Kuladeivam among Tamil Brahmins

Kuladeivam among Tamil  Brahmins

By

P.R.Ramachander

a.Brahmins  in Tamil Nadu

  There is an opinion that  there  are no Kula Deivam for Brahmins  but they have  adopted it from other castes  who worship their Grama DEvathas (called  Kaval deivangal- Gods who protect) .

     I have met large number of tamil Brahmins.To most of the people   from Thanjavur  Vaitheeswaran koil  is the Kula deiva. To most of the people of Tirunelveli district either Gomathi Amman or Sastha are Kula deivams.

    But I have also met some Tamil Brahmins  who have  the Kaval deivangal  has Kula Deivam  For example  Periya  AAndavat, Ayyanar etc.

   I read some where  that Kanchi Kamakshi   is Kula deivam of  certain Brahmins  in Tamil Nadu

I do not know  about Kula deivams  of Iyengar Brahmins, though there are references that they worshipped  Lord Narayana in many of his incarnations   in different places of Tamil Nadu    as their  Kula deivam.

   b. Palakkad Brahmins

    Most of them  have an Adima kavu .According  to ancient Malayalam Kavu  are  guardian temples of Kerala Villages and mostly whereGoddess  Statue  consecrated  below  a tree.Over time they might have built  temples  for these  Goddesses .Very much like Tamil Nadu  , almost  every Kerala village has a Kavu.

    Possibly  when Tamil Brahmins settled in {alakkad, they adopted the Kavu  of the village  where  they have settled as Adima Kavu. Once when they lost contact with  Tamil Nadu  , they must have started  calling these adima Kavu as  their  Kula Deivam

   Unlike  Palakkad Brahmins  most of the Brahmins  settled near  Trivandrum , have  their  own Tamil Nadu  Kula deivam temple  in Tirunelveli district

    I understand  Brahmins   who have settled  in Moncombu  have a kula deivam temple  near  Thanjavur

There is a very deatailed  Discussion about  Brahmins and Kula Deivatha  https://www.tamilbrahmins.com/threads/brahmins-kula-devatha.3111/