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History of Tamil Brahmins

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praveen

Life is a dream
Staff member
Authored by Ramachander

History of Tamil Brahmins
P.R.Ramachander
A peep in to ancient and medieval history
Migration
According to reputed historians, in the hoary past Tamil Nadu was occupied by a very cultured people whose religion was perhaps different from Hinduism. They did not have the Chaturvarnyam among them but had different caste groups. To this country the Brahmins of North India migrated. This according to historians took place when the Maurya Kings were ruling India, the reason being the new religious revolutions in the north started by Gautama the Buddha and Mahavira Vardhamana which found favour with the kings. The Brahmin migration was in waves and many of them settled down in present telugu country and some of them reached Tamil Nadu. The first groups to migrate to Tamil Nadu were the pro-Shukra Brahmins who were followers of Lord Shiva and the last few waves were the Pro-Brihaspati Brahmins who were mainly followers of Lord Vishnu.

Tamil Nadu welcomed these new migrants with open hands. The stories of the migration of Agasthya and his being the founder of the river Cauvery are chronicled in ancient Tamil myth. His disciple Tholkappiyar , who is definitely a historical figure wrote the first book in Tamil viz. Tholkappiyam. This book clearly mentions the existence of Brahmins in Tamil Nadu. There is some evidence pointing out to Tholkappiyar himself being a Brahmin. They were initially called Anthanars or Parpanars or aravor or vediyars. Tholkappiyam also mentions the word Aiyar in one place.

The kings of Tamil Nadu were attracted by these learned pundits and made them their Asans or teachers. These teachers also were given several powers by them. Apart from this ,several villages were given to them as grants , free of cost and free of tax .These were called Brahmodayams or Chadurvedimangalams. Possibly in a much later period they were renamed Agraharams .Though new to the culture and language ,these new migrants learned the language of the country and the ancient books mention many great poets among them in the courts of some very famous kings. These early migrants also brought the concept of Gothras. Bharadwaja, Koundinya, Kasyapa, Kaushika and Atreya Gothras are mentioned in the early sangam literature. They initially did not name themselves as they do in modern times after the Gods they worship but tended to use their Gothra in their names. Some of the examples of the early names were Kauniyan Vinnantayan (Kaundinya), Palai Gautamanar (Gautama), Ilankausikanar (Kausika), Kallil Athreyanar (Atreya), and Bharadwaji Nachinarkiniyanar (Bharadwaja) and so on.

They were strict vegetarians, teetotalers and spoke a specialized dialect of Tamil among themselves. Their houses had a “well-washed-scrubbed-courtyard” and mostly a cow and a calf were tied to a post in front of their houses and dog and fowls were assiduously kept out. The Brahmin of those times had six fold duties viz. learning of Vedic texts, teaching of Vedas, performing yagnas (called velvi in Tamil), helping others perform yagnas, giving of gifts and taking of gifts. Among the earliest schools of Vedas started by them were the Ghatika in Kanchi and the Vedic School in a village called Ennayiram. The sangam literature mentions about a famous Brahmin named Punjarurkavunian Vinnandayan who is supposed to have performed many Vedic sacrifices during those times.

They also took, lot of interest in developing Tamil Literature. Among them the well known poets of that time were Nakkerar, Kapilar, Nachinarkiniyar, and Tayam Kannanar and so on. Though they were the representatives of the Vedic learning they also took very active part in the Bhakti movement of the ancient Tamil Nadu. Among the greats were Nambi andar Nambi, Nadamuni, Sambandar, Sundarar, Kungilyakalayanar, and many others.
Divisions and Groups

It is very important to note here that they were both Shaivites and Vaishnavites among them since their known history but they preferred to live as one major group with several sub groups. Govindacharyar, Nathamuni, Nambi andar Nambi etc were great Vaishavite saints of those times.

