Hinduism in Tamil Nadu

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ellalan
Total population63,188,168 (2011)[1]
87.58% of the Tamil Nadu PopulationRegions with significant populationsTamil Nadu
Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, TelanganaLanguagesTamilReligionHinduism
• Shaivism • Vaishnavism • Shaktism • Dravidian folk religion

Tamil Hindus as per 2011 Indian census is 63,188,168[2] which forms 87.58% of the total population of Tamil Nadu. Hinduism is the largest religion in Tamil Nadu
.

The religious history of Tamil Nadu is influenced by Hinduism quite notably during the medieval period. The twelve

Alvars (poet-saints of the Vaishnava tradition) and sixty-three Nayanars
(poet-saints of the Shaiva tradition) are regarded as exponents of the bhakti tradition of Hinduism in South India. Most of them came from the Tamil region and the last of them lived in the 9th century CE.

There are few worship forms and practices in Hinduism that are specific to Tamil Nadu due to the Bhakti movement spreading them across India. There are many mathas (monastic institutions) and temples based out of Tamil Nadu. In modern times, most of the temples are maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

History

Main article: History of Tamil Nadu

Ancient period

Main article:
Religion in ancient Tamil country
See also: Vaishnavism in Ancient Tamilakam

Murugan as the favoured god of the Tamils.[3] According to Kamil Zvelebil, Vishnu was considered ageless (The god who stays for ever) and the Supreme god of Tamils where as Skanda was considered young and a personal god of Tamils.[4][5]

Kanchi which is present even now, the lines 429 to 434 mention the town Thiruvekka
and mentions the god Vishnu sleeping in a reclining pose.
Nayanmars were born. These two groups promoted Vaishnavism and Shaivism which lead to the growth of Hinduism.[31]

S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar states that the lifetime of the Vaishnava Alvars was during the first half of the 12th century, their works flourishing about the time of the revival of Brahminism and Hinduism in the north, speculating that Vaishnavism might have penetrated to the south as early as about the first century CE. There also exists secular literature that ascribes the commencement of the tradition in the south to the 3rd century CE. U.V. Swaminathan Aiyar, a scholar of Tamil literature, published the ancient work of the Sangam period known as the Paripatal, which contains seven poems in praise of Vishnu, including references to Krishna and Balarama. Aiyangar references an invasion of the south by the Mauryas in some of the older poems of the Sangam, and indicated that the opposition that was set up and maintained persistently against northern conquest had possibly in it an element of religion, the south standing up for orthodox Brahmanism against the encroachment of Buddhism by the persuasive eloquence and persistent effort of the Buddhist emperor Ashoka. The Tamil literature of this period has references scattered all over to the colonies of Brahmans brought and settled down in the south, and the whole output of this archaic literature exhibits unmistakably considerable Brahman influence in the making up of that literature.[32]

Medieval period

Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam

The

Pallavas, which in turn caused the revival of the Cholas. The Cholas went on to becoming a great power. Their decline saw the brief resurgence of the Pandyas. This period was also that of the re-invigorated Hinduism during which temple building and religious literature were at their best.[33]

Pandyans
.

The

Vanchi Muthur in the west, (thought to be modern Karur
).

The

Tamil history and Hinduism in Tamil Nadu. They were expelled by the Pallavas and the Pandyas in the 6th century. During the Kalabhras' rule, Jainism
flourished in the land of the Tamils, and Hinduism was suppressed. Because the Kalabhras gave protection to Jains and perhaps Buddhists, too, some have concluded that they were anti-Hindu, although this latter view is disputed.

UNESCO World Heritage Site
.

During the 4th to 8th centuries CE, Tamil Nadu saw the rise of the Pallavas under

UNESCO World Heritage Site
.

The Pallavas were replaced by the Cholas as the dominant kingdom in the 10th century CE and they in turn were replaced by Pandyas in the 13th century CE with their capital as Madurai. Temples such as the Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai and Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli are the best examples of Pandyan temple architecture.[35]

Chola Empire

By the 9th century CE, during the times of the second Chola monarch

Rajendra Chola
, the Cholas rose as a notable power in south Asia.

