Other Spellings : Aiyangar, Iengar (used rarely)
Religion : Hindu (Visishtadvaita)
Varna : Brahmins
Sects : Iyers are divided into two sub-sects based on the different stresses in religious literature:
Other Surnames / Gotras : All the Iyengars trace their origin to one of the eight major rishis or sages. Iyengars classify themselves under different Gotras or Gothrams, those of the same Gotra share common ancestors.
Chief Deity : Lord Vishnu and His incarnations. Iyengars also worship the saligramas which small stone pebbles of different colors (mostly black) recovered from the bed of the river Gandaki in Nepal at Mukti Kshetra. Saligramas are fossilized ammonite shells formed 140 million years, having several spiral grooves resembling the chakra of Narayana which are formed by the river worms called Vajra-keeta. The 108 holy temples of Vishnu called 108 Divya Desams are important to the Iyengars.
Language : Most Iyengars speak Tamil but Iyengars in Karnataka speak Kannada or a dialect of Tamil highly influenced by Kannada. Those in Andhra Pradesh speak Telugu.
Regional Spread : Traditionally Iyengars are found in the state of Tamil Nadu. They are also present in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Significant number of Iyengars is also present in the Purulia district of West Bengal who had migrated from Tamil Nadu by invitation of the King of Bengal around 1100 AD. Today Iyengars are spread all over the world.
Traditional Occupation : Priesthood (The priests at Tirupati Balaji temple, the most famous and important of Hindu Temples are Iyengars).
Population : 600,000 (roughly 1% of Tamilians)
Food Habits : Strictly vegetarian
Marriage Preference : Prefer marriage within their caste but marriage among people of the same Gotra is prohibited.
Related Communities : Madhva, Iyer
Iyengar are Tamil Brahmins of South India who profess the Visishtadvaita philosophy codified by Ramanuja. Iyengars along with Iyers are known as Tamil Brahmins. Iyengars follow Visishtadvaita, a system of thought embodied by the Vedanta, the philosophical portion of the Vedas, Hindu's ancient scriptures. The central idea of Visishtadvaita is this: there exists an Ultimate Reality, an Absolute Being that is the source and substratum of all that exists.
According to the migratory view, Iyengars as well as other Brahmins are Aryans who migrated to India from Central Asia. Today, Iyengars are distinguished not only for their knowledge of the Vedas but also for excellence in various fields such as science, technology, law etc.