The historians who have traced the migration of Brahmins to Tamil Nadu believe that the first group to migrate was the BrihatCharanams and Ashtasaharam Brahmins. The Brihatcharanams loosely translated as big foot or Great migrations were the first wave of settlers who settled in places like Mangudi, Satyamangalam, Thiruvannamalai, Palamaneri, Kandarmanikkam, and Milagasur and so on. The next migrants were possibly were the Ashtasahasrams who settled down in a place called Ennayiram near Pondicherry. The next big wave of migrants were the Vadamas, so called by others who have already settled as Northerners. There were other smaller sub groups like Vathimas also. Many of these migrants whose main occupation was learning Vedas and performing Yagnas took to Temple worship in Tamil Nadu by gaining proficiency in agama Sastras. These were called Kurukkal in general and some of these prominent groups were again grouped in to Sholiyars. Since the initial migrants felt that these people have committed a big mistake by taking up Temple Worship , they were looked down by the other groups. Another prominent and well recognized group of learned Brahmins were the Chidambaram Dikshitars. The Mukkani Brahmins who assist in Pujas in the Tiruchendur Temples were a later addition to these groups The Vadamas themselves were again split in to Then_desathu Vadamas and Vada _desathu vadamas.It is not clear when the Vaishnavites became a separate group and started calling themselves as Iyengars. They definitely did it after the advent of Sage Ramanujachariar who systematized Srivaishnavism After him his followers again split in to Vadakalai Iyengars and Thenkalai Iyengars. There is also some evidence to prove that most of the Vadakalai Iyengars were from Vadamas and most of the Thenkalai Iyengars were from the Sholiyars. Among the iyers , there were also minor sects like Kesis and Kaniyalars. There is another very small group called Prathamasakhis who are confined to few villages like Seddanipuram near Nannilam of Tanjore district who believe that they turn in to untouchables at mid day everyday. They go out of the house at mid day and reenter the house after a purificatory bath.
 
From those migrants who occupied the present Karnataka state rose another great sage called Madhwa. He preached a different cult of Vaishnavism with slightly different philosophy. His followers were called Madhwas. In later days reverse migration took place and many of them settled back in Tamil Nadu. Among them was the great Sage Raghavendra.
There also seems to be a big group of Telugu speaking brahmanas settled during the rule of Krishna Deva Raya and Marathi speaking brahmanas settled during the later Maratha rule in Tanjore.

The ancient Brahmins of Tamil Nadu took up to professions such as Land Holders, musicians and domestic priests . Of these Silappadikaram mentions that those who took to music were frowned up on. They normally took to surnames like Sarma, Bhattar, Somayaji, Jadavallabhar, Dikshitar etc . They belonged to Gothras like Maudgalya, Srivatsa, Kaundinya, Kasyapa, Bharadwaja, Vadula, Atreya, Vasishta, Gautama, Haritha, Kaushika, Sandilya, Garga, Paurukutsa, Sankrityayana, Samkrithi, and Viswamitra and so on. Most of the Rig Vedis followed the Aswalayana Sutra, the Shukla Yajurvedis followed either the Apasthambha or Bodhayana sutra , the Krishna Yajurvedis followed the Katyayana Sutra and Samavedis followed Drahyayana Sutra.

Ancient professions

As was necessary the Brahmanas could not stick on to the profession of Vedic learning and eke out a living. Initially they were supposed to perform Yagnas (Velvi in Tamil) but they convinced the kings of Tamil Nadu that they should take over the maintenance of temples according to the Agama Sasthras. Because of this except for the temples of Goddesses like Kali, Ayyanar etc they were appointed as the Archakas. Here again there were two major groups , the Kurukkal doing worship in Shaivaite temples and Azhwars doing worship in Vaishnavaite temples. Another profession in which they shined was administration. They were the only community in Tamil Nadu who established Sabhas for administration of their agraharams. The king gave a sort of autonomy to such Sabhas. Details of many Sabhas are available in several stone inscriptions. Possibly due to the simple life they lead, the Kings also started appointing them as ministers and chief administrators. One of the later day greats was Ramaiyan Dalawa who was the minister of Marthanda Verma of Travancore. One of the greats was Ulagalanda Chola Brahmarayan who surveyed the lands for the king Rajadiraja. Many of them took to Tamil writing like Kalamegha Pulavar, Arulnandi Sivacharya, Periyachan Pillai, and Nathamunigal, Abhirama Bhattar and so on. They also produced Appayya Dikshidar who was possibly a greatest contributor to the philosophical writings on Advaita founded by Sankaracharya .Other great writers were Govinda Dikshitar the author of Sangita Sudha, Yagnanarayana Dikshitar the author of Sahitya Ratnakaram, Ramabhadra Dikshitar the author of Janaki Parinayam, Sridhra Venkatesa Aiyaval who wrote a biography of Shaji the brother of Shivaji, Sadashiva Brahmendrar who authored many religious tomes and so on. Another very important but patently unnatural profession for the Brahmins of this period was that of the warrior. There were Brahmins like Rajaraja Brahma Maharaja in the kingdom of Vengi, Kannan who was a general of Kulothunga I , Ramappiyan the famous general of Thirumalai Nayakkan of Madurai.
Music was another profession they shined. They systematized the musical rules , composed thousands of pieces and also became experts in singing. Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Deekshidar and Shyama Shastry were the all time greats.

