Brahman or Avatāra? Kṛṣṇa in the Literature of South Indian Śrīvaiṣṇava Theologians: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

Kṛṣṇa has captivated the minds of South India’s Śrīvaiṣṇavas since the tradition’s inception. This Tamilnadu-centered form of Vaiṣnavism emerged as a religious community in the tenth century C.E., but the origin of the tradition, Śrīvaiṣṇava theologians argue, can be traced back to the Āḻvārs, a group of Vaiṣṇava poet-saints who lived in South India between the sixth and ninth centuries C.E. Clearly, the tradition’s early interest in Kṛṣṇa’s story comes from the ancient heritage of Āḻvār poetry.