Raja Raja Chola I
in 1010 CE

The Cholas excelled in building magnificent temples.

Annamalaiyar Temple located at the city of Tiruvannamalai
and the Chidambaram Temple in the heart of the temple town of Chidambaram. With the decline of the Cholas between 1230 and 1280 CE, the Pandyas rose to prominence once again, under
Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. This revival was short-lived as the Pandya capital of Madurai itself was sacked by Alauddin Khalji's troops under General Malik Kafur in 1316 CE.[37]

Vijayanagara and Nayak period (1336–1646)

Main article: Vijayanagara Empire

The Muslim invasions triggered the establishment of the Hindu

Nayaks of Thanjavur were most prominent of them all, in the 17th century. They reconstructed some of the oldest temples in the Tamil country, such as the Meenakshi Temple
.

Modern period

Rule of Nawabs, Nizams, and British (1692–1947)

See also:
Nawab of the Carnatic, Nizam of Hyderabad, and Kingdom of Mysore
Main article: Madras Presidency

In the early 18th century, the eastern parts of Tamil Nadu came under the dominions of the

Polygar wars, the East India Company consolidated most of southern India into the Madras Presidency coterminous with the dominions of Nizam of Hyderabad. Pudukkottai remained as a princely state
. The Hindu temples were kept intact during this period, and there is no notable destruction recorded.

Tamil Nadu in the Republic of India (1947–present)

When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became Madras State, comprising present day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, South Canara district Karnataka, and parts of Kerala. The state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines. In 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning Tamil country.

The Sripuram Golden Temple in Vellore, completed in 2007.

The total number of Tamil Hindus as per 2011 Indian census is 63,188,168 which forms 87.58% of the total population of Tamil Nadu.[39]

Hindus in Tamil Nadu (2001 census)[40]
Parameter Population
Total Population 54985079
Literates Population 35011056
Workers Population 25241725
Cultivators Population 4895487
Agricultural Workers Population 8243512
HH Industry Workers Population 1330857
Other Workers Population 10771869
Non-Workers Population 29743354

Saints

The twelve

Nayanars (saint poets of Shaiva tradition) are regarded as exponents of the bhakti tradition of Hinduism in South India.[41]
Most of them came from the Tamil region and the last of them lived in the 9th century CE. Composers of
Cauvery
.
Vaippu Sthalangal are a set of 276 places having Shiva temples that were mentioned casually in the songs in Tevaram.[42]
The child poet, Tirugnana Sambandar was involved in converting many people from
Divya Prabandha, a literary work praising god Vishnu
in 4000 verses.

The development of Hinduism grew up in the temples and mathas of medieval Tamil Nadu with self-conscious rejection of Jain practises.[43]

Monastic institutions

Vaishnava

Tirumangai Alvar also known as Parakalan. The head of this matha is the hereditary Acharya of the Mysore Royal Family. The Hayagriva idol worshipped here is said to be handed down from Vedanta Desika.[44]

Ahobila Matham (also called Ahobila Matam) is a Vadakalai Sri Vaishnava religious institution established 600 years ago at

Vadakalai Brahmin,[48] who was a great grand disciple of Vedanta Desikan[49][50] and a disciple of Brahmatantra Swatantra Jiyar of the Parakala matha,[51] founded and established the matha, based on the Pancharatra tradition.[52][53][54][55]
Since then a succession of forty-six ascetics known as Aḻagiya Singar have headed the monastic order.

Smartha

The Smartha ritualistic form of

Kaladi, and its history traces back to the fifth century BCE.[56] A related claim is that Adi Sankara came to Kanchipuram, and that he established the Kanchi matha named "Dakshina Moolamnaya Sarvagnya Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam" in a position of supremacy (Sarvagnya Peetha) over the other mathas of the subcontinent, before his death there. Other sources give the place of his death as Kedarnath in the Himalayas.[57][58]

Shaiva

Thanjavur District
.

Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India.[60] As of 1987, there were a total of 15 Shiva temples under the control of the adheenam.[61]

Dharmapuram Adheenam is a matha based in the town of Mayiladuthurai, India. As of 1987, there were a total of 27 Shiva temples under the control of the adheenam.[61]

Deities

Hinduism is a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning

henotheistic (i.e., involving devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of others), but any such term is an overgeneralisation.[66]

The major worship forms of

Parvathi in separate shrines.[67]

Perumal

Main articles: Perumal (deity) and Vishnu
See also: Vaishnavism in Ancient Tamilakam
Ulagalantha Perumal Temple
Narayana as supreme Lord

Perumal (Tamil: பெருமாள்), also rendered Thirumal, is a form of Vishnu worshipped in the Sri Vaishnava tradition. He is also venerated by the epithets of Narayana, Varadharaja, Rangaraja, Ranganatha, Kallalagar, Govindaraja, and several others in his temples scattered throughout the Tamil country. Originally venerated as the god of the forests, Perumal was assimilated with Vaishnavism, having earlier conceived been as either a pantheistic or a monotheistic divinity. Through the concept of bhakti, first introduced to the region by the Alvars, Vaishnavism became among the oldest faiths to influence the Tamil people.[68] The deity, and his consort Lakshmi, as well as her aspects of Sridevi, Bhudevi, and Niladevi, are primarily venerated, and are also represented as the Dashavatara in Perumal temples in Tamil Nadu. He is the deity who is primarily addressed in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, a compilation of works by the Alvar saints, whose philosophy and hymns were propagated in the works of Ramanuja, Manavala Mamunigal, and Vedanta Desikan.[69] The largest Hindu temple in India is dedicated to Perumal in his form of Ranganathaswamy, situated at Srirangam.[70] The Alvars influenced the establishment of the Divya Desams, 108 shrines of Perumal that were glorified in their works, which continue to be visited as major shrines of pilgrimage by Tamil Vaishnavas.[71]

Procession of the Tamil deity Perumal, identified with Vishnu

Number of poems echo the Hindu puranic legends about Parashurama, Rama, Krishna and others in the Akanaṉūṟu .[72][73] According to Alf Hiltebeitel – an Indian Religions and Sanskrit Epics scholar, the Akanaṉūṟu has the earliest known mentions of some stories such as "Krishna stealing sarees of Gopis" which is found later in north Indian literature, making it probable that some of the ideas from Tamil Hindu scholars inspired the Sanskrit scholars in the north and the Bhagavata Purana, or vice versa.[27] However the text Harivamsa which is complex, containing layers that go back to the 1st or 2nd centuries BCE, Consists the parts of Krishna Playing with Gopis and stealing sarees.

Tamil Sangam literature (200 BCE to 500 CE) mentions Mayon or the "dark one," as the supreme deity who creates, sustains, and destroys the universe and was worshipped in the mountains of Tamilakam. The verses of Paripadal describe the glory of Perumal in the most poetic of terms.

Narasimha

Sangam Literature and there are Several old Temples for him in Tamil Nadu. The Paripatal (Dated between 300 BCE to 300 CE) (Tamil: பரிபாடல், meaning the paripatal-metre anthology) is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the fifth of the Eight Anthologies (Ettutokai) in Sangam literature.[78] Kamil Zvelebil states that the hymns dedicated to Vishnu and Murugan has branded the Paripatal as a Sanskrit plagiat within the so-called Sangam texts.[79] This Paripadal has a Poem which Praises Vishnu who took the Narasimha
Avataram.

Legend of Narasimha according to Paripāṭal

O Lord with faultless red eyes! With
burning hatred in his heart and drying up the
sandal paste on his chest, Hiranyan the evil king
tortured his son Prahalathan for singing your
praises, inflicting on him great sorrow. The young
man was not disrespectful to his father who deserved
disrespect. You embraced Prahalathan’s fine chest
because of your love for him. You attacked and ruined
Hiranyan with great strength, leaping upon his
mountain-like chest as drums roared like thunder.
You tore him apart with your split claws and scattered
his flesh, along with broken pieces of pillar which you
split and came out, in your Narasimhan form.