Migration from Tamil Nadu

Another very important event that happened to Brahmanas of was their migration to neighboring states. The Palakkad Brahmins of Kerala, the Dravida Brahmins of Guntur, and The Sankethis of Karnataka all were Tamil Brahmin migrants. They might have migrated due to the rule of Maharatha and Vijayanagar dynasties when they lost their pre-eminent position in society. Also saint Ramanuja was forced by politics of those times to spend some part of life in Karnataka and he had several followers there.
Impression of ancient foreign visitor

Many foreign visitors during that period have left several comments on the life of a Tamil Brahmins of those times .Marco Polo wrote that: It is their practice of everyone, male and female, do wash the whole body thrice everyday …..you must know that in eating they use the right hand only and would on no account touch their food with left hand …..
So also they drink only from drinking vessels; and everyone hath his own; nor will anyone drink from another’s vessel. And when they drink they do not put the vessel to their lips, but hold it aloft and let the drink sprout in to their mouth…” He also says that they never tell lies and they abhor robbery. He also mentions” They are distinguished by a certain badge consisting of a thick cotton thread which passes over the shoulder and tied under their breast. Domingo Paes , a Portuguese visitor wrote about the king using their services to ask questions to the idol in the temples.

It was during this period that the Brahmins of Tamil Nadu started concentrating on education. They established several schools called Ghatikas where they could learn Sanskrit and Vedas. There were famous Ghatikas in Kanjeevaram, Nagapattinam and Ennayiram. The subjects taught in these schools were Kavya, Vyakarana, and Sastra etc. The kings made sumptuous grants for running of these schools. With the coming of Vijayanagar kings and that of Maratha kings Brahmins easily picked up the language of kings and got employment in their courts. But most of the Brahmins were not having facilities to come and join these Ghatikas. They instead continued with the Guru Kula style of ancient in India by living in the houses of their teachers. The art of music was somehow taught only like this.

B: Modern Times

The Brahmanas evolved much further in the eighteenth and nineteenth centaury. This period also saw their rise and fall in Tamil Nadu. The groups’ rise was due to their early interaction with the English. The English wanted to communicate with the locals. And they easily identified the Tamil Brahmin for this job. They first taught him English and employed him to help them talk with the locals. Identifying their administrative genius as well as devotion to their masters, they employed him in all sort of jobs. This was perhaps the main reason , why we find the Brahmins of today a very educated lot. They made a mark in whichever field they got interested. If a list of all time greats in Tamil nadu were compiled about 50% of them would be brahmanas. Recently the Tamil Nadu Brahmin association has compiled a “ who is who among Tamil Brahmins” and this 1000 paged volume has not even covered 50% of those eminent people. A feeble attempt is made here to indicate some great people here and possibly represent .001% of the great Tamil Brahmins.

1.Administrators

Before independence most of great geniuses in administration who held posting under the British were Brahmins. Some of the greatest were Sri Seshaia sasthri, Sri.T,.Muthuswami Iyer, Sri.P.S.Sivaswamy Iyer, Rt.Hon.Sreenivasa sastry, Sri.C.P.Ramaswamy Iyer, In the post independence period they mostly moved away from the spheres of administration but the notable among them was Sri.T.N.Seshan.
 
2.Freedom fighters

The Brahmins though by nature not interested in politics fought side by side with others for making our nation free. They were the greatest social reformers of that time also. Possibly the greatest among them was Sri.N.C.Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) who also became the first governor general of India, He was also a very great writer as well as social reformer. Some of the other notables were , Va.Ve.Su.Iyer, Mahakavi Bharathi, Vanchi who killed the collector of Tirnelveli, Sri.Santhanam who was our first railway minister ,SriSathya murthy and Sri.Bhashyam iyengar.

3.Writers.


