Hinduism in Sri Lanka in the context of "Sri Lankan Tamils"

Shaiva Siddhanta (IAST: Śaiva-siddhānta) (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism from South India and Sri Lanka that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiva's grace. It draws primarily on the Tamil devotional hymns written by Shaiva saints from the 5th to the 9th century, known in their collected form as Tirumurai. Meykandadevar (13th century) was the first systematic philosopher of the school. The normative rites, cosmology and theology of Shaiva Siddhanta draw upon a combination of Agamas and Vedic scriptures.

This tradition is thought to have been once practiced all over Greater India, but the Muslim subjugation of North India restricted Shaiva Siddhanta to the south where it merged with the Tamil Shaiva movement expressed in the bhakti poetry of the Nayanars which was the first reaction against the nastika philosophies. Today, Shaiva Siddhanta has adherents predominantly in South India and Sri Lanka, and in a Tantrayana syncretised form in Indonesia (as Siwa Siddhanta).

Tamil Hindus (Tamil: தமிழ் இந்துக்கள்) are the Tamil-speaking people who follow Hinduism.

Hinduism was the first religion to reach the ancient Tamil kingdoms. Tamil Nadu is home to one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world. Tamil influence was one of the contributing factors in survival of Hinduism in Sri Lanka and its spreading in South East Asia. Before the Vedic period, many of them followed the ancient Dravidian folk religion. The Hinduism practiced by Tamils today is a fusion of Vedic and Dravidian traditions. There are notable population of Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka and in Indian states of Tamil Nadu, with small populations in Kerala and Karnataka. Though they are present in many countries as diaspora. During the Sri Lankan Civil War, many Tamils emigrated and Hindu temples were built abroad by the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to maintain their religion, tradition and culture.

Hinduism has approximately 1.17 billion adherents worldwide (14.9% of the world's population). Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, behind Christianity (32.8%) and Islam (23.3%). Pew Research Center data shows the global Hindu population grew steadily from 2010 to 2020 and is expected to keep rising. This increase is driven largely by higher fertility rates in India and Nepal and by growing Hindu populations in regions receiving more migrants.

The two Hindu-majority countries are India and Nepal and together account for more than 95% of the Hindu population worldwide. The past two centuries have seen large-scale migration of Hindus from Southeast Asia, to around the world. Countries with more than 500,000 Hindu residents and citizens are (in decreasing order) India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Myanmar, Australia, Mauritius, South Africa, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. Global data shows Hinduism is still concentrated in South Asia, but significant communities also exist in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and Oceania. WorldData.info reports that India holds most of the world’s Hindus, with notable populations in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.