Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 10:23, 4 January 2006

Iyer is the name given to a community of Brahmins (members of the priestly class / caste) of India whose members profess the advaita philosophy propounded by sri Shankaracharya and whose ancestors have had strong ties with the Tamil region, for many centuries. Iyers are therefore those whose ancestors came from Tamil-speaking areas. They are a subgroup of Smartha Brahmins. Though Iyer is used as a suffix to names, it does not constitute a caste or family name, but rather denotes a brahmin sub-caste whose mother tongue is Tamil.

The term Iyer derives from the term Ayya, an honorific in the Dravidian languages. Ayya in turn is possibly derived from the word Arya as in Aryans. But it is equally possible that Ayya is pure Dravidian term since it is used by many non-brahmin castes to address their father or grandfather. However, most plausibly it has a very archaic origins before the emergence of Indo-European, Dravidian and Sino-Tibetan linguistic groups since it is observed in Chinese languages too (Aya is father or grandfather). A prevalent notion is that the Tamil Brahmin is of Indo-Aryan origin as opposed to the original inhabitants of South India who are Dravidian in origin, since the priestly caste was largely confined to those of Aryan origin. The theory gains credence from various socio-cultural factors as well, including the heavily Sanskrit-influenced Tamil spoken by this community. However, the topic is a controversial and one that relates to the formation of castes and the Aryan invasion theory.

Spiritual and philosophical beliefs

Strictly speaking, all Iyers define themselves as "Srauta-Smarta", ie. followers of the Sruti text (mostly Yajur Veda and Sama Veda), and Smriti texts like Aapasthamba Dharma Sutra. For at least a millennium, a vast majority of Iyers have followed Sri Adi Sankara's advaita philosophy, a branch of Hinduism that believes that the human soul is liberated from the cycle of rebirths through the acquisition of knowledge of its true nature (See external links). Important in the advaitic philosophy is the tenet that Brahman, the Supreme Reality is nirguna, or devoid of attributes. However, humans tend to attach attributes to God to facilitate worship, thus creating various deities. As followers of this philosophy, Iyers worship the entire pantheon of Hindu deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Ganesha, Muruga, as well as Ayyappa. However, in as much as Advaita is one expression of the Uttara-Mimamsa school of philosophy, it is noteworthy that other schools (including agnostic and atheistic ones), such as Nyaya,Vaisesika, Samkhya, Yoga, and Purva-Mimamsa have, over the centuries, found a few adherents among the Iyers.

A vast number of Iyers continue to take considerable interest in spritual life, even in the modern age. The Orthodox Iyer believes in the teachings of Advaita philosophy of Adi Shankracharya. They therefore mostly follow the teaching of Gurus who come from that school of philosophy. The popular mutt that Iyers follow is:

Sringeri Sharada Peetham - This mutt was started by Adi Shankaracharya. Sringeri mutt is located in Sringeri, Karnataka. The followers of this mutt believe that Shankaracharya lived from 788 to 800 AD. Its first head was Sureswaracharya. The mutt includes an impressive line of pontiffs, the most famous of whom was Shri Vidyaranya, who was a RajaGuru to Vijayanagar kings (the rulers of the dead city of Hampi). The present pontiff is Sri Bharati Teertha reverentially called Maha Sannidhanam. The mutt has traditional following in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala, Maharashtra and Orissa and the rest of the world.

Besides the Iyers also follow the teachings of the Siddhas and Nayanmars. They also revere the alwars, such as godhai (andal). Siddhas and Nayanmars have religious ideas different from, but closely linked to, Advaita. There used to be Iyers who only worshipped Shiva or Vishnu,in spite of believing in advaita.

Rituals, Ceremonies and Festivals

Although many rituals that were practiced in ancient times are no longer followed, some traditions are continued to this day.