The Brahmins simply dominated the writing scene of Tamil Nadu for a very long time. The first novelist , Vadavur Dorai Samy Iyengar, The great lady writer who wrote for creating social awakening Smt.Vai.Mu .Kothainayagei ammal, Sri.U.Ve .Swaminatha iyer who wandered all over Tamil nadu and collected folk and ancient Tamil literature(called Tamil Thatha), Kalki the greatest writer of historic fiction, Maha Kavi Subramanya Bharathi who is acknowledged as the greatest poet of modern times, Nadodi,Chavi, Gomathy Sunbramanyam, Ki.Va Jagannatham are some of the few all time greats.

Among the savants who contributed to Sanskrit literature were Ganapathi shastri, Gopala shastri, Thethiyur Subramanya sastri, Prathivathi bhayangaram Annangaracharyar and so on.
In journalism also they made very significant contributions. The Hindu, Dhinamani, Swadesha mithran, Kalki, Ananda vikatan, were all started by brahmanas and managed by them.

Sports is an area where they did not take much interest. Krishnamachary Srikanth who is a great cricketer and Sri.Anand who is the greatest Chess player that India has produced are few of the exceptions
Since they belonged mostly to the lower middle class, very few of them were industrialiosts, Simpson Anantha Krishnan, Easwara Iyer of the Easun Group and the great TVS family were again some of the well known exceptions.

4.Scientists

This is an area that they took least interest. But the great mathematical genius Sri,Srinivasa Ramanhjam, The first Nobel prize winning scientist, Sir.C.V.Raman. the scientist responsible for feeding modern India. Dr.Rangachari possibly one of the greatest physicians Tamil nadu has produced, Dr.Ramamurthy the great neuro surgeon Dr.M.S.Swaminathan, Dr.Chandra Shekar , an authority on astrophysics who won Nobel Prize, Dr,Seshadri one of the greatest chemists that India has produced, Dr.Kasthuri Rangan of the ISRO were all brahmanas.

5.Music

This was another field dominated by the Brahmanas. The music trinity who started it all, Pattanam Subramanya Iyer,Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer, Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Kothamangalam Subbu, Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyenger, Maharajhapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Maharajhapuram Santhanam,Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathatr, Sri.M.S.Gopalakrishnan, Tiger Varadhacharyar, Madurai Mani Flute Ramani, Kunnakudi Vaidyanatan,Veenai Balachander, Smt.Pattammal,Brinda –Muktha, Bombay sisters, Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Hariharan, Shankar Subramanyan the great music critic Subbudu are only the beginning of the list.

6.Cinema

This orthodox community also took interest in development of drama and Cinema in Tamil Nadu. Some of the all time greats were SriBalachander, the doyen among film directors, Gemini Ganesan, Kamala Hasan, Cho, Vishu, Jayaraman Vyjayanthi mala, Rekha, Hema malini, ,Music director duo Viswanathan Ramamuthry, Saharanamam, and so on.
 
Re:

Time to print this out, crack open a beer, and read... this will take some time. :pop2:

praveen said:
2.Freedom fighters

The Brahmins though by nature not interested in politics fought side by side with others for making our nation free. They were the greatest social reformers of that time also. Possibly the greatest among them was Sri.N.C.Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) who also became the first governor general of India, He was also a very great writer as well as social reformer. Some of the other notables were , Va.Ve.Su.Iyer, Mahakavi Bharathi, Vanchi who killed the collector of Tirnelveli, Sri.Santhanam who was our first railway minister ,SriSathya murthy and Sri.Bhashyam iyengar.

3.Writers.


The Brahmins simply dominated the writing scene of Tamil Nadu for a very long time. The first novelist , Vadavur Dorai Samy Iyengar, The great lady writer who wrote for creating social awakening Smt.Vai.Mu .Kothainayagei ammal, Sri.U.Ve .Swaminatha iyer who wandered all over Tamil nadu and collected folk and ancient Tamil literature(called Tamil Thatha), Kalki the greatest writer of historic fiction, Maha Kavi Subramanya Bharathi who is acknowledged as the greatest poet of modern times, Nadodi,Chavi, Gomathy Sunbramanyam, Ki.Va Jagannatham are some of the few all time greats.

Among the savants who contributed to Sanskrit literature were Ganapathi shastri, Gopala shastri, Thethiyur Subramanya sastri, Prathivathi bhayangaram Annangaracharyar and so on.
In journalism also they made very significant contributions. The Hindu, Dhinamani, Swadesha mithran, Kalki, Ananda vikatan, were all started by brahmanas and managed by them.

