By about the 11th century, Sri Vaishnavas established themselves as the dominant sect among the Vaishnavas. And, their way of worship (pancharatra) took charge of most Vaishnava temples in South India, and made it open to a larger participation by larger segments of the community. As a result of this development, the Vaikhanasas, rooted in orthodoxy, appeared to have been increasingly marginalized as temple priests. In order to distinguish themselves and to assert their identity as hereditary temple ritual- specialists following the pristine Vedic practices they interpreted certain pre-natal rituals (say, Vishnu –Bali) to serve as the boundaries of their group. those set of rituals and the texts that highlighted the superiority of Vaikhanasa parampara, pantha (tradition) and its siddantha (ideology) attempted to transform the self perception of a close knit group of priestly class placed in a fluid historical and local setting. 69.1. The Vaikhanasas scholars of this period strove to define and defend their unique identity through their unique practices, and by means of their texts on temple worship rituals and the domestic rituals. Among these, Nrsimha Vajapeyin, Bhatta Bhaskaracharya, Anantacharya and above all Sreenivasa-makhin are prominent. 69.2. Nrsimha Vajapeyin (described as the disciple of Varadacharya and son of Madhavacharya) is held in high regard as a great scholar well versed in Vedic srauta rituals (he having performed the Vajapeya yajna), in Vaikhanasa temple worship-rituals, and in Tantra-mantra shastra. His Bhagavad – archa – prakarana details the daily worship procedures at the temple. He also prepared an elaborate and an excellent gloss on the seven chapters of Grihya – sutra, three chapters of Dharma –sutra and on the one chapter of Pravara – sutra. Nrsimha Vajapeyin’s gloss provides main framework for the elaborations in the later texts. It also lucidly presents the significant aspects of temple-worship sequences, in concise form. 69.3. His disciple, Bhatta Bhaskaracharya wrote commentaries on Daivikaand Manusha sutras and also on Khila (appendix) mantras of Rig-Veda. 69.4. However, the most prolific writer among them was Sreenivasa-makhin (also known as Sreenivasa Dikshita or Sreenivasa-adhvari) hailed as ‘the Vedanta Deshika of Vaikhanasas’. He enjoys a preeminent position in the Vaikhanasa lore. It is said; he was the son of Govindacharya and Rukminiyamma of Vaikhanasa Brahmin family of Kaushika gotra. He was born at Venkatachala (Vrsagiri), the present Tirumala. Sreenivasa-makhin served as the priest in the temple of Sri Venkateshwara on the Tirumala hills. He is said to have lived after Nrsimha Vajapeyin, Bhatta Bhaskara and Anantacharya. And, his period is said to be around the 11-12th century.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 11:04:25 +0000
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