Iyers are initiated into rituals at the time of Birth itself. In ancient times Iyers performed rituals when the baby was being separated from mother's umbilical cord. However, this practice is not followed in modern times. At the time of birth, a horoscope is made for the child based on the position of the stars. Then Iyers undergo the naming ceremony. This affair is important as the name given during this ceremony would be the individual's religious name, and would be used when ever prayers or ceremonies were conducted, where that individual had to be mentioned. Besides this, some families conduct homas every birthday of the individual, to invoke god's blessings. In other families prayers are performed every year on the individual's birthday. This birthday does not have to do with the child's birthdate, but it corresponds to the nakshatra, or star, corresponding to the time at which the individual is born. The child's first birthday is most important, when both Iyer boys and girls have their ears pierced. From that day onwards a girl is expected to wear earrings. The ceremony is only a formality, for the boys.

When a male child reaches his seventh birthday he is eligible for thread ceremony also known as Upanayanam. From that day on, he becomes an official member of his caste, and is called as a "twice born". In ancient times, the boy was sent to gurukula to learn vedas and scriptures. He then practiced extreme discipline during the period known as brahmacharya. He lived a celibate life, living on alms, and surviving on satvic and austere practices. The individual had to perform daily fire worship, and perform prayers without fail. Though such practices are not followed in modern times by a majority of Iyers, all Iyer boys undergoes the thread ceremony before marriage. Even today, many Iyers continue to follow the daily worship of Sun and the Goddess gayatri.This daliy worship is also known as sandhyavandanam. This worship is necessary to be performed at dawn, mid-day, and dusk. The mid-day worship is called madhyanam. Besides this, all twice-born Iyers need to perform annual ceremonies such as Upakarma, when they replace their sacred threads with new ones. They also recite 1008 gayatri japas on a certain day every year. This is one practice very few twice born Iyers leave out.

Iyer women have their own ceremonies such as the one at the time of attaining puberty (mostly a private family affair). They learn shlokas and devotional hymns, and regularly worship various Deities.

Then there are rituals that need to be followed at the time of an individual's marriage.

The other extremely important rituals for the Iyers are the death ceremonies. All Iyers are cremated according to vedic rites, usually within a day of the individual's death. The death rites include a 13-day ceremony, and regular tarpanam, for the ancestors. There is also a yearly shraddha, that needs to be performed. These rituals are expected to be performed only by male descendants of the deceased.

There are other rituals for different occasions like Grihapravesam (entering a new house), perfoming yagnas for the welfare of world, etc.

In traditional families any food is first offered to God as naivedhya,and then eaten. Food is not considered to be consumed before this religious offering.

Iyers celebrate different festivals where they worship God. They offer different kinds of sweets to God unique to that festival. These offerings ususally include fruits. Worship of Gods is done by reciting Sanskrit hymns and special flowers are offered to God. Some of the many festivals celebrated by Iyers are:

Deepavali - the festival of lights, commemorating the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Narakasura. The Iyers celebrate this in their unique style by waking up early in the morning and having and oil bath. The Deepavali medicine is a herbal sweet, that is believed to increase an individual's appetite for sweets. This sweet is prepared unfailingly every year. People light their houses with lamps, and burst fire crackers on this day.

Dasara/Navarathri - the nine-day festival of durga which culminates in a Saraswati Puja and then Vijayadasami. On Saraswati puja, Iyers keep the books they use, for puja. These books are removed and read on the Vijayadasami. Any other new work is also started on Vijayadasami. The sweet unique to Dasara is soondal.

Pongal/Makara Sankaranti - the yearly festival for the sun. The chakara pongal is a sweet made of rice and jaggery for this occasion. Sugarcane is also offered to God on this day.

Vinayaka Chaturthi - Birthday of Lord Ganesha. Kozhakattai (steamed rice dumpling usually with a jaggery/coconut filling) is a sweet prepared for this occasion, and is considered the favourite of Lord Ganesha.

