The second of the major dissonances amongst the Tenkalai and Vadakalai versions of the history of the Kanchi Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple is related to “POWER AND LEGITIMACY” and how each sect reacts to both.
It is going to need explication at quite some length because it is perhaps the chief reason why the many other trifling doctrinal differences and turf-wars between the two sects are deliberately kept simmering to distract general public attention away from each other’s sins of commissions and omissions. Those turf-wars often suddenly flare up every now and then at Kanchipuram even today as ugly, embarrassing incidents and even during important religious festivities like the recent 2022 “brahmotsvam” or the 2018 “adhyaayana utsavam”.
The clash over Power and Legitimacy lies indeed at the very heart of the Tenkalai and Vadakalai tussle. And it is, in fact, what makes the Truth behind all their internecine conflicts and squabbles so very difficult to discover. It also makes Reconciliation between them so very elusive to achieve even after 200+ years when first began their endless, costly, often frivolous court-room battles.
Throughout the history of the pre-modern world and right across civilizations and cultures, we see that conquerors, invaders, Rulers and Emperors occupying mighty thrones always needed and depended upon the authority of Religious institutions — such as the Church or the Ulemma in the Christian and Islamic world, for instance — to support and solemnize the very right that they held to remain on the throne to rule their empires and kingdoms as unchallenged sovereigns.
In the history of medieval times right across India too, we always had monarchs seeking Legitimacy for their rule by keeping the priests and holy men (Popes, Caliphs, Rajagurus etc…) on their side at all times since it was the latter who held holy scepters in their hands to signify and exercise formidable influence on the State in their capacity — even if not as parallel or competing “power-centers” — as “moral authoritarian-centers”, sage advisors and administrative mentors/consultants.
It is thus no surprise from a historian’s point of view, that the great Vijayanagar Dynasty that ruled the Deccan and Tamil regions of South India, being an avowedly Hindu empire sought to publicly assert its Hindu identity and sympathies through the most prominent and influential Hindu religious establishments in which large proportion of the empire’s population reposed faith. The Vijayanagar dynasts thus invested a lot— both in terms of huge physical and financial resources as well as moral and regal support — in the Sri Vaishnava and Saiva temples and “Muttams” of the land.
At the same time, the relationship between Church and State worked both ways in a mutually reinforcing and symbiotic way. The religious gurus and their own vast institutional flock of networks…. of temples, monasteries, churches, mosques and entire rank and file of acolytes, cadres of common laity etc….. all did need the King and the State to support them with generous patronage, largesse, protection and sustained support. Putting in place such an arrangement or pact of mutuality was an essential part of all Statecraft and realpolitik and were it not sustained and strengthened for any reason, both the Maharajas and Rajagurus knew only too well then, neither could ever survive for too long in their respective seats of power and influence.
Now, within the religious establishment or power-structure, however — i.e. within the Church, ulemma or “sampradaaya“, so to say in a metaphoric sense — Legitimacy for functionaries and ecclesiastical office-holders was sourced not from the State or Kings but from within their own fold or fraternity. In Christianity, the Pope obtained his Legitimacy from a College of Cardinals and Archbishops duly constituted for the purpose who elected him to the supreme papal office. Similarly, in Sunni Islam the Caliph was selected by the wisdom and judgment exercised by the Islamic “ummaa” (community of believers bound together with a common purpose, and with a common goal to advance the cause of Islam). Amongst the Shia Muslims, their supreme ayatollah obtains Legitimacy only from his hereditary lineage traced to a bloodline of the Prophet or that of a chosen and related Imaam. Papal power or the power of the Caliphate thus always rested wholly only upon the Legitimacy derived from an ancient and well-evolved traditional system of internal devolution, succession or delegation of power and authority.
The above almost universally acknowledged notion of Power and Legitimacy has been applicable from time immemorial in full measure to the Sri Vaishnava religious establishment of Achaaryas, their “muttams” (hermitages) and their “106 Divya desam” Temples too.
The power any Sri Vaishnava Achaarya wields flows only from the particular “paramparai” or lineage that has elected him to office by general consensus, giving due regard to his qualification, competence, accomplishments and, above all, his innate qualities of exceptional piety and fidelity to the faith. In the Sri Vaishnava religious power-structure, that “paramaparai” or ecclesiastical lineage is the “74 simhaasanaadipati-peetams” instituted by Sri Ramanujacharya in his lifetime. The “paramaparai” thus is the real source of Legitimacy for any Acharya of the fold.
