Research in Vienna, Austria

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear Dr. Ute Huesken:

 

Thanks very much for your timely note

on the Schoolarly Work of the Vienna Center

on VaishNavite AagamAs .

 

A bhakthA has kindly offered to set up

the web site for VaishNavite AagamAs and

that will house seminal articles , biography ,

glossary , Q&A et al.

 

Please contribute to this new home pages thru

articles from Your end on ythis topic . I invite

other knowledgable bhakthAs to do the same.

 

Thank you again ,

V.Sadagopan

[Guest guest]

Dear Dr.Huesken,

> There is one excellent book on the Vaikhanasa Agamas in French by Prof.

> Gerard Colas from Paris. I can give you the details if you want. Prof.

Colas has,

> however, also published

> many articles on the Vaikhanasa Agamas in English. Details available with

> me. The Late Rompicarla Parthasarathi Bhattacarya, Vaikhanasagama Pandit

in

> Tirumalai, also published some articles in English (and Sanskrit and

Telugu) in

> the Journal of the Oriental Institute of the Venkateshwara University in

> Tirupati.

 

It would be great if you could write a brief introductory note about

Vaikhanasa Agamam,

esp how Vaikhanasa is related to Pancharatra and Visisthadvaita.

> I totally agree that Pancaratra and Vishishtatvaita should not be

confused.

> Usually I refer to the relation between these two systems as "Pancaratra

can

> be called the ritual substratum of the Vishishtadvata (whose

representatives

> are the Shrivaishnavas)".

>

> Are there other modes of characterizing this relation?

 

It is interesting to note that the following temples follow Vaikhansa

Agamam:

 

1.) Sriperumbudur (Ramanuja's birthplace)

2.) Oppiliappan Sannidhi

3.) Thiruvahindrapuram (It is also intersting to note that Swami Desikan was

the author of Pancharatra Raksha)

4.) Triplicane

5.) Tirupathi

 

I had the pleasure of speaking with the scholar, U Ve V N Gopala Desikachari

at Oppiliappan sannidhi during August this year. He informs me that both

agamams are equally accepted and pointed out that in SharanAgathi Diipikai,

Swami desikan extols that both of them are valid.

 

He classifies the Vaikhanasam as being more ritualistic in outlook than the

pAncharatram. This explains why there is difference in srI-tatvam, rahasya

trayams between the Vaikhanasa and Pancharatra.

 

I have very few sources and information about the Agamams. I find it that

this information is quite hard to come by. It would be great if you could

post your thoughts on this.

 

Regards,

 

Malolan Cadambi