Tamil Brahmin

	A Tamil Brahmin wedding ceremony
Regions with significant populations
	Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh
Languages
	Brahmin Tamil, Sanskrit
Religion
	Hinduism
	Show more

Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana in addition to other regions of India. They can be broadly divided into two denominations: Iyengars, who are adherents of Sri Vaishnavism, and Iyers, who follow the Srauta and Smarta traditions.^[1]^[2]

Although they form a tiny minority within their society, the Ceylonese Tamil Brahmins have been an integral part of the Sri Lankan Tamil community since the foundation of the Jaffna Kingdom by potentially a family of Tamil Brahmins, namely the Aryacakravarti dynasty.^[3]^[4] Their community was mainly strengthened by the more recent settlement of Tamil Brahmins from the Iyer caste in Sri Lanka, mostly from the second half of the 18th century.^[5]^[4]^[6]

Denominations

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

Iyer

Iyers are Shrauta-Smarta 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.^[7]^[8]^[9] They are also found in significant numbers in Chennai,^[10] Coimbatore, Madurai, Thiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kannur, and Thiruvananthapuram.^[11]

Iyengar

The Iyengars subscribe to the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by 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.^[12] Temple priests of the Sri Vaishnavite tradition are called Bhattacharyar or Bhattar.

Adi Saivas/Gurukkal

Brahmins who serve as priests in temples following the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition and perform pujas are offered a distinct category classified outside the community by the Government of Tamil Nadu as '703.Adi Saivar' and '754.Saiva Sivachariyar' as distinct from the '713.Brahmanar' (Brahmin) in the list of forward castes. These priests are called "Bhattar" in the in the Pandya region of Tamil Nadu, and "Ayyan" or "Gurukkal" in the shaivite tradition and in northern ones. In Kongu Nadu, they are called Adi Saivas (among other spellings Adishaivas, Adi-Shaivas, etc.; from Sanskrit Ādiśaiva, आदिशैव), or the Sivacharyas. They follow the Agamas and the Vedas.^[13]

Notable people

Sage Agastya, Indian sage revered in Hinduism, Tamil Siddhar in the Shaivism tradition, and author of Agattiyam, an early grammar of the Tamil language^[14]
Rukmini Devi Arundale, Indian classical Bharatanatyam dancer, theosophist, choreographer and an animal welfare activist^[15]
Subramania Bharati, Indian independence activist and poet^[16]
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Nobel Prize-winning Indian astrophysicist^[17]
J. Sai Deepak, Supreme Court lawyer most famous for his representations in the case on the entry of women to Sabarimala Temple.^{[citation needed]}
Shyamala Gopalan, American-Indian biomedical scientist, Mother of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris^[18]
Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Indian lawyer and member of the Constituent Assembly of India responsible for framing the Constitution of India^[19]
Ramanuja (c. 1077–1157 CE), Indian Hindu philosopher, preacher and a social reformer.^[20]
U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, Indian researcher and Tamil scholar^[21]
S. Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of India ^{[citation needed]}
Kachiyapper (8th century), Indian poet and Vedantist and the author of Kanda Puranam^[22]
K. S. Krishnan, Indian physicist, co-discoverer of the Raman scattering^[23]
Iravatham Mahadevan, Indian epigraphist and civil servant^[24]
Paridhiyaar, medieval Tamil scholar and Kural commentator^[25]
Parimelalhagar, medieval Tamil scholar and Kural commentator^[26]
V. S. Ramachandran, Indian-American neuroscientist specializing in behavioral neurology and known for inventing the mirror box.^[27]
C. V. Raman, Nobel Prize-winning Indian physicist^[28]
Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician^[29]
Alladi Ramakrishnan, Indian physicist and founder of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Matscience) in Chennai^[30]
Vivek Ramaswamy, American politician and candidate 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries^[31]
Sivananda Saraswati, Indian yoga guru, Hindu spiritual teacher, and proponent of Vedanta^[32]
C. S. Seshadri, Indian mathematician.^[33]
T.N.Seshan, Chief Election Commissioner^{[citation needed]}
Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of India (2019-present), former Defence Minister of India^{[citation needed]}
Tolkappiyar, earliest known author and grammarian in Tamil language^[34]
S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, Indian mathematician and Abel Prize laureate^[35]
Ramaswamy Venkataraman, Indian lawyer, independence activist and politician, who served as the eighth president of India^[36]^[37]

