About Karuneegar

INTRODUCTION:
'Karuneegar' is a caste in TamilNadu, India. They are sometimes called as
"kanakku pillai" which means "accountant" or "book keeper" in Tamil.
About Karuneegar:
About 2000 years ago,during vallalar Pandiyan period Seer Karuneegar
Puranam was written by poet Paarisanadhar. In sanskrit other books about
Karuneegar are the following:
Bramanda Puranam
Adithya Puranam
Saurakadha
Atharva veda surya sagasandhi
Kanaka smrithi.
Sub-sectors in Karuneegar:
Seer Karunnegar
Sarattu Karuneegar
Kaikatum Karuneegar
Atharva veda suryasagasandhi

 Madhvazhi Karuneegar
The presiding God in the temple is Chitraguptar and the consort of the
presiding God is Karnikaambaal. This temple is situated in Kanchipuram. The
consort of the presiding God (Lord Chitragupta) is named Karnikambal.
There are separate holy places in the temple devoted to God Selva Vinayaka,
Goddess Vishnu Durga and the nine holy planets. It is a very popular temple.
It is a temple devoted to Lord Chitragupta who is the next rightful heir to the
throne of Lord Kethu. It is a temple known for removing the defects caused
by the impact of Kethu on a person. This temple is the only sacred place
devoted to Lord Chitraguptar. There is an idol in the sanctum- sanctorum of
the temple (of Lord Chitragupta). The idol presents Lord Chirtragupta sitting
his divine seat holding a nail (used for writing on palm leaves) in his right
hand and a palm leaf on his left hand.
When the temple festival is held to mark the full- moon day in the Tamil
month of Chithirai there is a grand marriage procession of the Lord and his
consort Karnikambal. Lord Chitragupta, the presiding God in the temple hails
from the Sun God. He maintains a record of good and evil deeds of all
creatures of the world including mankind) and assists the God of Death in his
divine work.
Lord Chitraguptar belongs to our karuneegar caste. In Shiva temple the
accountant made some mistakes in accounts and he was caught by the king.
At that time,Lord Shiva appeared as accountant and saved the treasurer. In
olden period MANIMEGALAI, SEETHALAI SATHANAR,NAKEERAR also belong
to karuneegar caste. Vinayagar wrote"MAHABHARATHAM" story and he got a
name as Pillaiyar. So our main occupation is accountant from olden days.
DIVISIONS:
It has following divisions
Seer Karuneegar

 Sri Karuneegar
Sarattu Karuneegar
Kaikatti Karuneegar
Madhuvazhi Kanakkar
Sozhi Kanakkar
Sunnambu Karuneegar
BELIEFS:
Karuneegars believe that they are descendants of Chitragupta. His wife is
Karnagi Amman. 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.
Seer Karuneegar:
Seer Karuneegar is a sub caste or part of Karuneegar Caste. There are no
further divisions of this sub caste.
PRACTICES
The people who belong to the Seer Karuneegar community are devotees of
Vallalar, a famous Sant who lived inVadalur and preached against eating
meat.
He wrote the Thiru-Arut-pa, which preaches the worship of a divine power in
the form of a flame and also teaches self discipline for human beings.

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 esp. Chittoor region.
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 US,UK,Australia and other countries.
OCCUPATION :
Occupation varies by people. Karuneegars mostly followed
Accountancy/Mathematics in old times. These days they are in different
occupations. Mathematics is natural in blood. Some of the subcaste named
'kanakkar' which is meaned in Tamil as " Mathematician "
ANCESTRY & CASTE
Introduction:
The Ancestry is concluded with various perspectives. Different Relationships
in different ways.
Related by honorary title name "Pillai" & 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 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 doesn't
worhsip chitragupta and people of other divisions doesn'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.
Sutramulu and Gothras
The information regarding Sutramulu/Sutras, the Vedas they followed and
the number of gothras in each Sutram is given below. There are six Sutras.
1. Aapasthamba Sutram, the Veda is Krishna Yajurvedam and number of
Gothras are 10.
2. Asvalayana Sutram, the Veda is Rugvedam and the number of Gothras are
11.
3. Thrahyayana Sutram, the Veda is Adarvana Vedam and the number of
Gothras are 11.
4. Kathyayana Sutram, the Veda is Adarvana Vedam and the number of
Gothras are 11.
5. Bodhayana Sutram, the Veda is Samavedam and the number of Gothras

are 11.
6. Vaikhanasa Sutram,the Veda is Adarvana Vedam and the number of
Gothras 10.
There are 64 Gothras in Seer Karuneegar caste.
Each Sutra contains 11 or 10 Gothras and also mentions the Vedas they
followed.
There is also mention of 5.5 or 6.0 Pangu or Bagamulu(Divisions) related
to Gothras.
All the Gothras in Sutras: Thrahyayan, Kathyayana and Bodhayana belong
to 5.5. Pangu
All the Gothras in Sutras: Aapasthamba, Asvalayana and Vaikhanasa
belong to 6.0 Pangu.
The number of Gothras in each Sutra are listed below.
Gothras of Aapasthamba Sutram
Athri Maharshi
Alachala Maharshi
Kathaka Maharshi
Niranga Maharshi
Anjali Maharshi

