Who are Thengalais and Vadagalais? Do they form some special sect and religion? Do they have any special geographical or demographical origin?
These questions had been bothering me from the time I was a little boy. We were a family of Thengalais who had settled down in North India, far removed from South India. Amongst the various festivals being celebrated, the one where we children would join the elders was that of Avaniavittam or Poonal, as we preferred to call it. On that day, the Vadhyar would come to the house for the function. The elder male members, my father and various uncles would have their bath early in the morning and instead of going to the office, or wherever they used to go, would sit in a line wearing white veshtis or dhoti with, upper body bare. We kids used to giggle on the sly at the sight. They used to have white and red colours (Thiruman and Sriccharanam as I later came to know) on their foreheads. But when the Vadhyar came, we could see that what he had on his forehead was different from what my father and uncles had. And after the thread change was over, we, i.e. the little boys around, used to rush to the gathering, screaming “Me too,Me too”. One of my uncles then proceeded to apply the white and red pastes on my forehead, but when he did it like his own, I screamed that I wanted a U, like the Vadhyar Mama!!! The Vadhyar then placed, what he called as a “kalla Poonal” around and across my neck and shoulder and said “No, no, you must do like what your father has done”. At that time, I had no idea that this was as per our tradition, and that my uncle hadn’t just done this to tease me. It was only later after many years that I found out the real reason, we were Thengalais and the Vadhyar mama was a Vadagalai.
Who are Thengalais and Vadagalais?
Both Thengalais and Vadagalais are SriVaishnavites, following the same tenets, beliefs and practices, till a few centuries back.
Thengalais means the “Galais” from South, while Vadagalais means “Galais” from North. But then, what North and South are we talking about? The Poles? The North-South divide in the have and have nots of the world? The Aryans from North India and the Dravidians from South India?
Far from it. The distance separating the two “galais” if measured in kilometers, is not in the thousands, but in the hundreds. Around three hundred to be precise. This is the distance from Kanchipuram and Srirangam.
Both sects are followers of Sri Ramanujachari, and after his death, of Sri Desikar. However, about a hundred years after Sri Desikar, came Sri Manavala Mamuni, with a line of thought slightly different from what was prevalent. Those who subscribed to this became his followers and became one sect and the others remained in the other sect. Sri Desikar was born in Kanchipuram, and he lived there and taught the teachings of Sri Ramanujachari, but with the basic accent being on Sanskrit, which his disciples followed. On the other hand, Sri Manavalamamuni lived in Srirangam, almost a century after Sri Desikar, and while teaching the same beliefs as Sri Desikar, had Tamil as his primary language. Sanskrit was accepted as a language of the North India, and hence its followers became Vadagalais, while Sri Manavalamamuni’s followers, using Tamil, a South Indian language, became Thengalais.
This division, and separation of entities however came to the fore about 200 years after the death of Sri Manavalamamuni, and was a result of beliefs of some very narrow minded persons. Basically the teachings are the same. As a matter of fact, as per Sri Vedanta Desikar in the tradition of Ramanuja, there is no division; there is only a small difference in opinion Similarly, Sri Manavalamamuni would often quote Sri Desikar and his works and refer to him very respectfully. So where are the differences?
Saranagati
It is believed that Sri Ramanujachari felt that this matter was a very personal one, being interpreted and followed in different ways by different people. Hence, he did not pass any final opinion on this till the very end. After he passed away, two groups of his followers were left behind, one based in Kanchipuram, and the other in Srirangam. I have already mentioned above what happened to the philosophy and beliefs of the two groups.
The Acharyas at Kanchipuram had an approach to Saranagati which was different to what was being practiced at Srirangam. This I believe was the main cause of the split.
Prapatti: while it is the belief of Vadagalais that act of surrender to the Paramatma has to be a positive one, Thengalais are of the opinion that knowledge of Jivatma, and surrender to the Lord is adequate.
Thiruman
The Vadagalais apply Thiruman in a U shaped manner (remember the Vadhyar I had mentioned earlier at the Avaniavvittam function when I was very young?). Against this, the Thengalais wear the Thruman in a ‘Y’ shape, with the lower portion extending over the nose. And the reason for the difference? No major one, I can assure you.
This difference in Thiruman was carried out to extreme lengths, so much so, that a few decades back, the Privy Council in London was seized of a particular case where they had to decide whether the Namam on the temple elephant in Kanchipuram would Vadagalai or Thengalai.
There is a view expressed by some (I came across in an article I read on the web) that the actual difference lay in the interpretations as to whether the tip of the nose where the Thiruman was supposed to end was at the nose bridge, or the tip of the nose itself. Just a nose length difference, you may say, but that nose length lasted, and still exists, over centuries. So much so, that during festivals or functions, if people of one “Galai” saw people of the other “Galai” approaching, they would hastily close the gates of the temple or assembly hall.
