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Shivalli Brahmins
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Shivalli (Tulu:???????) is a place near Udupi, in the state of Karnataka in southern India. Shivalli has been long famous for its proximity to the Sri Krishna Temple, located in Udupi and for Udupi itself. Shivalli in fact, is a village between Udupi and Manipal. The town of Manipal was earlier under Shivalli grama (village) panchayat and later came under Udupi municipality.
Shivalli takes its name from the Tulu construction Shiva-Halli meaning the town of Shiva.
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Shivalli (Tulu:???????) is a place near Udupi, in the state of Karnataka in southern India. Shivalli has been long famous for its proximity to the Sri Krishna Temple, located in Udupi and for Udupi itself. Shivalli in fact, is a village between Udupi and Manipal. The town of Manipal was earlier under Shivalli grama (village) panchayat and later came under Udupi municipality.
Shivalli takes its name from the Tulu construction Shiva-Halli meaning the town of Shiva. Udupi has two shiva temples Chandramouleshwara temple and Ananteshwara temple near the famous Sri Krishna temple/ Krishna matha. Even today all swamiji's of ashtamatha's first enter Chandramouleshwara temple and then Ananteshwara temple before entering Krishna Matha on auspicious occasions.
Another legend as suggests that Shivalli has an origin in the old Sanskrit name Shivaroopya (where roopya is silver, or "bolli" in Tulu). In later years, it came to be known as Shivabolli, Shibbolli, Shivolli, and the present name, Shivalli.
Shivalli Madhva Brahmins
The brahmins who follow Dvaita philosophy founded by Vaishnava saint Sri Madhvacharya ( Poornaprajna or Anandathirta) of Udupi are known as Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins(Tulu:??????? ???? ?????????). The name helps to distinguish them from other brahmins and indicates their origins in and around Shivalli. They are concentrated in the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka, and Kasaragod District in Kerala.
Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins speak Tulu language (with a strong influence of Sanskrit) that is slightly different from the Tulu spoken from other communities in this region. They are followers of the eight ashtamathas set up by Sri Madhvacharya. The Shivalli Madhwa Brahmin (brahmana) community has now spread all over the world. Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins are known for their hospitality, sharp intellect and good business acumen.
Shivalli Smartha Brahmins
Some Shivalli Brahmins follow Advaita philosophy and are known as Shivalli Smarta Brahmins(Tulu: ??????? ????????? ?????????). The Smartha sect of these Thoulava/Shivalli/Udupi/Tulu brahmins migrated towards north of South Kanara and to parts of Shimoga districts during the time when Madhvaism peaked in the region and resulted in a Smartha-Madhva sect in-fight. These migrated population adopted Kannada as their language. They are followers of the Balekudru Math and are lesser in number compared to Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins.
Refer Shivalli Smarta Brahmins
History of Shivalli Brahmins
It is believed that Mayura Varma, the Kadamba King who ruled vast areas of Southern and central India in the 4th Century A.D. brought Brahmins from Ahi Kshetra (or Ahichatra) and put them in-charge of various temples in the Tulu Nadu.
Mayura Varma and his son Chandrangada Raya had divided their Kingdom into 67 administrative units called 'Gramas'. 32 of them were in Tulu Nadu, 32 in the Malayalam speaking region and 3 in Haiga. The entire region spread across about 120 km in length (North to South) and about 100 km in breadth (West to East). River Payaswini (also called Chandragiri) has been traditionally considered as the boundary between Tulu Nadu and Malayali region.
The term Tulu Nadu is supposedly derived from the word Tula Bhara (Tula = Weighing Scale, Bhara = Weight), a custom in this region wherein commodities are weighed against the weight of the concerned person.
Mayura Varma appointed Brahmins to manage the affairs of these 32 units. Ballalas (unit heads), Agnihotris (priests), Tantris, Sabhapathis (ministers), Pandiths (scholars), Gramanis (executives), Jannis (Temple trustees ) etc. were all appointed to run the administration of these units.
The Brahmins who first landed in Shivalli and then spread across 31 villages came to be known as Shivalli Brahmins or Tulu Brahmins. Brahmins who were appointed in the Western Kootaka (or Kota) village came to be known as Kota Brahmins (Hande, Hebbara, Herala, Holla, Karantha, Navada, Basri and Mayya are the eight renowned Kota Brahmin families).
Udupi Cuisine
Refer Udupi cuisine
Shivalli brahmins are pioneers of world famous Udupi hotels (Vegetarian restaurants) known for serving typical south Indian dishes and foods like idli, vada, dosa, shira and upma etc. This concept of restaurants is now copied by others all over the world. Shivalli brahmins have unique style of serving and eating meals. The meal is served on plantain (banana) leaf usually squatting on clean floor. All dishes are served in a particular place, fashion, and sequence and eaten by hand. The meal is wholesome and very elaborate in preparation, serving and eating.
Rituals and Customs
Rituals
Shivalli Brahmin males have to undergo Brahmopadesham ( Upanayana in Tulu ) when they turn seven years old. It is a ceremony where young boys are initiated into Vedic studies (in ancient times, but the ceremony takes place even today). The key ritual during the Upanayana is that of putting a Janivaara or sacred thread across the left shoulder of the boy. The Janivaara consists of three threads made of cotton. The boy, once initiated, is called a Dwija or twice born and is expected to perform japa or sandhyavandana at least twice daily. Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins also follow the Upakarma ceremony where the janivaara is changed and mudradharana is done. Mudradharana is a ritual where signs of Lord Vishnu's symbols (Mudra) like conch (Shanka), chakra (wheel) are etched on bodies. This is done by placing hot metal moulds of these symbols mainly on the hand and stomach.
