INDOLOGY Digest - 10 May 1999 to 11 May 1999 (#1999-55)

[Lakshmi Srinivas]

--- Balaji Hebbar  wrote:
>
> Though  this  is  generally  true,  one  cannot  be
> rigid  on  this
> because  the  Tengalais  have  several
> "tirumaligai-s"  (apostolic
> seats)  at  KAnci  and  the  VaDagalais  have
> similarly  some  at
> Srirangam.  In  fact  the  AnDavan  MaTha  (a  >
major
>  VaDagalai
> sannyAsa  pItha)  is  based  in  Srirangam.

Well, I am not using evidence of buildings or the
location of acharyas for voicing a supposition. That
can be quite misleading.

For example, with Srimad AnDavan in Sri Rangam and the
late Sri U.Ve. Prativadi Bhayankaram Annangaracharya
in Kanchi, one may be tempted to draw the conclusion
that tenkalais are from the North and the vadakalais
are from the South!

There is far more solid ground for supposing that
vaDakalais are originally from points North in
Tamilnadu and the tenkalais are predominantly from
points south.

For this one needs to look at the origins of the
brahmana adherents of Sri Vaishnavism in Tamilnadu in
the 9th - 14th centuries.  Their numbers seem to have
been drawn largely from the cOziA (forelock) sub sect
of Brahmins or the VaDamA ("northern") sub sect. There
is no other sub sect represented among the AzvArs and
among the SriVaishnava pUrvAchAryA's. In fact the
Brahmana AzvArs are all cOziA.

Also, today most scholars agree that the numbers of
the tenkalai sect  were drawn, in a large measure,
from the cOziA sub-sect while a large number of the
vadakalai sect have vaDamA smArta  origins. (cf N.
Subrahmanyam "The Brahmin in the Tamil Country"; N.
Jagadeesan, "History of Sri Vaishnavism in the Tamil
country"). Of course there are a few distinguished
vaDama's among Tenkalai's (e.g., maNavALa mAmunikaL
who's from Sikkil KiDAram near modern AlvAr tirunagari
in Tirunelveli District) and cOziA's among
vaDakalai's.

In aid of a clearer picture, let me add that
historically  the vaDama's were from the
Kanchipuram-North Arcot area while the cOziA's were
from modern Thanjavur district and points further
south.

One will get evidence for this i.e., the original
sectarian origins of the Sri Vaishnavas, scattered
throughout literature. For example, a zAkha
unrepresented in the South (e.g., Jaiminiyas) except
among the Nambudiris of Kerala, will also have a few
adherents in some villages in Tirunelveli. (cf JF
Staal, "Nambudiri Veda Recitation"). It is scarcely a
coincidence that these adherents are cOziA brahmins
and also happen to be tenkalai's.

To substantiate this in a scientific manner, one will
have to reconstruct a definitive history of the
brahmins in Tamilnadu, using evidence like gotra,
pravara , sUtra, zAkha etc. as also the inclusion or
exclusion of specific phrases in daily ritual like
sandhyavandana etc. This however has not been done
to-date. But repositaries of communal memory like the
late Sankaracharya of Kanchi as well as some Vaishnava
Acharyas mention this in conversations.

The predominantly geographic nature of the terms
vaDakalai and tenkalai, IMHO, is quite unmistakable.

>
> Further,  all  KarnAtak  Shri-VaiShNavas  are  not
> VaDagalais.

In my post I had refered to "vaDakalai Srivaishnava
families in Karnataka" which I think is quite
different from the conclusion you have drawn above.

Thanks and Warm Regards.




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