I am of the belief that the U Thiruman of Vadagalais is a representation of Lakshmi, Sriman Narayan’s consort, the “SRI” in Srivaishnavism. In accordance with Vadagalai beliefs, Sri is the channel for all prayers to the Lord, whereas in the case of Thengalais, while due deference and prayers are made to Lakshmi, the status is not the same as in Vadagalais. Hence it is possible that at a certain stage, someone may have used this mark as a sign of being different from Thengalais.
samaaSrayaNam
Another point of difference on the philosophy angle could be 'samaaSrayaNam', also known as the 'pancha-samskaara' for the five-fold initiation rite that initiates and converts a person into a Srivaishnavism. It is a formal recognition that Sriman Narayana is the almighty, the ultimate. For the Thengalai sampradaayam, this is the only act required. The recognition that Sriman Narayana is the ultimate and his grace is the sole requirement for attaining Moksham.
Vadagalais, on the contrary, believe that a separate surrender, 'bhara-nyaasam', placing the burden of achieving moksha upon the lord, should be performed. They also call this prapatti, SaraNaagati. This is usually done through an acharya.
Other differences on philosophy
Prostration
The number of times one does "sEvippu", or prostration. Yes, Thengalais are required to provide salutation, prostrate, only once, but Vadagalais do it at least twice. Again, I have no idea as to the reason behind this, although I am sure that at some point, someone must have had a good solid reason, and it may have been very plausible one at that point of time.
Serving of Meals
Another difference is during the serving of meals, especially during religious occasions and more so when a religiously eminent person is present. As per the Vadagalai tradition, the first item to be served should be rice, followed by vegetables and other items. In the Thengalai tradition, rice is served ONLY after vegetables and some other items are served. The differences are petty, born out of bigotry, and incorrect or imperfect interpretations of the teachings of the Acharyas. The effects are however great. The have led to extreme bitterness in the two sects, so much so, that I have heard members of one sect saying that they would rather their daughter remain unmarried than giving her hand in marriage to a member of the other sect! Incredible, isn’t it?
Sins committed by people
while Vadagalais believe that the Lord forgives these sins, Thengalais are of the opinion that the Lord takes joy in cleansing the Jivatma of its sins.
Sandhyavandanam and other duties of a Sri Vaishnava
While Vadagalais view this as absolutely necessary, transgressions of which would be violation of his commands, Thengalais believe that while being desirable, there is no element of compulsion.
These questions had been bothering me from the time I was a little boy. We were a family of Thengalais who had settled down in North India, far removed from South India. Amongst the various festivals being celebrated, the one where we children would join the elders was that of Avaniavittam or Poonal, as we preferred to call it. On that day, the Vadhyar would come to the house for the function. The elder male members, my father and various uncles would have their bath early in the morning and instead of going to the office, or wherever they used to go, would sit in a line wearing white veshtis or dhoti with, upper body bare. We kids used to giggle on the sly at the sight. They used to have white and red colours (Thiruman and Sriccharanam as I later came to know) on their foreheads. But when the Vadhyar came, we could see that what he had on his forehead was different from what my father and uncles had. And after the thread change was over, we, i.e. the little boys around, used to rush to the gathering, screaming “Me too,Me too”. One of my uncles then proceeded to apply the white and red pastes on my forehead, but when he did it like his own, I screamed that I wanted a U, like the Vadhyar Mama!!! The Vadhyar then placed, what he called as a “kalla Poonal” around and across my neck and shoulder and said “No, no, you must do like what your father has done”. At that time, I had no idea that this was as per our tradition, and that my uncle hadn’t just done this to tease me. It was only later after many years that I found out the real reason, we were Thengalais and the Vadhyar mama was a Vadagalai.
Who are Thengalais and Vadagalais?
Both Thengalais and Vadagalais are SriVaishnavites, following the same tenets, beliefs and practices, till a few centuries back.
Thengalais means the “Galais” from South, while Vadagalais means “Galais” from North. But then, what North and South are we talking about? The Poles? The North-South divide in the have and have nots of the world? The Aryans from North India and the Dravidians from South India?
Far from it. The distance separating the two “galais” if measured in kilometers, is not in the thousands, but in the hundreds. Around three hundred to be precise. This is the distance from Kanchipuram and Srirangam.
Both sects are followers of Sri Ramanujachari, and after his death, of Sri Desikar. However, about a hundred years after Sri Desikar, came Sri Manavala Mamuni, with a line of thought slightly different from what was prevalent. Those who subscribed to this became his followers and became one sect and the others remained in the other sect. Sri Desikar was born in Kanchipuram, and he lived there and taught the teachings of Sri Ramanujachari, but with the basic accent being on Sanskrit, which his disciples followed. On the other hand, Sri Manavalamamuni lived in Srirangam, almost a century after Sri Desikar, and while teaching the same beliefs as Sri Desikar, had Tamil as his primary language. Sanskrit was accepted as a language of the North India, and hence its followers became Vadagalais, while Sri Manavalamamuni’s followers, using Tamil, a South Indian language, became Thengalais.
