three in number: egocentricity (a ̄n.ava) – this was the orientation of one’s
life by selfishness and the will to have one’s own way; ma ̄ya ̄– this was the
tendency to overvalue the “tangible world”; and karman
̄
- the principle of
causation which, because it was ill-trained, tended to keep one attached to
the bonds.
The goal of existence was to become attached to the lord (pati) through
the grace (arul.) of god. The summum bonumof the religious experience was
for the soul and the lord to become inseparable as in a new compound.
Several analogies were used for this experience: it was like iron filings on the
magnet; or like the fragrance of the flower – different from it but inseparable
from it. One could attain this experience in a variety of ways, but most
commonly, it occurred through dars ́an(viewing the deity) after the temple
ritual sequences. The experience was illustrated in the context of worship
in a temple when the foot of the deity (in the form of a crown) was placed
on the head of the devotee.
Veda ̄ nta
The other major school rooted in the south is known as Veda ̄nta (that is, the
“end” or culmination of the Vedas) or Advaita (non-dualism) and its variants.
This school was rooted in the Upanis.adsand was associated with the brah-
mans of the S ́rı ̄ Vais.n.ava sect. It was influenced by several sources, including
theVis.n.u Pura ̄n.a, the Bhagavadgı ̄ta ̄, and, not least important, the songs
of the Tamil A ̄l
̄
va ̄rs. While the term advaitaliterally means monism or non-
dualism, there are, in fact, several variations within the tradition.
The start of this school is ascribed to one Ba ̄dara ̄yana(apparently not a
South Indian), who is said to have compiled the Veda ̄nta Su ̄ trasaround the
second century CEas a form of commentary on selected Upanis.ads. The
tradition was maintained and refined in the south primarily by a succession
ofa ̄ca ̄rya ̄s, that is, priests who were also preceptors or tutors affiliated with
S ́rı ̄vais.n.ava temples. One of the early a ̄ca ̄rya ̄swasYa ̄muna(ninth century?),
who was followed in succession by others, including the famed theologian
Ra ̄ma ̄nuja, who was associated with the temple at S ́rı ̄ran.gam, and Madhva,
a dualist who became especially popular in Karnataka. An important figure
in this intellectual climate was S ́an.kara (or S ́am ̇ kara), an eighth-century
brahman from Kerala, who eschewed the life of a householder and of a
priest-preceptor in order to become a sam.nya ̄sin, a celibate-seeker cum
teacher. Eventually, S ́an.kara is claimed by S ́aivites and especially by sma ̄rta
brahmans as the teacher par excellence and an “incarnation” of S ́iva.
Most of the advaitin thinkers shared certain common principles.^19 The
universe had as its fundamental essence brahman.Brahman, once the form-
less, nameless reality of the early Upanis.ads, is now understood to be either
The Post-classical Period 103