IyengarIyengar (or Aiyangar) is the name of a community of Brahmins of India whose members profess the Visishtadvaita philosophy codified by Ramanuja. The word Iyengar (Anglicised from the Tamil ஐயங்கார்(Aiyaṅkār)) could be derived from the Tamil word Aiyā (used as a term of respect), which in turn derives from the word Arya. It could also mean "people entrusted with five tasks", referring to the five duties that traditional Iyengars perform (see [1] (http://www.ahobilamutt.org/samas.html)). The most common spelling is "Iyengar", but "Aiyangar" is the phonetically correct spelling. Although most Iyengars speak Tamil, there are also large numbers of Kannada speaking Iyengars in southern Karnataka (popularly known as Bangalore Iyengar), as well as smaller numbers of Telugu-speakers in southern Andhra Pradesh. Today, Iyengars are divided into two sub-communities of Thenkalai and Vadakalai due to a 13th century schism between the followers of Pillai Lokacharya and those of Vedanta Desika respectively. This article covers the Iyengars as an ethnic group.
Some Famous IyengarsThe following were all born Iyengars, although some of them married into other castes and religions, and still others denied their casteist identity later in life.
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Categories: Indian culture | Ethnic groups of India | Caste |
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