Sports is an area where they did not take much interest. Krishnamachary Srikanth who is a great cricketer and Sri.Anand who is the greatest Chess player that India has produced are few of the exceptions
Since they belonged mostly to the lower middle class, very few of them were industrialiosts, Simpson Anantha Krishnan, Easwara Iyer of the Easun Group and the great TVS family were again some of the well known exceptions.

4.Scientists

This is an area that they took least interest. But the great mathematical genius Sri,Srinivasa Ramanhjam, The first Nobel prize winning scientist, Sir.C.V.Raman. the scientist responsible for feeding modern India. Dr.Rangachari possibly one of the greatest physicians Tamil nadu has produced, Dr.Ramamurthy the great neuro surgeon Dr.M.S.Swaminathan, Dr.Chandra Shekar , an authority on astrophysics who won Nobel Prize, Dr,Seshadri one of the greatest chemists that India has produced, Dr.Kasthuri Rangan of the ISRO were all brahmanas.

5.Music

This was another field dominated by the Brahmanas. The music trinity who started it all, Pattanam Subramanya Iyer,Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer, Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Kothamangalam Subbu, Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyenger, Maharajhapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Maharajhapuram Santhanam,Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathatr, Sri.M.S.Gopalakrishnan, Tiger Varadhacharyar, Madurai Mani Flute Ramani, Kunnakudi Vaidyanatan,Veenai Balachander, Smt.Pattammal,Brinda –Muktha, Bombay sisters, Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Hariharan, Shankar Subramanyan the great music critic Subbudu are only the beginning of the list.

6.Cinema

This orthodox community also took interest in development of drama and Cinema in Tamil Nadu. Some of the all time greats were SriBalachander, the doyen among film directors, Gemini Ganesan, Kamala Hasan, Cho, Vishu, Jayaraman Vyjayanthi mala, Rekha, Hema malini, ,Music director duo Viswanathan Ramamuthry, Saharanamam, and so on.
 
Dear TKP:
What was the point of your quoting the whole posting again? This was a book written by P.R.Ramachander onHistory of Tamil Brahmins and Praveen was posting it for our benefit.
It is interesting history. I dont know about you! I dont like beer anymore! Even then I liked only the German beer!!


 
Apologies, did not mean to quote the entire thing. I do appreciate his posting. I have printed out and plan to read when I have the time.
 
Praveen,

"According to reputed historians, ......North India migrated.....Maurya Kings....blbla..."
which scholar or professionals or institution has supported the above stipulation.
well! well! open your eyes, it is absolutely rubbish, I am not totally rejecting the whole data, but some of it very irrational & emotional, late research on Tamil Brahmins DNA sample and other scientific & archeological research evidence stating : Tamil Brahmins neither migrated from north India nor brought by the Maurya's. The Tamil Brahmins who are well known as Anthenar, Iyar, Wheytheyar, Pattan, Paarpanar...(Pingala Nigandu), were there dwell in Tamilnadu long before the Maurya migration of the recent brahmins such niyogi (thyagaraja swamy), poothi, saurasthra....( reference WIKIPEDIA).
I haven't got enough time, I have to go now, I'll continue later on the above matter.

Meanwhile anyone interested : Learning Grantha
 
praveen said:


6.Cinema

This orthodox community also took interest in development of drama and Cinema in Tamil Nadu. Some of the all time greats were SriBalachander, the doyen among film directors, Gemini Ganesan, Kamala Hasan, Cho, Vishu, Jayaraman Vyjayanthi mala, Rekha, Hema malini, ,Music director duo Viswanathan Ramamuthry, Saharanamam, and so on.[/QUOTE

As far as I know, Music Direcor M.S.Viswanathan is a Malayalee non-Brahmin.Moreover I think actor S.V.Sahasranamam was a non-Brahmin.
:playball:
 
Kaudinya

I believe Praveen referred to Ramamoorthy and not Viswanathan.

