Vadama meaning "Northerners" are a sub-sect of the
Iyer
Iyers (also spelt as Ayyar, Aiyar, Ayer, or Aiyer) are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Brahmin, Hindu Brahmins. Most Iyers are followers of the ''Advaita Vedanta, Advaita'' philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara and adhere to the ...
community of
Tamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...
s. While some believe that their name is an indication of the fact that they were the most recent
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
migrants to the
Tamil country others interpret the usage of the term "Vadama" as a reference to their strict adherence to the
Sanskrit language
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the lat ...
and Vedic rituals which are of northerly origin.
Etymology of the term
The term Vadama may have originated from the
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
term 'Vadakku' meaning North, indicating the Northern origin of the Vadama Brahmins. This claim is supported by the fact that, unlike other subsects of
Iyers
Iyers (also spelt as Ayyar, Aiyar, Ayer, or Aiyer) are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins. Most Iyers are followers of the ''Advaita'' philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara and adhere to the Smarta tradition. This is ...
, some Vadama pay oblations in their daily
Sandhyavandanam
Sandhyavandanam (Sanskrit: , ', lit. 'salutation to (Goddess) Twilight' or 'salutation during the twilight')
is a mandatory religious ritual centring around the recitation of the Gayatri mantra, traditionally supposed to be performed three times ...
to the river
Narmada in Central India. However, what is not certain is whether 'North' refers to northern Tamil Nadu/Southern Deccan, or regions farther north. Other scholars are of the opinion that rather than the superficial indication of a northern origin for the people, the term ''"vadama"'' would rather refer to proficiency in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
ritual, generally associated with the north prior to the first millennium A. D.
Sub-categories
Vadamas are further sub-divided into five categories
* Vadadesa Vadama (''Vadamas of the northern country'')
[ Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Pg 334]
* Choladesa Vadama(''Vadamas of the
Chola country'')
* Sabhaiyar(''member of the conference (Sabha))''
* Injee
[All About Hinduism](_blank)
/ref> and
* Thummagunta Dravida.
Intermarriage with other Iyer sects has been increasing in recent times, while earlier, most marriages were arranged only within the same subsect of Vadama. Such a degree of exclusion has become rather uncommon now. Exceptions did exist, such as the marriage of Kurratalwan's sons(Considered to be Vadama followers of Sri Vaishnavism), which took place outside the Vadama fold.
History
Some historians hold that all Brahmins who migrated to the far-south during and after the age of the Gupta Emperors, came to be classified as Vadama.
First millennium A.D.
There is a perception that some Kashmir-linked Vadama settled in Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...
between 750 and 800 AD. An interesting fact corroborating this migration may be had from the treatise called ''Natyashastra
The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates var ...
'' written by Bharata Muni, held by some to have been from Kashmir and by others to be from the south, formed the basis of the dance-form Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...
which is particularly associated with Tamil Nadu.[Art and Culture in Ancient Kashmir](_blank)
/ref> Art Historians such as Vasundhara Filliozat claim that there are inscriptional evidences to prove the continuous migration of teachers from Kashmir to South. Such scholars also state that some other South Indian Saivaite and Tantric traditions were also introduced by teachers from Kashmir.
It appears that the Sabhaiyar group of the Vadama, were present in the Chola Empire
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...
in the 9th century, since the grant of the "entire village of Chirri aiarru excluding the ''kani'' of Samgappadi-kilan was made to the temple of Mahadeva at Tirumalpperu as a tax-free ''devadana'' in the 21st year 92 A.D.
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
of the reign of Chola
The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...
Aditya I
Aditya I (Tamil: ஆதித்த சோழன்) (c. 870/71 – c. 907 CE), the son of Vijayalaya, was the Chola king who extended the Chola dominions by the conquest of the Pallavas and occupied the Western Ganga Kingdom.
Relations with ...
and the administration of the charity was entrusted to the ''sabhaiyar'' of Puduppakkam in Purisanadu".
Second millennium
14th and 15th centuries
Instability prevailed in Peninsular India in the aftermath of the defeat of the Yadava
The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Sat ...
s of Deogiri
Daulatabad Fort, also known as Devagiri Fort or Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadava dynasty (9th century–14th century CE), for a br ...
and Kakatiya
The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...
s of Warangal
Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an .
Warangal ser ...
in the early 14th century by the Tughlaq
The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...
s. In response to the Moslem irruptions the Kingdom of Vijayanagar
The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...
was founded in 1336, and came to be locked in an existential struggle with the Bahmani
The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan, Sultanate from 1347 to 1490, when the Moslem state broke up. This early period was marked by much strife, especially in the ''jihad
Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
s'' of Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah
Taj may refer to:
Buildings
*Taj Mahal, a medieval mausoleum in the Indian city of Agra
* Taj Palace, an Abbasid palace in medieval Baghdad
*Taj-ul-Masajid, mosque in Bhopal
* Taj building, Nowshera, Pakistan
* Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, in ...
