Pāñcarātra are the Vaishnava Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 texts dedicated to worship of Narayana

Narayana

Narayana or Narayan or Naraina is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...

 and form part of the Agamas

Āgama (Hinduism)

Agama means, in the Hindu context, "a traditional doctrine, or system which commands faith".In Hinduism, the Agamas are a collection of Sanskrit scriptures which are revered and followed by millions of Hindus.-Significance:...

.

Unlike Vaikhanasa tradition, the Pancaratric tradition of Agamas prescribe image

Murti

In Hinduism, a murti , or murthi, or vigraha or pratima typically refers to an image which expresses a Divine Spirit . Meaning literally "embodiment", a murti is a representation of a divinity, made usually of stone, wood, or metal, which serves as a means through which a divinity may be worshiped...

 worship in the place of rituals like Yajna

Yajna

In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...

s, mentioned in the Vedas. Agamas cover areas of worship inclusive of construction of the temples; the rules for installation and consecration of the deities; the methods of performing pujas in the temples; philosophy; recitation of mantra

Mantra

A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

s; worship involving figures or yantra

Yantra

Yantra is the Sanskrit word for "instrument" or "machine". Much like the word "instrument" itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context....

s; bhakti yoga

Bhakti yoga

Bhakti yoga is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion to a personal form of God....

; domestic rituals samskaras; rules of varṇāśrama-dharma and public festivals. Various Vaishnava traditions have different degree of adherence and various lists of texts included under the overall concept.

History

Vishnu worshipers of today, represented in a wide spectrum of traditions, generally follow the system of Pancaratra worship. The concept of Nada and Nada-Brahman appear already in Sattvata Samhita or Sattvata Tantra and in Jayakhya Samhita, two texts considered most canonical of Pancaratra texts.

Ananda Tirtha

Madhvacharya

Madhvācārya was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda "Philosophy of Reality", popularly known as the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedānta philosophies. Madhvācārya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in...

 the founder of Madhva line has written in his commentary on Mundaka Upanishad

Mundaka Upanishad

The Mundaka Upanishad or the Mundakopanishad is one of the earlier, "primary" Upanishads, a genre of Hindu scriptures commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the Atharvaveda. It figures as number 5 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads.It is a Mantra-upanishad, i.e. it has the form...

:

"In Dvapara-yuga, Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

 is exclusively worshiped according to the principles of the Pancaratra Scripture, but in this age of Kali-yuga, the Supreme Lord Hari is worshiped only by the chanting of his Holy Name."

Jiva Gosvami had stated in his Paramatma Sandarbha, forming part of six principal Sandarbhas, or philosophical treateses of Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu"...

, that, "Seeing that the imperfect scriptures in the modes of passion and ignorance bring only a host of troubles, and also seeing that the original Vedas are very difficult to follow properly, and thus being very dissatisfied with both of these, the all-knowing scripture authors affirm the superiority of the Pancaratras, which describe the pure absolute truth, Narayana

Narayana

Narayana or Narayan or Naraina is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...

, and the worship of the Lord, which is very easy to perform." In the same Sandarbha Jiva Gosvami states that god himself, Svayam Bhagavan

Svayam Bhagavan

Svayam Bhagavan , "The Lord" or Lord Himself, is a Sanskrit theological term. The term refers to the concept of absolute representation of the monotheistic God as Bhagavan within Hinduism....

, had spoken the Narada Pancaratra, which is accepted as a pramana by Gaudiya scholars.

Divine Manifestation

During the 11th century AD Ramanuja

Ramanuja

Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...

, a founder of Sri Vaishnava traditions of Vaisnavism had established the Pancharatra system of Vaisnavism for his followers and refuted the philosophy of Adi Sankara. His philosophy of worship of Narayana

Narayana

Narayana or Narayan or Naraina is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana...

 was based on the pancaratric teachings.

Ramanuja taught that the deity absolute, Parabrahman, manifests in five possible aspects: Para, Vyūha, Vibhava, Antaryamin, and Archa. Living beings can interact with the divine through one or another of these five.

Para Manifestation

The Para form is sometimes described as the first immanent manifestation of the Supreme Being.

