The Embrandiri (Malayalam: എമ്പ്രാന്തിരി), also transliterated as Embranthiri, are a Malayali Brahmin subcaste. Some sects of Embranthiris have adopted the Malayali Brahmin surnames " Namboothiri" and " Potti" after arriving in Kerala. There are followers of

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

as well as

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

among Embranthiris and because of their Vaishnava Dharmaserve in

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

temples and

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

temples. Some of them are also practitioners of yagams and other Vedic Srauta

rituals A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

History

In the 8th century AD, as per the request from King Udayavarma Raja of Kolathunaad (a small ancient kingdom in north Kerala), King Mayooravarman of Gokarnam sent 237 Tulu Brahmanan families to Kolathunaad. These family members performed "Hiranyagarbha" and converted themselves into Malayala Brahmanans. They had settled in Arathil, Cheruthaazham, Pilathara and Chirakkal. All these places are in and around one of the strongest Namboothiri Graamams (villages) of those days, Perinchelloor (near today's Taliparamba in Kannur district in north Kerala). These Brahmanas are both Shaivite and Vaishnavite in orientation and place emphasis on performing Yajnas like the Namboodiris and speak Malayalam exclusively. Later, 257 Tulu Brahmanan families also migrated to these areas. In Kerala, the former 237 families are known as "Saagara" Brahmanans, and the latter 257 families "Samudra" Brahmanans. These groups are generally known by the name Embranthiris. All are Yajurvedis (Boudhaayanan), and most of them follow the vaidika mimamsa philosophy of the Namboothiris. All of these Brahmins speak in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

and also align their practices with those of the Namboothiris. These Samudra Brahmins were however seen as distinct from the Saagara Brahmins by the Namboodiris and had to live and dine separately Later, more Tulu Brahmanans migrated to Kerala but they neither converted themselves to Namboothiris nor removed Tulu culture from their daily life. Some of these later Brahmins were also followers of the philosophy of

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; 1199–1278 CE or 1238–1317 CE), also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy ...

. These Brahmins were not considered Embrans and they still speak Tulu at home. Some of them later migrated back to their motherland.

Present day

Due to a shortage of Temple priests in

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

(Thiruvithankoor, south Kerala), their king brought 143 of the initial (237 + 257) Embranthiri families to Thiruvalla (a place still existing near Kottayam in south Kerala). Most of the families moved to South Kerala because the culture and tradition of Kerala Brahmins (Namboothiri) is very much close enough to their culture. They moved to several places in Kerala and founded Madams as their home. Later they used Madam as their family name.

Philosophy

Most early Malayalam-speaking Embrandiris are followers of only the Smarta-Srauta Karmas prescribed to a Brahmin and do not align with any school of thought. Some like the Namboothiris can be classified as following Theistic Mimamsa. Later Brahmins who migrated from Tulunadu into Kerala have large segments of the followers of

Dvaita Vedanta Dvaita Vedanta (); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST: ''Tattvavāda''), is a sub-school in the Vedanta tradition of Hindu philosophy. The term Tattvavada literally means "arguments from a realist viewpoint". The Tattvavada (Dvaita) Vedant ...

among them, and are ardent devotees of Lord

References

{{Reflist Brahmin communities of Kerala Culture of Kerala