The making of Tamil Shaiva Siddhānta

Abstract

From the late 19th century, Tamil nationalists, as represented by the Self-Respect Movement, promoted Shaiva Siddhānta as the 'original' Tamil religion in an imagined ancient past, where social equality and harmony reigned before Brahmans forced the caste system and other social ills on the Tamils. Claims that Shaiva Siddhānta is specifically Tamil and non- Brahman in origin or essence continue to inform debates concerning Dravidian identity, the rights of Brahman temple priests, and the language of Hindu worship. These arguments have also prompted scholarly inquiry into the history of Tamil Shaivism. Research shows that Shaiva Siddhānta first developed in central India among male Brahman spiritual lineages; a distinct regional variation developed later in the south, with non-Brahman Vēlāla leaders and authoritative writings in Tamil. However, traditional narratives of the lives of early non-Brahman gurus highlight the difficulty of transferring authority from Brahmans to Vēlālas, who are classified as Shūdras. This inquiry into Shaiva Siddhānta's origins both emphasises a long history of ambivalence and accommodation between two powerful but ritually unequal groups and challenges continuing efforts to remake this tradition in the service of Tamil identity politics.