Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c14.3

c14.3

The Śaiva saints Tirunāvukkaraśu, Tirujñānasambanda, Sundara and Māṇikkavācaka and the Nāyanmārs started the *bhakti* movement in South India. The first three wrote the *Dēvārams*, while Māṇikkavācaka wrote the *Tiruvācakam*. All of them stressed the importance of *bhakti*. Side by side with this *bhakti* movement was another movement which stressed the importance of the philosophical aspect of religion. This was headed by Śrī Śaṅkara (8th century) who expounded the doctrine of Vedānta and based his philosophy on the Vedas and Smṛtis. He saw no difference between Śiva and Viṣṇu, and his philosophy was a rigorous monism. To propagate his theories, he is said to have established four *mathas* at four places—Śṛṅgēri, Kāñcī, Jagannāth and Dvārakā over each of which he appointed a pontiff to be followed in regular succession.