naikar, Naidu, or Naicker is a title used in South India by a few Kannada, Tamil and Telugu speaking people, sometimes as a surname and in other cases as a caste affiliation. Naicker or Nayakar is the Tamil equivalent for the Telugu Naidu. Nayakars once ruled Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as local aristocrats, known as Poligars, when South India was split amongst various Nayaka dynasties following the turmoil of the Battle of Talikota. This title was historically bestowed upon vassals and army commanders of the Vijayanagara empire, and is a Dravidianized derivative of the Sanskrit term Nāyaka. The title is closely related to Naidu, Nayudu, Nayaka and Nayak. In Telugu regions and Tamil Nadu, it is often used by the Balija, Golla, Velama, Vanniya Kula Kshatriya and Kamma castes.