1. Pathinettu Gramaththu (eighteen villages).
2. Udayalur.
3. Nannilam.
4. Rathamangalam. According to some, this is not a separate
section, but comes under the eighteen village section.
(e) Ashtasahasram (eight thousand).--This class is considered to be
inferior to the Brahacharnams and Vadamas. The members thereof are,
like the Brahacharnams, more Saivite than the Vadamas. The females are
said to wear their cloth very elegantly, and with the lower border
reaching so low as to cover the ankles. The sub-divisions of the
Ashtasahasrams are:--
1. Aththiyur.
2. Arivarpade.
3. Nandivadi.
4. Shatkulam (six families).
As their numbers are few, though the sub-divisions are endogamous,
intermarriage is not entirely prohibited.
(f) Dikshitar.--Another name for this section is Thillai Muvayiravar,
i.e., the three thousand of Thillai (now Chidambaram). There is a
tradition that three thousand people started from Benares, and, when
they reached Chidambaram, they were one short. This confused them,
but they were pacified when Siva explained that he was the missing
individual. The Dikshitars form a limited community of only several
hundred families. The men, like Nayars and Nambutiri Brahmans of
the west coast, wear the hair tuft on the front of the head. They
do not give their girls in marriage to other sections of Brahmans,
and they do not allow their women to leave Chidambaram. Hence arises
the proverb "A Thillai girl never crosses the boundary line." The
Dikshitars are priests of the temple of Nataraja at Chidambaram,
whereat they serve by turns. Males marry very early in life, and
it is very difficult to secure a girl for marriage above the age of
five. The tendency to marry when very young is due to the fact that
only married persons have a voice in the management of the affairs of
the temple, and an individual must be married before he can get a share
of the temple income. The chief sources of income are the pavadam and
kattalai (heaps of cooked rice piled up or spread on a board), which
are offered to the god. Every Dikshitar will do his best to secure
clients, of whom the best are Nattukottai Chettis. The clients are
housed and looked after by the Dikshitars. Concerning the Dikshitars,
Mr. W. Francis writes as follows [170]:--"An interesting feature about
the Chidambaram temple is its system of management. It has no landed
or other endowments, nor any tasdik allowance, and is the property
of a class of Brahmans peculiar to the town, who are held in far more
respect than the generality of the temple-priest Brahmans, are called
Dikshitars (those who make oblations), marry only among themselves,
and in appearance somewhat resemble the Nayars or Tiyans of Malabar,
bringing their topknot round to the front of their foreheads. Their
ritual in the temple more resembles that of a domestic worship than
the forms commonly followed in other large shrines. Theoretically,
all the married males of the Dikshitars have a voice in the management
of the temple, and a share in its perquisites; and at present there
are some 250 of such shares. They go round the southern districts
soliciting alms and offerings for themselves. Each one has his own
particular clientèle, and, in return for the alms received, he makes,
on his return, offerings at the shrine in the name of his benefactors,
and sends them now and again some holy ashes, or an invitation to a
festival. Twenty of the Dikshitars are always on duty in the temple,
all the males of the community (except boys and widowers) doing the
work by turns lasting twenty days each, until each one has been the
round of all the different shrines. The twenty divide themselves into
five parties of four each, each of which is on duty for four days at
one of the five shrines at which daily puja is made, sleeps there at
night, and becomes the owner of the routine offerings of food made at
it. Large presents of food made to the temple as a whole are divided
among all the Dikshitars. The right to the other oblations is sold by
auction every twenty days to one of the Dikshitars at a meeting of the
community. These periodical meetings take place in the Deva Sabha. A
lamp from Nataraja's shrine is brought, and placed there by a Pandaram,
and (to avoid even the appearance of any deviation from the principle
of the absolute equality of all Dikshitars in the management of the
temple) this man acts as president of the meeting, and proposals are
made impersonally through him." As a class the Dikshitars are haughty,
and refuse to acknowledge any of the Sankarachariars as their priests,
because they are almost equal to the god Siva, who is one of them. If
a Sankarachariar comes to the temple, he is not allowed to take sacred
ashes direct from the cup, as is done at other temples to show respect
to the Sanyasi. The Dikshitars are mostly Yejur Vedis, though a few
are followers of the Rig Veda. When a girl attains puberty, she goes
in procession, after the purificatory bath, to every Dikshitar's house,
and receives presents.
