Tamil Brahmin

Tamil Brahmins are Tamil-speaking Brahmins, primarily living in Tamil Nadu, although a few of them have settled in other states like, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka and other countries such as the United States. Tamil Brahmins also live in Sri Lanka.[1] They can be broadly divided into three religious groups, Gurukkals who follow Saivism, Iyers who follow the Srauta and Smartha tradition and Iyengars who follow Sri Vaishnavism.

Tamil Brahmin
A Tamil Brahmin marriage ceremony
Regions with significant populations
Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Also Sri Lanka.
Languages
Tamil
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Pancha-Dravida Brahmins, Tamil people

Groups

Tamil Brahmins are divided into three groups -- Iyers, Iyengars and Gurukkal. Iyers form the majority of the Tamil Brahmin population and are Smarthas, while Iyengars are Vaishnavas and Gurukkals are Saivas.

Iyer

Iyers are Srauta-Smartha Brahmins, most of whom follow the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara, and 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]

Iyengar

Iyengars follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Vikanasa or Sri Ramanujacharya. They are divided into two sub-sects: Vadakalai (Northern branch) and Thenkalai (Southern branch). They are devout worshippers of Vishnu.

Gurukkal

The Gurukkal are priests in Shiva, Shakthi and Vinayaka temples,they put horizontal three ticks (pattai) and kungumam in forehead for rituals of Shiva. They are also called as Bhattar (Pattar) and Shivacharya as well as with Gurukkal. They also perform Kumbhabhishekam, Ganapathy homam, Navagraha homam. They follow Shaiva Siddhanta.

Notable people

See also

References
  1. http://noolahamfoundation.org/wiki/index.php?title=Team
  2. "Brahmins seek reservation in education and employment". Thehindu.com. 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. "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
  8. "From Proofs to Transcendence, via Theorems and Rāgas – Bhāvanā". Retrieved 30 July 2020. We are a Shree Vaishnavite Brahmin family
  9. "What Kamala Harris Isn't Saying About Her Mother's Background - WSJ". 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
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