Janmashtami - Birthday of Lord Krishna. Cheedais (deep-fried rice balls, with various spices, sometimes jaggery) are special food items prepared for this festival.

Tamil New Year- New Year according to the Tamil calendar. A neem paste is the main dish for this day.

Sivarathri - Worship day of Lord Shiva. The Lord Shiva is pleased with austerities, so no sweets are prepared. Instead, people are expected to fast the whole day, and worship Lord Shiva throughout the night. Fruits are permissible for those who cannot follow the intense devotion expected.

Karthika deepam - Day celebrating the victory of Lord Muruga over evil. Pori (sweetened puffed rice, sweetened with jaggery), is prepared on this day. The house is also lit with lamps to celebrate the victory over darkness.

Avani avittam - Upakarma day for the Iyers. On this day, Iyers change the sacred thread and recite vedas.

Iyers keep certain days for fasting. Some of the days Iyers fast are, Amavasya, Ekadasi, and Sivarathri.

Origins

The Iyers claim a top position in the caste hierarchy of the Tamil-speaking region in India. They are Smartha brahmins, and are distinct from other Smartha brahmin communities mainly in having Tamil for their mother-tongue. In other words: Iyers are Smartha Brahmins whose mother tongue is Tamil. Iyers in the very remote past migrated to Tamil region from the north and differentiated themselves from other Brahmin communities, including the closest smartha Brahmins, settled in other regions.

There is also a "migratory view", which is a view on the migration of all Brahmins, not only Iyers, to south India. According to this view, many members of the Brahmin community, originally based in Northern India, migrated to the kingdoms in the South, particularly that of the Cholas in the Tamil country, in the first Sangam age. This migration is presumed to have been in response to the invitations of the rulers who needed them to perform various vedic rituals, especially yajnas or fire-sacrifices. In return for their services, the Brahmins were given agricultural land and other gifts. These Brahmins identified as Iyers later diversified into agriculture and other scholarly activities in the Temples. The Chola territory of Thanjavur, a fertile land watered by the Cauvery River, became their home.

Proponents of this view aver that a migration to the South is indicated by the legend of the sage Agastya, which goes thus: once upon a time, the Vindhya mountain range that separates North and South India began growing higher and higher, in defiance of the established "world order". Desirous of halting this growth, Sage Agastya approached the mountain, conveyed his desire to travel to the south, and requested the mountain to facilitate his journey by not growing further until his return to the north. The ruse worked; the Vindhya bowed its head to Agastya and promised to comply with his request. Agastya travelled to the south, but never returned, and the Vindhyas, true to its word, never grew further. This puranic legend affirms to the emigration of at least one Brahmin family, that of the sage Agastya, it also makes mention of various Brahmin rishis already in residence in the South at the time of sage Agastya's migration. It also needs to be added that Ancient Tamil folklore actually credited Agastya for the development of Tamil.

All the Iyers trace their origin to one of eight major rishis or sages. Iyers classify themselves under different Gotras; those of the same Gotra share common ancestors. Marriage among people of the same Gotra is prohibited. Iyers are further divided into subgroups such as Vadama, Brahacharanam, etc., based on details such as emigration and association with certain villages/areas - Palakkad Iyers are those who migrated to Kerala and are settled in the Palakkad district. The names of certain Iyer sub-groups, such as Vadama ("Northerner"), may possibly indicate northern origin. While many historians would suggest that Iyers, or at least Vadama Iyers came to Tamil Nadu as late as the 10th century, this theory is suspect for the following reasons:

1. The Iyer DNA shows a lot of similarities with South East Asians.

2. The Iyer culture is very much influenced and integrated with other Tamils.

3. There is no actual evidence to show a long distance migration. Even the encouragement provided by the Chola kings probably indicates only a migration of Brahmins from Kanchipuram to Tanjore. This does not mean that there were previously no Brahmins in Tanjore, and may have to do with only a group of people highly skilled in Sanskrit rituals.