(1397–1422) and his brother Ahmad Shah I Wali
Ahmed Shah Al Wali Bahamani was the ruler of the Bahmani Sultanate from 1 October 1422 to 17 April 1436, and was a great patron of arts and culture. (1422–1435), when thousands of Hindus, especially Brahmins, were enslaved and temples of the northern Deccan desecrated.['A History of South India from Pre-historic Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar', ]K. A. Nilakanta Sastri
Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri (12 August 1892 – 15 June 1975) was an Indian historian who wrote on South Indian history. Many of his books form the standard reference works on the subject. Sastri was acclaimed for his scholarship and ...
, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1975 The oppression was also felt in the eastern peninsula as far as the Gajapati Kingdom
The Gajapati Empire or the Suryavamsa (IAST: Sūryavaṃśa, "Solar dynasty") dynasty was a medieval dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, it originated in the region of Trikalinga (most of the present-day Odisha and North coastal Andhra) a ...
where, for instance in 1478, Muhammad Shah III Lashkari
Muhammad Shah III Lashkari or Shamsuddin Muhammad Shah III was the sultan of the Bahmani Sultanate from 1463 to 1482.
Ascension
Muhammad Shah III was 8 or 9 years old when he ascended the throne on 30 July 1463 on the death of his brother, Niza ...
(1463–1482) demolished the Great Temple of Kondavid
Kondaveedu Fort is a historically significant ancient hill fortress located in Kondaveedu, a village in the Chilakaluripet constituency of Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The site is located 16 miles west of the city of Guntur. Apart f ...
u and was acclaimed as a '' ghazi'', for personally decapitating all the Brahmins. Such excesses induced Brahmins to seek refuge in the realms of Vijayanagar, where many were appointed ''karnams
Karanam (also spelled as Karnam), is a title and surname native to Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Traditionally, Karanam or Karnam was a title used by people who maintained the accounts and records of the villages and used in collec ...
'' (bailiffs
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their o ...
) in preference to other castes, from the reign of Harihara I
Harihara I, also called Hakka and Vira Harihara I, was the founder of the Vijayanagara Empire, which he ruled from 1336 to 1356 CE. He and his successors formed the Sangama dynasty, the first of four dynasties to rule the empire. He was the eldes ...
(1336–1357) onward.
Early 16th century
After the division of the Bahmani
The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan, Sultanate in 1490, into the Sultanates of Bijapur
Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
, Golconda
Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparu ...
, Ahmadnagar
Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1 ...
and Berar Berar may refer to:
*Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra Province, India, historically known as Berar
*Berar Sultanate (1490–1596), one of the Deccan sultanates
*Berar Subah (1596–1724), a Subah of the Mughal Empire
*Berar Province (1724 ...
, the armies of Vijayanagar were successful in fending of invasions and restricting the Sultanates to Central India, especially in the reign of Krishnadeva Raya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...
(1509–1529), who also began the practice of appointing Brahmins commanders of strategically important forts.
16th and 17th centuries
Relative peace prevailed until the Battle of Talikota
The Battle of Talikota (23 January 1565) was a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and an alliance of the Deccan sultanates. The battle resulted in the defeat of Aliya Rama Raya which led to the eventual collapse of the poli ...
, in 1565, when Rama Raya
Rama Raya (died 23 January 1565 CE), known as "Aliya" (son-in-law in Kannada) was a statesman of the Vijayanagara Empire, the son-in-law of Emperor Krishna Deva Raya and the progenitor of the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire, the fourth and ...
of Vijayanagar was killed and the capital city razed to the ground. The land, in addition to being plundered by the combined armies of the Sultanates, came to be oppressed by renegade ''polygar
Palaiyakkarars, or Poligar, (as the British referred to them) in Tamil Nadu refers to the holder of a small kingdom as a feudatory to a greater sovereign. Under this system, ''palayam'' was given for valuable military services rendered by any in ...
s'' and bandits whose rise commenced with the destruction of the central power. The Mogul
Mogul may refer to:
History
*Mughal Empire, or any member of its ruling dynasty
Persons
* Magnate
** Mogul, Secret Service codename for President Trump
** Business magnate, a prominent person in a particular industry
**Media mogul, a person who ...
invasion of Peninsular India and the depredations of the Deccan by the Mahrattas under Shivaji
Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...
also began early in the 17th century.
