Narasimha, is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has three eyes, and is in the God of Destruction in Vaishnavism; he who destroys the entire universe at destruction (Pralaya). Hence, he is known as Kala (time), Mahakala (great-time), or Parakala in his names. There exists a matha (monastery) dedicated to him by the name of Parakala Matha at Mysuru in the Sri Vaishnava tradition. Narasimha is the God of Yoga, as Yoga-Narasimha.
Vishishtadvaita is a school of Hindu philosophy belonging to the Vedanta tradition. Vedanta refers to the profound interpretation of the Vedas based on Prasthanatrayi. Vishishta Advaita, meaning "non-duality with distinctions", is a non-dualistic philosophy that recognizes Brahman as the supreme reality while also acknowledging its multiplicity. This philosophy can be characterized as a form of qualified monism, attributive monism, or qualified non-dualism. It upholds the belief that all diversity ultimately stems from a fundamental underlying unity.
Hayagriva is a Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a danava also named Hayagriva, who had the head of a horse and the body of a human.
Bramhatantra Swatantra Parakala Matha, commonly known as Parakala Matha, is a Hindu Sri Vaishnava monastery founded during the Hoysala Empire in 1268 at Mysore, Karnataka, primarily worshipping Vishnu and Lakshmi as Hayagriva and Vargeshi. It is the first mediaeval era monastery of the Vadakalai denomination within Vaishnavism in the Hindu society and is the gurupeeta, the seat of the royal guru, of the maharajas of Mysore.
Vedanta Desika (1268–1369), also rendered Vedanta Desikan, Swami Vedanta Desika, and Thoopul Nigamantha Desikan, was an Indian polymath who wrote philosophical as well as religious and poetical works in several languages, including Sanskrit, Manipravaḷam, Tamil and Prakrit. He was an Indian philosopher, Sri Vaishnava guru, and one of the most brilliant stalwarts of Sri Vaishnavism in the post-Ramanuja period. He was a Hindu devotee, poet, Master of Acharyas (desikan) and a logician and mathematician. He was the disciple of Kidambi Appullar, also known as Athreya Ramanujachariar, who himself was of a master-disciple lineage that began with Ramanuja. Vedanta Desika is considered to be avatar (incarnation) of the divine bell of Venkateshvara of Tirumala by the Vadakalai sect of Sri Vaishnavism. Vedanta Desika belongs to Vishvamitra/Kaushika gotra.
A matha, also written as math, muth, mutth, mutt, or mut, is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism. An alternative term for such a monastery is adheenam. The earliest epigraphical evidence for mathas related to Hindu-temples comes from the 7th to 10th century CE.
Melukote in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka, in southern India, is one of the sacred places in Karnataka.It is built on rocky hills, known as Yadugiri, Yaadavagiri or Yadushaila, overlooking the Cauvery valley. Melukote is about 51 km from Mysore and 133 km (83 mi) from Bangalore.
Alagiya Manavalan, best known by his epithet Manavala Mamunigallit. 'The great saint, Manavalan' (1370–1450), was a Hindu theologian. He was a major proponent of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition in the 15th century in Tamilakam, disseminating it with the help of his eight disciples. The disciples of Manavalan established places of learning to teach the Vishishtadvaita philosophy in Tamilakam.
Varadharaja Perumal Temple, also called Hastagiri, Attiyuran,Attigiri, Perarulalan Perumal temple, Kanchi koil, Thirukatchi, or Perumal koil is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in the city of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu believed to have been visited by the 12 poet saints, or the Alvars. It is located in a suburb of Kanchipuram known as the Vishnu Kanchi that is a home for many famous Vishnu temples. One of the greatest Hindu scholars of Vaishnava Vishishtadvaita philosophy, Ramanuja, is believed to have resided in this temple.
The Srirangam Srimad Andavan Ashramam is a Hindu institution of the Sri Vaishnava tradition dedicated to the propagation of Ramanuja's and Vedanta Desika's philosophy of Vishishtadvaita. The head of the institution is known as the "Andavan" or "Andavan Swamigal", a title that is believed to be given by the deity Ranganatha himself to the first seer.
Sri Vaishnavism is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi, as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who are together revered in this tradition.
Veeraraghava Swamy Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, located in Tiruvallur, Chennai Metropolitan City, an area and headquarters in Tiruvallur district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Constructed in Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is counted as one among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu. Vishnu is worshipped as Veeraraghava Perumal, and his consort Lakshmi as Kanakavalli Thayar.
Sri Narayana Panditacharya, is an Indian scholar and philosopher in the Dvaita Vedānta tradition. He was the youngest son of Trivikrama Panditacharya, one of the direct disciples of Sri Madhva He is the author of Sri Madhva Vijaya, a metrical biography of the rejuvenator of the Dvaita school of philosophy, Sri Madhvacharya. Indologist B. N. K. Sharma writes, "Narayana has earned a lasting fame for himself by his great metrical biography of Madhva".
Nathamuni, also known as Sri Ranganathamuni,, was a Vaishnava theologian who collected and compiled the Naalayira Divya Prabandham. Considered the first of the Sri Vaishnava acharyas, Nathamuni is also the author of the Yogarahasya, and the Nyayatattva.
Sri Devananda Gaudiya Math is situated at Teghori Pada in Nabadwip dham of district Nadia in the West Bengal state of India, and is a matha and prominent holy place of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, as well the headquarters of the Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti. It is located in the middle of the place earlier known as Koladvipa. Math has been continuing as a famous religious spot thronged by thousands of devotees every year.
Lakshmi Kumara Tatacharya, (1571–1643) was a prominent saint and guru of the Sri Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He served as the rajaguru for a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, Venkatapati Raya. He was also the overseer of a number of sacred temples known as the Divya Desams, including Srirangam, Kanchipuram, Tirumala, Melkote, and Srivilliputtur.
Parasara Bhattar, also called Periya Bhattar and Parashara Bhattarya, was a follower of Ramanuja, a 12th-century Sri Vaishnava teacher. He was the son of Koorathalvar. His works include the Srirangarajastavam. He wrote a commentary in Sanskrit on Vishnu Sahasranamam from a Sri Vaishnava viewpoint, titled Bhagavadguna Dharpanam, in contrast to the Advaita view of Adi Shankara.
The Advaita Guru-Paramparā is the traditional lineage (parampara) of divine, Vedic and historical teachers of Advaita Vedanta. It begins with the Daiva-paramparā, the gods; followed by the Ṛṣi-paramparā, the Vedic seers; and then the Mānava-paramparā, with the historical teachers Gaudapada and Adi Shankara, and four of Shankara's pupils. Of the five contemporary acharyas, the heads of the five Advaita mathas, four acharyas trace their lineage to those four pupils and one to Adi Shankara himself.
Hinduism in Tamil Nadu finds its earliest literary mention in the Sangam literature dated to the 5th century BCE. The total number of Tamil Hindus as per 2011 Indian census is 63,188,168 which forms 87.58% of the total population of Tamil Nadu. Hinduism is the largest religion in Tamil Nadu.
Ayee Jananyacharya or Devaraja Perumal was a Hindu Sri Vaishnava religious leader, great saint, and one of the important propagator of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition. Sri Jananyacharya Swami was Seventh in the lineage of Sri Ramanujacharya. He was a scholar in ubhaya vedanta who took Vishishtadvaita school of vedanta to the next level and widely popularized and propagated the Sri Vaishnava tradition.
