Among the main historical periods in the development of Hindu philosophy and religiosity none perhaps has been more innovative that the formative era of the Srivaishnava tradition. Long before the rise of the nothern Bhakti movement the early Brahmin Perceptor of Tamilian Vaishnavism effected a synthesis of elements from the nothern sanskrit stream of vedic literature with the elements of southern religiosity based on highly emotional form of bhakti unique to south India Before emotional devotion spread to the north (primarily via the southern text of Bhagavath purana) the Srivaishnava lineage of preceptors had gone a long way towards the legitimation of the emotional and sensual spirituality of the Alwars. They did this by declaring the Alwars poems to be Tamil Vedas and then proceded to synthesize several of the key features with the Sanskrit Veda especially as integrated by their leading teacher the great Visista philosopher Ramanujacharya.
The blending of three streams of religious scripture, the Sanskrit Vedas the Tamil Vedas and the temple oriented texts called the Vaishnava Pancharatra agamas effected by Ramanuja's immediate disciples and contempararies stands as one of the most innovative ventures in the intellectual history of Hinduism. The first extant comprehensive expression of the unique transformative Srivaishnav world view is contained in the composition of Ramanuj's immediate disciple Kuresa and Kures's son (according to some as Ramanuja's successor in the line of perceptors) Parasara Bhattar. Both of them effectively expressed their world view in praise poems or hymns called Stotras. Stotra is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root Stu meaning to praise, laud or eulogize. Stotra stands differentiated content wise into a wide variety of types. many of the stotras composed by unknown devotees are simple and wholly unsystematic expressions of personal devotion. Reflective and Speculative stotras in a more systematic format have been composed by intellectual leaders of the various Hindu traditions and are filled with philosophical and theological doctrines in a more pleasing form of poetry. The particular purposes of the hymns is sometimes mentioned in the final verse called phala stuthi.
The Alwars in their Tamil compositions accord explicit recognition to both the Nothern and Southern languages and speak persistently in an affermative manner of the Sanskrit vedas and Brahmins as they integrate much from the Sanskrit Classical tradition into their poems world view and spirituality. The stotra texts are written in Sanskrit and contain many renderings of the Tamil names and local sacred places and dieties mentioned by the Alwars. As commentaries began to be written on the Alwars hymns maniparvala developed from generation to generaation into a language containing fewer and fewer sanskrit original words and concepts.
Vedanta Desika incorporatem more and more Tamil Vedas into his hymns.
Ramanuja occupies a position of eminence among the Acharya's. an understanding of Tamilian Vaishnava devotion and religiosity depends upon the study of both the lives and the compositions of all these early acharya's.
The praise poems of Kuresa and Bhattar contain interestingly new information regarding the status and development of the doctrine of Sri vaishnavism. Ideas are often expressed in poetic imagery before they are articulated in more conceptual and precise doctrinal formulations. Stotras are thereforea useful source on the intellectual history and tradition. Several of the later sectarian doctrines ignored in Ramanuja's philosophical commentaries but developed by later Acharyas such as Pillai Loka charya contain clear although poetic and nascent form. The vastness of Srivaishnava religious literature involving commentaries and comentary on commentaries is responsible for the confusion of the actual state of the religion.
What can i say about Him.
Who speaks inside me -Himself
singing his own praise, with his own Words,
While arranging for the sweet stanzas to be spoken by me in my own word.
The blending of three streams of religious scripture, the Sanskrit Vedas the Tamil Vedas and the temple oriented texts called the Vaishnava Pancharatra agamas effected by Ramanuja's immediate disciples and contempararies stands as one of the most innovative ventures in the intellectual history of Hinduism. The first extant comprehensive expression of the unique transformative Srivaishnav world view is contained in the composition of Ramanuj's immediate disciple Kuresa and Kures's son (according to some as Ramanuja's successor in the line of perceptors) Parasara Bhattar. Both of them effectively expressed their world view in praise poems or hymns called Stotras. Stotra is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root Stu meaning to praise, laud or eulogize. Stotra stands differentiated content wise into a wide variety of types. many of the stotras composed by unknown devotees are simple and wholly unsystematic expressions of personal devotion. Reflective and Speculative stotras in a more systematic format have been composed by intellectual leaders of the various Hindu traditions and are filled with philosophical and theological doctrines in a more pleasing form of poetry. The particular purposes of the hymns is sometimes mentioned in the final verse called phala stuthi.
The Alwars in their Tamil compositions accord explicit recognition to both the Nothern and Southern languages and speak persistently in an affermative manner of the Sanskrit vedas and Brahmins as they integrate much from the Sanskrit Classical tradition into their poems world view and spirituality. The stotra texts are written in Sanskrit and contain many renderings of the Tamil names and local sacred places and dieties mentioned by the Alwars. As commentaries began to be written on the Alwars hymns maniparvala developed from generation to generaation into a language containing fewer and fewer sanskrit original words and concepts.
Vedanta Desika incorporatem more and more Tamil Vedas into his hymns.
Ramanuja occupies a position of eminence among the Acharya's. an understanding of Tamilian Vaishnava devotion and religiosity depends upon the study of both the lives and the compositions of all these early acharya's.
The praise poems of Kuresa and Bhattar contain interestingly new information regarding the status and development of the doctrine of Sri vaishnavism. Ideas are often expressed in poetic imagery before they are articulated in more conceptual and precise doctrinal formulations. Stotras are thereforea useful source on the intellectual history and tradition. Several of the later sectarian doctrines ignored in Ramanuja's philosophical commentaries but developed by later Acharyas such as Pillai Loka charya contain clear although poetic and nascent form. The vastness of Srivaishnava religious literature involving commentaries and comentary on commentaries is responsible for the confusion of the actual state of the religion.
What can i say about Him.
Who speaks inside me -Himself
singing his own praise, with his own Words,
While arranging for the sweet stanzas to be spoken by me in my own word.
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