The name Vadama itself has probably to do with the fact that this sub-group was dominant in northern most Tamil Nadu. The fact was that many "northern brahmins"(reference may be to vadamas) were invited to "chola regions" which was located south of Kanchipuram (the capital of pallavas), in order to perform yagnas and other rituals, which required mastery over Sanskrit and Vedic Traditions. There is nothing surprising about this either, because all rituals in ancient Andhra located north is completely Sanskritized, even today (The exception being the temples managed by Sri Vaishnavas, where tamil was introduced later).

Here are some similarities between Iyer and Tamil beliefs and culture:

a) All Iyers worship Lord Muruga as a married man, which is contrary to the belief in a region like Andhra.

b) Iyers speak Tamil (although it is interspersed with Sanskrit words). They don't preserve any memory of any other language; it would have been most unlikely that this would have happened if they had migrated as late as the 8th–10th century AD.

c) Iyers revere the Alwars and Nayanmars, especially surprising in cases where some aspects of the teachings of these sects were heretical.

d) Iyers sometimes marry cross cousins, and uncles sometimes marry nieces, both typical among south Indians, but was clearly prohibited and condemned by Dharma sutra text of sage Apastamba. Apastamba critiscizes even other south Indian Brahmins on these grounds. As Apastamba probably existed before the 6th century BCE, it is clear that there were Iyers by the 6th century BCE, and it is also possible that the highly Sanskritized Iyers (who worship Narmada) might have come about that time to the Tamil regions.

e) All Iyer bridegrooms tie the thali (mangalasutra) in the same manner. Such unity could never have happened in a short span of time.

f) Iyers celebrate pongal and also follow only the Tamil calendar.

i) Iyers have reverence for the Sangam classics, and have played a role in preserving these works.

Iyers today are found all over the world.

Social and political issues

During the ancient and mediaeval periods, Iyers (and Brahmins in general) rose in prominence in Indian society, primarily due to their emphasis on spiritual life and scholarship, particularly in terms of their expertise in the Vedas and the attendant religious rituals. Later, during the colonial period they also acquired English education and served as clerks in the British rule in India. After independence, they consolidated their position in the Indian administration. Such a situation led to resentment from the other middle castes in Tamilnadu, particularly the moderately wealthy class. An upshot of this atmosphere was an "anti-Brahmin" movement and the formation of the Justice party. Though formed on a principled high-ground, the movement soon led to a power struggle between the Brahmins and the other moderately wealthy middle ranking sub-castes like the Mudaliars, Pillais and Chettiars. This was further aggravated with the introduction of the reservation system (affirmative actions for the poor under-privileged lower castes.) In the 1960s the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (roughly translated as "Organisation for Progress of Dravidians") and its subgroups gained political ground on this platform forming state ministries, thereby wrenching control from the Indian National Congress party, where Iyers at that time were holding important party positions.

Iyer Women

Iyer women are noted for their culture and tradition. Proud of their culture, they are uncompromising in their stand. If the Iyers have been able to retain many aspects of their culture, and if they are indeed among the most disciplined yet progressive brahmins, the credit must indeed go to Iyer women. Iyer women have played a major role in propagating Carnatic music and the classical dance form called Bharatanatyam.

The Iyer woman is often portrayed as fair skinned woman draped in a nine yard saree, also known as madisaror in tamil. Though such dress is worn regularly only by the older women, on festivals and other religious occasions it is worn by young women as well. Iyer women usually do not forget to wear kumkum/sindoor/bindi on their forehead and married women always wear the mangalsutra also called as "thali" in Tamil. This mangalsutra is a sacred necklace tied by the bridegroom around the bride's neck during marriage, while the priest chants vedic hymns. According to Vedic scriptures an Iyer woman becomes part of her husband's family after marriage. She adopts the gotra/lineage as well as the traditions of her husband's family. Any Iyer women who does not marry a brahmin is no longer considered a Brahmin and is normally not allowed to participate in the any of the orthodox traditions/rituals.

