Bharatpedia

Tamil Brahmin


Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India as well as Sri Lanka.[1] They can be broadly divided into two denominations: Iyengars, who are adherents of Sri Vaishnavism, and Iyers, who follow the Srauta and Smartha traditions.

Tamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmin Hindu Marraige.jpg
A Tamil Brahmin wedding ceremony
Regions with significant populations
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh
Languages
Tamil, Sanskrit
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Pancha-Dravida Brahmins, Tamil people

GroupsEdit

Tamil Brahmins are divided into two major groups: Iyers, who follow the Smartha tradition, and Iyengars, who adhere to the tradition of Vaishnavism.

IyerEdit

Iyers are Srauta-Smartha Brahmins, whose members follow the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara. They are concentrated mainly along the Cauvery Delta districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Tiruchirapalli where they form almost 10% of the total population. However the largest population reside in Nagercoil, making up to 13% of the city's population.[2][3][4] They are also found in significant numbers in Chennai,[5] Coimbatore, Madurai, Thiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kannur, and Thiruvananthapuram.[6]

IyengarEdit

The Iyengars practise the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanuja. They are divided into two denominations: Vadakalai (Northern art) and Tenkalai (Southern art), each with minor differences in religious rites and traditions. They adhere to the tradition of Sri Vaishnavism.

The Tamil Brahmins who serve as priests in temples in the Shaivite tradition and perform poojas are also sometimes offered a distinct designation. These priests are called "batter" in the southern regions of Tamil Nadu and "gurukkal" in the northern ones.

Notable peopleEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ "Team - Noolaham Foundation".
  2. ↑ "Brahmins seek reservation in education and employment". The Hindu. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  3. ↑ G. S. Ghurye, Pg 393
  4. ↑ Migration and Urbanization among Tamil Brahmans, Pg 5
  5. ↑ Migration and Urbanization among Tamil Brahmans, Pg 15
  6. ↑ "Approaching societal issues through the eyes of Ambedkar". dtNext.in. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  7. ↑ Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, Appendix III, The Case of Akattiyam; Sanskrit and Tamil; Kankam, Pg 235–260
  8. ↑ "Know the Only Indian in Today's Google Doodle? She Could Have Been India's First Female President!". The Better India. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  9. ↑ Indian Literature: An Introduction. 2005. pp. 125–126. ISBN 9788131705209. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  10. ↑ "Who was S Chandrasekhar?". The Indian Express. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  11. ↑ Dhume, Sadanand (20 August 2020). "What Kamala Harris Isn't Saying About Her Mother's Background - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 January 2021. Ms. Harris's mother also figures in another tale told less often: of India's small and successful Tamil Brahmin diaspora
  12. ↑ Srinivasan, Mahadeva (5 June 2012). "Not for him the second fiddle". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  13. ↑ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 191.
  14. ↑ Staff Reporter (13 July 2008). "Alladi Ramakrishnan, 85, Scientist, Passes Away". India Journal. Retrieved 18 August 2010.[permanent dead link]
  15. ↑ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/a-power-couple-whom-ap-looks-up-to/articleshow/38766320.cms. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ Viswanathan, S. (26 February – 11 March 2005). "The patriarch of Tamil". Frontline, Vol. 22, Issue 5. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Straight from the Heart – Iravatham Mahadevan: Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan". Varalaaru.com.
  18. ↑ Chitty, Simon Casie (1859). The Tamil Plutarch, containing a summary account of the lives of poets and poetesses of Southern India and Ceylon. Jaffna: Ripley & Strong. p. 57.
  19. ↑ M. V. Aravindan (2018). உரையாசிரியர்கள் [Commentators]. Chennai: Manivasagar Padhippagam. pp. 348–360.
  20. ↑ Ki. Vaa. Jagannathan (1963). திருக்குறள், ஆராய்ச்சிப் பதிப்பு [Tirukkural, Aaraicchi Pathippu] (3 ed.). Coimbatore: Ramakrishna Mission Vidhyalayam.
  21. ↑ "Opinion: Tamil Brahmin emigration was driven by opportunity, not socialism or identity politics". The News Minute. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  22. ↑ "Common root: Tamil Nadu gets its third laureate". Times of India. TNN. 8 October 2009.
  23. ↑ "CV Raman Birth Anniversary 2020: Interesting Facts About The Nobel Laureate". NDTV.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  24. ↑ Kanigel, Robert (1991). The Man Who Knew Infinity: a Life of the Genius Ramanujan. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-684-19259-8.
  25. ↑ "From Proofs to Transcendence, via Theorems and Rāgas – Bhāvanā". Retrieved 30 July 2020. We are a Shree Vaishnavite Brahmin family
  26. ↑ Kamil Zvelebil (1973), The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India, BRILL, p. 136, ISBN 90-04-03591-5
  27. ↑ "Srinivasa Varadhan". Abel Prisen. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2018. I came from a Brahmin community, viewed by the government as privileged, and there was reverse discrimination
  • Witzel, Michael (1993). "Toward a History of the Brahmins". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 113: 264–268. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 603031.
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