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The Brahmins of Tulu Nadu All the sects of Brahmins in Dakshina and Uttara Kannada follow different deities as their main idol of worship. Prior to Madhvacharya’s Dvaita philosophy took a firm base in Udupi, most of them were Shiva worshippers. Shivalli Brahmins belonged to Balekuduru Matt, which is an Advaita (Shankara) Matt. After Madhva founded the Ashta (eight) Matts in Udupi with its sixteen Upamatts, many Shivalli Brahmins became followers of Vishnu (followers of Sode Matt in Udupi). However, all Shivalli Brahmins are not Vaishnavites. They follow different sampradayas, like Bhagavata, Smarta, and Vaishnava etc. Of these Smarta and Bhagavata Sampradayis perform the Panchayatana puja with Shiva or Vishnu at the center of their altars, during abhisheka). Koteshvara Brahmins living in Koteshvara village were also converted by Sri Vadiraja Swami of Sode Matt and were taken as disciples of Vishnu. The Kota Brahmins from a village near Udupi did not convert to Vaishnavism, and remained as bhasma-dharis and followers of Smarta Sampradaya. Kandavara Brahmins remain attached to Balekuduru Matt with Skanda as their family deity. Sthanikas are Shaiva Brahmins, who acquired their name owing to their managerial positions in temples. They are followers of Shankaracharya and have customs similar to Kota Brahmins. They speak the same dialect of Tulu as Shivalli Brahmins. Kota, Kandavara and Koteshvara Brahmins speak a variant of Kannada, despite their presence in Tulu nadu for many centuries. Shivalli and Sthanikas are the only two sects that speak Tulu language. Both Kandavara and Koteshwara are villages in Kannada speaking Coondapur Taluk, which explains why these Brahmins speak a variant of Kannada rather than Tulu. The Havikas (or Havyakas) settled in Haive in Uttara Kannada and established a community there. A dissenting group of Havikas called the Saklapuris settled in the border town of Saklapuri (between Uttara and Dakshina Kannada). Curiously, the Havikas also have four subdivisions, namely, Havikas, Kotas, Saklapuris and Shivallis! Havikas are followers of Shankara Matt in Ramachandrapur. There are number of other Brahmins in current day Tulu nadu, distinguished by their own different spoken languages and forms of worship. They migrated in later centuries by land and sea. These include Chitpavana, Karadi, Konkanastha and Sarasvatha Brahmins. Marathi Brahmins, Chitpavana and Karadi Brahmins, who are Advaita followers, migrated to Tulu nadu from Ratnagiri and Karad in Maharashtra. Another Marathi immigrant group is called Padia Brahmins, of whom there are very few in Dakshina Kannada. Deshasthas, among whom both Smartas and Madhvas are to be found, are relatively recent migrants.
The Konkanas migrated to Tulu nadu by about 12th century and have a
flourishing community today. The Sarasvathas are further subdivided into
Sarasvathas and Gouda-Sarasvathas. The former are Smartas and the latter
converted to Vaishnavism. The Sarasvathas originally hailed from Punjab
and then later migrated to Kashmir, East Bihar and Goa. In Goa they had
inhabited 96 villages and hence were called ‘Shannavatyas’ (or Shenvis).
When Goa fell into the hands of Portuguese, they migrated southward and
settled in coastal South India all the way down to Malabar and Travancore.
It is also interesting to note that Neria, Gangamula and Kalasa Hebbars perhaps originally belonged to the Panchagramis. Sri Ramanuja moved to Melukote in Karnataka to escape from the relentless hector of Shaivite Chola kings. He was welcomed by the Hoysala raja and was given asylum. Sri Ramanuja’s followers, the Hebbars, who originally hailed from Srirangam and Kanchipuram, followed him to Karnataka. Then they settled in five of the following districts: Kadaba, Grama, Srirangapattana, Muloor and Belur. Hence they came to be known as Panchagramis. In the year 1515, Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara bestowed vast lands to some of the Hebbars. The three families of Hebbars in Gangamula, Kalasa and Neria, who were beneficiaries of Vijayanagara Empire, are still in existence. However, some Hebbars (e.g. Hebbars from Neria) converted from the Sri Vaishnava sect of Ramanujacharya to the Dvaita teachings of Madhvacharya at a later date. They joined the Sode Matt of Udupi during the time of Sri Vadiraja Swami. They now are considered Shivalli Brahmins. The other two Hebbar families of Gangamula and Kalasa joined the Sringeri Matt of Sri Shankaracharya. In the course of history the Hebbars aided in converting the Shaivas of the region (called bhairava aradhakas) to Madhva Brahmins (or bhasma-dharis to nama-dharis). They also converted the Shudras to Gowda communities. Thus, from worshippers of Bhairava, the Gowdas of Dakshina Kannada became followers of Tirupathi Venkataramana. Original worshippers among Tulu Brahmins mainly followed different deities. They were the followers of Shaiva, Saura, Shakta, Ganapatya and other sectarian cults. Sri Shankaracharya visited Kumaradri (Subramanya) and Kolluru in the late 8th or early 9th century and defeated the local followers of different deities in a philosophical discursion and established the spread of Panchayatana (Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganapati and Surya) form of worship and helped unify all sects of Brahmins under the large umbrella of Hinduism.
The Brahmins of Tulu nadu are classified in many ways. The division of
Havika, Kota and Shivalli is generally based on the place of their origin.
Another division is also based on the deity they worship and thus are
classified as bhasma-dharis (Shaivites) or nama-dharis (Vaishnavites).
