GAEKWAR, or GUICOWAR  , the family name of the Mahratta rulers of Baroda (q.v.) in western India, which has been converted by the English into a dynastic title . It is derived from the vernacular word for the cow, but it is a mistake to suppose that the family are of the cowherd caste ; they belong to the upper class of Mahrattas proper, sometimes claiming a Rajput origin . The dynasty was founded by a succession of three warriors, Damaji I., Pilaji and Damaji II., who established Mahratta supremacy throughout Gujarat during the first half of the 18th century .