Va i s.n.ava emblem (u ̄rdhvapun.d.ra) applied on the body and the order of dishes
served during a meal (Siauve 1978, Mumme 1988, Jagadeesan 1977: 171–208,
Varadachari 1983). Quarrels between them even occasioned lawsuits through-
out the eighteenth and until the twentieth centuries (Hari Rao 1964: 117–28).
This split which concerned devotees who financed the temple rites affected the
current administration of temples and minor aspects of rituals, but not the core
of the rites which Vaikha ̄nasa or Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra priests continued to perform accord-
ing to their own ritual tradition, even as the particular emblem of one of the
two divisions was imposed on the walls of the shrine, its main idol, or its priests
(Colas 1995: 124, 125–6).
The notion of lineage (parampara ̄) has a special importance in S ́rı ̄vais.n.avism
in which various currents continuously tried to define themselves through dis-
tinct lines of affiliation, because during the daily ritual, a S ́rı ̄vais.n.ava recites the
names of teachers in an order of priority which reflects his spiritual lineage. Two
types of lineages are invoked: the A ̄ca ̄rya- (or Sama ̄s ́rayan.a-)parampara ̄, that is,
lineage of the initiating preceptor, and the Grantha-parampara ̄, that is, the
lineage of the preceptor-commentator of sacred texts. Ra ̄ma ̄nuja is said to have
appointed 74 disciples called the Sim.ha ̄sana ̄dhipatis to spread Vis ́is.t.a ̄dvaitic
teachings. Prestigious S ́rı ̄vais.n.ava families like the Uttamanampis and the
Ta ̄ta ̄ca ̄ryas still claim that their religious honors and privileges originate from his
time. Several S ́rı ̄vais.n.avas who did not belong to any line of preceptorial
succession acted as masters and initiated disciples (Jagadeesan 1977: 42–3, 47,
51, 113–14).
The Ko ̄yil Ol
̄
uku (probably eighteenth-century in its present form) attributes
Ra ̄ma ̄nuja with the assignment of religious functions to S ́u ̄dra groups, not a
revolutionary step, given the role already played by S ́u ̄dras as patrons in Vais.n.ava
temples. Among them, Sa ̄tta ̄das (also named Sa ̄ta ̄nis), identified as Vel.l.a ̄l
̄
as (that
is ranked among S ́u ̄dras) but also sometimes as Bra ̄hman.as, officiated as admini-
strators of feeding houses for pilgrims at Shrirangam, Tirupati, and Kanchipu-
ram during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They also were in charge of
providing flowers and other ingredients for temple worship and participated in
the recitation of the Divyaprabandham. Even today Sa ̄tta ̄das have the religious
privilege of performing similar services in temples in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,
and Andhra Pradesh. Some of them also officiate as priests in small temples
(Hari Rao 1961: 50, 90; Lester 1994).
The late fourteenth century saw the rise and development of S ́rı ̄vais.n.ava
monasteries (mat.has, mutts). It is not known with certainty which part
Ya ̄muna ̄ca ̄rya and Ra ̄ma ̄nuja (also named yatira ̄ja, “king of renouncers”) played
in the origin of S ́rı ̄vais.n.ava ascetic orders, though both of them are said to have
embraced an ascetic life. Vis ́is.t.a ̄dvaitin renouncers (sam.nya ̄sins) are usually
called “three-staffed” (tridan.d.in) by contrast with the “single-staffed” (ekadan.d.in)
Advaitins who considered that the triple-staff custom is meant for lower
classes of renouncers (Olivelle 1986: 53). Apart from Brahmin sam.nya ̄sins,
S ́rı ̄vais.n.avism also comprised of non-Brahmin renouncers called eka ̄kı ̄/eka ̄n.gı ̄
250 gérard colas