Kanchipurna was a twelfth centuryVaishnaviteacharya and one of the early teachers ofRamanuja. He is also known as Thirukachchi Nambigal.He was shudra and great devotee of narayan.[1]
WhenRamanuja and his guruYadava Prakaasa parted ways due to their differences in interpreting theVedic literature, Ramanuja became a devotee of theVaradaraja Perumal temple in Kanchi. It was during his time here that he met Kanchipurna, a fellow devotee.[2] Ramanuja met with Kanchipurna regularly and soon Ramanuja decided that he would become Kanchipurna's disciple. When he approached Kanchipurna about this, Kanchipurna politely refused as he did not belong to the same caste as Ramanuja and was lower in the social ladder when compared to Ramanuja.[3] After this Kanchipurna left forTirupati to worshipVenkateswara, a form of Vishnu, and would return only after six months. According toSri Vaishnava tradition, when he finally returned, it was through him that Varadaraja (Vishnu) conveyed his wish to Ramanuja. Accordingly, Kanchipurna advised Ramanuja that it was the deity's wish that he leave forSrirangam and find solace inMahapurna, another Vaishnavite acharya.[2][4]
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