Hebbar Iyengar

Hebbar Iyengar or Hebbar Srivaishnava is a sub caste of Hindu Iyengar Brahmins of Tamil origin whose members follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Ramanuja. They are found primarily in the Indian state of Karnataka especially in Southern Districts.

Hebbar Iyengar
VarnaBrahmin
GuruRamanuja
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesHebbar Tamil, Kannada, Sanskrit,
CountryIndia
Original stateKarnataka
Populated statesKarnataka
Related groupsIyengars, Tamil People

The Hebbar Iyengars speak a unique form of Iyengar Tamil dialect known as Hebbar tamil which is a Kannadised version of Tamil as their mother tongue along with Kannada the primary language of their region. Hebbar tamil is highly influenced by Kannada and uses many loan words from Kannada, Sanskrit besides old Tamil Vocabulary.[1]

As with other Iyengar community Hebbar Iyengars are also divided into two denominations, the Vadakalai which means the northern branch in Tamil and the Thenkalai which means the southern branch in Tamil, though the vast majority of Hebbar Iyengars belong to the Thenkalai sect. As with other Hindu communities, they are also classified based on their gotra, or patrilineal descent.

Hebbar Iyengars also display a mark on their forehead known as the Srivaishnava Urdhva Pundra as a caste mark much like the rest of the Iyengars from Tamil Nadu.

Etymology

Hebbar is a Kannada word which is a combination of Hiriya Haruva meaning elderly Brahmins in Kannada. Sri Ramanuja Referred his new disciples who converted to Sri Vaishnavism as Hebbar[2]

History

During 12th Century Sri Ramanujacharya fled Tamil Nadu escaping persecution of Vaishnavas by the Chola King who wanted to kill him. He came and settled in the Hoysala Kingdom. When he was in Tondanur (Tonnur) near Melukote, a group of Brahmans from Ramanathapura, Saligrama came to Tondanur and heard Sri Ramanujacharyas discourses on Srivaishnava Philosophy. Impressed by the preaching of Ramanuja they offered to align themselves to the Srivaishnava doctrine and culture that has its base in the Tamil cultural sphere thus becoming followers of Ramanuja. Sri Ramanuja affectionately called this group of his disciples as Hebbar.Thus the sect called Hebbar Iyengar originated in the erstwhile Hoysala Kingdom of 12th Century.

Sri Ramanujacharya asked them to settle in Ashta Gramas or eight villages namely Bindiganavile, Kadaba, Nuggehalli, Nonavinakere, Belur, Shantigrama in the Hoysala Kingdom in the present day Southern Karnataka region called Hale Mysooru. Later they spread across various places in the region. Thus they have their Haathperumal in different places of these districts. Gradually they learnt to speak Tamil, mainly to learn the Alwars Divya Prabhandams which are the essential religious works which a Srivaishnava has to learn and recite. [3] Since their ancestor's mother tongue and the primary language of the region where they were settled in Ashta Gramas is Kannada the dialect of Iyengar Tamil that came to be their mother tongue can be seen to be defined by a very heavy influence of the Kannada language both lexically and gramatically.

Hebbar Iyengars study Kannada in schools as their prime language and cannot read and write in Tamil. They read the Ramanuja's philosophical works and Alwars Divya Prabhandams that are translated to Kannada or English. However, they recite NalayiraDivyaPrabhandams in Temples in Karnataka forming Goshtis (Groups). They are also called Melnatu Iyengars as they are residing in the High Deccan plateau of Karnataka. [4]

Demographics

Hebbar Iyengars are mainly found in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Tumkur, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Chikkaballapura, Kolar and Chamarajanagar districts of Southern Karnataka.[5]

Hebbar Iyengar diaspora are now found in many states of India and also in UK, USA, Singapore, Australia and other Foreign countries.


Religious observances
See also: Vishishtadvaita and Sri Vaishnavism


Notable people

Scientists


Writers and Poets

  • Nanjangud Tirumalamba (1887–1982), First Female Kannada Writer, publisher, Newspaper Editor. Karnataka Rajya Sahitya Academy honoured her in 1980

Politicians and Administrators

Film/Television Artists and Director


Musicians

  • Raghu Dixit (b: 1974) Indian Singer, Music Composer of Indian Ethnic Music

References

Notes

    Citations

    1. http://www.hebbarsabha.org/about_us.html
    2. http://www.hebbarsabha.org/about_us.html
    3. http://www.hebbarsabha.org/about_us.html
    4. http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/srirangasri/archives/aug05/msg00045.html
    5. http://www.hebbarsabha.org/about_us.html
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