Vyuha Manifestation

Vasudeva, characterized by the six gunas, is sometimes called the first Vyuha. From Vasudeva emanates Sankarshana in whom jnana and bala alone get manifested. From Samkarshana comes Pradyumna to whom belong aishvarya and virya. From Pradyumna emanates Aniruddha to whom shakti and tejas appertain.

As we have seen, the Pancharatra thinkers were very much particular in safeguarding and preserving the purity and unchanged nature of the transcendent Supreme Being. From that point of view, the chief merit, and hence its primary significance, is that it is such a process of emanation in which the Supreme Being remains unaffected and unchanged in all the five-fold manifestations.

Avatara Manifestation

Closely connected with the doctrine of vyuhas, is the next manifestation of God, named as vibhava (manifestation) or avatar

Avatar

In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

 (descent). The only supreme being the pancharatra philosophers knew about was the Transcendent One, who was not in any way directly related to the world. Therefore, the Samhitas explicitly describe the avataras as either all springing from Aniruddha, or some from Vasudeva and the rest from the other three vyuhas. One should not be mistaken here in assuming that the Supreme Being himself takes avatara. This is a puranic conception. The Pancharatra Samhitas nowhere maintain that the Supreme Being, laying aside its transcendent, unmoving nature assumes these finite forms. This is impermissible by the premises of the system. The Supreme Being is merely a spectator with an attitude of passivity and indifference. It cherishes no attachment to the mundane world, and it is beyond its nature to do so.

Antaryamin Manifestation

The fourth manifestation is the Antaryamin avatara, which is Aniruddha as the ‘Inner Ruler’ of all souls. It is a mysterious power seated in the ‘lotus of the heart’. Here again it should be noted that this is not a manifestation of the Supreme Being, but only of Aniruddha, one of the vyuhas.

Archa Manifestation

The Pancharatra Samhitas, unlike Narayaniya

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

, finally recognize the archa manifestation of God. An inanimate object (i.e. image of Vishnu), if duly consecrated according to the Pancharatra rites, acquires a miraculous power, and the Shakti of Vishnu descends into it. It is meant for the purpose of daily worship.

This archa worship is different from the pratima worship. In the latter the symbol is the locus, on which the devotee concentrates his thought. But no sooner the thought is centralized, than the locus soon gets out of his vision and no necessity thereof is felt. But in the archa worship, on the other hand, the devotee feels the very presence of God in it. And as such the inanimate image soon acquires a new meaning, becomes the object of love, of heart’s hankering and of the eye’s rest. This we find in the religion of the Alvars

Alvars

The alwar or azhwars were Tamil poet saints of south India who lived between the sixth and ninth centuries A.D. and espoused ‘emotional devotion’ or bhakti to Visnu-Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy and service. Sri Vaishnava orthodoxy posits the number of alvars as ten, though there are...

 as well, who are the Tamil Vaishnava saints.

Cosmology

The Samhitas propound an elaborate and complicated process of creation with characteristic doctrines of three stages and six koshas (coverings or levels) of creation.

Six aspects of surrender in the Pāñcharātra

Surrender to god is one of the core teachings of Pancharatra. The six aspects are explained below in brief:

i) Atma-nikshepa or nyAsa - placing oneself completely and directly under God's care. This involves giving up independent ownership in matters of actions or fruits thereof. This in fact is the real SaraNAgati. The subsequent five are to be regarding as assisting this. The obstacle to nyAsa is phalepsA or the desire for mundane benefits,which should therefore be avoided.

ii) kArpaNya - This refers to absolute humility bordering on lowliness and honest awareness of one's own natural ignorance, impurity etc., partly because of stains acquired through countless births. We all know the enormous feeling of kArpaNya that our AzhvArs have expressed through their compositions. This leads to ridding the arrogance that one may have because of parentage, learning, wealth, etc., and to get the sense that without the aid of Godhead, whatever we undertake on our own is bound to fail. The enemy for kArpaNya is the feeling that one is free, independent,and competent to do whatever he likes (sva-svAtantryAvabodha).

