Vatul is my clan name. Vatula Maharishi, the progenitor of my line, was a Hindu sage reportedly prone to great distraction. Vatul (Sanskrit) means “enlightened, lashed by the wind to the point of losing one’s sanity, god’s madcap, detached from the world, and seeker of truth.” The terms Vatul and Baul are applied to mystics, originally Hindu and Sufi-Muslim respectively, who dedicated their lives to the quest for spiritual harmony and experience.
Little is published about the people and practises of this South Indian society I hail from, i.e. Tamil Hindu Brahmin Iyers. My hope is to provide some background and documentation on this impressive community, and in a small
way, to bestow some respect on the foreparents of whom I have heard numerous enchanting stories. For instilling in me this value for family and culture, I credit my mother and grandmothers.
Commence Research Sequence …
Scientific Classification
For the sake of thoroughness and perspective, let us not forget that we are Animalia Chordata Mammalia Primates Hominidae Homininae Homo sapiens sapiens
Iyer
“Iyer is the name given to a community of Brahmins (members of the priestly class / caste) of India whose members migrated from the Northern part of India to settle in Tamil Nadu. Iyers are therefore Tamil Brahmins. Though Iyer is used as a suffix to names, it does not strictly constitute a family name.” See here for the rest of this fairly accurate description of Iyer. Iyers are primarily Siva worshippers. Our counterparts who venerate Vishnu are referred to as Iyengar.
Vatul
Iyers and Iyengars are further subdivided into clans known as gothra, which serve as lines of descent – to discourage inbreeding, marriage between members of the same gothram is strictly forbidden. Vatula was a rishi (sage) who gave his name to one such gothram.
As Mr. Lakshmi Narasimhan Madhavan informs, “[Vatula] gothram is prevalent both in Iyers and Iyengars.” This may be explained by the presence of Bhargava, a Vaishnava rishi in our abhivaadaye (formal introduction to elders and at temple). The three main rishis of Vatula Gotram are Bhargava, Vaitahavya and Saavedasa. Mr. Madhavan continues, “Bhargava refers to the lineage of Bhrigu Maharishi, the foster father of Goddess Lakshmi worshipped as Bhargavi.”
Still rather tenuous to me is the connection between Vatula and the three rishis. As for Vatula himself, he was reportedly prone to great distraction, which some ascribe to deep, consciousness-expanding meditation.
A possible meaning of Vatul from Banglapedia.
Genealogy
I now own a scanner, have interviewed both grandmothers several times, purchased Family Tree Maker and continue to fill in the blanks with incoming details. That counts for something, right?
