Ashtasahasram
Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Tamil Nadu | |
Languages | |
Brahmin Tamil | |
Religion | |
Hinduism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Iyer, Tamil people |
Ashtasahasram (Sanskrit: अष्टसहश्रम Aṣṭasahasram[1]) is a sub-sect of the Iyer community of Tamil Brahmins from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Culture[]
The Ashtasahasrams as Iyers belong to the Smarta (Shaivite) tradition, along with the Vadamas, Brahacharanams, Vadyamans/Madhyamans, and the Kanials/Kaniyalars. However, the Ashtasahasrams are considered inferior to the first two Brahmin groups.[2][3]
The Ashtasahasrams follow the Taittirīya śākhā of the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda.[4]
They are Aparaśikhā Brahmins, who wear their traditional hair tuft towards the back of their head.[5]
Divisions[]
The Ashtasahasram community is further sub-divided into four groups:[1]
- Āttiyūr
- Arivarpede
- Nandivādi
- Satkulam
References[]
- ^ a b Mahadevan, Thennilapuram P. (2008). "On the Southern Recension of the Mahābhārata, Brahman Migrations,and Brāhmī Paleography (For Frits Staal)". Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies. 15 (2): 143. doi:10.11588/ejvs.2008.2.327. ISSN 1084-7561.
- ^ Sadasivan, S. N. (2000). A Social History of India. A.P.H. Publishing. p. 233.
- ^ Fuller, C. J.; Narasimhan, Haripriya (2014). Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste. University of Chicago Press. p. 6.
- ^ Mahadevan 2008, p. 51.
- ^ Mahadevan 2008, p. 3, 142-143.
Categories:
- Tamil Brahmins
- Social groups of Tamil Nadu