Inspired by Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s core aim to build a knowledge-driven society based on Vedic Principles along with contemporary education, the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic Movement took root in Lahore in the year 1886. Thousands of DAV Schools and Colleges have since been built across the world by its dedicated followers.
The seeds were sown in Chennai by a group of visionaries who set up the Arya Samaj Foundation (erstwhile Arya Samaj Central) in the year 1970 and thereafter set up the first school at Gopalapuram through the Tamil Nadu Arya Samaj Educational Society.
Today, in addition to school education, the institution also offers higher education programs, Vedic learning camps and online programs.
Arya Samaj Foundation, Chennai was established in 1914 to spread the message of Vedas and to propagate the vision of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati. It was formed with the purpose of improving the lives of its members and general public through understanding the Vedic way of life. Of the many initiatives run by the foundation, the D.A.V. Group of Schools, Chennai is the oldest in the field of education.
In its aim to empower and improve the lives of each individual, society and the nation at large, the Arya Samaj Foundation, Chennai continues to take initiatives in the fields of health, education, environment, animal welfare, agriculture and livelihood which align with its vision - HEAL.
Vedic Vidya Kendra (VVK), a passion project by Arya Samaj Foundation, Chennai, is an Integrated Vedic Learning Centre dedicated to Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati’s clarion call of ‘Back to the Vedas’. It comprises of a Gurukul, Vedic Learning Centre, Vaanprastha Ashram and a D.A.V School Branch. Learn more at
vvk.davchennai.org