VAIKHĀNASAS. The chief "priests" (arcakas) in more than half the Viṣṇu temples in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Karnataka—including the renowned Hindu pilgrimage center, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh—Vaikhānasas are a tiny, widely dispersed brahman community of about 3,000 families. Claiming to be a surviving school of Vedic ritual performance, the Taittiriya śākhā of the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda, Vaikhānasas have their own complete Vedic Kalpasūtra in addition to prescriptive manuals on temple performances exemplifying the so-called Ᾱgama literature. Beyond the intrinsic interest of their literature and the evidence it provides for further inquiry into questions of continuity and change in India's religious traditions, Vaikhānasas command special interest and attention because of their contemporary temple activities and efforts to maintain community integrity despite accelerating social and technical change.

Manā's discussion...