Kempe Gowda I

Kempe Gowda I (1510–1569) was chieftain of Yelahanka and a vassal of the Vijayanagara Empire. In 1526 he conquered Sivagange, and in 1537, with imperial permission, he built the fortified town of Bengaluru Pete and moved his capital there from Yelahanka. Within its eight gates, two main roads crossed and markets were set aside for different goods and trades.

He built the Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple and the great Bull Temple with its granite monolith of Nandi. Once imprisoned for years after a rival's complaint, he was restored to his lands and granted surrounding villages, dying in 1569.