How do canons emerge? How do pilgrimage lists come about?
It arises from the investment of devotees- from their ability to imaginatively interpret certain canonical works
Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the emergence of 108 Divya-Desam canon in SriVaishnava tradition
It arises from the investment of devotees- from their ability to imaginatively interpret certain canonical works
Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the emergence of 108 Divya-Desam canon in SriVaishnava tradition
Today the conventional understanding is
Sri-Vaishnavas have this list of 108 Divya-desams - Vaishnavite temples concentrated in Tamil country
These are "Divya Desams" as they have been "eulogized" by Alwar saints in nAlAyira Divyaprabandham - 4000 Tamil verses from 6-9th cen
Sri-Vaishnavas have this list of 108 Divya-desams - Vaishnavite temples concentrated in Tamil country
These are "Divya Desams" as they have been "eulogized" by Alwar saints in nAlAyira Divyaprabandham - 4000 Tamil verses from 6-9th cen
There are distinguished temples that are visited by Vaishnavites in tens of thousands, but are not a part of 108 DDs, because they are not eulogized by the Alwars
E.g. The kRSNa temple at Mannargudi, which is an "Abhimana sthalam" but not a Divya desam.
E.g. The kRSNa temple at Mannargudi, which is an "Abhimana sthalam" but not a Divya desam.
But how did this canon emerge?
DId the Alwars indeed mention these 108 places in their verses?
Actually not necessarily
It arises from the ways in which commentators have interpeted the verses centuries later!
DId the Alwars indeed mention these 108 places in their verses?
Actually not necessarily
It arises from the ways in which commentators have interpeted the verses centuries later!
Two key individuals from medieval times (likely post 13th cen) have played a BIG role in the formation of the canon
Periyavachan Pillai (who wrote a commentary on each of the 4000 verses)
Pillai Perumal Iyengar (who used Periyavachan's commentary to create the list of 108 DDs)
Periyavachan Pillai (who wrote a commentary on each of the 4000 verses)
Pillai Perumal Iyengar (who used Periyavachan's commentary to create the list of 108 DDs)
Let's take one of the Alwar verses from the Divya Prabandham -
This is a pasuram from Nammalvar's Tiruvaimozhi - likely a 7th/8th cen work in archaic Tamil, and part of Divya Prabandham
This is a pasuram from Nammalvar's Tiruvaimozhi - likely a 7th/8th cen work in archaic Tamil, and part of Divya Prabandham
The literal meaning goes something like this -
Note the reference to Thirukkudandhai that Periyavachan Pillai picked on centuries later
Note the reference to Thirukkudandhai that Periyavachan Pillai picked on centuries later
Thirukkudandhai was associated by Periyavachan with the temple at Kumbakonam
Pillai Perumal Iyengar then leveraged Periyavachan's commentary to create a list of 108 pilgrimage centers, which were spotted by Periyavachan
Kumbakonam's Aravamudhan being one of them
Pillai Perumal Iyengar then leveraged Periyavachan's commentary to create a list of 108 pilgrimage centers, which were spotted by Periyavachan
Kumbakonam's Aravamudhan being one of them
So now Kumbakonam's Sarangapani temple is associated with the Aravamudhan of Thirukkudanthai glorified by Nammalvar
Hence it becomes a Divya Desam
Did Nammalvar intend it that way? Not sure. But the association with the place happens in the writings of the two men I mentioned
Hence it becomes a Divya Desam
Did Nammalvar intend it that way? Not sure. But the association with the place happens in the writings of the two men I mentioned
This is a classic example of how a canon emerges through the investment of commentators in certain source texts
