[Advaita-l] Any Vishnu temples run by smarthas?

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 1:17 PM, Kalyan K <kalyankc.81 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear members,
>
> I notice that most of the Vishnu temples in South India are run by either
> Sri Vaisnavas or Madhwas. Temples like Tirupati, Srirangam, Simhachalam,
> Bhadrachalam, Udupi are all run by Vaishnavas. Are there any major Vishnu
> (or his avatar) temples in South India, that are run by smartas? If so, can
> some one please list them?
>

I think we can cite the Guruvayurappan at Guruvayur, Kerala.  The worship
services are performed by Nambudiris who are not considered Vaishnavas as
far as I know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guruvayur_Temple

And what about Ayyappan Temple, Sabarimala?  The deity can be considered
'Vaishnava' though He is said to be Hari-Hara putran.  He is seen with the
'UrdhvapuNDram' on His forehead though vibhuti abhiShekam is also a
favourite of His.

http://godsowncountrys.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/sabarimala-swamy-ayyappan-wallpapers-photos/#wpcom-carousel-699

The famous Ananthapadmanabhaswamy Temple at Tiruvananthapuram is one more
instance where worship is by Nambuthiris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padmanabhaswamy_Temple

TiruvaTTAru is a 'divya desham' important for Srivaishnavas in Tamilnadu
where Nambudiris do the puja.

I understand from a Srivaishnava friend that there are some 11 divya desha
temples in Kerala where Nambudiris do the puja.

Of course, in the North, the famous Badrinarayan Temple is another one
where Nambudiris do the puja.

subrahmanian.v