Hinduism in Kerala

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Keralite Hindus
കേരളീയ ഹിന്ദുക്കൾ
keraleeya hindukkal
2011)
54.9% of total populationDecrease
Religions
Hinduism
Languages
Sacred
Sanskrit
Others
Related ethnic groups
Keralite Muslims and Keralite Christians

2011 census
.

Background

Hindus represent the biggest religious group in all districts except Malappuram.[2]

The legends regarding the origin of Kerala are Hindu in nature. Kerala produced several saints and movements.

Jyotirmath. Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri was another religious figure who composed Narayaniyam, a collection of verses in praise of the Hindu God Krishna
.

Various practises of Hinduism are unique to Kerala. Worship of

Bhagavathi as a form of Shakti. Almost every village in Kerala has a Bhagavati Goddess. Hindus in Kerala also strongly believe in power of snake gods and usually have sacred snake groves known as Sarpa Kavu
near to their houses.

Malayali Hindus have ceremonies such as Chorunu (first feeding of rice to a child) and Vidyāraṃbhaṃ
.

Demographics

Hindu population by district

Districts Population(
2001
)
Population(
2011
)
Hindu Population(
2011
)
Hindus %
Kasargod
1,203,342 1,307,375 729,908 55.83%
Kannur 2,412,365 2,523,003 1,509,513 59.83%
Wayanad 786,627 817,420 404,460 49.48%
Kozhikode 2,878,498 3,086,293 1,734,806 56.21%
Malappuram 3,629,640 4,112,920 1,135,166 27.60%
Palakkad 2,617,072 2,809,934 1,875,912 66.76%
Thrissur 2,975,440 3,121,200 1,823,405 58.42%
Ernakulam 3,098,378 3,282,388 1,509,570 45.99%
Idukki 1,128,605 1,093,156 541,845 48.86%
Kottayam 1,952,901 1,974,551 983,524 49.81%
Alappuzha 2,105,349 2,127,789 1,460,515 68.64%
Pathanamthitta 1,231,577 1,197,412 681,687 56.93%
Kollam 2,584,118 2,635,375 1,697,709 64.42%
Thiruvananthapuram 3,234,707 3,301,427 2,209,975 66.94%
Total 31,841,374 33,406,061 18,282,492 54.9%
Source:[3]

Historical growth

Religious Demographics of Kerala (1901–2011)[4][5]
Census

Year

Hindus Decadal rate (%)
1901 8,978,305 68.5% N/A
1911 4,762,393 66.8% -8.77
1921 5,052,039 64.9% -6.08
1931 6,021,982 63.4% -19.20
1941 6,699,600 61.8% -11.25
1951 8,344,351 61.6% -24.55
1961 10,282,568 60.9% -23.23
1971 12,683,277 59.4% -23.35
1981 14,901,347 58.2% -16.70
1991 16,668,587 57.3% -12.62
2001 17,920,105 56.3% -7.51
2011 18,282,492 54.9% -2.02

Hindu temples

Some of the most notable temples are:

Saints

Adi Shankara, the originator of Advaita Vedanta, was born in

Parayas of Kerala claim descent from Vasishtha.[6] There is a shrine in Kollengode in memory of a lower-caste saint, Paakkanar.[7] The theatrical dance of Rapayan Tullal is narrated by a descendant of Pakkanar.[8] The Periya Puranam, possibly written by a Paraya, describes the Parayas.[9]

Narayana Guru at the age of sixty.

Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi is popularly regarded as the father of contemporary Hindu renaissance in Kerala for the victorious movements he led for temple rights and the establishment of

Sanatana Dharma since Swami Vivekananda internationally. Sree Narayana Jayanti (Narayana Guru's birthday) and Sree Narayana Samadhi Day (the occasion of his samadhi
) are public holidays in Kerala.

Hindu Dharma in the World Parliament of Religions in September 1991.[10] Bhagawan Nityananda
was another important Hindu saint widely recognized.

Several Hindu movements important to

Hindu history took place in Kerala.[11] The Karppillikkavu Sree Mahadeva Temple, (one of the most ancient in India) dedicated to the Kirata Avatar of Lord Shiva
still exists in Kerala.

Religious education

See also

References

  1. ^ "Population by religious communities". Census of India. Government of India. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Increase in Muslim population in the State". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 23 September 2004. Archived from the original on 28 November 2004. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Vital Statistics Reports". Government of Kerala, Vital Statistics Division Department of Economics & Statistics Thiruvananthapuram. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  4. ^ Raghunath, Arjun (16 March 2016). "Kerala: Muslims will be double the number of Christians by 2051". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Kerala population Demographics" (PDF). Bitscan. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  6. ^ Dr. C. I. Issac, "The Origin of Syrian Christians of Keralam"
  7. ^ P. 94-5Tourist Guide to Kerala: The Land of Lavish Lagoons By V. Subburaj, Various
  8. ^ (Kr̥ṣṇavāriyar, P. 193 A History of Malayalam Metre)
  9. ^ Vishwakarma (Mahaprabhu.) (2000). Prachin Vishwakarma puran (in Gujarati). Harihar.
  10. ^ "Devotees flock to hug Indian guru" (BBC)
  11. ^ "Sri Vaishnava Divya Desam Shrines in Kerala". www.templenet.com. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Nambudiri, Sudha (11 June 2022). "Idolatry is a discipline". Times of India. Retrieved 26 July 2022.

External links