References

^ Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects: An Exposition of the Origin of the Hindu Caste System and the Bearing of the Sects Towards Each Other and Towards Other Religious Systems. Thacker, Spink.
^ "Brahmins/Sri Vaishnavas/Iyengars (Ramanuja.org/Bhakti List Archives)". ramanuja.org. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
^ Pathmanathan, Sivasubramaniam (1974). The Kingdom of Jaffna: Origins and early affiliations. Colombo: Ceylon Institute of Tamil Studies. p. 27.
^ ^a ^b Sivapathasuntharam, A. (2016). "The Brahmins: A Study on the Traditional Elite in Jaffna with Reference to their Dialect". Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka. University of Kelaniya: 102. ISSN 2513-2954.
^ "Team - Noolaham Foundation".
^ Muthiah, Subbiah (22 October 2016). "Madras Miscellany: The Aiyar from Jaffna". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ "Brahmins seek reservation in education and employment". The Hindu. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
^ G. S. Ghurye, Pg 393
^ Migration and Urbanization among Tamil Brahmans, Pg 5
^ Migration and Urbanization among Tamil Brahmans, Pg 15
^ "Approaching societal issues through the eyes of Ambedkar". dtNext.in. 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
^ Dutta, Ranjeeta (September–October 2007). "Texts, Tradition and Community Identity: The Srivaisnavas of South India". Social Scientist. 35 (9/10): 22–43. JSTOR 27644238. (subscription required)
^ Rajagopal, Sharat Chandrika (1987). Rethinking Hinduism: A Renewed Approach to the Study of "sect" and an Examination of Its Relationship to Caste : a Study in the Anthropology of Religion. University of Minnesota. p. 368.
^ Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, Appendix III, The Case of Akattiyam; Sanskrit and Tamil; Kankam, Pg 235–260
^ "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.
^ Indian Literature: An Introduction. Pearson Education India. 2005. pp. 125–126. ISBN 9788131705209. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ "Who was S Chandrasekhar?". The Indian Express. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
^ 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
^ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 191.
^ Jon Paul Sydnor (2012). Rāmānuja and Schleiermacher: Toward a Constructive Comparative Theology. Casemate. pp. 20–22 with footnote 32. ISBN 978-0227680247.
^ Viswanathan, S. (26 February – 11 March 2005). "The patriarch of Tamil". Frontline, Vol. 22, Issue 5. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
^ Pillai, M. S. Purnalingam (1904). A Primer of Tamil Literature. Ananda Press. p. 107.
^ Srinivasan, Mahadeva (5 June 2012). "Not for him the second fiddle". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
^ "Straight from the Heart – Iravatham Mahadevan: Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan". Varalaaru.com.
^ M. V. Aravindan (2018). உரையாசிரியர்கள் [Commentators]. Chennai: Manivasagar Padhippagam. pp. 348–360.
^ Ki. Vaa. Jagannathan (1963). திருக்குறள், ஆராய்ச்சிப் பதிப்பு [Tirukkural, Aaraicchi Pathippu] (3 ed.). Coimbatore: Ramakrishna Mission Vidhyalayam.
^ Colapinto, John (4 May 2009). "Brain Games: The Marco Polo of neuroscience". The New Yorker. Retrieved 25 January 2022. In 1991, he became interested in the work of Tim Pons, a neuroscientist at the National Institute of Mental Health, who had been investigating the ability of neurons in the sensory cortex to adapt to change.
^ "CV Raman Birth Anniversary 2020: Interesting Facts About The Nobel Laureate". NDTV.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
^ 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.
^ Staff Reporter (13 July 2008). "Alladi Ramakrishnan, 85, Scientist, Passes Away". India Journal. Retrieved 18 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Celarier, Michelle (5 August 2022). "'He's Making Up a World He Wants to Attack': How Vivek Ramaswamy Became a Right-Wing Culture Warrior". The Information. The Ramaswamy family belongs to India's elite Brahmin caste, a fact he mentions several times in his book. 'Kings were below us,' he wrote
^ "His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj". Divine Life Society. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
^ "From Proofs to Transcendence, via Theorems and Rāgas – Bhāvanā". Retrieved 30 July 2020. We are a Shree Vaishnavite Brahmin family
^ Kamil Zvelebil (1973), The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India, BRILL, p. 136, ISBN 90-04-03591-5
^ "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
^ "How Brahmins became invisible in Tamil Nadu's politics". The Times of India. 12 April 2019. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 July 2024. Though many Brahmins like R Venkataraman, Mani Shankar Aiyar, and Subramanian Swamy shot into prominence in politics in later years, they chose to operate from Delhi.
^ Rajesh Ramachandran (2 April 2004). "Take 2 for Tambrams". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 July 2024.

Witzel, Michael (1993). "Toward a History of the Brahmins". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 113 (2): 264–268. doi:10.2307/603031. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 603031.

[1] Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects: An Exposition of the Origin of the Hindu Caste System and the Bearing of the Sects Towards Each Other and Towards Other Religious Systems. Thacker, Spink.

[2] "Brahmins/Sri Vaishnavas/Iyengars (Ramanuja.org/Bhakti List Archives)". ramanuja.org. Retrieved 22 March 2025.

