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Teacher · remembered rescuer

Pillai Lokacharya

Medieval period; dates debated

Sri Vaishnava tradition remembers him protecting Ranganatha’s processional image during an invasion.

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Pillai Lokacharya — devotional statue
Devotional statue · Debanjon · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full credit.
Tamil NaduTeaching and rescue tradition

A life in context

A major Sri Vaishnava teacher and author, Pillai Lokacharya occupies a central place in the memory of the Srirangam crisis. Accounts differ in chronology, including how the raid dates align with his life.

Beyond these sites

  • Authored influential works of Sri Vaishnava theology.

Life and context sources: A brief history of Srirangam — Sri Vaishnava Home Page · Pillai Lokacharya — biographical overview.

THE WORK OF PRESERVATION

Places, actions & evidence

Early 14th century AD; chronology debated · Tamil Nadu

An image carried into refuge

Later tradition

Community histories remember Lokacharya leading the processional image away from danger.

Pillai Lokacharya’s role
Rescuer in Sri Vaishnava tradition
How it happened
Flight, concealment and continued custodianship rather than physical defence of the whole temple.
Who helped
Disciples and successive image custodians; later return credited to Gopanna.
What endured
The story forms part of the memory of the image’s survival and eventual return.

What the evidence leaves open. Raid dates and traditional lifespans conflict. No exact rescue date or fully reconstructed route is asserted.

  1. A brief history of Srirangam — Sri Vaishnava Home Page ↗
    Displacement and protection narrative. Review notes.

Read the damage & survival dossier ↗