(g) Sholiar.--The Sholiars are divided into the following sections:--
(1) Thirukattiur.
(2) Madalur.
(3) Visalur.
(4) Puthalur.
(5) Senganur.
(6) Avadayar Kovil.
Concerning the Sholiars, Mr. C. Ramachendrier writes as follows
[171]:--"The Sholiars of Thiruvanakaval (in the Tanjore district)
belong to the first sub-division, and they form a separate community,
devoting their time to service in the temple. Those who make puja to
the idol are Pradhamasakis, and are called Archakas. Those who serve as
cooks, and attend to other inferior services, are called Arya Nambi,
and those who decorate the idols taken in procession on festive
occasions are termed Therunabuttan. Archakas alone are entitled to
decorate stone images in the chief shrines of the temple, and they
are also called Pandits. According to custom, Sholia Brahmans should
wear front locks, but some of them have adopted the custom of other
Brahmans, while the orthodox section of the community, and the Archakas
of Thiruvanakaval, speak a very low Tamil with a peculiar intonation,
and they do not send their children to English schools. Young boys are
trained by their parents in the temple service, which entitles them,
even when young, to some emoluments. There are amongst them none who
have received either Sanskrit or Tamil education. The Archakas perform
pujas by turn, and, as the Archakaship is to be conferred at a certain
age by anointment by a guru, infant marriage does not obtain among
them to such an extent as among the Dikshitars of Chidambaram. They
eat with the other Smartha Brahmans, but do not intermarry. They
count about 300 in number, including women and children. There is no
intermarriage between them and the other Sholia Brahmans. Those of
Avadayarcovil are also engaged in the service of the temple of that
name. Sholiars of other classes are to be found in Vasishtakudy in the
taluk of Vriddachallam, Vemmaniathur in the taluk of Villupuram, and
Visalur in the taluk of Kumbaconam." In an article on the Sholiars,
[172] it is recorded that "they are a very intelligent people,
and at the same time very vindictive if disturbed. Chanakya, the
Indian Machiavelli and the Minister of Chandragupta, is supposed
to have belonged to this caste. His hatred of the Nanda family,
and the way in which he uprooted each and every member of that race,
has been depicted in the famous Sanskrit drama Mudrarakshasa, which
belongs to the 7th century A.D. Whether on account of his character,
and under the belief that he originated from this caste, or for some
reason which is unaccountable, the Soliyas of modern days are held as
very vindictive people, as the following proverb will show:--'We do
not want to meet with a Soliya even in a picture.'" Another proverb is
to the effect that "the kudumi (hair tuft) on the head of a Sholiar
does not shake without sufficient reason," i.e., it is a sign that
he is bent upon doing some mischief.
(h) Mukkani.--The Mukkanis are Smarthas confined to the Cochin and
Travancore States.
(i) Kaniyalar.--Concerning the Kaniyalars, Mr. Ramachendrier writes
as follows:--"Kanialars form a separate class of Smartha Brahmins,
and they live in the district of Tinnevelly and some parts of
Trichinopoly. They do not intermarry with any other class of Smartha
Brahmins, but eat with them. A large number of them, though Smarthas by
birth, wear a mark on their forehead like Vyshnava Brahmins, and serve
as cooks and menial servants in the big temple at Srirangam. Their
women adopt the Vyshnava women's style of wearing cloths, and to all
appearance they would pass for Vyshnava women. The Vyshnava Brahmins
would not allow them to mess in their houses, though they treat rice
and cakes prepared by them in temples and offered to god as pure and
holy, and partake of them."
