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Hinduism in Tamil Nadu

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Through Hinduism, Sangam literature and Alvars

Lab · Class 8–12Devotional Paths

The religious history of Tamil Nadu is influenced by Hinduism quite notably during the medieval period. The twelve Alvars (poet-saints of the Vaishnava tradition) and sixty-three Nayanars (poet-saints of the Shaiva tradition) are regarded as exponents of the bhakti tradition of Hinduism in South India. Most of them came from the Tamil region and the last of them lived in the 9th century CE.

There are few worship forms and practices in Hinduism that are specific to Tamil Nadu due to the Bhakti movement spreading them across India. There are many mathas (monastic institutions) and temples based out of Tamil Nadu. In modern times, most of the temples are maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

History

Ancient period

Tolkappiyam, possibly the most ancient of the extant Sangam works, dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE glorified Thirumal and Murugan as the favoured god of the Tamils. According to Kamil Zvelebil, Vishnu was considered ageless (The god who stays for ever) and the Supreme god of Tamils where as Murugan was considered young and a personal god of Tamils.

Sangam literature mentions several Hindu gods and Vedic practices around Ancient Tamilakam. Tamilians considered the Vedas as a book of Righteousness and is used to perform Yagams or Velvi. Several kings have performed Vedic Sacrifices and prayed to various gods of Hinduism. Ramachandran Nagaswamy an Indian historian, archaeologist and epigraphist states that Tamil Nadu was The Land of the Vedas and all Sangam people followed the Vedas. King Karikala Cholan is recognised as the greatest king of the Early Cholas. Karikala Cholan is mentioned in the poem 224 of Purananuru that he performed Vedic Rituals in the court of Righteousness where justice is well practiced after those conversant with proper custom. The text Purananuru further mentions that Cholas were the descendants of Lunar dynasty King Shibi Chakravarthi in poem 37, 39, 43 and 46. Tamils also prayed to Several Hindu gods such as Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Durga, Lakshmi, Indra, Varuna, Kartikeya, and even to Avatars of Vishnu like Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Balarama and Krishna and many other gods. The Sangam text Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai states that Lord Vishnu Who took the Vamana Avatara is the father of the four faced Brahma who was born from Vishnu's navel and from Brahma came the Chola dynasty. the poem further mentions a Yūpa post (a form of Vedic altar) and a Brahmin village. Vedas are recited by these Brahmins, and even their parrots are mentioned in the poem as those who sing the Vedic hymns. The text states a temple for Vishnu in the city of Kanchi which is present even now, the lines 429 to 434 mention the town Thiruvekka and mentions the god Vishnu sleeping in a reclining pose. Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai is one of the Eight Anthologies and is dedicated to the Hindu god Karthikeya. It also mentions many other gods Like Vishnu, Shiva, Indra, Uma, Thirty-three gods, Gandharvas, Sages. Paripadal also mentions that The Thirty-three gods arose from Vishnu. After the Sangam period the Alvars and Nayanmars were born. These two groups promoted Vaishnavism and Shaivism which lead to the growth of Hinduism.

S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar states that the lifetime of the Vaishnava Alvars was during the first half of the 12th century, their works flourishing about the time of the revival of Brahminism and Hinduism in the north, speculating that Vaishnavism might have penetrated to the south as early as about the first century CE. There also exists secular literature that ascribes the commencement of the tradition in the south to the 3rd century CE. U.V. Swaminathan Aiyar, a scholar of Tamil literature, published the ancient work of the Sangam period known as the Paripatal, which contains seven poems in praise of Vishnu, including references to Krishna and Balarama. Aiyangar references an invasion of the south by the Mauryas in some of the older poems of the Sangam, and indicated that the opposition that was set up and maintained persistently against northern conquest had possibly in it an element of religion, the south standing up for orthodox Brahmanism against the encroachment of Buddhism by the persuasive eloquence and persistent effort of the Buddhist emperor Ashoka. The Tamil literature of this period has references scattered all over to the colonies of Brahmans brought and settled down in the south, and the whole output of this archaic literature exhibits unmistakably considerable Brahman influence in the making up of that literature.

Medieval period

The Cholas who were very active during the Sangam age were entirely absent during the first few centuries. The period started with the rivalry between the Pandyas and the Pallavas, which in turn caused the revival of the Cholas. The Cholas went on to becoming a great power. Their decline saw the brief resurgence of the Pandyas. This period was also that of the re-invigorated Hinduism during which temple building and religious literature were at their best.