KAUNDINYA said:
As far as I know, Music Direcor M.S.Viswanathan is a Malayalee non-Brahmin.Moreover I think actor S.V.Sahasranamam was a non-Brahmin.
:playball:
 
Sri P.R.Ramachander says "according to reputed historians" but he does not mention who those historians are.He does not show any evidence for his contentions. It is plain as pikestaff that his conclusions are influenced by his prejudices, whims and fancies. He says
that the earliest immigrants to Tamil Nadu were the Brihachcharanams and
Ashtasahasrams. This is contrary to facts. It is said that SOZHIAS were the
original Brahmins of SOZHA (CHOLA) DESAM. I am not a Sozhia but I have to tell what I regard as the truth. Among the non-Brahmins also there is a
community called Sozhia Vellalar,i.e., Vellalas of Chola Desam, which proves
this point. All the Brahmin Azhwars were Sozhias. The Saiva saint-poet
Manikkavachakar is also believed to be a Sozhia. It is believed that the
Nambudiris of Kerala are descendants of those Brahmins who had accompanied PARASURAMA from North India. That is why the coastal belt from Kanyakumari to Goa is called "Parasurama Kshetra". The Sozhias have much in common with the Nambudiris (as also the Chidambaram Dikshitars).
The Sozhias, Nambudiris & Chidambaram Dikshitars are all "POORVA SIKHA"
("MUN KUDUMI") Brahmanas.Moreover both the Nambudiris & Sozhias are followers of the JAIMINI or Thalavakara shakha of the Sama Veda whereas other Brahmins follow the Gautuma shakha of the Sama Veda.
Further it is mentioned in one book that Vadamas and Ashtasahasrams had migrated at the sametime and that Vadamas are so called because they originally inhabited North Tamil Nadu and subsequently spread to the whole of Tamil Nadu. It is also incorrect to say that most of the Vadakalai Iyengars were Vadamas and most of the Thenkalais were Sozhias. Although Sri Ramanuja was a Vadama, his guru Periyanambi was a Brihachcharanam & Thirukkoshtiyur Nambi, who was another guru of the former (Sri Ramanuja) was a Sozhia. Kaarpasa Raman, mentioned in Sri Ramanuja's biography,was an Ashtasahasram. So, it is clear that apart from Sozhias and Vadamas, Brihachcharanam and Ashtasahasram Brahmins had also become Vaishnavites.

:noidea:
 
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to add a point i heard that namboodiris esp. yajurvedis follow Baudhayana sutra ..
 
Kaundinya and ajatasatru:
Thank you guys! I am learning about our history every day! Please keep writing!
p.s. What is Baudhayana sutra?
 
ajatasatru said:
to add a point i heard that namboodiris esp. yajurvedis follow Baudhayana sutra ..
Why Nambudiris, even some Tamil Yajurvedi VADAMAS follow the Baudhayana Soothra but their number is very small. Most of the Yajurvedi Vadamas follow the Aapasthamba Sutra.
:fencing:
 
Kaundinya:

I remember in 'Abhivaadaye' we use the word 'Aapasthamba Sutraha'; but I have absolutely no idea what this means. Could someone explain this and Baudhayana Sutra?
 
P.S. 1) The reason why the coastal belt from Kanyakumari to Goa is called "Parasurama Kshetram" is that it is believed that Parasurama (believed to be an avatar of Mahavishnu) came to South India & he found that the land between Kanyakumari & Goa was submerged in water.
He is said to have excavated that land from the sea & gave it to the Brahmins who had accompanied him. The present day Nambudiris are believed to be their descendants. It is noteworthy that 75% of all agricultural lands of Kerala were owned by the Nambudiris till the enactment of the Kerala Land Ceiling Act by the CPM Govt. headed by E.M.S.Nambudiripad. In other words the Nambudiris lost most of their landholdings because of their own man.
2) It is mentioned in ancient Tamil Sangam literature that a Pandya king was mortally afraid of Parasurama when the latter came to S.India. Parasurama's father Jamadagni Maharshi was killed by a Kshatriya king. So, Parasurama went on killing Kshatriyas to avenge the death of his father.
3)KUMARA TATACHARYA, a Vadakalai Iyengar & Rajaguru of the Naicker (Naidu) kings of Madurai & Tanjavur, converted many Vadama Iyers of North Arcot & Chengalpattu to Sri Vaishnavism & gave them land & houses in Chola Nadu (i.e.,Tanjavur & Trichy districts) & made them settle down there.
 
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silverfox said:
Kaundinya:

I remember in 'Abhivaadaye' we use the word 'Aapasthamba Sutraha'; but I have absolutely no idea what this means. Could someone explain this and Baudhayana Sutra?