A combination of these belligerent powers and the desolation they helped create appears to have made the relative peace offered in the far south of the country under the Hindu kings of Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
, Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
, Tanjore
Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
and Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
, far more desirable and induced many Hindus to migrate there. A fact supporting this idea, we have from English chroniclers in the 17th century, who state that their procurement of goods along the Western Concan
Concan is a small unincorporated community in Uvalde County, Texas, Uvalde County. It sits along the Frio River close to Garner State Park and is a popular destination for summer vacationers. It is known for excellent birdwatching in the spring ...
and Canara
Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka.
The region comprises three civil districts, ...
coasts, suffered severely after the Mogul invasions and the mass depopulation of the peninsula they caused.["A New Account of the East Indies", Captain Alexander Hamilton, published 1739, A. Bettesworth and C. Hitch, London] Another statement often encountered in their annals is that the economic growth of the factory at Fort St. George
Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...
, Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
was in a large measure attributable to the fact that many people chose to settle there to escape the chaotic conditions farther north. When we consider, in conjunction with these two facts, Fort St. George's position as a newly established, well-fortified and growing settlement in Aurangzeb's time, and therefore a secure refuge, a mass exodus southwards seems to have occurred in the period in question.
The relatives and family members of C. P. Ramaswami Iyer
Sir Chetput Pattabhiraman Ramaswami Iyer (12 November 1879 – 26 September 1966), popularly known as Sir C. P., was an Indian lawyer, administrator and politician who served as the Advocate-General of Madras Presidency from 1920 to 1923, Law m ...
, a Vadadesa Vadama, believed that they were descended from Brahmins of the Desh region of Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
and Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
who migrated to Chittoor
Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popul ...
district of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
from where they migrated to the northern part of Tamil Nadu in the 16th century where they were granted the village of Chetpet
Chetput is a major town and a municipality in Tiruvannamalai district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Chetput's major economical activity is processing paddy and the town is home to one of the largest organised paddy exchange market of the s ...
by a local chieftain.[ Sir C. P. Remembered, Pg 7]
17th century to the present
During the 19th century, the Vadamas along with other Tamil Brahmins
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...
made ample use of the opportunities provided by British rule to dominate the civil services, legislature and the judiciary in the Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
. Throughout the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century there was intense political rivalry between the Vadamas and the Brahacharanams for the domination of Brahmin villages called ''agraharams''.
Traditional occupation
They are held to have been the land-lords and head-men of the Brahmin villages called ''agraharams
An ''Agraharam'' or ''Agrahara'' was a grant of land and royal income from it, typically by a king or a noble family in India, for religious purposes, particularly to Brahmins to maintain temples in that land or a pilgrimage site and to susta ...
''.["Journal of the Andhra Historical Society", Andhra Historical Research Society, Rajahmundry, Madras Presidency, 1929] Sociologist Andre Beteille, in his thesis ''Caste, class, and power: changing patterns of stratification in a Tanjore village'', describes them as the biggest ''mirasidars
The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an Presidencies and provinces of British India, administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency in ...
'' among the Iyer community. They may also have organised the agraharams' defence in turbulent times for though there were not many who joined the army, they were not specifically forbidden to take to arms.
Many were great scholars and served in the courts of kings. Nilakanta Dikshitar was a minister to Thirumalai Nayak of Madurai.
In the 19th century, as with other Iyers
Iyers (also spelt as Ayyar, Aiyar, Ayer, or Aiyer) are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins. Most Iyers are followers of the ''Advaita'' philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara and adhere to the Smarta tradition. This is ...
, many of the Vadama joined, the judiciary of British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
as lawyers and judges, or served in the Indian Civil and Revenue Services
A revenue service, revenue agency or taxation authority is a government agency responsible for the intake of government revenue, including taxes and sometimes non-tax revenue. Depending on the jurisdiction, revenue services may be charged with t ...
. Many others continued in the service of the kings of the princely states of Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
, Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
, Pudukottai
Pudukkottai is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a large city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different times, by the mutharaiyar dynasty , Cholas, ...
, and Ramnad
Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) in ...
.
Religious practices
The Vadama traditionally claim to be superior to other classes of Iyers. One ritualistic difference from other Iyers, arises in their having to recite the following verse in honour of the River Narmada, and to ward of serpents, as part of their Sandhyavandanam
Sandhyavandanam (Sanskrit: , ', lit. 'salutation to (Goddess) Twilight' or 'salutation during the twilight')
is a mandatory religious ritual centring around the recitation of the Gayatri mantra, traditionally supposed to be performed three times ...