There are no equivalent ceremonies for Shivalli Brahmin girls. In fact, although North Indian Brahmin women take part significantly in the ritualistic process of Hinduism, Shivalli Brahmin women have no important role in these ceremonies. They have no religious education, and no rite of passage into adult society other than the rather dubious role in a marriage arranged by their parents.
The Shivalli Madhwa brahmins have rituals from birth to death at every stage of their life. Some claim the traditions and rituals followed by Shivalli Madhva Brahmins have scientific reasons to them worthy of research.
Marriage
Present day marriages of Shivalli Madhva brahmins are a three day ceremony, sometimes condensed to a single day due to the fast pace of today's life. In the three day ritual, the process of marriage starts with Naandi ( literally meaning start ). During Naandi, which takes place in the groom's and bride's homes separately, but at the same time, a ceremony is performed where the bride and groom have coconut oil and turmeric applied to them and are bathed in hot water followed by other rituals. Marriage ( Madimae in Tulu ) takes place at a temple, hall or auditorium followed by lunch. All the ceremonies are held as per horoscopes of bride and groom at a particular time called muhurtha. Generally the day after marriage, a ceremony called as the Bigara authana (a sort of reception) is held at the groom's place and consists of the Satyanarayana puja and other rituals followed by lunch. The bigara authana is an equivalent of the marriage reception.
Festivals
Shivalli Brahmins celebrate all major Hindu festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Deepavali, Navaratri, Sankranti, Madhwanavami, Janmashtami, Ugadi, Ramanavami, Hanuman Jayanthi etc.
Gotras
Every shivalli brahmins belong to a particular gotra. Gotra can be roughly said to be a clan. The gotra are names of great sages or rishi's of Hindu religion. Hence gotra indicates to sage to which a brahmin belongs to. Marriage is not allowed between bride and groom if both belong to same gotra ( Sagotra in Tulu ).This might be to avoid same blood group marriage , as it is believed in old days ,people of same gotra belong to same family. Gotras in Tulu brahmins are as follows
- Atri
- Bhargava
- Jamadagni
- Vishwamitra
- Bhardwaja
- Vashista
- Aangirasa
- Kashyapa
- Koundanya
- Haritsa
Surnames
Refer Surnames of Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins
Restricted diet
Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins are expected to avoid eating the following vegetables and fruits in addition to avoiding non-vegetarian food completely.
- Tomato
- Onion
- Garlic
- Potato ( Sweet potato or kelang is allowed )
- Papaya
- Brinjal ( A variety of Brinjal called as the Matti Gulla, available around Udupi, is allowed )
- French beans ( Cluster Beans or Alasande is permitted )
- Carrot
- Beet root
- Pine apple
- Radish
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Drum sticks
- Bottle gourd
Today, these restrictions are mostly followed only in the Ashta matha's and some temples of South Canara. These vegetables and fruits are not considered to be origin of Parashurama kshetra and are Tamasic foods.
Famous Shivalli Madhwa Brahmins
- Sri Madhvacharya - chief proponent of Tattvavada (Philosophy of the Truth), popularly known as Dvaita or dualistic school of Hindu philosophy
- Pejawar Swamiji Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji
- Bannanje Govindacharya- Sanskrit scholar
- Shri Lakshmisha Tholpady- Famous thinker,Vice President, Bharathiya Kisan Sangh, Southern Region
- Dr U. R. Rao- Former ISRO Chairman
- Dr. K. N. Udupa- Award-winning physician
- P. Gururaja Bhat- Noted historian and Tulu scholar
- U. R. Bhat- Financial consultant and business columnist
- VidyaBhushana- Famous Singer
- Suresh Kalmadi- MP from Pune and president of the IOA
- Dr.V.S.Acharya- Home Minister, Government of Karnataka
- K.Raghupati Bhat- MLA from Udupi
- Justice U.L. Bhat- Former Chief Justice of Assam (1991-93) & Madhya Pradesh (1993-95) and Former President of Customs, Excise & Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT - now called Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal - CESTAT), New Delhi (1995-97)
- Justice P. Subramonian Poti- Former Chief Justice of Gujarat
- Kiran Kedlaya- A mathematician, a juggler, a singer, a bicyclist, and a photographer and first and foremost a puzzler
- Archana Udupa- Highly talented Singer. The first South Indian to win TVS Sa re ga ma.( Zee TV) in the year 1999
- Late Shri K. Bhima Bhattar- The founder of Udupi Madhwa Brahmana Sabha (Kerala)
- H.Raghuram Somayaji- Former Director of Primary Education Karnataka
- Kattingeri Srinivas Hebbar- Founder, BSKB Association
- Raghuram Bhat - Former Indian left arm spinner
- K.Krishna Rao - Founder Woodlands Group of Hotels. Pioneer of Udupi Cuisine. Attributed with the invention of the Masala Dosa.
- B. Vittalacharya - Famous Movie Director
Famous Shivalli Brahmins (Bhagavatha Sampradaya)
- Dr.Pundoor Venkataraja Puninchathaya
- Kodyamme Vasudeva Irniraya
- Ganesh & Malini Bhat
- B Seetharam Rao
See also
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