Tamil Brahmin#Popular depictions

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

{{Main|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.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/Brahmins-seek-reservation-in-education-and-employment/article15305880.ece|title=Brahmins seek reservation in education and employment|date=19 September 2008|access-date=22 June 2019|newspaper=The Hindu}}G. S. Ghurye, Pg 393Migration and Urbanization among Tamil Brahmans, Pg 5 They are also found in significant numbers in Chennai,Migration and Urbanization among Tamil Brahmans, Pg 15 Coimbatore, Madurai, Thiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kannur, and Thiruvananthapuram.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dtnext.in/Lifestyle/Culture/2017/04/09210907/1030961/Approaching-societal-issues-through-the-eyes-of-Ambedkar.vpf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520193405/https://www.dtnext.in/Lifestyle/Culture/2017/04/09210907/1030961/Approaching-societal-issues-through-the-eyes-of-Ambedkar.vpf|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 May 2018|title=Approaching societal issues through the eyes of Ambedkar|date=2017-04-10|work=dtNext.in|access-date=2018-05-20|language=en-US}}

{{Main|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.{{cite journal |last=Dutta |first=Ranjeeta |date=September–October 2007 |title=Texts, Tradition and Community Identity: The Srivaisnavas of South India |journal=Social Scientist |volume=35 |issue=9/10 |pages=22–43 |jstor=27644238}} {{subscription required}}

Brahmins who serve as priests in temples following the Vaishnavite and Shaivite 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 Vaishnavite tradition and in the Pandya regions 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 Asishaivas, Adi-Shaivas, etc.; from Sanskrit {{lang|sa-Latn|Ādiśaiva}}, {{lang|sa|आदिशैव}}), or the Sivacharyas. They follow the Agamas and the Vedas.{{Cite book |last=Rajagopal |first=Sharat Chandrika |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BO1OF_fZSDgC&q=gurukkal+agamas |title=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 |date=1987 |publisher=University of Minnesota |pages=368 |language=en}}

