Karki (surname)

This article is about hindu surname. For other uses, see Karki.

Karki (Devanagari:कार्की) is a Chhetri surname from Nepal and a Kumaoni Rajput clan in Uttarakhand.^[3][4]

कार्की

Language(s)	Nepali, Kumaoni
Origin
Derivation	Kar (Tax)
Meaning	Tax Collector[1]
Region of origin	Nepal,[1] Uttarakhand[2]
Other names
See also	Thapa, Basnet, Khadka, Kunwar, Mahat, Bista

Types of Karki

In Nepal

Karki was a government title in the medieval Khasa Kingdom. The tax collecting officers in Dara/Garkha had the title of Karki.^[1] The sub-clans of Karki in Nepal are:

• Lama Karki: They belong to the Parashara gotra and are believed to be from Lamathada in the Sinja Valley of the Khasa Kingdom.^[5]
• Mudula Karki^{[citation needed]}
• Sutar Karki^{[citation needed]}
• Khulal Karki^{[citation needed]}

In Uttarakhand

Karki is a Rajput clan based in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.^[6][7] The Karki Rajputs of Kali Kumaon were chiefly Kiladars in the Kumaon Kingdom. They were given the title of "Budha" by the Chand kings.^[2]

Notable people

Notable people who bear the surname Karki include:

• Bipin Karki, Nepali actor
• Dipak Karki, several Nepali politicians
• Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Nepali politician
• Hari Krishna Karki, Nepali judge and former Chief Justice of Nepal
• Hikmat Kumar Karki, Nepali politician and former Chief Minister of Koshi Province
• Kedar Karki, Nepali politician and Chief Minister of Koshi Province
• Lokman Singh Karki, Nepali civil servant and former head of CIAA
• Mallika Karki, Nepali singer
• Neelam Karki "Niharika", Nepali poet
• Priyanka Karki, Nepali actress
• Ram Karki, Nepali politician
• Sushila Karki, Nepali jurist and first female Chief Justice of Nepal (2016 – 2017)
• Sushma Karki, Nepali actress
• Swarup Singh Karki, Kaaji and later, Dewan of the Kingdom of Nepal (c.1775 – c.1777)
• Vidhan Karki, Nepali film director

References

1. Adhikary, Surya Mani (1997). The Khasa Kingdom: A Trans-Himalayan Empire of the Middle Age. Nirala Publications. p. 87. ISBN 8185693501.
2. Pandey, Badri Datt (1993). History of Kumaun: English Version of "Kumaun Ka Itihas" Volume 1. Shyam Prakashan. p. 200. ISBN 9788185865010. He had four fauzdars or kiledars who upto now are famous as the four alas Karki, Bora, Tadagi and Chaudhari. These four chieftains were the leaders of the people of the four factions and they also lived in forts called alas.
3. Subba, Tanka Bahadur (1989). Dynamics of a Hill Society: Nepalis in Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas. Mittal Publications. p. 33. ISBN 9788173041143. Some of the Chhetri clans are Adhikari, Baniya, Basnet, Bist, Bohra, Bura or Burathoki, Gharti, Karki, Khadka, Khatri, Khulal, Mahat, Raut, Rana, Roka, Thapa, etc.
4. Singh, K. S. (1992). People of India: Communities, segments, synonyms, surnames, and titles. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 1483. ISBN 8185579091.
5. "List of Gotra and Thari". Retrieved 2024-01-03.
6. Sati, Vishwambhar Prasad (2022). Uttarakanad Society, Culture, and Pilgrimage. Today and Tomorrow, Printers and Publishers. p. 28. ISBN 9789391734237. Pal or Rajwar of Askot, Gaida, Kadakoti, and Karki are the major clans of Suryavanshi Rajputs. Chandravanshi Rajputs include descendants of the Chand dynasty such as Rautela of Sor, Kota, Dhaniakot, and Fadtyal of Kali Kumaon. They are the main Rajput clans of Kumaon.
7. Pandey, Badri Datt (1993). History of Kumaun: English Version of "Kumaun Ka Itihas" Volume 2. Shyam Prakashan. p. 551. ISBN 9788185865010. Karki: These people call themselves to have descended from the family of the Rana of Chittorgarh. They are Rajputs of the Sun clan. They came here during the time of the Katyuri kings.