Again, any Sri Vaishnava “muttam“, if it is to be accepted by the general community as being competent to hold and exercise the Power to represent and propagate the Sri Vaishnava “sampradaaya“, can do so only if its credentials — of either origination or of association with the legacy of Sri Ramanujacharya — are patent. The “muttam’s” Legitimacy to hold and uphold ecclesiastical office will thus depend largely upon how conclusively, by means of valid testimony, it can establish the proximity or distance of its inception from, and its links to Sri Ramanujacharya’s own graceful presence, either while he was alive or else posthumously.
Likewise, the same yardstick applied to all Sri Vaishnava temples too. No matter where they were located in the country, the custodians of Sri Vaishnava temples– called variously as “miraasidar“, “sthaanataars“, “sri kaaryams“, “sthalathaars“, “koil kelvi“, “kelviappans” etc. — derived legitimacy for their role and functionary rank of stewardship (the colonial British Crown governors had a funny name for them, “church wardens”!) only from one source — ordainment directly by Sri Ramanujacharya when he was alive or, posthumously, by or under a valid Order of Sri Ramanuja appointed specifically on his behalf.
Thus, within the ecclesiastical organization or structure of the Sri Vaishnavite faith, power to act as an Achaarya over a community, or power to institute a hermitage or muttam, or the power to helm and manage the stewardship of a “divya desam” temple….. all such power stemmed only from the one and only all-abiding Gold Standard of Legitimacy viz.: either a direct ordinance or an appointment on his behalf by agency of Sri Ramanujacharya himself.
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The Sri Vaishnavas hold all the “106 divya desam” temples on earth to be equally sacred and venerable. Yet it is their belief that four amongst them are to be regarded, specially in terms of prime importance, as capital centers of worship. The belief is reflected in a famous Sanskrit “shloka” that every Sri Vaishnava, whether Tenkalai or Vadakalai, would be familiar with:
“SrIranga-mangaLa-nidhim karuNAnivAsam
SrIvenkaTAdri-SikharAlaya-kAlamegham |
SrIhastiSaila-Sikharojjvala-pArijAtam
SrISam-namAmi SirasA yaduSaila-dIpam ||
(Meaning ): I bow unto the abode of mercy, the auspicious jewel of Srirangam , Sri RanganAthA. I bow unto the dark rain-laden cloud of DayA on the top of the Hill known as VenkatAdhri revered as Sri VenkatEsA . I bow unto the wish granting Paarijaathaa tree shining on the top of the Hasthisailam (elephant-like hillock used by Brahma the Creator of the worlds, to perform the Yaj~nam (fire-sacrifice), which preceded BhagavAn’s incarnation as VaradarAjA ). I bow with bent head to ThirunArAyanan of Melkote, who illumines the world as the lamp on the top of Yathusailam Hill.
According to the shloka, what makes each of the above temples so pre-eminent and worthy of worship for all Sri Vaishnavas is their intimate connection to the life, times and work of Sri Ramanujacharya who was born in Sri Perumbudur, groomed, educated and initiated into Vaishnavism in Kanchipuram (Hasthisailam); who matured as a great preceptor in Tirumala (Venkataadhri); who founded his great system of philosophy, theology and social reform in Sri Rangam; and grew to great fame at Melkote.
What was the intimate connection these temples had with Sri Ramanujacharya?
In each of these great temples, the indelible stamp and footprint of Sri Ramanuja’s great reformist legacy — i.e. of temple worship, temple administration, Agamic ritualism, iconography, architecture, sculpture, scripture, ecumenism, hymnology and priest-craft — was left behind for the benefit of all posterity to embrace and follow and which still indeed survives, to fuller or lesser degree, even to this very day.
But most importantly, since Sri Ramanujacharya, who being a great visionary, strove all his life to building and developing spiritual institutions rather than cults, he undertook personally at Tirumala, Sri Rangam and Melkote the responsibility for institutionalizing a permanent system of succession in the matter of appointment of temple custodians and priestly functionaries who were to be given hereditary rights and privileges to act effectively for all times to come as servitors and administrators of the ministry of the Deity itself presiding over the temple.
By that singular act which had a mighty impact on the entire future of Sri Vaishnavism, Sri Ramanuja ensured a unique and standard continuity of traditional modes of worship in Sri Vaishnava temples according to a set system of theism which was a magnificent blend of Vedic, Agamic and Prabhandhic practices. It was a system which in his world-view would ensure that Visishtaadvaita as a “siddhaantham“, and as a “darsana” called “ubaya vedaanta“, would withstand the test and passage of time, outlast all vagaries of human affairs and endure forever.
A brief and quick survey of what Sri Ramanuja undertook in such a matter would be very much in order. It helps shed a great deal of light, I believe, on the dissonance amongst the Tenkalai and Vadakalai versions of the history of the Kanchi Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple, as well as on how and why questions of “POWER AND LEGITIMACY” arose amongst themselves. It will follow in the next part of this series.
(to be continued)
Sudarshan Madabushi