Until recently, an Iyer widow was never allowed to re-marry, while it was acceptable for Iyer widowers to re-marry. Divorces were considered a "great evil". Once a widow, an Iyer woman had to shave her head and lead the life of Sanyasi. She had to stop wearing the kumkum/bindi on her forehead, and was recommended to smear her forehead with sacred ashes. She was considered unlucky and even barred from entering the house through the front door. She was not even allowed into temples or invited to marriages and other auspicious functions.

All of these practices have fallen by the wayside over the last few decades, and it is the norm for modern Iyer widows to lead unencumbered lives.

Traditional Iyer Ethics

Iyers were extremely orthodox a century ago. They followed Dharma shastra texts of Manusmriti Apastamba and Baudhayana.

1.A traditional Iyer is not expected to eat rajasic and tamasic food such as that was derived from meat, or from unclean plants such as onion, garlic and mushroom and it is avoided by the orthodox people even to this day. It must however be added that for the young generation, only "non-vegetarian" foods are taboo. Milk or milk products are considered acceptable. Onions and Garlic are sometimes acceptable to many Iyers. In ancient times Iyers even avoided chillis, as they were considered rajasic. Elaborate purification ceremonies were recommended in ancient times, for those who ate meat and other unclean food.

2. They believe in non-violence, and rightous conduct in life.

3.They consider smoking and drinking as taboo and a large percentage of men do not smoke or drink.

4.Iyers consider marriage a sacred institution and duty. Thus extra marital and pre marital affairs are considered highly unacceptable. Widowers may re-marry, though widows do not usually re-marry until recently. Iyers marry within their sub-caste. People who marry outside of the Iyer sub-caste but within Brahmin caste are sometimes tolarated.

5.Iyers believe in the caste system. In recent years many Iyers have rejected the differences between the Brahmin sub-castes.

6.Iyers like to believe themselves to be honest and sincere, whatever may be their vocation. The one feature that is common among many Iyers, is their desire to lead simple and austere lives no matter how much they earn.

7.Iyers revere cows and protect them.

Iyers today

In addition to their earlier occupations, Iyers today have diversified into a variety of fields—their strengths particularly evident in the fields of mass media, science, mathematics and computer science. It is a minuscule percentage of Iyers who choose, in this era, to pursue the traditional vocation of priesthood, though nearly all Hindu Temple priests are Brahmins. Iyers have been active in the cultural field also. Music has always been integral to the Iyer community; Carnatic music forms an ancient classical tradition, and includes, apart from vocal music, instruments such as mridangam, naadaswaram, veena, ghatam, etc. Bharatanatyam has been ardently pursued by female members of the Iyer community from the time of its reinvention in early 20th century. These classical art forms, Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, enjoy public patronage during the Chennai cultural season in the months of December and January.

Iyers are an endogamous community, strictly following traditions in their private realm. However, in the public realm, they were very progressive. Though today the situation has changed a lot, the way of life of an Iyer retains a considerable amount of continuity with the past. The unique culture of the Iyers is easily identifiable and is sometimes open to parody, especially in movies and television today. It has been the general trend for such portrayals not to be met with stiff resistance from the Iyer community. One vivid image which is parody and truth at the same time is the picture of an Iyer priest complete in traditional dhoti, hair knot and sacred thread (poonool) riding a motorbike rushing to conduct a religious ritual.

Some notable Iyers in the Modern Era

Spiritual Leaders The list of Spiritual Leaders is large. It is sufficient to name some of the Great Teachers.

• Raghavan Iyer
• Paramacharya of Kanchi-Revered as divine Incarnation by billions of people.
• Ramana Maharishi was a sage who meditated in the forests of Arunachala.
• Sheshadri Swamigal was a great Siddha who lived in the forests of Arunachala.
• Swami Sivananda was a great yogi who lived in Rishikesh,in the foothills of Himalayas.
• Sri Sri Ravishankar is the founder of the Art of Living.
• Bharati Krishna Theerthaji was the Shankracharya of Puri.He also brought Vedic mathematics to the modern world.
• Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal is the present head of Kanchi mutt.