Some rishis have written "sutras" or commentaries for different Vedas. For Yajurveda there are two popular sutras, one written by Aapasthamba Rishi and another by Bodhayana or Baudhayana Rishi. Of these two, Aapasthamba Sutra is more common in Tamil Nadu.
:violin:
 
This may be actually a multi fold question, different brahmin subcastes would have migrated during different times, which would also explain the subtle differences in the respective traditions.
Some Iyers while performing Sandhyavandhanam, refer to the Narmada river in their prayers which shows there is a North Indian element, there is a huge sub caste/ community the Vadamas which itself means northerner.
The Chola kings and kingdoms before them would have surely recruited Brahmins from the more famous pre Islamic era temples in North India. Sensing the impending crises with Islamic destruction and intolerance many people (Brahmins and non Brahmins e.g. The Sourashtra people) would have migrated south continuing to do so till a few hundred years ago.
 
Embracing poverty

A tamil brahmin fellow whom I know ekes out his living by manufacturing and sellign filter coffee powder. In these days of high cost of living and negligible opportunities, this man chose to have three children, two girls and one boy. He recently celebrated his son's poonal by taking a loan of over one lakh and invited over 800 people for food. Conducting 'poonal' is one thing, impoverishing oneself and family is an awful thing to do. My father who is otherwise religious was most upset by this fellow's conduct. I think brahmins must be careful in these matters. People should not sqander money on religious functions that only makes them poor. What is the point then in asking the better offs to contribute? Tamil Brahmins should send out an advisory to all its members on such issues. I can assure you people that the incident is not a concoction. I am not saying that one should abandon all customs. But are customs more important than the education of our children and livelihood?
 
One can go on and on discussing the brahmin culture and its history. But the fact remains that today not just tamil brahmins but the rest of the people of India who have been against their will and in an illegal manner been categorised as 'Unreserved' category have nothing to call ours. The unreserved category is basically a set of stateless people partaking of the leftovers. today A.Ramadoss has proposed a new reservation in the UG medical course. In my opinion its all over. We are all big zeros. The entire political class has been terrorised into submission by the quota extremists. The media too has surrendered itself to these caste supremacists and is busy spreading lies and falsehood and is giving ample publicity to professional anarchists.
 
movement of vadamas to tamil nadu from north

Kaundania 5-11-2008
I want to share an interesting information to share reg.movement of vadams from north to tamilnadu.i am a native of tirunelveli dt.belonging Kowsika Gotrato vadama clan
My father used to tell me in 1950s when I was young that we migrated from
kanchipuram some 3to5 hundred years ago.As a young boy I could not understand the
significance of this .I got the link when I was reading a research book written by Sri.K.R.Venkataraman,retired director of dept. of archeology of ex.pudukkottai samastanam, titled as“Devi Kamakshi in Kanchi. published by vani vils press Srirangam.He says inthat book that the present Kamakshi temple in kanchi is not
older than 8to9hundred years old. Near the present temple there is an old Kamakshi temple known as Adhi peeda parameswari temple, note adhi peeda.When adi
sankaraVisited Kanchi he installed srichakra in front of this deity.this can be seen
even today but in damaged condition.Since the old temple become obsqure,
the new present Temple started evolving, a srichakra was installed.The king who
was rouleingKanchi mandalam at that time brought 30 families from the banks of narmadha River to kanchi for carrying out the administration and daily poojas.
Out of Above 30 families 10 each belonging to kowsika, koundinya and parukutsa
Gotras.15 each belonging to vadama and ashtasahasraham clan.

When sankara visited kanchi he regulated the devi worship.Earlier there was no
Separate devi or amman sannadhis in sivatemples in tamil nadu.After sankara’s
Visit to kanchi, amman sannadhis emerged within the shiva temples and were
Called “kamakottam”.kanchi was unique as kamakshi was considered as devi
For all shiva temples.The word kamakottam originated from kanchi only.
Since the families from narmada banks were looking after administration and
Poojas of kamakshi they were called kamakottiars.Even now they are the
Heridetary trustees of the temple .

When the families started expanding they moved out, some towards Andhra
Some towards interior tamil nadu, like tanjore and tirunelveli dsts.this is how
Our ancesters came to tirunelveli dst.They settled in a village called Karisattan
Village near sankaranainar koil.

