Karuneegar
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Karuneegar is a caste in Tamil Nadu, India. They are sometimes called as "kanakku pillai" which means "accountant" or "book keeper" in Tamil.
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[edit] Divisions
It has following divisions
Sri Karuneegar
Sarattu Karuneegar
Kaikatti Karuneegar
Madhuvazhi Kanakkar
Sozhi Kanakkar
Sunnambu Karuneegar
[edit] Beliefs
Karuneegars believe that they are descendants of Chitragupta. His wife is Karnagi Amman. [1]. Karuneegars are part of Kayastha family. The history of the Karuneegars are recorded in Karuneegar Puranam. There is a temple for Chitra Gupta in Kanchpuram.
[edit] Locations
They are mainly concentrated in Tamil Nadu. But they are also located in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other states.
Tamil Nadu: Karuneegar Population varies in different districts of Tamil Nadu. It is believed that Karuneegars are more concentrated in northern districts of Tamil Nadu. The south Tamil nadu have many Pillai but they are not thought to belong to Karuneegars.
Andhra Pradesh: In Andhra Pradesh, they are called Karnams. They speak Telugu as well as Tamil especially in the Chittoor district.
Karnataka: Some Karuneegars are predominantly found in Southern Districts of Karnataka.
Kerala: They are also found in Kerala. Typically Menons are Karuneegars of Kerala.
Other States: They also inhibit various parts of India like mumbai, delhi and other states of India.
World Wide: There are also Karuneegars who live in the United States, the UK , Australia and other countries.
[edit] Occupation
Karuneegars traditionally followed accountancy and mathematics. These days they are in different occupations. "Kanakkar" means "mathemitician" in Tamil.
[edit] Ancestry and caste
The Ancestry is concluded with various perspectives. Different Relationships in different ways. Related by honorary title name "Pillai" and caste towards other divisions/communities of pillai. Related by Saivism with other subdivisions known to be "Saiva Pillai". Related by the blood towards "Kayastha and its divisions". The Relationships should not be confused.
Kayastha:
Kayastha is the mother caste of Karuneegar. There are also striking similarities like worship of chitragupta etc. Both Kayastha and Karuneegar caste believe that they are descendants of Chitragupta (Please see Beliefs listed above). Kayastha's origin are believed to be brahmins who practiced kshatriya by occupation. Karuneegar Sangams has articles which confirm Karuneegar caste's lineage in Kayastha.
There are indirect conclusions which can be drawn based on certain references. The Karuneegars are known as Karnams in Andhra Pradesh. There is a caste named Karanam or Karana in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa whose primary jobs are village head or village accountants. This Karana is part of Kayastha according to Kayastha community and Karana community. The surnames of Karana are Patnaik etc. which are recognized as part of Kayastha community.
Saiva Pillai:
It is claimed that Karuneegar is a part of Saiva Pillai. Saiva Pillai is a part of big Pillai community. But there are also claims that Karuneegar itself a separate community of Pillai instead falling under Saiva Pillai. See Pillai, Karuneegar & Matrimony below
Pillai, Karuneegar & Matrimony:
Karuneegar Pillai is one of the classifications of Pillai according to matrimonial services. The listing is seen as Pillai--> Karuneegar, eg. KM Matrimony (Kalyanamaalai).
Pillai, Karuneegar & Kayastha:
It is said that pillai itself a part of Kayastha which is questionable to some people. Pillai started as title but it became a separate community. There are controversies whether whole pillai community is part of kayastha. Some people said, only karuneegar is part of kayastha which received 'pillai' title (the honorary title) name in old times resulting as a community name 'Karuneegar Pillai'.
Kayastha's Misconception of considering Whole Pillai:
According to Kayastha, which recognizes the communities by surname mistakenly considers people with pillai surname as Kayastha. This confusion comes because castes are recognized by surnames in North India. So Kayastha mistakenly considers people with pillai as Kayastha. However the system in Southern India is different. Different castes received title names making it a different. So Karuneegars have Pillai as surname. Pillai originated as a title name as people were honoured for the excellence in the courts of kings. So do some of the castes received title name which was confused to family name by kayastha. Moreover only Karuneegars have the beliefs of Kayastha and other commonness. The other divisions of pillai don't worhsip chitragupta and people of other divisions don't have commonness with kayastha. The Karuneegars' closest relatives are karnams who are related to kayastha as well. So Only Karuneegar division of Pillai is the true Kayastha and not the other divisions of Pillai
Conclusion:
In Short Karuneegars are Pillais by honorary title, Saiva Pillai by Saivism, Kayasthas by blood. Karuneegars belong to Pillai caste, recognized as Saiva Pillais and considered as a part of Kayastha. They are known to belong to all these three different ones.
[edit] Legends & Personalities
Vallalar :
Vallalar is also known as ramalinga swamigal. Vallalar was a great saint who lived in Tamil Nadu.
Swami Vivekananda is a Kayastha by birth, and beyond religion by thoughts.
Malleswari is the first woman olympic medallist of India and only Indian medallist in the Sydney Olympics 2000.
Politicians - Purasaiwalkam MLA V.S.Babu
Movie Director- Jayanth Paranji
[edit] Books & Magazines
- Karuneegar Puranams
- Karuneega Mithiran (monthly)
- Karuneega Nalavazhvu (monthly)
- Karuneeka Jyothi (Printed in Bangalore)