Scientists and Academicians

Not all names can be put here as there are many Iyers who have served as directors of National Institutes. If any important name is missing, the list may be updated to include the person.

• Sir CV Raman (Nobel laureate and physicist)
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Nobel laureate and physicist)
• G. N. Ramachandran (Biochemist who solved the three-dimensional x-ray diffraction structure of collagen, and whose "Ramachandran plot" describing the stearic freedom available to amino acids in proteins is described in nearly every basic Biochemistry text book)
• R.S. Krishnan Scientist Emeritus, Ex-Head of Physics. Dept. IISc, Ex-Vice Chancellor of Trivandrum University, a favorite protégé of Sir C.V.Raman & also has an effect to his name - Krishnan Effect
• Vilayanur Ramachandran Neuro Scientist, University of San Diego
• M S Swaminathan (b. 1925) has been called the father of the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture in the 1960s. As a result of his efforts, India became a net exporter of food by the mid 1970s. Swaminathan however has been Director General, International Rice Research Institute (Manila), and has received the Magsaysay Award (1971).
• S.R. Ranganathan Important figure in Library Science
• Raghavan Iyer Indian-born political philosopher and Hindu scholar.
• P.S.Lokanathan World Renowned Economist.
• Rajagopala Chidambaram Former Director of BARC.
• K.Kasturangan Former ISRO Chairman
• T N Ananthakrishnan Former Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta
• L.A.Ramadas Former Director of Meteriological department of Government of India
• Krishnaswami Alladi Chairman, Department of Mathematics, University of Florida
• U.V.Swaminatha Iyer Aka. "Tamil thatha U.ve.sa" Father of Tamil Revival movement
• Bharathi Tamil poet and Freedom fighter
• Kalki Krishnamurthy Tamil prose writer and Freedom fighter - founder of tamil weekly kalki.

Journalists and Writers

• Ulloor Parameswara Iyer Famous Malayalam poet
• "Kalki" B. Krishnamurthy Journalist and Novelist par excellence.
• V.V.S Iyer Tamil Scholar and Freedom Fighter.
• V S Srinivasa Sastri - Rt. Honourable Srinivasa Sastri was a freedom fighter, great orator and teacher
• Pico Iyer (noted author)
• R.K. Narayan (Indian author of great fame)
• R.K. Laxman (Indian cartoonist and humorist)
• Cho Ramaswamy Political analyst, editor of Tughlaq, and film actor.
• Malayattoor Ramakrishnan Malayalam novelist
• K. Subrahmanyam Indian journalist and strategic analyst

Advocates and Social Activists

• V.R. Krishna Iyer (Judicial expert and Justice, Supreme Court of India)
• Sir Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar One of the Founding fathers of Indian

Constitution.

• Sir T Mutthusami Iyer - Eminent Lawyer and Judge of Madras High Court in late

19th Century

• Sir Sundaram Iyer- Judge of the Madras High Court in late 19th Century
• Sir P Sivaswami Iyer - Advocate General of State of Madras from (1907 -1911).
• Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer - Advocate General of State of Madras in the 1920's
• Rajah Iyer- Former Advocate General of State of Madras
• Patanjali Sastri- Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India
• Govind Swaminathan- Eminent Lawyer and former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu
• VP Raman-Former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu and former Additional Solicitor

General of India

• G.Ramaswamy-Former Attorney General for India
• Viswanatha Sastri-Eminent lawyer of the Supreme Court of India
• Alladi Kuppusami-Former Chief Justice Andhra Pradesh High Court
• TL Venkatrama Iyer - Judge Supreme Court of India

Patriots and Freedom Fighters

• Satyamurthy Indian freedom fighter
• Subramanya Bharathi (Indian freedom fighter and noted Tamil poet and social reformer.)
• Kalki Sadasivam Freedom fighter and husband of M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Sports players

• Vishwanathan Anand (Chess grandmaster)
• Nirupama Vaidyanathan First Indian women to play a round in Grand Slam.
• Professor K.V.Iyer World famous body Builder.

