[577] This
poetry shows the same ecstatic devotion and love of nature as the
Tiruvacagam. It contemplates the worship of images and a temple ritual
consisting in awakening the god at morning and attending on him during
the day. It quotes the Upanishads and Bhagavad-gita, assumes as a
metaphysical basis a vedantized form of the Sankhya philosophy, and
also accepts the legends of the pastoral Krishna but without giving
much detail. Jains, Buddhists and Saivas are blamed and the repetition
of the name Govinda is enjoined. Though the hymns are not
anti-brahmanic they decidedly do not contemplate a life spent in
orthodox observances and their reputed authors include several Sudras,
a king and a woman.

After the poet-saints came the doctors and theologians. Accounts of
them, which seem historical in the main though full of miraculous
details, are found in the Tamil biographies[578] illustrating the
apostolic succession of teachers. It appears fairly certain that
Ramanuja, the fourth in succession, was alive in 1118: the first,
known as Nathamuni, may therefore have lived 100-150 years earlier.
None of his works are extant but he is said to have arranged the poems
of the Arvars for recitation in temple services. He went on a
pilgrimage to northern India and according to tradition was an adept
in Yoga, being one of the last to practise it in the south. Third in
succession was his grandson Yamunarcarya (known as Alavandar or
victor), who spent the first part of his life as a wealthy layman but
was converted and resided at Srirangam. Here he composed several
important works in Sanskrit including one written to establish the
orthodoxy of the Pancaratra and its ritual.[579]

4

He was succeeded by Ramanuja, a great name in Indian theology both as
the organizer of a most important sect and, if not the founder,[580]
at least the accepted exponent of the Visishtadvaita philosophy.
Ramanuja was born at Sriperum-budur[581] near Madras, where he is
still commemorated by a celebrated shrine. As a youth he studied
Sivaite philosophy at Conjeevaram but abandoned it for Vishnuism. He
appears to have been a good administrator. He made the definitive
collection of the hymns of the Arvars and is said to have founded 700
maths and 89 hereditary abbotships, for he allowed the members of his
order to marry. He visited northern India, including Kashmir if
tradition may be believed, but his chief residence was Srirangam.
Towards the end of