“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″
Tag Archives: Tenkalai
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-27
In 1732 CE, the Persian marauder, Nadir Shah, invaded the Mughal capital of Delhi and carried out sheer unspeakably barbarian-scale mayhem, slaughter, loot and plunder for 57 days! The historian William Dalrymple writes (in his book, “The Anarchy”) that at the end of his expedition, the value of the loot that Nadir Shah took backContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-27″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 26
There is no doubt that the new theories of social anthropology that Western/Christian evangelists developed and propagated in the 19th-20th century CE created a profound revolution in the minds of Tamilians. Feelings and forces of social divisiveness became rife and almost palpable in the air. All of a sudden different groups of Tamil Nadu beganContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 26″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-25
Derived as they were from his Indological studies premised on Christian evangelism, the monumental mischief that Bishop Caldwell’s ideas did to divide and fragment Tamil society has been most comprehensively explained in a chapter in the well-researched book “BREAKING INDIA”: Western Interventions in Dravidian and Dalit Faultlines” ((2011: Manjul Publishing House) co-authored by Rajiv MalhotraContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part-25″
The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 24
A brief recapitulation of everything written so far would be in order before continuing on to recount the history of the decline and fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins” after India gained independence finally from both Mughal and British Rule in 1947. Earlier in Part-9, it was explained how the commonalities between Tenkalai and Vadakalai historical narrativesContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantin-s”: Part 24″
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-vedaantins”: Part 22
From a broad survey of the history of South India between the 15th and 17th century CE, it is easy to learn and conclude that the glory of scores and scores of Hindu temples (both Saivite and Vaishnavite) reached its pinnacle during the same period and it was thanks largely to the power of theContinue reading “The Decline and Fall of the “ubaya-vedaantins”: Part 22″
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 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″