Performers in Modern music and arts of the new age

• Hariharan Singer (Colonial Cousins)
• Vijay Iyer Jazz musician

Distinguised Civil Servants and other people in the Government

• T.N. Seshan 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India, a Palakkad Iyer
• R. Venkataraman 8th President of India (1987-1992); Vice-President of India (1984-1987)
• T.S.Krishnamurthy A former Chief Election Commissioner.
• K. Subrahmanyam Former Secretary (Defense Production), Home Secretary (Tamil Nadu) and Director (Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses).

Distinguished people in the Entertaintment Industry

• Mani Rathnam Famous Movie Director.
• K. Balachander Famous cinema director.
• G.V.Iyer Internationally renowned Director-Producer of Sanskrit movies like 'Adi Shankaracharya','Ramanujacharya','Bhagawat Gita'.
• Gemini Ganesan Famous Tamil Star
• Soundarya Famous Telugu actress (late)
• Arvind Swamy Actor cum entrepreneur.
• Shankar Mahadevan Well known film singer and Music Director
• Vidya Balan actress
• Padma Lakshmi actress and super model

Performers of Classical arts

• Rukmini Devi Arundale One who popularized Bharathanatyam
• Padma Subrahmanyam Renowned Bharathanatyam dancer.
• Vani Ganapathy

Carnatic musicians Since the mid-20th century, Carnatic music has been dominated by Iyers. As a result, below is only a selection of the most popular Carnatic musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries.

• vocalist Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar (1895 - 1974)
• vocalist Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
• composer/vocalist G N Balasubramaniam
• vocalist D.K.Pattammal
• violinist Dr.L.Subramaniam World renowned violinist
• vocalist Madurai Mani Iyer
• mridangist Palakkad Mani Iyer
• mridangist Palghat Raghu
• mridangist Umayalpuram Sivaraman
• mridangist Trichy Sankaran
• composer/vocalist Papanasam Sivan
• violinist T N Krishnan
• composer/violinist Lalgudi G Jayaraman
• vocalist K V Narayanaswamy
• composer/vocalist Maharajapuram Santhanam
• violinist M S Gopalakrishnan
• vocalist Sanjay Subrahmaniam
• vocalist Radha Ramji
• vocalist Sowmya

Other famous people

• Sir C.P.Ramswami Iyer the devan of Travancore.
• Subramanium Swamy, Famous politician
• Mani Shankar Aiyar, Politican and Central Minister
• Lakshmi Sehgal, a Presidential Canditate and former head of INA women command.
• K. Sudharshan, leader, R.S.S. (Sankethi).

External links

• http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/ is the website of the Advaita Vedanta research centre, and hosts articles and mailing-lists on the subject.
• http://www.kamakoti.org/ is the website of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, a religious establishment tracing its roots to Adi Sankara.
• http://www.sringeri.org/ is the website of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham.
• http://www.bharatavarsha.com/iyer.html is the home of the Iyer Heritage Site, an "information resource about the history, socio-anthropology, genetics and traditions of the Iyer community of Southern India"
• http://www.keralaiyers.com/
• http://www.sankethi.com/ (Information on Sankethis, a sub group of Iyers from Karnataka).
• http://www.tambram.bravehost.com/ is an online community for Tamil Brahmins.
• http://www.kuzhalmannamagraharam.info/ is a website of kuzhalmannam Agraharam, a typical kerala iyer palakkad gramam

• Brahmin Communities
• Caste
• Ethnic groups in Asia
• Indian surnames
• Tamil culture