A note on Vaishanavism 100 years ago!

[Ramacchandran]

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REF: Chingleput Dist Manual 1879

Page No 34 - 35
Vadagalai and Thengalai Vishnuvaites.
The Vadagalais are most strait laced in doctrine, and place more reliance on form and ritual than the Thengalais.The main differences are The vadagalais will not read or chant words from Sacred books(May be Naalayira Divya Parapandam) except in Sanskrit; while the Thengalais, although revering that language use their own vernacular also. The Vadagais believe in salvation being secured by good works the thengalais assert to be grace alone. The Vadagalais worship Goddess Lakshmi alone (Sakthi Cult) where as Thengalais condemn this Sakthi Cult and insist that the goddess can only intercede. The vadagalais revere Vedanthachari/ Desigan, as the last personification of the deity while the Thengalais address their prayers and praises to manavalamamunigal evidently a defined jain. Bathing in sacred waters washes away sin with vadagalais, an end which the thengalai can be attained only by grace and by abjuring wicked deeds. The widows of Vadagalai will shave their head and Thengalai Widows reject that their treasure is not that of her husban's.. Vaishava Sudras are Thengalies.

Conjeevaram was a Buddhist's town till 4th century A.D (AD 489) and pulikesi burnt this town. Till 9th century temples and buildings were constructed with wood. There were 1000 lingams and 1000 temples in this town. This Canchi has three temples Kamakshi, Ekambara and vardaraja.
This varadaraja temple was also a siva temple which was constructed by Gunda Gopala Rao who was governing the town in 11th century. This Gunda Gopala rao was a saivite who had no child. He took a vow that in case he get a child he will construct a temple for Vishnu. Accordingly he was blessed with a child Gunda Gopala Rao demolished a big sivan temple and constructed a temple for narayana.

There is a sculpture in Ekabara nathar temple. there is a stala Purana. Once saraswati asked Brahma to tell her who he loved most and Brahma replied he loved lakshmi to be his wife. Sarawati got wild, came to kanchi and started Asvameda yagam. Narayana came in the form of naked muni and lie across sarawathi river to stop. The part of the place where narayana lied naked was called yadodhgari. This naked muni is none other than a jain (Manavalama Muni)

 

[happyhindu]

Interesting.

As for your mention that Kanchi was a Buddhist town with 3 temples, there is a small correction i wish to point out.

In the work "Guru Ratna Malika" Sadashiva Brahmendra mentioned that Adi Sankara took the help of Rajasena Cola and got 2 temples constructed -- one to Varada and another to Ekamranatha. Nowhere does Sadashiva Brahmendra mention any other temple.

However, we do not know what were the sources of Sadashiva Brahmendra. Because historically, the Ekamranatha temple was supposedly built by the Pallavas, not by Rajasena Chola.

Also, there used to be a Tara Devi temple though.

Perhaps as you go along you might end up figuring out how various groups were elevated to brahminhood.

Best wishes.

 

[happyhindu]

Shri Ramachandran,

Am not able to find a copy of Chengalpet Manual 1879.

Please let me know the sources provided in the Chengalpet Manual as supporting evidences, for claiming that Manavala Mamuni was a Jain ?

Please note, the Yathothkari temple is ancient and is mentioned in Perumbanarraupatai. Hence we cannot take the Stahala-Purana of Ekambara temple on the Yadothgari temple to be authentic.

 

[Nara]

REF: Chingleput Dist Manual 1879
Page No 34 - 35
.... The Vadagais believe in salvation being secured by good works the thengalais assert to be grace alone.

Dear Ramacchandran, I was tempted to ask whether this manual is available online, but why bother, what is written about Thenkalai and Vadakalai is complete nonsense. The above statement about "good works" and "grace" is particularly interesting -- it betrays Christian centered POV of the author(s). Catholics believe salvation is through "good works" and the Protestants believe only god's grace can lead to salvation.

Cheers!