Paripāṭal, poem 4, Verses 10 - 21[80]

Lord Rama

Main article: Ramayana in Tamil literature
Rama and Hanuman fighting Ravana, an album painting on paper from Tamil Nadu, ca 1820.

Sri Ramachandra also simply called Rama is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in Hinduism, especially Vaishnavism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being.[81] The earliest reference to the story of the Ramayana is found in the Sangam literature.

IlanCetCenni. The poem makes the analogy of a poet receiving royal gifts and that worn by the relatives of the poet as being unworthy for their status, to the event in the Ramayana, where Sita drops her jewels when abducted by Ravana and these jewels being picked up red-faced monkeys who delightfully wore the ornaments (Hart and Heifetz, 1999, pp. 219–220).[23][24]

Akanaṉūṟu, which is dated between 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE, has a reference to the Ramayana in poem 70. The poem places a triumphant Rama at Dhanushkodi, sitting under a Banyan tree, involved in some secret discussions, when the birds are chirping away.[25]

The

Poompuhar suffering the same agony as experienced by Ayodhya when Rama leaves for exile to the forest as instructed by his father (Dikshitar, 1939, p. 193). The Aycciyarkuravai section (canto 27), makes mention of the Lord who could measure the three worlds, going to the forest with his brother, waging a war against Lanka and destroying it with fire (Dikshitar, 1939, p. 237). This seems to imply on Rama being regarded as divinity, rather than a mere human. These references indicate that the author was well aware of the story of the Ramayana in the 2nd century AD.[83]

Idols of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman

Silappatikaram by the Buddhist poet Chithalai Chathanar, narrates the tale of Manimekalai, the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi, and her journey to become a Buddhist Bhikkuni. This epic also makes several references to the Ramayana, such as a setu (bridge) being built by monkeys in canto 5, line 37 (however the location is Kanyakumari rather than Dhanushkodi). In another reference, in canto 17, lines 9 to 16, the epic talks about Rama being the incarnate of Trivikrama or Netiyon, and he building the setu with the help of monkeys who hurled huge rocks into the ocean to build the bridge. Further, canto 18, lines 19 to 26, refers to the illegitimate love of Indra for Ahalya
the wife of Rishi Gautama(Pandian, 1931, p. 149)(Aiyangar, 1927, p. 28).[84][85][86]

Pillayar

Main article: Ganesha
The shrine of Ganesa inside a temple

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar (

Chalukyas.[89]
During the 7th century, Vatapi Ganapati idol was brought from Badami (Vatapi - Chalukya capital) by Paranjothi, the general of Pallavas who defeated Chalukyas.[90] In modern times, there are separate temples for Ganesha in Tamil Nadu.

Murugan

Main article: Kartikeya
Image of Skanda, the six faced God

Murugan (

Pattupattu) of the age of the third Sangam.[92] The cult of Skanda disappeared during the 6th century and was predominantly expanded during late 7th century Pallava period - Somaskanda sculptured panels of the Pallava period stand as a testament.[93]

Shiva

Main article: Shiva

Lingam

Decorated form of Shiva Lingam

The Lingam is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in Hindu temple.[94] The lingam is the principal deity in most Shiva temples in South India. The propagation of linga worship on a large scale in South India is believed to be from Chola times (late 7th century CE), through

Rig veda, the oldest literature details about worshipping Shiva in the form of linga.[95] Pallavas propagated Somaskanda as the principal form of worship, slightly deviating from the Shaiva agamas; Cholas being strict shaivas, established lingams in all the temples.[96]

