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: manavala maamuni
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””
Bhakti’s triumph over plunder and mayhem: revisiting the legend of Sri Rangam “thulaka naachiyaar” with “Eepa”
This morning “Eepa” — a doyen of Tamil literature known for his Sahitya Akademi Award-winning novels and plays — Indira Parthasarathy sent me a sharp question as a WhatsApp message. It tested my familarity if not knowledge, as a Sri Vaishnava (albeit an “Unknown and Unusual” one!), of age-old temple customs and traditions in theContinue reading “Bhakti’s triumph over plunder and mayhem: revisiting the legend of Sri Rangam “thulaka naachiyaar” with “Eepa””
Sri Vaishnava Tenkalai-Vadakalai: Sectarian Fault-lines
SYNOPSIS Of the book, “A Tale of Two Cities: The Decline and Fall of the “ubhaya-Vedantins” – An Outline of the History of Sri Vaishnavas of Tamil Nadu that was never written” M.K.Sudarshan(2023) WESTWOOD BOOK PUBLISHING ATLANTA, Ga, USA) ___________________________________________________________________________ PREAMBLE: Thus, it can be said that Ramanuja’s Sri Vaishnavism was a religious system ofContinue reading “Sri Vaishnava Tenkalai-Vadakalai: Sectarian Fault-lines”
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-56
The animus that has been existing between the two Sri Vaishnava sects for more than half a century shows little sign of abating even today i.e. in the first two decades of the 21st century CE… and most certainly not at all in the principal Tenkalai and Vadakalai temples of Tamil Nadu viz. Sri RangamContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-56″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-52
While the editorial published in the May 2022 issue of “The Voice of Sri Vaishnavas” (“vainavan kural“) dealt with the question of present-day Sri Vaishnava identity in polite, gingerly, and rather very general and superficial terms, the c. 1960s pamphlet of M.A Doraiswamy Iyengar titled “Sri Ramanuja and Sri Vaishnavas” was far more nuanced, forthrightContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedantins”: Part-52″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-28
“The first expedition of the English East India Company (EEIC) to India was led by William Hawkyns, who landed in Surat on 24 August 1608 CE…. And thus began endless bloody wars between Islam and British Imperialism on India’s soil…. Many wars followed in the following two hundred and fifty years that ultimately gave theContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-28″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 20
There can be no doubt that it was the Sri Rangam hinterland that bore the far greater brunt of the Ghaznivid and Malik Kafur depredations than Kanchipuram. (Please see the map in Part-18). The state of ruin and penury to which the Vishnu temples in the southern provinces in and around the Sri Rangam templeContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 20″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 19
The well-known Sri Vaishnava scholar-historian (late) Sri. T.S.Parthasarathy (1913-2006, also Carnatic musicologist, and Expert Committee Member of the Madras Music Academy https://srutimag.blogspot.com/2018/09/ts-parthasarathy.html ) was a family friend of my parents. One day, when we visited him at his house, having learnt I was avidly interested in Sri Vaishnavite history as a serious student, he wasContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 19″