• Sage Agastya, Indian sage revered in Hinduism, Tamil Siddhar in the Shaivism tradition, and author of Agattiyam, an early grammar of the Tamil languageCompanion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, Appendix III, The Case of Akattiyam; Sanskrit and Tamil; Kankam, Pg 235–260
• Rukmini Devi Arundale, Indian classical Bharatanatyam dancer, theosophist, choreographer and an animal welfare activist{{Cite web|date=2017-03-08|title=Know the Only Indian in Today's Google Doodle? She Could Have Been India's First Female President!|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/90623/rukmini-devi-arundale-bharatnatyam-kalakshetra-president/|access-date=2022-01-16|website=The Better India|language=en}}
• Subramania Bharati, Indian independence activist and poet{{cite book|title=Indian Literature: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mivv3p-msd8C&pg=PA125|work=University of Delhi|publisher=Pearson Education India|year=2005|isbn=9788131705209|pages=125–126}}
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Nobel Prize-winning Indian astrophysicist{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/who-is-subrahmanyan-chandrasekhar-nobel-prize-winner-physics-4897568/|title=Who was S Chandrasekhar?|date=19 October 2017|website=The Indian Express|language=en|access-date=2019-01-13}}
• J. Sai Deepak, Supreme Court lawyer most famous for his representations in the case on the entry of women to Sabarimala Temple.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
• Shyamala Gopalan, American-Indian biomedical scientist, Mother of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris{{Cite news|title=What Kamala Harris Isn't Saying About Her Mother's Background - WSJ|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=20 August 2020|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-kamala-harris-isnt-saying-about-her-mothers-background-11597944590|access-date=21 January 2021|quote=Ms. Harris’s mother also figures in another tale told less often: of India’s small and successful Tamil Brahmin diaspora|last1=Dhume|first1=Sadanand}}
• Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Indian lawyer and member of the Constituent Assembly of India responsible for framing the Constitution of India{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/191 191]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}
• Ramanuja (c. 1077–1157 CE), Indian Hindu philosopher, preacher and a social reformer.{{cite book|author=Jon Paul Sydnor|title=Rāmānuja and Schleiermacher: Toward a Constructive Comparative Theology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ae4FBAAAQBAJ|year=2012|publisher=Casemate|isbn=978-0227680247|pages=20–22 with footnote 32}}
• U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, Indian researcher and Tamil scholar{{cite web | url = https://frontline.thehindu.com/static/html/fl2205/stories/20050311001909700.htm | title = The patriarch of Tamil | last = Viswanathan | first = S. | date = 26 February – 11 March 2005 | website = | publisher = Frontline, Vol. 22, Issue 5 | access-date = 7 July 2021 | quote = }}
• S. Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of India {{cn|date=May 2025}}
• Kachiyapper (8th century), Indian poet and Vedantist and the author of Kanda Puranam{{cite book|last= Pillai |first=M. S. Purnalingam |title=A Primer of Tamil Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JwkrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA107|year=1904|publisher=Ananda Press|page=107}}
• K. S. Krishnan, Indian physicist, co-discoverer of the Raman scattering{{Cite news|last=Srinivasan|first=Mahadeva|date=2012-06-05|title=Not for him the second fiddle|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/not-for-him-the-second-fiddle/article3491088.ece|access-date=2022-01-11|issn=0971-751X}}
• Iravatham Mahadevan, Indian epigraphist and civil servant{{cite web|title=Straight from the Heart – Iravatham Mahadevan: Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan|url=http://www.varalaaru.com/Default.asp?articleid=740|publisher=Varalaaru.com}}
• Paridhiyaar, medieval Tamil scholar and Kural commentator{{cite book |author= M. V. Aravindan |title= உரையாசிரியர்கள் [Commentators] |year= 2018 |publisher=Manivasagar Padhippagam | location= Chennai |pages= 348–360}}
• Parimelalhagar, medieval Tamil scholar and Kural commentator{{cite book |author= Ki. Vaa. Jagannathan |title= திருக்குறள், ஆராய்ச்சிப் பதிப்பு [Tirukkural, Aaraicchi Pathippu] |year= 1963 |edition=3 |publisher=Ramakrishna Mission Vidhyalayam | location= Coimbatore}}
• V. S. Ramachandran, Indian-American neuroscientist specializing in behavioral neurology and known for inventing the mirror box.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/11/brain-games|title=Brain Games: The Marco Polo of neuroscience |last= Colapinto |first=John |author-link= John Colapinto |magazine=The New Yorker |quote=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. |date=4 May 2009 |access-date=25 January 2022 }}
• C. V. Raman, Nobel Prize-winning Indian physicist{{Cite web|title=CV Raman Birth Anniversary 2020: Interesting Facts About The Nobel Laureate|url=https://www.ndtv.com/education/cv-raman-birth-anniversary-2020-interesting-facts-about-nobel-laureate|access-date=2021-06-23|website=NDTV.com|language=en}}
• Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician{{Cite book |last=Kanigel |first=Robert |title=The Man Who Knew Infinity: a Life of the Genius Ramanujan |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-684-19259-8|pages=11–12}}
• Alladi Ramakrishnan, Indian physicist and founder of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Matscience) in Chennai{{cite news|last=Staff Reporter|title=Alladi Ramakrishnan, 85, Scientist, Passes Away|url=http://www.indiajournal.com/pages/event.php?id=3846|accessdate=18 August 2010|newspaper=India Journal|date=13 Jul 2008}}{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• Vivek Ramaswamy, American politician and candidate 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries{{Cite news |last=Celarier |first=Michelle |date=August 5, 2022 |title='He's Making Up a World He Wants to Attack': How Vivek Ramaswamy Became a Right-Wing Culture Warrior |work=The Information |url=https://www.theinformation.com/articles/the-making-of-a-conservative-culture-warrior |quote=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}}
• Sivananda Saraswati, Indian yoga guru, Hindu spiritual teacher, and proponent of Vedanta{{cite web |title=His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj |publisher=Divine Life Society |url=https://www.dlshq.org/saints/his-holiness-sri-swami-sivananda-saraswati-maharaj/ |access-date=16 January 2022}}
• C. S. Seshadri, Indian mathematician.{{Cite web|title=From Proofs to Transcendence, via Theorems and Rāgas – Bhāvanā|url=https://bhavana.org.in/proofs-transcendence-cs-seshadri/|access-date=2020-07-30|language=en-US|quote=We are a Shree Vaishnavite Brahmin family}}
• T.N.Seshan, Chief Election Commissioner{{cn|date=May 2025}}
• Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of India (2019-present), former Defence Minister of India{{cn|date=May 2025}}
• Tolkappiyar, earliest known author and grammarian in Tamil language{{citation|author=Kamil Zvelebil|title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ|year=1973|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-03591-5|page=136}}
• S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, Indian mathematician and Abel Prize laureate{{Cite web|title=Srinivasa Varadhan|url=http://www.abelprisen.no/binfil/download.php?tid=56998|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105070617/http://www.abelprisen.no/binfil/download.php?tid=56998|archive-date=5 November 2016|access-date=25 March 2018|work=Abel Prisen|quote=" I came from a Brahmin community, viewed by the government as privileged, and there was reverse discrimination"}}
• Ramaswamy Venkataraman, Indian lawyer, independence activist and politician, who served as the eighth president of India{{Cite news |date=2019-04-12 |title=How Brahmins became invisible in Tamil Nadu’s politics |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/lok-sabha-elections/tamil-nadu/news/how-brahmins-became-invisible-in-tamil-nadus-politics/articleshow/68842141.cms |access-date=2024-07-03 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257 |quote=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.}}{{Cite news |last=Rajesh Ramachandran |date=2004-04-02 |title=Take 2 for Tambrams |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/take-2-for-tambrams/articleshow/595669.cms |access-date=2024-07-03 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}

{{Portal|Hinduism|India

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• Caste system in India
• Gotra
• Vedic priesthood
• List of Brahmins
• List of Iyengars

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{{Reflist}}

• {{cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|title=Toward a History of the Brahmins|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=113|year=1993|issue=2 |pages=264–268|doi=10.2307/603031 |jstor=603031|issn=0003-0279}}

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Category:Brahmin communities of India

Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu

Category:Vegetarian communities