(j) Sankethi.--The Sankethis are confined to the Mysore Province. They
speak a very corrupt form of Tamil, mixed with Canarese. The following
account of them is given in the Mysore Census Report, 1891. "They
are found chiefly in the Mysore and Hassan districts. Their colonies
are also found in Kadur and Shimoga. Their number seems to have been
somewhat understated; many of them have probably returned themselves as
Dravidas. So far as language is an indication of race, the Sanketis are
Tamilians, although their dialect is more diluted with Kanarese than
that of any other Kannada ridden Tamil body. Theirs seems to have been
among the earliest immigrations into Mysore from the neighbouring
Tamil country. It is said that some 700 years ago, about 1,000
families of Smartha Brahmans emigrated from the vicinity of Kanchi
(Conjeeveram), induced doubtless by contemporary politics. They set
out in two batches towards Mysore. They were attacked by robbers on
the road, but the larger party of about 700 families persevered in
the march notwithstanding, and settled near the village of Kausika
near Hassan, whence they are distinguished as Kausika Sanketis. Some
twelve years afterwards, the other party of 300 families found a
resting place at Bettadapura in the Hunsur taluk. This branch has
been called Bettadapura Sanketi. Their religious and social customs
are the same. The Kausika Sanketis occasionally take wives from the
Bettadapura section, but, when the married girl joins her husband,
her connection with her parents and relatives ceases altogether
even in regard to meals. During the Coorg disturbances about the end
of the last (eighteenth) century, many young women of the Sanketis
were captured by the Kodagas (Coorgs), and some of the captives were
subsequently recovered. Their descendants are to this day known as
Sanketis of the West, or Hiriangalas. But they, and another sub-class
called Patnagere Sanketis, do not in all exceed twenty families. The
Sanketis are proverbially a hardy, intensely conservative and
industrious Brahman community. They are referred to as models for
simultaneously securing the twofold object of preserving the study
of the Vedas, while securing a worldly competence by cultivating
their gardens; and, short of actually ploughing the land, they are
pre-eminently the only fraction of the Brahman brotherhood who turn
their hands to the best advantage."
(k) Prathamasaki.--These follow the white Yajur Veda, and are
hence called Sukla Yejur Vedis. The white Yajus forms the first
fifteen sakas of the Yejur Veda, and this is in consequence
sometimes called Prathamasaka. The Prathamasakis are sometimes
called Katyayana (followers of Katyayana Sutram), Vajusaneya,
and Madyandanas. The two last names occur among their Pravara and
Gotra Rishis. The Prathamasakis are found among all the linguistic
sections. Among Smarthas, Andhras, and Vaishnavas, they are regarded
as inferior. Carnataka Prathamasakis are, on the other hand, not
considered inferior by the other sections of Carnatakas. In the
Tanjore district, the Prathamasakis are said to be known as Madyana
Paraiyans. The following quaint legend is recorded in the Gazetteer
of that district:--"The god of the Tiruvalur temple was entreated by
a pujari of this place (Koiltirumulam) to be present in the village
at a sacrifice in his (the god's) honour. The deity consented at
length, but gave warning that he would come in a very unwelcome
shape. He appeared as a Paraiyan (Pariah) with beef on his back, and
followed by the four Vedas in the form of dogs, and took his part in
the sacrifice thus accoutred and attended. All the Brahmans who were
present ran away, and the god was so incensed that he condemned them
to be Paraiyans for one hour in the day, from noon till 1 P.M., ever
afterwards. There is a class of Brahmans called mid-day Paraiyans,
who are found in several districts, and a colony of whom reside at
Sedanipuram five miles from Nannilam. It is believed throughout the
Tanjore district that the mid-day Paraiyans are the descendants of the
Brahmans thus cursed by the god. They are supposed to expiate their
defilement by staying outside their houses for an hour and a half
every day at mid-day, and to bathe afterwards; and, if they do this,
they are much respected. Few of them, however, observe this rule, and
orthodox persons will not eat with them, because of their omission to
