The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c32.26

v1.c32.26

¹ Wilson, o. c., p. 254. Cf. Ch. XV, No. 9. The conversion of Tirupati from a Saiva to a Vaishnava temple by Ramanuja has lately aroused much controversy. Cf. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Ancient India, p. 215-8. The Vaishnava chronicles are not impartial authorities. We really believe that the fact took place, through a fraud most probably, though formerly only Siva had been worshipped there. Naturally Ramanuja declared that he had re-started the previous cult given there to Vishnu, in order to give solid ground to his desire of establishing the Vaishnava religion there. An enormous amount of literature has been written on Tirupati. See, for instance, Wilson, The Mackenzie Collection, p. 254-5, 349; Taylor, Catalogue Raisonnee, I, p. 537, 588, 589, etc.