 

[Ramacchandran]

The Chingleput Manual is with Archives dept library. Original is stored in a safe vault and xerox copy is available there. Please visit that library opp to Egmore Railway station and request the Asst to permit you to go through that manual which is in red bind cover

 

[Ramacchandran]

Dear Nara,
I happen to go through a magazine "Madhva Mithran" which scolds Saivaities as a whole and criticizes Linga worship. The magazine was published in 1914. This book is at madras University Library. Here they say Aham Brahma, the saiva says. Madva Mithran quotes if all the brahmins are from Brahma why they die?

Further if we go through the records with our gazateers there were hundreds of cases still pending with Madras High Court since 1950 about a namam on temple elephant! Vadagalai says it is our temple elephant and then kalai says it is ours. The court ordered six months each. When I was discussing about this vadakalai and thenkalai with a foreigner he asked me what is the difference between each sect, I was made to read this article which I gave to him. He then asked why the Hindus do Acharya worship and not directly approaching the god himself, I tried to answer but found that I need to go deep in this. Even this Acharya he said there are more than a dozen Sancaracharya, some 25 Jeears of vadakalai and then kalai each holding a temple as their office or samasthanam. Then I gave History of Subramanya and Manthralaya which had the full background of forming the Madams.

This research will give us guilty feeling how we were 100 to 200 year before. Ofcourse this will give us a chance to rectify or correct ourselves.

 

[Ramacchandran]

Tara Devi is a Buddhist lakshmi. When Hiuen Tsang from China visited Kanchi in AD 620 he took several images of this to China from where it was taken to Japan!

 

[Nara]

...This research will give us guilty feeling how we were 100 to 200 year before. Ofcourse this will give us a chance to rectify or correct ourselves.

Dear Ramacchandran, If your wish is to expose the silliness and the hypocrisy of SVs -- like namam on elephant, etc. -- then I am with you, I can even help you with that task. I have criticized such behavior in this very web site several times to the chagrin of some SVs.

However, what you have typed up from the Manual you have cited is just plain nonsense, this is not research. There are some vague facts, but almost all of what is written is just plain nonsense. The most outrageous of all being (a) manavalamamunigal evidently a defined (sic) jain, and (b) Vaishava Sudras are Thengalies.

Cheers!

 

[happyhindu]

Shri Ramachandran,

I second Nara sir above. Please do not believe everything just bcoz it is in print. Please see the sources quoted in that book and try to verify yourself.

Thanks.

Regards.

 

[subbudu1]

I personally take history with a pinch of salt. The further in the past we travel the fewer records we will find. This means that for a particular distant event only one source of information will be available. This source of event then provides us with a lot of bias. To trust it as the ultimate truth , is a mockery of wisdom and intelligence which nature has provided us.

Look at the life history of Shankaracharya. So many stories and counter-stories. To a reasonable mind, reading all this should just be for pleasure. Building theories and theories as some sociologists do is in my view is not only impractical it is just a waste of time and money. I would rather that I care not for the life story of a man in the past, than get myself sold to some fallacious theory.

Belief in somebody due to a philosophy is fine, as it can be dismantled if philosophy is dismantled logically.

Scientific research based on genes or archaeology is a different matter and can be reasonably trusted upon.

 

[Brahmanyan]

While we are on the subject, I wish to share the following information to say, how much of damage to humanity a book by a religious reformist could do.
Though Adolf Hitler was born catholic and a religious person, his antisemitism was influenced to start with by the writings of Martin Luther. Martin Luther spewed venom against Jews in his book "Von den Juden und Ihren Luegen." (1544 AD ) "On the Jews and Their Lies" As a boy Hitler attended a monastery school. On his way to school young Adolf daily observed a stone arch which was carved with the monastery’s coat of arms bearing a Swastika.

Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

 

[Ramacchandran]

The original Old Testament quotes about the Gothras and cures based on the diseases. The person who cured diseases were worshiped as Gods. Later on the same changed its approach as Jesus a God. When English ruled our country many sacred palm leaves were taken to Paris and London! Our Chennai Manuscript library had good number of collections but few books which were against a section of people were smuggled away and destroyed. One such book was Arka Prakasika, a Rig Veda Bhashya written by Ravana who says about fetus and child birth which is 108 rigs.
But this book was with Pakistan! Hope you might have read a posting by me some time back. We are fighting in the name of religion without seeing the science behind them, and the other men loots through the other door! Like a jackal watching two goats fighting.