remove the defilement. They call themselves the Prathamasaka." Several
versions of stories accounting for their pollution are extant, and
the following is a version given by Mr. Ramachendrier. "Yagnavalkiar,
who was the chief disciple of Vysampayanar, having returned with his
students from pilgrimage, represented to his priest that Yajur Veda was
unrivalled, and that he and his students alone were qualified for its
propagation. Vysampayanar, feeling provoked by this assertion, which,
he remarked, implied insult to Brahmans, proposed certain penance for
the offence. Yagnavalkiar replied that he and his students had done
many good deeds and performed many religious rites, and that they
were still to do such, and that the insult imputed to them was worthy
of little notice. Vysampayanar required Yagnavalkiar to give back
the Vedas which he had taught him, which he threw out at once. The
matter thrown out having been like cinders, Vysampayanar's disciples
then present, assuming the shape of thithiri birds (fire-eating
birds), swallowed them, and hence the Veda is called Thithiriya Saka
and Ktishna Yajus. Soon after, Yagnavalkiar, without his priest's
knowledge, went to the Sun, and, offering prayers, entreated him to
teach him Vedas. The Sun, thereupon taking the shape of a horse, taught
him the Yajur Veda, which now forms the first fifteen sakas, and he
in turn taught it to his disciples Kanvar, Madhyandanar, Katyayanar,
and Vajasaneyar. It is to be gathered from Varaha Puranam that
Vysampayanar pronounced a curse that the Rig Veda taught by the Sun
should be considered degraded, and that the Brahmans reading it should
become Chandalas (outcastes)." Another version of the legend runs as
follows. Vaisampayanar used to visit the king almost every day, and
bless him by giving akshatha or sacred rice. One day, as Vaisampayanar
could not go, he gave the rice grains to his disciple Yagnavalkiar,
and told him to take them to the king. Accordingly, Yagnavalkiar went
to the king's palace, and found the throne empty. Being impatient by
nature, he left the rice grains on the throne, and returned to his
priest. The king, when he returned home, found his throne changed into
gold, and certain plants were growing round his seat. On enquiry,
he discovered that this marvellous effect was due to the sacred
akshatha. He sent word to Vaisampayanar to send the rice grains by
his disciple who had brought them. Yagnavalkiar refused, and was
told to vomit the Vedas. Readily he vomited, and, going to the Sun,
learnt the Veda from him. As the Sun is always in motion sitting in
his car, the Vedas could not be learnt without mistakes and peculiar
sounds. When he came to his Guru Vaisampayanar, Yagnavalkiar was
cursed to become a Chandala. The curse was subsequently modified,
as the Sun interceded on behalf of Yagnavalkiar.
(l) Gurukkal.--The Gurukkals are all followers of the Bodhayana
Sutras. They are temple priests, and other Brahmans regard them as
inferior, and will not eat with them. Even in temples, the Gurukkals
sprinkle water over the food when it is offered to the god, but do
not touch the food. They may not live in the same quarters with other
Brahmans. No agraharam (Brahman quarter) will ever contain a Gurukkal's
house. There should, strictly speaking, be at least a lane separating
the houses of the Gurukkals from those of other Brahmans. This is,
however, not rigidly observed at the present day. For example, at
Shiyali, Gurukkals and other Brahmans live in the same street. There
are among the Gurukkals the following sub-divisions:--
1. Tiruvalangad.
2. Conjeeveram.
3. Tirukkazhukunram.
The Tiruvalangad Gurukkals mark their bodies with vibhuti (sacred
ashes) in sixteen places, viz., head, face, neck, chest, navel,
knees, two sides of the abdomen, back and hands (three places on each
hand). The other two sub-divisions mark themselves in eight places,
viz., head, face, neck, chest, knees and hands. Gurukkals who wish
to become priests have to go through several stages of initiation
called Dikshai (see Pandaram). Gurukkals are Saivites to a greater
extent than the Smarthas, and do not regard themselves as disciples of
Sankaracharya. Those who are orthodox, and are temple priests, should
not see the corpses of Pandarams and other non-Brahman castes. The
sight of such a corpse is supposed to heap sin on them, and pollute
them, so that they are unfit for temple worship.
