Tamil Brahmin

Tamil Brahmins are divided into two major denominations: Iyers, who follow the Smartha tradition, and Iyengars, who adhere to the tradition of Sri Vaishnavism.

Brahmins who serve as priests in temples following the Vaishnavite and Shaivite tradition and perform pujas are sometimes offered a distinct category within the community. These priests are called "Bhattar" in the Vaishnavite tradition and in the Pandya regions of Tamil Nadu, and "Gurukkal" in the shaivite tradition and in northern ones. In Kongu Nadu, they are called Adi Saivas or the Sivacharyas. They follow the Agamas and the Vedas.[8]

• Sage Agastya, revered Indian sage of Hinduism, Tamil Siddhar in the Shaivism tradition, and author of Agattiyam, an early grammar of the Tamil language[9]
• Rukmini Devi Arundale, Indian classical Bharatanatyam dancer, theosophist, choreographer and an activist for animal welfare[10]
• Subramania Bharati, Indian independence activist and poet[11]
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Nobel Prize-winning Indian astrophysicist[12]
• Vivek Ramaswamy, candidate in the USA 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries[13]
• Shyamala Gopalan, American-Indian biomedical scientist, Mother of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris[14]
• Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Indian lawyer and member of the Constituent Assembly of India responsible for framing the Constitution of India[15]
• U. V. Swaminatha Iyer, Indian researcher and Tamil scholar[16]
• Kachiyapper (8th century), Indian poet and Vedantist and the author of Kanda Puranam[17]
• K. S. Krishnan, Indian physicist, co-discoverer of the Raman scattering[18]
• Iravatham Mahadevan, Indian epigraphist and civil servant[19]
• Paridhiyaar, medieval Tamil scholar and Kural commentator[20]
• Parimelalhagar, medieval Tamil scholar and Kural commentator[21]
• C. V. Raman, Nobel Prize-winning Indian physicist[22]
• Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician[23]
• Alladi Ramakrishnan, Indian physicist and founder of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Matscience) in Chennai[24]
• Sivananda Saraswati, Indian yoga guru, Hindu spiritual teacher, and proponent of Vedanta[25]
• C. S. Seshadri, mathematician.[26]1
• T.N.Seshan,Chief Election Commissioner
• Tolkappiyar, earliest known author and grammarian in Tamil language[27]
• S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, Indian mathematician and Abel Prize laureate[28]

• Witzel, Michael (1993). "Toward a History of the Brahmins". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 113 (2): 264–268. doi:10.2307/603031. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 603031.