Ācārya Bhakti in Early Śrīvaiṣṇavism: Maturakavi Āḻvār’s Kaṇṇi nuṇ ciṟu ttāmpu: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

The Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition (sampradāya) of South India traces its heritage to both the Tamil bhakti of the 6th-9th centuries CE, embodied in the hymns of the devotional saints, the Āḻvārs, and the Sanskrit Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta,
systematized by Yāmuna (11th century CE) and Rāmānuja (12th century CE). The post-Rāmānuja period until the 15th century saw development of commentaries that underscored the dual heritage of Śrīvaiṣṇava literature consolidating Sanskrit śruti and Tamil Āḻvār hymns as Ubhaya Vedānta.A number of teachers (ācārya/guru) were crucial in the preservation and transmission of this tradition. This paper examines a hymn by one of the twelve Āḻvārs, Maturakavi, titled Kaṇṇi nuṇ ciṟu ttāmpu, “The Slender Knotted Cord,” together with the Maṇipravāḷa commentary by Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai (b. 1228). The poem celebrates the relationship of
Maturakavi and his teacher Nammāḻvār and offers a glimpse into the Śrīvaiṣṇava conception of a preceptor in the mid-13th Century. This paper is in three parts: a brief exposition on Maturakavi and his status within the sampradāya; the theological framework that underlies the commentary; an examination of the commentator’s interpretation of the hymn specifically in regard to the concept of god, teacher, and salvation; finally, a preliminary evaluation of Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai’s understanding of the guru.