Vaikhnasa Mantra Prana VVIII (Daivikacatuayam)

The Vaikhnasas are mentioned in many Vedic texts, and they maintain a close affiliation with the Taittirya school of the Ka Yajur Veda. Yet they are Vaiavas, monotheistic worshipers of Viu. Generally, Vainavism is held to be a post-Vedic development. Thus, the Vaikhnasas bridge two key ages in the history of South Asian religion. This text contains many quotations from ancient Vedic literature, and probably some other older original material, as well as architectural and iconographical data of the later first millennium CE. The Vaikhnasas remain relevant today. They are the chief priests (arcakas) in more than half of the Viu temples in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnatakaincluding the renowned Hindu pilgrimage center Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.