What does "Iyengar" mean?

[Guest guest]

The term "garu", as Sri Ramanujam and Smt. Jayasree have said, is a term

of respect akin to "avar" in Tamil. However, while Ayyagaru is used to

refer to Brahmins in general, Iyengar is not at all used by SriVaishnava

families in Andhra Pradesh. In fact, the term Iyengar is used to refer

only to Tamil speaking SriVaishnavas. Vaishnavas in Andhra generally

refer to themselves and are referred to by others with the term

Acharyagaru, or in more colloquial term simply as Charigaru. The only

unique variation on this is the term "Jeeyengar", which is used by

traditional families to address Jeeyars.

 

Be that as it may, however, I think it is important to note that

historical references do not limit the use of the term Iyengar just to

Brahmin SriVaishnavas alone. Indeed, there was one Kandadai Ramanuja

Iyengar of non-brahmin origin who was instrumental in convincing the

Vijaynagaram kings to renovate and support Thirumala. He took the name

of Kandadai from his acharyan, but Iyengar was a title that I personally

feel could only have been conferred upon him because of his dedication

to Sri Vaishnavam.

 

adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Mohan