Tamil Brahmin
Encyclopedia
Tamil Brahmins are Tamil
-speaking Brahmin
s from Tamil Nadu
who have settled in other South
India
n states like Kerala
, Andhra Pradesh
, and Karnataka
. They can be broadly divided into three religious groups, Gurukkals
who follow Saivism, Iyers or Smarthas and Iyengars who follow Sri Vaishnavism.
, the sages Apastamba
and Baudhayana
whose sūtra
s or legislations are followed today by Tamil Brahmins lived in the Telugu-speaking territories to the immediate north of the Tamil country even before the Sangam period. The 2nd century AD literary work Paṭṭiṉappālai written by the Brahmin poet Uruttirangannanar (Kannan, son of Rudra) records the presence of Brahmins and Vedic rites in Karikala's kingdom. The Akanaṉūṟu
refers to a vela-parppan or a Brahmin who does not perform Vedic sacrifices. Similarly, other literary works of the Sangam period like the Silappatikaram, Manimekalai
and Kuṟuntokai
also allude to the presence of Brahmins in the Tamil country. The influence of Brahmins and Indo-Aryan culture, however, began to grow rapidly only during the last centuries of the Sangam period.
Large scale migrations are generally believed to have occurred between 200 and 1600 AD and most Tamil Brahmins are believed to have descended from these migrants. However, this theory has come under attack in recent times from historians and anthropologists who question the validity of this theory due to lack of evidence.
During the early medieval period, when Ramanuja
founded Vaishnavism
many Iyers adopted the new philosophical affiliation and were called Iyengars. According to Hindu legend, the sage Agastya
is believed to be the first Brahmin to settle in South India. Agatysa is believed to have set up his abode on Podhigai hill near Madurai therevy becoming the first Tamil Brahmin. .
The Valluvars are believed to be the descendants of the earliest priests of the Tamil country.
There is also ample evidence to suggest that a large number of individuals of non-Brahmin communities could have been invested with the sacred thread and ordained as temple priests.
Though, Tamil Brahmins have been classified as a left-hand caste
in ancient times, Schoebel, in his book History of the Origin and Development of Indian Castes published in 1884, spoke of Tamil Brahmins as "Mahajanam" and regarded them, along with foreign migrants, as outside the dual left and right-hand caste divisions of Tamil Nadu.
, Iyers and Iyengars. Iyers form the majority of the Tamil Brahmin population and are Smarthas, while Iyengars are Vaishnavas and Gurukkals are Saivas.
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. They are also found in significant numbers in Chennai
, Madurai
, Tirunelveli
and Ambasamudram
.
refers to a vela-parppan or a Brahmin who does not perform Vedic sacrifices. The Silappadhikkaram records the presence of Brahmin ministrels and musicians. The inscriptions of the Later Chola period records that a significant proportion of the Brahmin community of the village of Ennayiram was involved in trade. Brahmins fought in large numbers in the Later Chola army and there were a number of Brahmin civil servants in the Chola administration. Some of them rose to become Senapathis or army generals.
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
-speaking Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s from Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
who have settled in other South
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n states like Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. They can be broadly divided into three religious groups, Gurukkals
Gurukkal brahmins
Gurukkal is Tamil plural form of the Sanksrit word "Guru" - Spiritual Teacher. These are the brahmins who acted as gurus to medieval king like Rajaraja I and brought many kings in to the fold of saivism.-Migration of Brahmins :...
who follow Saivism, Iyers or Smarthas and Iyengars who follow Sri Vaishnavism.
Regional origin
There have been evidences of Brahmin presence in the southern states even prior to the Sangam Age. However, it is generally believed that they were few in number and that most Iyers migrated from other parts of India at a later stage. According to P. T. Srinivasa IyengarP. T. Srinivasa Iyengar
P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar was an Indian historian, linguist and educationist regarded as one of the greatest Dravidologists of the 20th century.- Academic career :...
, the sages Apastamba
Apastamba
The Dharmasutra of Āpastamba forms a part of the larger Kalpasūtra of Āpastamba. It contains thirty praśnas, which literally means ‘questions’ or books. The subjects of this Dharmasūtra are well organized and preserved in good condition...
and Baudhayana
Baudhayana
Baudhāyana, was an Indian mathematician, whowas most likely also a priest. He is noted as the author of the earliest Sulba Sūtra—appendices to the Vedas giving rules for the construction of altars—called the , which contained several important mathematical results. He is older than the other...
whose sūtra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
s or legislations are followed today by Tamil Brahmins lived in the Telugu-speaking territories to the immediate north of the Tamil country even before the Sangam period. The 2nd century AD literary work Paṭṭiṉappālai written by the Brahmin poet Uruttirangannanar (Kannan, son of Rudra) records the presence of Brahmins and Vedic rites in Karikala's kingdom. The Akanaṉūṟu
Akananuru
Akananuru , a classical Tamil poetic work, is the seventh book in the Sangam literature anthology Ettuthokai. It contains 400 Akam poems dealing with matters of love and separation...
refers to a vela-parppan or a Brahmin who does not perform Vedic sacrifices. Similarly, other literary works of the Sangam period like the Silappatikaram, Manimekalai
Manimekalai
Manimekalai or Maṇimekalai , written by the Tamil Buddhist poet Seethalai Saathanar is one of the masterpieces of Tamil literature. It is considered to be one of the five great epics of Tamil literature. Manimekalai is a poem in 30 cantos...
and Kuṟuntokai
Kuruntokai
Kuruntokai ,a classical Tamil poetic work, is the second book of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. Kuruntokai contains poems dealing with matters of love and separation content matter and were written by numerous authors. Nachinarkiniyar, a Tamil scholar living during the sixth or the ...
also allude to the presence of Brahmins in the Tamil country. The influence of Brahmins and Indo-Aryan culture, however, began to grow rapidly only during the last centuries of the Sangam period.
Large scale migrations are generally believed to have occurred between 200 and 1600 AD and most Tamil Brahmins are believed to have descended from these migrants. However, this theory has come under attack in recent times from historians and anthropologists who question the validity of this theory due to lack of evidence.
During the early medieval period, when Ramanuja
Ramanuja
Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
founded Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
many Iyers adopted the new philosophical affiliation and were called Iyengars. According to Hindu legend, the sage Agastya
Agastya
Agastya was a Tamil/Vedic Siddhar or sage. Agastya and his clan are also generally credited with uncovering many mantras of the Rig Veda, the earliest and most revered Hindu scripture, in the sense of first having the mantras revealed in his mind by the Supreme Brahman...
is believed to be the first Brahmin to settle in South India. Agatysa is believed to have set up his abode on Podhigai hill near Madurai therevy becoming the first Tamil Brahmin. .
The Valluvars are believed to be the descendants of the earliest priests of the Tamil country.
There is also ample evidence to suggest that a large number of individuals of non-Brahmin communities could have been invested with the sacred thread and ordained as temple priests.
Though, Tamil Brahmins have been classified as a left-hand caste
Idangai
Idangai or the left hand is a caste-based division of communities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu that was in vogue from ancient times right up to the 19th and even the early decades of the 20th century AD. Since India's independence, the differences have practically vanished...
in ancient times, Schoebel, in his book History of the Origin and Development of Indian Castes published in 1884, spoke of Tamil Brahmins as "Mahajanam" and regarded them, along with foreign migrants, as outside the dual left and right-hand caste divisions of Tamil Nadu.
Groups
Tamil Brahmins are divided into three groups -- GurukkalsGurukkal brahmins
Gurukkal is Tamil plural form of the Sanksrit word "Guru" - Spiritual Teacher. These are the brahmins who acted as gurus to medieval king like Rajaraja I and brought many kings in to the fold of saivism.-Migration of Brahmins :...
, Iyers and Iyengars. Iyers form the majority of the Tamil Brahmin population and are Smarthas, while Iyengars are Vaishnavas and Gurukkals are Saivas.
Iyer
Iyers are Smartha Brahmins, most of whom follow the AdvaitaAdvaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...
. and are concentrated mainly along the Cauvery Delta districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur
Thanjavur District
Thanjavur District is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur.-Geography:...
, Tiruvarur
Tiruvarur District
Tiruvarur district is one of the 30 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. The district occupies an area of 2161 km². It is lies between Nagapattinam district on the east and Thanjavur district on the west, and is bounded by the Palk Strait on the south...
and Tiruchirapalli where they form almost 10% of the total population. They are also found in significant numbers in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
and Ambasamudram
Ambasamudram
Ambasamudram is a taluk in Tirunelveli district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The entire taluk had a population of 392,226 as of 2001, with 42.5% classified as rural. The taluk is named for the principal town with the same name...
.