II. Vaishnava.--The Vaishnavas, or Sri Vaishnavas, as they are
sometimes called to distinguish them from the Madhvas, who are also
called Vaishnavas, are all converts from Smarthas, though they
profess to constitute a distinct section. Some are converts from
Telugu Smarthas, and are called Andhra Vaishnavas. These do not
mix with other Tamil-speaking Vaishnavas, and retain some of the
Telugu customs. There are two distinct groups of Sri Vaishnavas--the
Vadagalais (northerners) and Thengalais (southerners), who are easily
distinguished by the marks on their foreheads. The Vadagalais put
on a U-shaped mark, and the Thengalais a Y-shaped mark. The white
mark is made with a kind of kaolin called tiruman, and turmeric
rendered red by means of alkali is used for the central streak. The
turmeric, as applied by the more orthodox, is of a yellow instead of
red colour. Orthodox Sri Vaishnavas are very exclusive, and hold that
they co-existed as a separate caste of Brahmans with the Smarthas. But
it was only after Ramanuja's teaching that the Vaishnavas seceded
from the Smarthas, and the ranks were swollen by frequent additions
from amongst the Vadamas. There are some families of Vaishnavas which
observe pollution when there is a death in certain Smartha families,
which belong to the same gotra. Vaishnavas of some places, e.g.,
Valavanur, Savalai, and Perangiyur, in the South Arcot district,
are considered low by the orthodox sections of Vaishnavas, because
they are recent converts to Vaishnavism. A good example of Smarthas
becoming Vaishnavas is afforded by the Thummagunta Dravidas, some
of whom have become Vaishnavas, but still take girls in marriage
from Smartha families, but do not give their daughters in marriage
to Smarthas. All Vaishnavas are expected to undergo a ceremony of
initiation into Vaishnavism after the Upanayanam ceremony. At the
time of initiation, they are branded with the marks of the chakram
and sankha (chank) on the right and left shoulders respectively. The
Vaikhanasas and Pancharatras regard the branding as unnecessary. The
ceremony of initiation (samasrayanam) is usually performed by the
head of a mutt. Sometimes, however, it is carried out by an elderly
member of the family of the candidate. Such families go by the name
of Swayam Acharya Purushas (those who have their own men as Acharyas).
For Vadagalais there are two mutts. Of these, the Ahobila mutt was
formerly at Tiruvallur, but its head-quarters has been transferred
to Narasimhapuram near Kumbakonam. The Parakalaswami mutt is in the
Mysore Province. For Thengalais there are three mutts, at Vanamamalai
and Sriperumbudur in Chingleput, and Tirukoilur in South Arcot. These
are called respectively the Tothadri, Ethirajajhir, and Emberumanar
mutts. There are various points of difference between Vadagalais and
Thengalais, which sometimes lead to bitter quarrels in connection with
temple worship. During the procession of the god at temple festivals,
both Vadagalais and Thengalais go before and after the god, repeating
Sanskrit Vedas and Tamil Prapandhams respectively. Before commencing
these, certain slokas are recited, in one of which the Vadagalais use
the expression Ramanuja daya patram, and the Thengalais the expression
Srisailesa daya patram, and a quarrel ensues in consequence. The main
differences between the two sections are summarised as follows in
the Mysore Census Report, 1891:--"The tenets which form the bone of
contention between the Tengales and Vadagales are stated to number 18,
and seem to cluster round a few cardinal items of controversy:--
1. Whether Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, is (Vibhu) co-omnipresent
and co-illimitable with Vishnu;
2. Whether Lakshmi is only the mediatrix for, or the co-bestower of
moksham or final beatitude;
3. Whether there is any graduated moksham attainable by the good and
blessed, according to their multifarious merits;
4. Whether prapatti, or unconditional surrender of the soul to god,
should be performed once for all, or after every act of spiritual
rebellion;
5. Whether it (prapatti) is open to all, or is prescribed only for
those specially prepared and apprenticed;
6. Whether the indivisibly atomic human soul is entered into, and
permeated or not by the omnipresent creator;