The Chain of Grace
Ācārya-paramparā ('succession of teachers') is the lineage of realized spiritual masters through whom the sampradāya's teaching has been transmitted. The Śrī Vaiṣṇava paramparā begins: Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa → Śrī Lakṣmī → Viṣvaksena → Nammāzhvār → Nāthamunigaḷ → Puṇḍarīkākṣa → Rāma Miśra → Yāmunācarya (Āḷavandār) → Periya Nambi → Rāmānuja → continuing through successive Ācāryas.
Why the Paramparā Is Sacred
The tradition holds that Bhagavān's grace does not arrive directly to the bound soul — it flows through the paramparā. Each Ācārya in the chain has directly received the teaching, lived it, and transmitted it with their own grace (abhimāna). Receiving initiation from a qualified Ācārya within this lineage is the gateway to the sampradāya.
Recitation at Worship
The paramparā is recited daily before worship and at key liturgical moments — 'Lakṣmīnātha-samārambhām, nāthamunimśā-madhyamām, asmad-ācārya-paryantām vande guru-paramparām.' This recitation orients the devotee within the living tradition and acknowledges the chain of grace that makes practice possible.