[3] Pathmanathan, Sivasubramaniam (1974). The Kingdom of Jaffna: Origins and early affiliations. Colombo: Ceylon Institute of Tamil Studies. p. 27.

[:0-4] Sivapathasuntharam, A. (2016). "The Brahmins: A Study on the Traditional Elite in Jaffna with Reference to their Dialect". Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Linguistics in Sri Lanka. University of Kelaniya: 102. ISSN 2513-2954.

[5] "Team - Noolaham Foundation".

[6] Muthiah, Subbiah (22 October 2016). "Madras Miscellany: The Aiyar from Jaffna". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 April 2024.

[hindu.com-7] "Brahmins seek reservation in education and employment". The Hindu. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2019.

[ghuryep393-8] G. S. Ghurye, Pg 393

[migrationp5-9] Migration and Urbanization among Tamil Brahmans, Pg 5

[migrationp15-10] Migration and Urbanization among Tamil Brahmans, Pg 15

[11] "Approaching societal issues through the eyes of Ambedkar". dtNext.in. 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

[Dutta2007-12] Dutta, Ranjeeta (September–October 2007). "Texts, Tradition and Community Identity: The Srivaisnavas of South India". Social Scientist. 35 (9/10): 22–43. JSTOR 27644238. (subscription required)

[13] Rajagopal, Sharat Chandrika (1987). Rethinking Hinduism: A Renewed Approach to the Study of "sect" and an Examination of Its Relationship to Caste : a Study in the Anthropology of Religion. University of Minnesota. p. 368.

[zvelebil_companion_agathiar-14] Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, Appendix III, The Case of Akattiyam; Sanskrit and Tamil; Kankam, Pg 235–260

[15] "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.

[16] Indian Literature: An Introduction. Pearson Education India. 2005. pp. 125–126. ISBN 9788131705209. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

[17] "Who was S Chandrasekhar?". The Indian Express. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2019.

[18] 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

[19] Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 191.

[Sydnor2012p20-20] Jon Paul Sydnor (2012). Rāmānuja and Schleiermacher: Toward a Constructive Comparative Theology. Casemate. pp. 20–22 with footnote 32. ISBN 978-0227680247.

[21] Viswanathan, S. (26 February – 11 March 2005). "The patriarch of Tamil". Frontline, Vol. 22, Issue 5. Retrieved 7 July 2021.

[22] Pillai, M. S. Purnalingam (1904). A Primer of Tamil Literature. Ananda Press. p. 107.

[23] Srinivasan, Mahadeva (5 June 2012). "Not for him the second fiddle". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 January 2022.

[mahadevan_interview-24] "Straight from the Heart – Iravatham Mahadevan: Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan". Varalaaru.com.

[MVAravindan_Commentators-25] M. V. Aravindan (2018). உரையாசிரியர்கள் [Commentators]. Chennai: Manivasagar Padhippagam. pp. 348–360.

[26] Ki. Vaa. Jagannathan (1963). திருக்குறள், ஆராய்ச்சிப் பதிப்பு [Tirukkural, Aaraicchi Pathippu] (3 ed.). Coimbatore: Ramakrishna Mission Vidhyalayam.

[Colapinto-27] Colapinto, John (4 May 2009). "Brain Games: The Marco Polo of neuroscience". The New Yorker. Retrieved 25 January 2022. In 1991, he became interested in the work of Tim Pons, a neuroscientist at the National Institute of Mental Health, who had been investigating the ability of neurons in the sensory cortex to adapt to change.

[28] "CV Raman Birth Anniversary 2020: Interesting Facts About The Nobel Laureate". NDTV.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

[Kanigel1991-29] 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.

[30] Staff Reporter (13 July 2008). "Alladi Ramakrishnan, 85, Scientist, Passes Away". India Journal. Retrieved 18 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

[31] Celarier, Michelle (5 August 2022). "'He's Making Up a World He Wants to Attack': How Vivek Ramaswamy Became a Right-Wing Culture Warrior". The Information. The Ramaswamy family belongs to India's elite Brahmin caste, a fact he mentions several times in his book. 'Kings were below us,' he wrote

[32] "His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj". Divine Life Society. Retrieved 16 January 2022.

[33] "From Proofs to Transcendence, via Theorems and Rāgas – Bhāvanā". Retrieved 30 July 2020. We are a Shree Vaishnavite Brahmin family

[34] Kamil Zvelebil (1973), The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India, BRILL, p. 136, ISBN 90-04-03591-5

[35] "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

[36] "How Brahmins became invisible in Tamil Nadu's politics". The Times of India. 12 April 2019. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 July 2024. Though many Brahmins like R Venkataraman, Mani Shankar Aiyar, and Subramanian Swamy shot into prominence in politics in later years, they chose to operate from Delhi.

[37] Rajesh Ramachandran (2 April 2004). "Take 2 for Tambrams". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 July 2024.

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