The Cheras ruled in southern India from before the Sangam era (300 BCE–250 CE) over the Coimbatore, Karur, Salem Districts in present-day Tamil Nadu and present day Kerala from the capital of Vanchi Muthur in the west, (thought to be modern Karur).

The Kalabhras, invaded and displaced the three Tamil kingdoms and ruled between the 3rd and the 6th centuries CE of the Sangam period. This is referred to as the Dark Age in Tamil history and Hinduism in Tamil Nadu. They were expelled by the Pallavas and the Pandyas in the 6th century. During the Kalabhras' rule, Jainism flourished in the land of the Tamils, and Hinduism was suppressed. Because the Kalabhras gave protection to Jains and perhaps Buddhists, too, some have concluded that they were anti-Hindu, although this latter view is disputed.

During the 4th to 8th centuries CE, Tamil Nadu saw the rise of the Pallavas under Mahendravarman I and his son Mamalla Narasimhavarman I. Pallavas ruled a large portion of South India with Kanchipuram as their capital. Mahendra Varman was principally a Buddhist, but converted to Hinduism by the influence of Shaiva saints. It was under him that Dravidian architecture reached its peak with the Pallava built Hindu temples. Narasimhavarman II built the Shore Temple which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Pallavas were replaced by the Cholas as the dominant kingdom in the 10th century CE and they in turn were replaced by Pandyas in the 13th century CE with their capital as Madurai. Temples such as the Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai and Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli are the best examples of Pandyan temple architecture.

Chola Empire

By the 9th century CE, during the times of the second Chola monarch Aditya I, his son Parantaka I, Parantaka Chola II itself the Chola empire had expanded into what is now interior Andhra Pradesh and coastal Karnataka, while under the great Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose as a notable power in south Asia.

The Cholas excelled in building magnificent temples. Brihadeshwara Temple in Thanjavur is a classical example of the magnificent architecture of the Chola kingdom. Brihadshwara temple is an UNESCO Heritage Site under "Great Living Chola Temples." Some examples are Tiruvarur Thyagaraja Swamy temple known as Thirumoolasthanam, Annamalaiyar Temple located at the city of Tiruvannamalai and the Chidambaram Temple in the heart of the temple town of Chidambaram. With the decline of the Cholas between 1230 and 1280 CE, the Pandyas rose to prominence once again, under Maravarman Sundara Pandya and his younger brother, the celebrated Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. This revival was short-lived as the Pandya capital of Madurai itself was sacked by Alauddin Khalji's troops under General Malik Kafur in 1316 CE.

Vijayanagara and Nayak period (1336–1646)

The Muslim invasions triggered the establishment of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire in the Deccan. It eventually conquered the entire Tamil country (c. 1370 CE). This empire lasted for almost two centuries, till the defeat of Vijayanagara in the Battle of Talikota in 1565. Subsequent to this defeat, according to the author Nilakanta Sastri, "many incompetent kings succeeded to the throne of Vijayanagara, with the result that its grip loosened over its feudatories among whom the Nayaks of Madurai and Tanjore, were among the first to declare their independence, despite initially maintaining loose links with the Vijayanagara kingdom". As the Vijayanagara Empire went into decline after mid-16th century, the Nayak governors, who were appointed by the Vijayanagara kingdom to administer various territories of the empire, declared their independence. The Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were most prominent of them all, in the 17th century. They reconstructed some of the oldest temples in the Tamil country, such as the Meenakshi Temple.

Modern period

Rule of Nawabs, Nizams, and British (1692–1947)

In the early 18th century, the eastern parts of Tamil Nadu came under the dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of the Carnatic. While Wallajah was supported by the English, Chanda Shahib was supported by the French by the middle of the 18th century. In the late 18th century, the western parts of Tamil Nadu, came under the dominions of Hyder Ali and later Tipu Sultan, particularly with their victory in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. After winning the Polygar wars, the East India Company consolidated most of southern India into the Madras Presidency coterminous with the dominions of Nizam of Hyderabad. Pudukkottai remained as a princely state. The Hindu temples were kept intact during this period, and there is no notable destruction recorded.

Tamil Nadu in the Republic of India (1947–present)

When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became Madras State, comprising present day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, South Canara district Karnataka, and parts of Kerala. The state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines. In 1969, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning Tamil country.

The total number of Tamil Hindus as per 2011 Indian census is 63,188,168 which forms 87.58% of the total population of Tamil Nadu.

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