Iyengar
Iyengars follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanujacharya. They are found mostly in Tamil Nadu as they are generally native to the Tamil country. They are divided into two sub-sects 'Vadakalai' (Northern system) and Thenkalai (Southern system).Gurukkal
The sect of Sivāchārya or Gurukkal (Tamil: குருக்கள்்்) form the hereditary priesthood or in the Siva and Sakthi temples in Tamil Nadu. They are Saivites and adhere to the philosophy of Shaiva Siddhanta . They are well versed in Agama Sasthras and follow the Agamic rituals of these temples. Because of these cultural differences, intermarriages with other Tamil Brahmanas is rare even to this date. Gurukkals are sub-divided into Tiruvalangad, Conjeevaram and Thirukkazhukunram.Traditional occupation
As per the Hindu law books and religious scriptures, Brahmins were expected to lead a spiritual life and devote their lives either to the study and propagation of Vedas and Hindu scriptures or function as temple or household priests. However, there have been evidence that Tamil Brahmins have been involved in other occupations even during the Sangam period. The AkanaṉūṟuAkananuru
Akananuru , a classical Tamil poetic work, is the seventh book in the Sangam literature anthology Ettuthokai. It contains 400 Akam poems dealing with matters of love and separation...
refers to a vela-parppan or a Brahmin who does not perform Vedic sacrifices. The Silappadhikkaram records the presence of Brahmin ministrels and musicians. The inscriptions of the Later Chola period records that a significant proportion of the Brahmin community of the village of Ennayiram was involved in trade. Brahmins fought in large numbers in the Later Chola army and there were a number of Brahmin civil servants in the Chola administration. Some of them rose to become Senapathis or army generals.
Autosomal DNA
- The 14 Tamil Nadu Brahmin samples from the study - "Toward a more Uniform Sampling of Human Genetic Diversity: A Survey of Worldwide Populations by High-density Genotyping" - Xing et al using ADMIXTURE at K=7 exhibited South-Asian, West-Asian (>20%), Northern-European elements and a sliver of a component modal in the IrulasIrulasIrulas are a scheduled tribe of India. Irulas are present in various parts of India, but are mainly located in the Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu...
, in that order. The South-Asian component (brown) is modal among non-Brahmin South Indian groups such as the MalaMalaMala may refer to:Geography* Kingdom of Cheras, South India* Mala, Kerala, a village in southern India* Malå Municipality, in northern Sweden* Mala, Nepal, a village and Village Development Committee* Mała, Poland, a village...
, MadigaMadigaMadiga is a social group or caste group of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharastra etc. found almost in all Indian states with different names. The people belonging to this community are most oppressed and exploited in the society. The term Madiga is derived from Sanskrit word Maha-Adiga which can be...
and TamilTamil peopleTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
Dalits. The West-Asian component (red) is modal among Iraqi Kurds and CaucasusCaucasusThe Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
populations (Daghestani). The Northern European component (grey) is modal among the Utahn samples of Northern European descent.
- In the Eurasian PCA plot of the same study, the Tamil Brahmins clustered in between Pakistanis (PunjabiPunjabi peopleThe Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
ArainArainThe Arain , are a Muslim agricultural caste settled mainly in the Punjab, with significant numbers also in Sindh. They are chiefly associated with farming, traditionally being landlords or zamindars.- Origin :...
agriculturalists) and generic south Indian caste and tribal groups. This is a possible reflection of the group's population history, which alludes that they were Indo-Aryan migrants from the Northern parts of India, but the ADMIXTURE analysis and PCA positioning is implicative of substantial mixing with the local subtrate, represented by the MalaMalaMala may refer to:Geography* Kingdom of Cheras, South India* Mala, Kerala, a village in southern India* Malå Municipality, in northern Sweden* Mala, Nepal, a village and Village Development Committee* Mała, Poland, a village...
, MadigaMadigaMadiga is a social group or caste group of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharastra etc. found almost in all Indian states with different names. The people belonging to this community are most oppressed and exploited in the society. The term Madiga is derived from Sanskrit word Maha-Adiga which can be...
and TamilTamil peopleTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
Dalits reference populations in this study. This might explain why the Tamil Brahmins, along with the Andhra Pradesh BrahminsTelugu BrahminsTelugu Brahmin is a sub-caste of the greater Brahmin community whose native language is Telugu. They hail from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.However...
occupy the middle point between Pakistanis and generic southern Indian groups. PC1 and PC2 mainly reflect the geographic distribution of the populations, with the majority of genetic variation accounted for by their locations. PC1 (accounting for 62.7% of the variance) reflects an east-west gradient, while PC2, as illustrated on the right (3.3% of the variance) reflects a north-south gradient (for instance, the cline from the Pakistani PunjabiPunjabi peopleThe Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
ArainArainThe Arain , are a Muslim agricultural caste settled mainly in the Punjab, with significant numbers also in Sindh. They are chiefly associated with farming, traditionally being landlords or zamindars.- Origin :...
to the Irula).