AMARUVI DEVANATHAN MAY 26, 2026 Dear Reader, Two Class 8 children wanted me to re-write my original review in a simpler form so that they could understand in full. Hence this. Who are the Vadakalais and Thenkalais? Where do they come from? Why do they fight in Indian courts on completely insignificant matters? From whenContinue reading “A tale of Two Cities = A tale of Two Sects— A simplified version of the original review”
Tag Archives: Kanchipuram Varadaraja Temple
Ruins of the “Thanian War”: A Dialogue at Mahabalipuram”
Prologue Mahabalipuram is where the past becomes a touristic afterthought. The Pallava‑era rock cavities, the carved monoliths, the half‑ruined shrines—all stand serene under the coastal sky, admired for their stone, not their sacrament. Visitors pass by, take photographs, sip tea outside the temple, and move on. The devotion that once gave these stones life isContinue reading “Ruins of the “Thanian War”: A Dialogue at Mahabalipuram””
Tamil Iyengars’s Quixotic squabbles
A note on the 500 years old Thenkalai Vadakalai wars of Southern India A Substack blog post on “Amaruvi Aphorisms“ is copied here below ⬇️ Sudarshan Madabushi https://mylapore.substack.com/p/tamil-iyengarss-quixotic-squabbles AMARUVI DEVANATHAN MAY 23, 2026 Subscriber Note Let me begin with a personal note. I belong to the Vadakalai school of thought. When I had sought toContinue reading “Tamil Iyengars’s Quixotic squabbles “
Amaruvi Devanathan’s Book Review: “A Tale of Two Cities: the decline and fall of the ‘Ubaya-vedantins” – The History of the Sri Vaishnavas of Tamil Nadu that was never told”
Amaruvi Devanathan is an Indian author, public speaker, and professional banking technologist. He frequently describes himself with the catchphrase “a banker by day and blogger by night,” balancing a corporate career in data architecture with a prominent role in the Tamil and English literary circuits. Professional Background Literary & Public Work Published Books He has written several notable worksContinue reading “Amaruvi Devanathan’s Book Review: “A Tale of Two Cities: the decline and fall of the ‘Ubaya-vedantins” – The History of the Sri Vaishnavas of Tamil Nadu that was never told””
Tenkalai and Vadakalai Sri Vaishnavas’ endless legal battle: Can a Phyrric victory for either side erase the “writing on the wall” for both?
Pyrrhic means a victory won at such a devastating cost that it’s almost a defeat. King Pyrrhus of Epirus: his army suffered huge losses winning battles against the Romans, leaving him too weak to continue. It describes any success that ultimately proves worthless due to the immense price paid, like winning a lawsuit but losing everything in legalContinue reading “Tenkalai and Vadakalai Sri Vaishnavas’ endless legal battle: Can a Phyrric victory for either side erase the “writing on the wall” for both?”
An “Unusual” speculation on the “U” and “Y” symbolism of Sri Vaishnavism
The verdict of the Madras High Court dated November 28, 2025 in the long-standing dispute over which Sri Vaishnava sect has the right to press for and exercise its “mirasi rights” to chant its own sectarian litanies and hymns in the sanctum has ruled wholly in favour of the Tenkalais. The judgement has now leftContinue reading “An “Unusual” speculation on the “U” and “Y” symbolism of Sri Vaishnavism”
PART-1 of 2: Did a flawed, ill-conceived legal strategy result in Vadakalais losing their case in the Madras High Court over their rights in Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal temple ?
This detailed analysis below of the Common Judgment dated November 28, 2025, passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Madras in a batch of cases (including W.A. Nos. 1381 & 1382 of 2022) reveals the plausible story of how and why perhaps a flawed legal strategy adopted by the VadakalaisContinue reading “PART-1 of 2: Did a flawed, ill-conceived legal strategy result in Vadakalais losing their case in the Madras High Court over their rights in Kanchi Varadaraja Perumal temple ?”
What’s the hallmark of a Sri Vaishnava “Kovil”? The “Rangarajan Narasimhan Doctrine”!
This debate is old, petty, stale, futile and reflects so poorly on the general cultural traits of the entire Sri Vaishnava community of Tamil Nadu. Sri. Rangarajan Narasimhan has made his name as an indefatigable firebrand activist for protection of Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu. I have great personal respect for him on that account.Continue reading “What’s the hallmark of a Sri Vaishnava “Kovil”? The “Rangarajan Narasimhan Doctrine”!”
The morning after Madras High Court verdict on the Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple: “Vadakalai” cause finally lost?
Yesterday, November 28, 2025 will go down as a sad, black day of mourning for the Vadakalai Sri Vaishnava sectarian community in India and abroad. The Madras High Court has legally affirmed that the Kanchipuram Vadakalai temple must be treated as a Thenkalai/Thennacharya Sampradaya temple, with corresponding denominational rights flowing primarily to the Thennacharya groupContinue reading “The morning after Madras High Court verdict on the Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple: “Vadakalai” cause finally lost?”
The Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Perumal: the Madras High Court passes Judgment : it belongs to “Tenkalai Sampradayam”
The High Court passed its Verdict today on a long simmering dispute between our two great Sri Vaishnava sects over the Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple and, not surprisingly, the first person to celebrate the judgment is from the city of Sri Rangam who has tweeted on X below : The judgment resolves a long‑standingContinue reading “The Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Perumal: the Madras High Court passes Judgment : it belongs to “Tenkalai Sampradayam””