This division, and separation of entities however came to the fore about 200 years after the death of Sri Manavalamamuni, and was a result of beliefs of some very narrow minded persons. Basically the teachings are the same. As a matter of fact, as per Sri Vedanta Desikar in the tradition of Ramanuja, there is no division; there is only a small difference in opinion Similarly, Sri Manavalamamuni would often quote Sri Desikar and his works and refer to him very respectfully. So where are the differences?
Saranagati
It is believed that Sri Ramanujachari felt that this matter was a very personal one, being interpreted and followed in different ways by different people. Hence, he did not pass any final opinion on this till the very end. After he passed away, two groups of his followers were left behind, one based in Kanchipuram, and the other in Srirangam. I have already mentioned above what happened to the philosophy and beliefs of the two groups.
The Acharyas at Kanchipuram had an approach to Saranagati which was different to what was being practiced at Srirangam. This I believe was the main cause of the split.
Prapatti: while it is the belief of Vadagalais that act of surrender to the Paramatma has to be a positive one, Thengalais are of the opinion that knowledge of Jivatma, and surrender to the Lord is adequate.
Thiruman
The Vadagalais apply Thiruman in a U shaped manner (remember the Vadhyar I had mentioned earlier at the Avaniavvittam function when I was very young?). Against this, the Thengalais wear the Thruman in a ‘Y’ shape, with the lower portion extending over the nose. And the reason for the difference? No major one, I can assure you.
This difference in Thiruman was carried out to extreme lengths, so much so, that a few decades back, the Privy Council in London was seized of a particular case where they had to decide whether the Namam on the temple elephant in Kanchipuram would Vadagalai or Thengalai.
There is a view expressed by some (I came across in an article I read on the web) that the actual difference lay in the interpretations as to whether the tip of the nose where the Thiruman was supposed to end was at the nose bridge, or the tip of the nose itself. Just a nose length difference, you may say, but that nose length lasted, and still exists, over centuries. So much so, that during festivals or functions, if people of one “Galai” saw people of the other “Galai” approaching, they would hastily close the gates of the temple or assembly hall.
I am of the belief that the U Thiruman of Vadagalais is a representation of Lakshmi, Sriman Narayan’s consort, the “SRI” in Srivaishnavism. In accordance with Vadagalai beliefs, Sri is the channel for all prayers to the Lord, whereas in the case of Thengalais, while due deference and prayers are made to Lakshmi, the status is not the same as in Vadagalais. Hence it is possible that at a certain stage, someone may have used this mark as a sign of being different from Thengalais.
samaaSrayaNam
Another point of difference on the philosophy angle could be 'samaaSrayaNam', also known as the 'pancha-samskaara' for the five-fold initiation rite that initiates and converts a person into a Srivaishnavism. It is a formal recognition that Sriman Narayana is the almighty, the ultimate. For the Thengalai sampradaayam, this is the only act required. The recognition that Sriman Narayana is the ultimate and his grace is the sole requirement for attaining Moksham.
Vadagalais, on the contrary, believe that a separate surrender, 'bhara-nyaasam', placing the burden of achieving moksha upon the lord, should be performed. They also call this prapatti, SaraNaagati. This is usually done through an acharya.
Other differences on philosophy
Prostration
The number of times one does "sEvippu", or prostration. Yes, Thengalais are required to provide salutation, prostrate, only once, but Vadagalais do it at least twice. Again, I have no idea as to the reason behind this, although I am sure that at some point, someone must have had a good solid reason, and it may have been very plausible one at that point of time.
Serving of Meals
Another difference is during the serving of meals, especially during religious occasions and more so when a religiously eminent person is present. As per the Vadagalai tradition, the first item to be served should be rice, followed by vegetables and other items. In the Thengalai tradition, rice is served ONLY after vegetables and some other items are served. The differences are petty, born out of bigotry, and incorrect or imperfect interpretations of the teachings of the Acharyas. The effects are however great. The have led to extreme bitterness in the two sects, so much so, that I have heard members of one sect saying that they would rather their daughter remain unmarried than giving her hand in marriage to a member of the other sect! Incredible, isn’t it?
Sins committed by people
while Vadagalais believe that the Lord forgives these sins, Thengalais are of the opinion that the Lord takes joy in cleansing the Jivatma of its sins.
Sandhyavandanam and other duties of a Sri Vaishnava
While Vadagalais view this as absolutely necessary, transgressions of which would be violation of his commands, Thengalais believe that while being desirable, there is no element of compulsion.
