Ashtasahasram

Ashtasahasram
Regions with significant populations
	Tamil Nadu
Languages
	Brahmin Tamil
Religion
	Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
	Iyer, Tamil people

Ashtasahasram 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.[1]

The Ashtasahasrams follow the Taittirīya śākhā of the Kr̥ṣṇa Yajurveda.[2]

They are Aparaśikhā Brahmins, who wear their traditional hair tuft towards the back of their head.[3]

Divisions

The Ashtasahasram community is further sub-divided into four groups:[4]

Āttiyūr
Arivarpede
Nandivādi
Satkulam

References

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.
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.

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[1] Fuller, C. J.; Narasimhan, Haripriya (2014). Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste. University of Chicago Press. p. 6.

[FOOTNOTEMahadevan200851-2] Mahadevan 2008, p. 51.

[FOOTNOTEMahadevan20083,_142-143-3] Mahadevan 2008, p. 3, 142-143.

[:0-4] 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.