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””
Tag Archives: Lakshmi Kumara Thaathaachari
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 “
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-23
While the rest of the country descended into chaos, anarchy and slavery throughout the 15th to the 18th century CE resulting from wars, conquests and the tyranny of Muslim and British Imperialistic rule, the Sri Vaishnavas of Tamil country themselves descended into a private anarchy of their own making. The war between Tipu Sultan andContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-23″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-21
From the time Sri Manavaala Maamuni passed away in Sri Rangam in 1450 CE until the fall of the great Vijayanagar Empire in the great battle of Talikota in January 1565 CE when the last of the Aravidu Kings, Raama Raja was beheaded by the Bahmani Sultans, the Sri Vaishnava “ubaya vedaantins” continued to skirmishContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-21″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 17
From a reading of the “Sri Rangam Koil ozhukku”, it is possible to glean quite a few snippets of 15th to 18th century CE history during which the enormous and legendary contributions successive generations of the noble “Utthama Nambi” family made to the expansion, care, maintenance and development of the Sri Rangam temple thanks inContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 17″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 16
One of the commonest Tenkalai historical narratives that is dissonant from the Vadakalai one, is that the latter drew far greater legitimacy for power to control the Sri Kanchi Devarajaperumal Temple from the Vijayanagar Royal Court than from Sri Ramanujacharya himself. For well over 500 year, the Thaathaacharyas of Kanchi enjoyed the rights and privilegesContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 16″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 15
Throughout the 16th-17th century CE, there always persisted an undercurrent of tension and conflict in Kanchipuram amongst the “ubaya-vedaantins“. It kept simmering beneath the surface and rarely erupted in any serious external clashes or skirmishes of the ugly sort being witnessed today between Tenkalai and Vadakalai not only inside the precincts of the Kanchi SriContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 15″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 14
The narrative of the Tenkalai challenging the Legitimacy of the Kanchipuram Thathaacharya clan’s exercise of Power and influence over the Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple since the 15th century CE is founded on what the Vadakalai sect considers to be fabricated, specious and wholly untenable from the viewpoint of “ubaya vedaanta sampradaayam”. Only because the ThaathaacharyasContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 14″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya vedaantins” – Part 5
The history of the whole world tells us clearly that at the root of all great human conflicts is the inability of Man to know Truth first and to then Reconcile himself to it. Conflicts arise and continue to fester and outrage us only because one side of the conflict believes its version of TruthContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya vedaantins” – Part 5”
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya vedaantins” – Part 8
In the broad narrative of the Vadakalai sect, the events of 14th-16th century CE history that led to its claiming primacy, ownership, control, legitimacy — and of contributions made to the construction, maintenance and administration of the Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple — most prominently feature Sri Lakshmi Kumara Thathachariar, aka Sri Lakshmi Kumara ThathaContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya vedaantins” – Part 8”