Srirangam is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among the 108 Divya Desams, a group of Vishnu temples, it is famous for the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, the largest temple complex in India and the biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world. Srirangam is also home to a significant population of Sri Vaishnavas.
Ramanuja, also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism. His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.
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 neck of a horse and the body of a human.
Dakṣiṇāmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pīṭham or Śri Śṛṅgagiri Maṭha is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams following the Daśanāmi Sampradaya - the peetham or matha is said to have been established by acharya Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara to preserve and propagate Sanātana Dharma and Advaita Vedānta, the doctrine of non-dualism. Located in Śringerī in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka, India, it is the Southern Āmnāya Pītham amongst the four Chaturāmnāya Pīthams, with the others being the Dvārakā Śāradā Pītham (Gujarat) in the West, Purī Govardhana Pīṭhaṃ (Odisha) in the East, Badri Jyotishpīṭhaṃ (Uttarakhand) in the North. The head of the matha is called Shankarayacharya, the title derives from Adi Shankara.
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 and Attiyuran, 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. 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.
Sadh Vaishnavism, , is a denomination within the Vaishnavism—Bhagavata tradition of Hinduism. Sadh Vaishnavism was founded by thirteenth century philosopher-saint Madhvacharya, who developed the Tattvavada (dvaita) Vedanta sub-school of Hindu philosophy.
The Ahobila Matam is a Vadakalai Sri Vaishnava monastery established around 1400 CE at Ahobilam in Andhra Pradesh, India following the Vadakalai tradition of Vedanta Desika. It is attributed to Sri Adivan Satakopa Swami.
Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, also known as Kavaḷē maṭha, located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa, is the oldest matha of the Smarthan Saraswat Brahman Samaj. It was founded by Gauḍapāda around 740 AD, whose student was Govinda Bhagavatpada, the guru of Adi Shankara, a highly influential figure in Hinduism. There is also a belief that Gauḍapāda himself established the Shri Gaudapadacharya matha when he lived in Gomantak (Goa). Thus, the matha came to be known as Shri Saunstan Gaudapadacharya matha. Unlike other mathas, Shri Gaudapadacharya matha is not a polemical center established to influence the faith of all Hindus, its jurisdiction is limited to only Dakshinatya Saraswat Brahmins. The Peetadhipathi "head monk" is Śrī Gauḍapadācārya. Smartist Goud Saraswat Brahman Samaj and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin are its main disciples.
Satani is a community that renders temple services in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in India. Traditionally, they have rendered a variety of services as supervisors and purohits of minor temples, guardians of temple properties, heralds, singers and torch-bearers at festivals, bodyguards of Jiyars, and providers of umbrellas, flower garlands, and namam clay. They have claimed Brahmin status, although this has been contested by Brahmins as they do not wear the sacred thread and they do not study or chant/recite Sanskrit Vedas or Gayatri Mantra, but they study and recite only Naalayira Divya Prabandham written by Alvars. They are currently included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list by the central and state governments.
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.
Thiruvanthipuram is a revenue village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India.
Vaduvur Veeravalli Srinivasa Desikachariar was an Indian scholar. He studied Sanskrit and published several books. In 2001, he received the Rashtrapathi Award from the President of India as a Sanskrit scholar, one of the highest awards awarded by the Indian state.
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.
