The Tradition
Śrīvaiṣṇavam is the name of the specific religious tradition (sampradāya) that:
- Follows the philosophy of Viśiṣṭādvaita as systematized by Rāmānuja
- Venerates the twelve Āzhvārs and their Nālāyira Divya Prabandham as the Tamil Veda
- Holds to the Ubhaya Vedānta principle (equal authority of Sanskrit and Tamil scripture)
- Practices prapatti and bhakti-yoga as the means to liberation
- Traces its lineage through an unbroken ācārya-paramparā from Bhagavān Himself
Its Two Streams
In the post-Rāmānuja period, two major interpretive and institutional streams gradually became distinct:
- Vaḍakalai, prominently associated with Vedānta Deśika and later Āchārya lineages, receives both Sanskrit śāstra and the Divya Prabandham within Ubhaya Vedānta and develops its own formulations of prapatti, grace, and ritual discipline.
- Teṅkalai, prominently associated with Piḷḷai Lokācārya, Aḻagiya Maṇavāḷa Perumāḷ Nāyanār, Tiruvāimoḻi Piḷḷai, and Maṇavāḷa Māmunigaḷ, gives special prominence to the Divya Prabandham, Āchārya-abhimāna, and Bhagavān's nirhetuka-kṛpā while likewise standing within Ubhaya Vedānta.
The monkey-and-kitten analogies are later pedagogical summaries of selected differences; they should not be used as complete definitions, nor should the two streams be reduced to 'Veda versus Āzhvār' or 'effort versus grace.'
Heartland and Global Presence
Śrīvaiṣṇavam is centered in Tamil Nadu (Śrī Raṅgam, Kāñcīpuram, Tirumalai) with significant communities worldwide.