:
:''Narmadayai namah pratah Narmadayai namo nisi''
:''Namostu Narmade tubhyam pahi mam visa-sarpatah''
Also, in some parts of Kerala, as Nambudiri
The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Nampoothiri, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal el ...
Brahmacharis
''Brahmacharya'' (; sa, ब्रह्मचर्य ) is a concept within Indian religions that literally means to stay in conduct within one's own Self. In Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism it generally refers to a lifestyle charac ...
were not commonly found, a Brahmachari belonging to the Vadadesa Vadama was required to pour water into the hands of a Nambudiri sanyasi
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...
as part of the rituals connected with the latter's breakfast.
Vadamas have also significantly contributed towards popularizing and propagating the worship of Lord Shiva and Devi.[
][
]
Notables
Religion
*Appayya Dikshitar
Appayya Dikshita ( IAST ', often "Dikshitar"), 1520–1593 CE, was a performer of yajñas as well as an expositor and practitioner of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy but with a focus on Shiva or Shiva Advaita.
Life
Appayy ...
and nephew Neelakanta Deekshitar legendary scholars who re-established Advaita
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (lit ...
philosophy's predominance in the South belonged to the Vadadesa Vadama sect and migrated from places near Nasik
Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...
. They were especially patronised by the rulers of Vellore
Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separa ...
and Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
, Chinnabomma Nayak and Tirumalai Nayak, respectively.
*
* Sundara Swamigal, a Hindu religious exponent of the mid-19th century and philosophical mentor of the famed Carnatic musician Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer
Vaidyanatha Sivan (1844 - 1893) ( ta, மஹா வைத்யநாத சிவன்) was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music. He was a great exponent of extemporaneous singing. He also composed a ''ragamalika'' (garland of ragas - a s ...
*Swami Sivananda
Sivananda Saraswati (or Swami Sivananda; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963) was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He stu ...
of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, a direct descendant of Neelakanta Deekshitar
Politics
* Rama Ramanathan
Rama Ramanathan (born 1964) is an Indian politician from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam who served as a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for Kumbakonam from 1991 to 1996.He was a staunch loyalist of AIADMK Supremo J. ...
(b. 1964), Member of Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu, India (1991–1996).
Military
* Nilakanta Krishnan - Recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a third-level military decoration awarded to officers; and, since 1993, Naval rating, ratings and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the British Merchant Navy have been in ...
for his services to the Royal Indian Navy
The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India.
Fr ...
during the Second world war
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Commanded the aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
, in the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
: was also the Flag officer commanding for the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
during this war.
* Colonel Ramani Hariharan (b.1936) - Recipient of the Vishisht Seva Medal
The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces.
From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize excep ...
for his services to the Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
,Intelligence Corps. He's a veteran of the 1965 War
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...
, 1971 War
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...
and Indian Peace Keeping Force
Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lankan ...
* Colonel Arun Hariharan (b.1969) - A veteran from the Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
,Corps of Engineers, Bengal Sappers
The Bengal Engineer Group (BEG) (informally the Bengal Sappers or Bengal Engineers) is a military engineering regiment in the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The unit was originally part of the Bengal Army of the East India Company's Ben ...
, senior security and business continuity professional and published Author.
Arts
* Syama Sastri
Shyama Shastri (; 26 April 1762 – 1827) or Syama Sastri was a musician and composer of Carnatic music.
He was the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshitar being the other two.
Early life and career
Sh ...
, one of the doyens of Carnatic Music, a descendant of a group of Vadadesa Vadama who fled Conjeeveram in the wake of a Muslim attack.
* Ramaswamy Dikshitar (1735-1817?) and his son Muthuswamy Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical ...
, eminent Carnatic musicians
* Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharathi ( ta, கோபாலகிருஷ்ண பாரதி) (1810–1896) was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He composed the K''athakalakshepam'' ( ta, கதாகாலக்ஷேபம் ) Nandanar Chari ...
, his father Ramaswami Bharathi and grandfather Kothandarama Bharathi, a family of eminent Carnatic musicians
* F.G. Natesa Iyer (1880–1963), founder of Rasika Ranjana Sabha, Trichy, talent scout, officer of the South Indian Railway Company, pioneered modern Tamil drama, Tamil cinema actor, also elected Mayor of Trichy in the 1920s [Sruti issue number 330, March 2012, a monthly magazine for the performing arts, published since 1983, by SRUTI Foundation, Chennai]
Notes
References
* {{cite book, title=Sir C. P. Remembered, author=Shakunthala Jagannathan, isbn=81-87111-27-5, publisher=Vakils, Feffer and Simmons Ltd., year=1999, ref=Sir C. P. Remembered
Tamil Brahmins
Smarta tradition
Social groups of Tamil Nadu