A note on the worship of the Ācārya’s pādukās among the Śrīvaiṣṇavas

Abstract

Worshipping the feet, footprints, and sandals (pādukā) of deities and revered people is a widespread practice across South Asia (and throughout the world) that cuts across belief systems. And the Śrīvaiṣṇavas are no exception: on the one hand, they receive the benediction of the Lord’s feet upon their heads in the form of the śaṭhāri, on a visit to a temple or a maṭha. And on the other hand, they worship the feet of their own Ācārya(s) and/or their pādukās, as well as those who belonged to their Ācārya lineage. In this article, I shall deal with the second practice, with a special focus on the manifold ways in which the Ācāryas’ pādukās are honoured institutionally in some of the Śrīvaiṣṇava maṭhas in South India, and on how the disciples of those religious institutions replicate some of the customs at home for their private worship. Given that there are many branches and families of Śrīvaiṣṇavas, differences in the worshipping practices have inevitably crept in, and in this article, I shall seek to understand those differences based on a few examples.