It will be interesting to note that syama sastri one of musical trinity belong to
Kamakottar group. Likewise sri seshadhri swamigal of tiruvannamalai is also a
Kamakottiar.Sri.K.R.Venkataraman the writer of the book devi kamakshi in
Kanchi also belong tothis family from kaundinya gotra of ashtrasahasraham
Clan.
Sankaraseshan.

 
this whole thread is soo interesting....

generally it is ofcourse understood that whereever people go, they will try their best to establish their practices, ways of doing things, worship, food, etc; plus will sometimes tend to name the new place after their old place; and naturally they wud take along the priests of the sect they adhere to, to the new place as well...its very much possible the cholas imported themselves from north into south first and then imported the priests to administer their culture (kashmiri shaivism ? with the belief in heredity positions? ). Am just wondering what was the faith system in the south somewhere around ~1000bc ( at around 800 bc ? jain? if yes, they must have had their own set of rishis then...animistic or spirit worshiping cultures too must have had their own shamans ?)...anyone can please help?
 
Dear Sankaraseshan:

I read your posting regarding movement of Vadamas from the north to Tamil Nadu, with great interest. I also belong to Kausika Gotram but we are vaishnavas. My great grandfather moved our family from Kasi (Varanasi) about 220 years ago to Thanjavur area (very close to Umayalpuram and Swami Malai). In fact, in our village (Thiru Pullaboothangudi, one of the 108 Vaishnava Divya Desams) and surrounding area, our family is known as 'Kasiyaar veedu" (house of Kasi). I was told my great grandfather was at the royal court of the Kasi King. When I was very young, my grandparents used to speak in smattering Hindi if they didn't want us to know something!!!
If someone visits our village for worshipping*, they can ask about our family!!

*http://www.stephen-knapp.com/divya_desams_of_lord_vishnu.htm
 
Dear TKP:
What was the point of your quoting the whole posting again? This was a book written by P.R.Ramachander onHistory of Tamil Brahmins and Praveen was posting it for our benefit.
It is interesting history. I dont know about you! I dont like beer anymore! Even then I liked only the German beer!!

It is really an excellent compilation on brahmins and eminent personalities in various fields. Bu under "Music/Film industry", I wish to point out the following corrections:

1) The great "Mellisai Mannargal" Viswanathan-Ramamurthy are
"unfortunately" not brahmins! Viswanathan hails from Kerala from
the Nair clan while Ramamurthy hails from Isai Vaelaalar community
from Tiruvarur, Tamilnadu (incidentally related to the present CM
Dr Kalaignar Karunanidhi!)

2) Additions:
---------
To quote a few -
Gemini Studio owner and film producer S S Vasan.
C R Subburaman (Devadas (old) and other old films
S V Venkataraman (Meera _ MS Subbulakshmi) and other hit films.
Incidentally he was an handsome actor too!
D K Pattammal (Nithyasree's grandmother) Lalgudi Jayaramanm
violinist,
Film producer K Subramanyam - father of Padma Subramanyam,
Abaswaram Ramji, Krishnasamy (Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi),

The list is endless!

Really an excellent work!

With warm regards,

veegopalji
 
Dear friends,
I like to inform that brahmins migration and immigration from here and there is going to fall in the hands off people who call us migrated from central asia or some other place. Again and again our people are happy(more our people start this dialog) to be called as aryan and come form other places apart from mother india and tamil nadu. our mother tongue is TAMIL and mother land is INDIA then why this topic(aryan and migration) is coming again and again that too from our people.

In my village there are people called kasiyaar and one mysoreiyaar and trichyiyaar. This kasiyaar is called because his greatgrandfather went to kasi for first time in our village in that time. And mysoreiyaar worked there for first time in our village in that time. As for the trichyiyaar his great grand father brings ganesh idol from trichy to bulit a temple. In each village some might have that type off name to be easy identitifcation(because we have so many krishnamurthys and balasuramins and other names in that time). even some had a name by their job attch to their name (like vathiyar balu). May be so many balu's in their village.

But if your family worked in kasi king court I am happy about it.But you should bring it with some other proof( like any kasi king order) And may i asked you what's your mother tongue is? If its is hindi its ok you may come from north if not what are you going to say? I am not against anyone but tell me if your mother tongue is tamil how your migration happen? Or your are going to say that over period of time people changed their mother tongue to tamil?
 
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