AzhwArs who were fully blessed by emperumAn preached the divine knowledge to many. madhurakavi AzhwAr (disciple of nammAzhwAr) and ANdAL (daughter of periyAzhwAr) are also added into AzhwArs goshti at times. They are headed by nammAzhwAr (prapanna kula kUtasthar/vaishNava kulapathi) and are said to be 10 in number вЂ“ poigai AzhwAr, bhUthaththAzhwAr, pEyAzhwAr, thirumazhisai AzhwAr, nammAzhwAr, kulaSEkara AzhwAr, periyAzhwAr, thoNdaradippodi AzhwAr, thiruppANAzhwAr and thirumangai AzhwAr. These jIvAthmAs became to be famously known as AzhwArs (ones who are immersed in bhagavath anubhavam). Realizing that he should prepare a jIvAthmA to help the samsAris (like a deer is used to capture another deer by a hunter), he picked a select few jIvAthmAs and gave them blemishless divine knowledge.

emperumAn then personally descended as many avathArams, only to see many disrespecting him and even fighting with him. Of these 18 purANams, brahmA himself declares that when he is in the mode of sathvam (goodness) he glorifies vishNu, in the mode of rajas (passion) he glorifies himself and in the mode of thamas (ignorance) he glorifies Siva, agni, etc.Д®ven with the existence of all of these, instead of gaining true knowledge through SAsthram and looking out for the true goal, samsAris were still engaged in materialistic aspirations.

purANams are the collection of 18 main purANams (brahma purANam, padhma purANam, vishNu purANam, etc) and many upa (minor) purANams which are compiled by brahmA.

SrI rAmAyaNam is considered as the sharaNAgathi SAsthram and mAhAbhAratham is considered as panchamO vEdham (fifth vEdham after the rig, yajur, sAma and atharva vEdhams).

ithihAsams are the collection of SrI rAmAyaNam and mahAbhArtham вЂ“ the two great epics.

smruthi is the collection of dharma SAsthrams which are compiled by great sages like manu, vishNu hAritha, yAgyavalkya, etc.

Since, vEdham is anantham (endless вЂ“ huge) and vEdhAntham is very complicated and the capacity of human intelligence is limited (which can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations), we have to understand vEdham/vEdhAntham through smruthi, ithihAsam and purANams. There are many upanishadhs, but the following are considered as the most important:Д«rahma sUthram that is compiled by sage vEdha vyAsa is also considered to be part of vEdhAntham since it is the essence of upanishadhs. While vEdham talks about the process of worship, vEdhAntham talks about bhagavAn who is the object of worship. upanishadhs are the works of great sages which analyse brahmam from different aspects. vEdhAntham is the collection of upanishadhs which talks about the intricate details about emperumAn. While vEdham is just one vast body of scripture, vEdha vyAsa, considering the limited capacity of human intelligence in the future, divided the vEdham into rig, yajur, sAma and atharva vEdhams.

svatha prAmANyathvam вЂ“ all vEdha vAkyams are self-sufficient, i.e., we dont need anything more to prove the validity of the same.

nithyam вЂ“ it is eternal вЂ“ with no beginning and no end вЂ“ it is revealed time and again by emperumAn who is fully cognizant of the contents of vEdham.

Hence errors of individualвЂ™s sense-perception etc., are absent.

apaurushEyathvam вЂ“ not created by any individual (at the outset of every creation, emperumAn teaches vEdham to brahmA who in turn propagates the same).

Just like emperumAn has akila hEya prathyanIkathvam (opposite to all bad qualities) and kalyANaikathAnathvam (abode of all auspicious qualities) which differentiate emperumAn from every other entity, vEdham has the following important qualities (that differentiate it from other pramANams): A pramAthA (AchAryan) can determine the pramEyam (emperumAn) only through pramANam (SAsthram).

vEdham is the ultimate pramANam for vaidhikas. SrIman nArAyaNan, for the upliftment of the samsAris (bound souls), out of his causeless mercy, reveals the SAsthram (vEdham) to brahmA during Srushti (creation). SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama: SrI vAnAchala mahAmunayE nama:

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