Their form of worship divides them into different sampradayis,
hence Bhagavata, Smarta or Vaishnava sampradaya etc. The ritual of
performance of puja differs according to one’s sampradaya. Even further
divisions like shat-karmis and tri-karmis also exist. The
calendars followed by the various Brahmin sects are also different. Some
follow the lunar calendar while others follow the solar calendar. The
Vaishnava sampradayis follow the Udaya-thithi for a full day
and Smarta sampradayis follow the actual running thithi.
Because of this ekadasi falls on different days for Vaishnava and
Smarta sects. Shivallis are also divided into nada Shivalli or
grama Shivalli; again depending on the area they settled in, be it in
the village or in the general vicinity of the village. The Shivalli Brahmins gained a reputation as learned Vedic scholars. They are most commonly employed as arhchakas (priests, pujaris) in the temples in Tulu nadu. The Sthanika sect at one time was powerful because of their managerial positions in the temples and access to the temple coffers. With newer immigration of Brahmins from Shimoga and Mysore, the Shivalli Brahmins became more powerful claiming superiority. The immigration of Talagunda and Kuppegudde Brahmins to Tulu nadu to escape from the onslaught of the Cholas at this time, gave the resident Shivalli Brahmins more power. Sthanikas were eventually relegated to more insignificant jobs in the temples. The Shivalli Brahmins became the administrators as well as the main priests of the temples. The earliest temples of Tulu nadu are Shiva temples from the 7th or early 8th centuries. One such early temple is the Anantheshvara temple of Udupi. The Sri Krishna temple of Udupi, founded by Madhvacharya is from the 13th century. For the last eight centuries Udupi has remained the hub of Hindu’s Madhva philosophy. Mukambika temple of Kollur is an example of Shakti worship in the region. Seven temples all nestled in the coastal Karnataka, in Udupi, Kolluru, Subramanya, Gokarna, Kumbasi, Koteshvara and Shankaranarayana are collectively called Mukti Stalas. All of them are built in the holy land reclaimed from the sea by Parashurama and hence they are called Parashurama Kshetras. Several temples house Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha - a monument to a happy family in Dakshina Kannada. Kumbasi has a Ganesha idol and Koteshvara enshrines Kotilingeshvara, Ardhanarishvara, Parvati and Ganesha. Shankaranarayana, as the name implies is a combination of Shiva and Vishnu, thus called Hari-Hara. The shrine has lingam as well as Anjaneya, Subramanya and Venugopal.
Madhva was blessed with a handsome physique and was also interested in
physical training. In addition he was an avid fan of music. He claimed to
be an avatar of Hanuman, thus the son of Vayu (Wind). Madhva remains the
greatest and the most important gift to Hinduism from Tulu nadu.
There are many prominent Brahmins from Tulu nadu who have gained fame for
their contributions to the community. Scientist Dr. U. R. Rao,
award-winning physician Dr. K. N. Udupa, and philosopher-thinker Dr. U. R.
Ananthamurthy are products of Tulu nadu. Internationally known artist K.
K. Hebbar hails from the Brahmin community of Tulu nadu. Poets and authors
like Gopalakrishna Adiga, Vyasaraya Ballal, and Shivarama Karanth are well
known. The numbers of classical musicians of fame from Tulu nadu of
Brahmin origin are too numerous to mention in this article. In summary it is noted that there are three main divisions of Brahmins in Tulu nadu, namely Havika, Shivalli and Kota with three subdivisions such as Koteshvara, Kandavaras and Panchagramis. Sthanikas and Saklapuris form other sub sects. Newer immigrations of Brahmins to the region complete the picture with Chitpavana, Karadi, Padia, Deshastha, Konkanastha and Sarasvatha taking root in Tulu nadu. The ancient land called Tulu nadu, now with its unique language spoken only in this region by some of inhabitants can also boast about the sanctity of its land with a legendary tale of creation by Parashurama and some of the oldest temples in the South. All the major deities are represented equally with their own temples. Madhvacharya, a Shivalli Brahmin from Udupi, is the most significant contributor to Hinduism. His Dvaita tenets are followed by most of practicing Hindus today in India. There are many more famous Tulu Brahmins, who have made precious contributions to the society. –
Neria Harish Hebbar, MD
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Mangala
Devi temple in Mangalore is responsible for the name of the city –
Mangalapura –later anglicized as Mangalore. It is also an ancient temple
with an interesting history. Perhaps in the ninth century a Queen Premila
of Malabar became a disciple of Matsyaendranath and renounced her kingdom
and decided to follow her guru. The cult called Nath cult advocated
renouncement of materialistic pleasures and acceptance of meditation as
path to salvation. As the guru and
her new disciple crossed the River Netravathi near Ullal, she fell ill.
She was confined to a home in Bolar, where she spent her last days in
meditation. The site became a shrine, where later the Ballals (the feudal
lords of Mangalore at that time) built a Durga temple there, calling the
deity Mangala Devi. In the year 968 C.E., then Alupa ruler Kundavarma
renovated the temple. The town around the temple grew and came to be
called Mangalapura, the land of Mangala Devi.
The most famous son of Tulu Brahmins is Madhvacharya. The story of Tuluva
Brahmins cannot be complete without the mention of this great scholar and
saint. Born to a poor family of Brahmins near Udupi, he was named
Purnaprajna. True to his name, he became a scholar and well versed in
Upanishads and Vedanta. The enlightened Madhva (the name given to him by
his guru) argued a dualistic (Dvaita) theory with his guru who had
preached Advaita’s monistic themes. He professed theism and made Vishnu (Vishnusarvothamattva)
as the central figure of the universe. Eventually, he persuaded and
converted his guru Achyutprajna to accept Dvaita philosophy. After gaining
fame and popularity, Madhva established the eight monasteries (Matts) in
Udupi and established the fabled Sri Krishna temple there. At age 79 he
attained Moksha during a pilgrimage to Badrinath.