Hebbar Iyengar

Hebbar Iyengars (, ), formerly an endogamous group, constitute a part of the Iyengar sub-caste of the Karnataka Brahmins. They are traditionally followers of Vedanta Desika's philosophy Vishishtadvaita. They originate primarily from Hassan, Mysore, Tumkur, Bangalore, and surrounding areas in southern Karnataka. The etymology of Hebbar, in Kannada, resolves to "hebbu/hiridhu" (or big) + "haaruva" (or brahmin).



The characteristic dialect of the Hebbar Iyengars is called Hebbar Tamil and is a mixture of Kannada, classical Tamil, and Sanskrit. The groups' primary mother tongue is Hebbar Tamil; which is spoken in most Hebbar Iyengar households. Tamil flourished under the influence of the Vaishnava Acharyas and was learnt to study the works of Nalayira Divya Prabhandam & other Srivaishnava religious texts.

Ancestral villages

Hebbar Iyengars originate from five villages in Karnataka. These five villages or pancha grama (Sanskrit: पञ्चाग्रम, ) are:

• Shanti Grama
• Belur
• Nuggehalli
• Bindiganavile
• Kadaba.

There are however more than a dozen villages in southern Karnataka region from which Hebbar Iyengars hail. They are:

• Malloor
• Melkote
• Ambuga
• Sampige
• Hiremagalur
• Heragu
• Shanku
• Hebbalalu
• Mavinakere
• Chikkamenahalli
• Halthore
• Nonavinakere
• Hampapura
• Sargur
• Setlur/Setloor
• Kittane
• Gorur
• Marrenhalli
• Terakanambi
• Eswarahalli: Please Refer Nuggehalli History of Nuggehalli branch for more information of Tenkalai Moudgalya Gotra
• ......
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