Lingothbhavar

Lingothbhava or emergence of Linga

Lingothbhavar or emergence of linga, found in Shiva Purana as a symbol of Shiva, augments the synthesis of the old cults of pillar and phallic worship.[97] The idea emerged from deity residing in a pillar and later visualised as Shiva emerging from the lingam[98] The lingothbhavar image can be found in the first precinct around the sanctum in the wall exactly behind the image of Shiva. Appar, one of the early Shaiva saint of the 7th century, gives evidence of this knowledge of puranic episodes relating to Lingothbhavar form of Shiva while Tirugnana Sambandar refers this form of Shiva as the nature of light that could not be comprehended by Brahma and Vishnu.[99]

Nataraja

Shiva Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance

Chidambaram.[103]

Dakshinamurthy

Main article:
Dakshinamurthy
Dakshinamurthy

Dakshinamurthy or Jnana Dakshinamurti (Tamil: தட்சிணாமூர்த்தி, IAST:Dakṣiṇāmūrti)

shastras (vedic texts) to his disciples.[106]

Somaskandar

Image of Somaskandar - Shiva accompanied by Skanda the child and Parvathi

Somaskanda derives from Sa (Shiva) with Uma (Parvathi) and Skanda (child Murugan).[107] It is the form of Shiva where he is accompanied by Skanda the child and Paravati his consort[108] in sitting posture. Though it is a Sanskrit name, it is a Tamil concept and Somaskandas are not found in North Indian temples.[109] In the Tiruvarur Thygarajar Temple, the principal deity is Somaskanda under the name of Thyagaraja.[108] All temples in the Thygaraja cult have images of Somaskandar as Thyagarajar - though iconographically similar, they are iconologically different. Architecturally when there are separate shrines dedicated to the utsava(festival deity) of Somaskanda, they are called Thyagaraja shrines.[110] Unlike Nataraja, which is a Chola development, Somaskanda was prominent even during the Pallava period much earlier to Cholas.[111] References to the evolution of the Somaskanda concept are found from Pallava period from the 7th century CE in carved rear stone walls of Pallava temple sanctums.[112] Somaskanda was the principal deity during Pallava period replacing lingam, including the temples at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO world heritage site. But the cult was not popular and Somaskanda images were relegated to subshrines.[113] Sangam literature does not mention Somaskanda and references in literature are found in the 7th-century Tevaram.[112]

Bhairavar

Bhairava is one of the eight forms of Shiva, and translation of the adjectival form as "terrible" or "frightful". Bhairava is known as Vairavar in Tamil where he is often presented as a Grama Devata or folk deity who safeguards the devotee on all eight directions. In Chola times Bhairava is referred as Bikshadanar, a mendicant, and the image can be found in most Chola temples.[114]

Dravidian folk religion

Ayyanar idols near Gobi
Main article:
Village deities of Tamil Nadu

These deities are primarily worshipped by agrarian communities. Unlike the Vedic traditions, these deities generally do not abide in temples, but in shrines in the open. These gods are primarily worshipped through festivals throughout the year, during important occasions like harvest or sowing time. To propitiate these gods, the villagers make sacrifices of meat (usually goats) and arrack, which is then shared among all the village. In addition, the mantras are not restricted to Sanskrit and are performed in Tamil. Worship of these deities is oftentimes seen as the modern continuation of the Dravidian folk religion followed before the Indo-Aryan migration into Indian subcontinent. Similar practices exist among the Kannada and Telugu non-Brahmin castes and Dravidian tribes of Central India.

Caste

A steeply classified class structure existed in Tamil Nadu from around 2000 years because of the correlation in the form of cultivation, population and centralization of political system. These classes in turn are grouped into social groups especially in rural areas. The shape of class system in rural Tamil Nadu has changed dramatically because of land reform acts like '

Buddhism and 837 in Sikhism, leaving the remaining 1,18,55,827 in Hinduism.[121] The literacy rate (who can read, write and understand) among these stands at 63.2% which is lower than the 73.5% state level literacy rate.[121]

Self-Respect Movement

The

social democratic orientation.[128]

Caste-based political parties

Caste based political parties were not successful during the 1960s to late 80s when the

1999 Loksabha elections.[129] After 1931, caste based census was not performed and hence the census data is not available for other castes.[130]

See also

References

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Citations

External links

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