Immortal Words of his holiness Srimad Jagadguru Swami Sudarshanacharyaji Maharaj
The great Hindu revival that took place in Tamil Nadu between the fifth and ninth centuries A.D. saw the emergence of Tamil as a powerful instrument that carried the old faith to the masses and served as a resplendent medium of expression for bhakti, or love of God, which was the chief characteristic of its resurgence. Buddhism and Jainism had previously spread in the South, using Tamil as the language of religious propaganda and poetic…
Venkatadri samam sthaanam Brahmaande naasti kinchana;Venkatesha samo devo na bhootho na bhavishyati! “There is no place in the universe equal to Venkatadri;no deity has ever been or will be equal to Venkatesa!” So declares the Varaha Purana. Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, is the ultimate goal of all devotees from time immemorial. The Puranas, along with the soul-stirring hymns of great savants like Tallapaka Annamacharya, the Alvars, and the Haridasas, unequivocally praise the supreme…
Andal composed two significant works in her short life. Both are in Tamil and are unique in their literary, philosophical, religious, and artistic content. Her contribution is even more remarkable considering that she was a teenage girl when she composed these poems, at a time when there is no other record of Tamil women composing poetry. Far from being the prattlings of a youngster, Andal’s verses display a literary and religious maturity far beyond her…
The figure of Rama and several episodes from the Ramayana are prominent in the poems of the Tamil mystics (Alvars), as well as in the devotional meditations and theological arguments of the Srivaishnava preceptors (Acharyas). This article will explore the importance of the Ramayana in Srivaishnava theology and experience by focusing on the Tamil poetry of the Alvars and on the interpretation of these verses by their commentator, Periyavaccan Pillai (born 1228 A.D.), a Srivaishnava…
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