 Agasthya Maharshi
Kurava Maharshi
Vakrutha Maharshi
Angidha Maharshi
Ashtakona Maharshi
Traditionally, those in 6.0 pangu are considered as 'pangaligal' or cousins
within the gothrams and marriage from one gothram to another within 6.o
pangu is taboo. So also is the case with 5.5 pangu. However, of late people
do not strictly follow the gothram and cross marriage within the two groups
became common, especially in Tamil Nadu.
Gothras of Asvalayana Sutram
Vyaghra Maharshi
Vamadeva Maharshi
Bhrugu Maharshi
Sprugu Maharshi
Gouthama Maharshi
Aurulala Maharshi

 Dhunmuka Maharshi
Parasara Maharshi
Sthula Maharshi
Adhimuni Maharshi
Dhurvasa Maharshi
Gothras of Thrahyayana Sutram
Vedavyasa Maharshi
Padhalochana Maharshi
Sanathkumara Maharshi
Jamadhagni maharshi
Salya Maharshi
Divyanga Maharshi
Seera Maharshi
Jaya Maharshi
Kalaba Maharshi

 Gowda Maharshi
Pathanjali Maharshi
Gothras of Kathyayana Sutram
Kapila Maharshi
Kanva Maharshi
Raada Maharshi
Pushpaka Maharshi
Rishyashruanga Maharshi
Sathya Maharshi
Bhugala Maharshi
Priyavakya Maharshi
Roma Maharshi
Shivamitra Maharshi
Kamandala Maharshi
Gothras of Bodhayana Sutram

 Munjakesha Maharshi
Shivayoga Maharshi
Shuka Maharshi
Bhujanga Maharshi
Kashyapa Maharshi
Sutha Maharshi
Gomuni Maharshi
Naradha Maharshi
Viswamitra Maharshi
Meenava Maharshi
Bharadhwaja Maharshi
Gothras of Vaikhanasa Sutram
Janaka Maharshi
Pararuchi Maharshi
Madhava Maharshi

 Vindu Maharshi
Vashishta Maharshi
Markanda Maharshi
Manu Maharshi
Valmiki Maharshi
Deva Maharshi
Mareechi Maharshi
LEGENDS & PERSONALITIES
Vallalar:
Vallalar is also known as ramalinga swamigal. Vallalar was a great saint who
lived in Tamil Nadu.
Vivekananda:
Swami Vivekananda is a Kayastha by birth, and beyond religion by thoughts.
Karnam Malleswari:
Malleswari is the first woman olympic medallist of India and only Indian
medallist in the Sydney Olympics 2000.
V.S.Babu: Purasaiwalkam MLA, a Politician

 Thiru Uthaya Suriyan, M.L.A., Kallakurichi

Jayanth C. Paranjee, Movie Director
Pyramid Natarajan(CEO of Pyramid Group of Companies,Share Holder in
Pyramid Saimira[5
Chola Ponnurangam(Cine Producer,Chola Creations)
Sundaramurthy Vadivelu - India Stock Market Analyst
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - Philosopher and Religious Leader. Founder of the
Ramakrishna Mission.
SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE - Militant Freedom Fighter & Founder of the
Indian National Army.
DR. RAJENDRA PRASAD - Freedom Fighter & The First President of the
Republic of India.
LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI - Freedom Fighter and the Second Prime Minister
of India.
AMITABH BACHCHAN - Bollywood Filmstar of Great Fame. Voted the "Man
of the Millenium" by BBC.
VINOD DHAM - Hardware Genius & Creator of Super-fast Computer
Processors.

The above words are found in the Kerala History pages, this makes clear that
just like "Mein" symbol of harappan - indus valley writings, this pillai is a

common sur name to all castes of Dravidians

Accounts employee = Kanakku Pillai
Masonry duty = Kothap pillai
Cooking duty = Thavasu pillai
Anchal = postal duty = Anchal Pillai
People who lived in Fort = Kottai pillai
So PILLAI MUST BE A UNIVERSAL CASTE NAME, APPLICABLE TO ALL CASTES
OF TAMIL - KERALA NATION TAMIL NADU OR THE DRAVIDA COUNTRY.
BOOKS & MAGAZINES
Karuneegar Puranams
Karuneega Mithiran (monthly)
Karuneega Nalavazhvu (monthly)
RELATED
Seer Karuneegar
Karanam
Pillai

Kayastha
Caste
REFERENCES
Karuneegar caste and its Divisions ( Schedule I, Part A, No:53 )- ''Tamil
Nadu State And Subordinate'', http://www.tn.gov.in/actsrules/pandar/tnsssr.web.htm
Kayastha - ''Welcome to Kayastha Parivar'',
http://www.kayasthaparivar.org/index.htm
Kayastha Locatiions( Pillai Verification ), Place mouse over SouthIndia &
Tamil Nadu points of this india map - ''Welcome to Kayastha Parivar'',
http://www.kayasthaparivar.org/our_community.htm
http://saivaneri.org/who_are_saiva_vellalars_or_saivapillais.htm
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click
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'Seer Karuneegar'
is a subcaste or part of Karuneegar Caste. There are no further divisions of
this subcaste.
PRACTICES
The people who belong to the Seer Karuneegar community are devotees of

Vallalar, a famous Sant who lived inVadalur and preached against eating
meat.
He wrote the Thiru-Arut-pa, which preaches the worship of a divine power in
the form of a flame and also teaches self discipline for human beings.
REFERENCES
Sub caste of Karuneegar caste (Schedule I, Part A) - ''Tamil Nadu State And
Subordinate'', http://www.tn.gov.in/acts-rules/pandar/tnsssr.web.htm
http://saivaneri.org/who_are_saiva_vellalars_or_saivapillais.htm
REFERENCES
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia