Vadakalai
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Vadakalai Iyengars are a subset of Iyengars.
Iyengars are a group of people that worship Lord Vishnu who is one of the three leading deities of the Hindu religion. Iyengars are a sect of Brahmins. Brahmins originated as the priestly class in ancient India and to a large extent still make up the priestly class in modern India.
Iyengars in particular are Brahmins who have settled in the Southern States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, but predominantly in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has historically been a region of Shiva worshippers, which remains to this day. Shiva is the second important deity of the Hindu triumvirate of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. When a large number of temples dedicated to Vishnu were built in and around places in Tamil Nadu, known today as Tanjavur, Kanchipuram, Kumbakkonam, Srirangam, Mylapore (in Chennai), Iyengars from all over migrated to these temple towns.
Iyengars that migrated to these towns from further South were known as Thenkalai Iyengars to differentiate them from those that migrated from the North or Vadakku as it is known in Tamil. Hence the name Vadakalai Iyengars.
