The printing of this book, Agamas and South Indian Vaiṣṇavism, had almost been completed when a cruel fate intervened and snatched away Prof. M. R. Sampatkumaran. It is amidst the gloom of his demise that I am compelled to write this note
Three lectures on this subject were delivered during February 1974 by Dr. V. Varadacharı, currently of Institut Francaise D’Indologic, Pondicherry, under the auspices of Prof. M Rangacharya Memorial Trust (endowed by his dutiful son, the late Prof M R Sampatkumaran). The revision of these lectures for being printed and the necessary time required for editing and printing carefully a book of this bulk accounts for the long delay in bringing it out.
The scope of this work and its approach to the subject has been briefly, yet very succinctly, explained by Prof. S S. Raghavachar in his foreword. The authenticity of the Āgamas has been questioned from about the beginning of the Christian era. The objection is based only on one point viz, worship of God based on the supposed non-Vedic character of the Agamas which recommend strongly the worship of particular deities in an exclusive manner Idol worship marks the Agamic mode of worshipping God. The objections against the validity of the Agamas have been refuted by Yamuna in his great work Agama Prāmāņṇya and Rāmānuja has made good use of the Agama texts in his exposition of the philosophy of Visiṣṭādvaita.
The Agamas glorify several deities and there appear to have been certain Agamas of the nāstika kind too. In course of time only the Sakta, Sawa and Vaışṇava Āgamas survived and the rest became extinct. In this book Dr. V. Varadachari has ably dealt elaborately on various Agama texts and has devoted detailed attention and emphasis, particularly on Vaisnava
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Agamas and the nature of worship in Vaışņavaite temples and their effect on the religious life of the devotees of Vişņu in South India The width and the depth of scholarship called for in making such a study of the subject may very well be judged from the works listed out in the Index. Dr. V. Varadachari has done more than real service in bringing into focus the Agama literature which had not so far been dealt with in a scientific
manner.
Readers may be aware that this Trust has been, in its own humble way, making significant contributions to the study and propagation of the philosophy of Visiştādvaita, and the present publication, the fifth in the series, is in fulfilment of a commitment made in 1977 at the time of publishing the earlier work, Sri Ramanuja’s Philosophy and
and Religion by
Dr. P. B. Vidyarthi.
It remains for me to express my thanks to Dr. V. Raghavan and Sri C. S. Parthasarathy Iyengar (both of them are no longer with us) and Prof. A. N. Parasuram who presided on the three days of the lectures and conducted the proceedings. I am greatly indebted to Prof. S. S. Raghavachar, who, in spite of failing health had been good enough to write the foreword in his inimitable style. The Triplicane Cultural Academy associated itself with the lectures and the authorities of Sri Yadugiri Yatıraja Mutt, Triplicane, Madras, kindly allowed the use of their hall for the lectures I am under obligations to all who helped in the printing of this book and to Sri M. A. Thirumalacharı and Sri A. Thanigachalam in particular. I cannot sufficiently express my thanks to Sri M. N. Parthasarathy, M.A., Secretary, Sri Ramanuja Vedanta Centre, Madras, for his assistance in getting this book ready
February, 1982.
M. C. KRISHNAN.