The making of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta

From the late 19th century Tamil nationalists as represented by the Self-Re spect Movement, promoted Shaiva Siddhanta as the 'original' Tamil religion in an imagined ancient past, where social equality and harmony reigned befo re Brahmans forced the caste system and other social ills on the Tamils, Cl aims that Shaiva Siddhanta is specifically Tamil and non-Brahman in origin or essence continue to inform debates concerning Dravidian identity, the ri ghts of Brahman temple priests, and the language of Hindu worship. These ar guments have also prompted scholarly inquiry into the history of Tamil Shai vism. Research shows that Shaiva Siddhanta first developed in central India among male Brahman spiritual lineages; a distinct regional variation devel oped later in the south, with non-Brahman Velala leaders and authoritative writings in Tamil. However; traditional narrartives of the lives of early n on-Brahman gurus highlight the difficulty of transferring authority from Br ahmans to Velalas, who are classified as Shudras. This inquiry into Shaiva Siddhanta's origins both emphasises a long history of ambivalence and accom modation between two powerful but ritually unequal groups and challenges co ntinuing efforts to remake this tradition in the service of Tamil identity politics.