iii) mahA-viSvAsa - irrepressible and great faith in Godhead. Involves the understanding that God is the benefactor of all beings, and His compassion is always and readily available. The firm conviction that He will not fail to protect us is 'viSvAsa'. This by itself is capable of eradicating all sins.

iv) goptR - The deliberate choice of bhagavAn SrIman nArAyaNa as the sole Protector. Even when it is granted that anyway He is the sole protector, lakshmI-tantra points out that what is involved in this a'nga is the conscious and mindful selection of Him, the acknowledgment that we need protection, and that He and only He can protect us.

v) prAtikUlya-vivarjana - giving up whatever is antagonistic to any of His creations or to Him. A devotee must realize that all beings are like himself.

vi) AnukUlya-niScaya - The resolve to do good to all beings. The realization that all beings are in actuality the body of God, and the resolve to live in accordance with the will of God. Ahirbudhnya samhitA gives a beautiful illustration of SaraNAgati using a passenger who wants to cross a river in a boat. It is the passenger's responsibility to go and sit in the boat, and that is the end of his responsibility; the job or rowing the boat is not his, but that of the boatman (in this case God Himself).

Six aspects of surrender are described in many PancarAtra samhitas such as Ahirbudhnya Samhita, Lakshmi Tantra etc., thought the order of importance may vary. Lakshmi Tantra give the following:

"AnukUlyasya samkalpah prAtikUlyasya varjanam |

rakshishyatIti viSvAso goptRtva varaNam tathA ||

AtmA nikshepa kArpaNye shadvidhA SaraNagatih || (Lakshmi Tantra 17, 59-61)

Thus the order of the limbs given in Lakshmi Tantra is: Anukūlya Samkalpam, Prātikūlya Varjanam, , , Atma Nikshepam, and kArpaNyam. In Ahribudhnya Samhitā, the order given is: Atma Nikshepam or Nyāsam, KārpaNyam, , , Prātikūlya Varjanam, and Anukūlya Sampakpam. has addressed these confusions in his Nyāsa VimSati (Slokam 12), and concludes that those who know Prapatti Sāstra well agree that there are five anga-s to Prapatti, and the different positions taken in respect of the number and sequence of importance etc. of the aspects of Prapatti really say the same thing in the end (sarva vākya eka kaNThyam).

Atma Nikshepam or nyāsam is considered the main ingredient of Prapatti - the conviction that one's own effort in attaining Him will not bear fruit, and placing oneself directly under His care and giving up ownership of one's own protection or the benefits from any actions to Him. The other five are then the limbs for Nyāsa, that are of equal importance as conveyed to us by . Thus, for performing surrender or Atma Nikshepa or Nyāsam, one needs absolute humility (KārpaNyam), Anukūlya Samkaplam, Prātikūlya Varjanam, etc.

Moksha

The attainment of the glorious and supreme feet of (). Pancharatra texts were written before the philosophies of advaita and visishtadvaita were established and vary in regards to the nature of the soul after liberation. In general, the soul is seen as a portion of Laksmi (goddess) and remains forever next Narayana (god), liberation is therefore returning to the One.

Based on the Purusha Sukta

Purusha sukta

Purusha sukta is hymn 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the "Cosmic Being". One version of the Suktam has 16 verses, 15 in the meter, and the final one in the meter...

 (Rgveda 10.90) the Pañcaratra Agamas teach that God (Narayana or Vasudeva) manifests the whole world from one fourth of himself. Therefore three parts of the supreme are immortal nectar that can be attained by liberated beings. Modern Vaisnavism evolved from the Pancharatra and its theories.

Pañcaratra Texts

The Pañcaratra texts are samhitas and tantras which both classify as Agama due to subject matter. The Agamas are predominantly divided into Saiva, Sakta and Vaishnava Agamas. The Vaishnava Agamas identify Brahman as Vasudeva. The Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

 subscribes to the Pancaratra philosophy in its Narayaniya section. The Vaishnava Agamas are: Pancharatra Agama and Vaikhanasa Agama. Some of the Samhita's are:

• Agastya-Samhita
• Aniruddha-Samhita
• Ahirbudhnya Samhita
• Brahma Samhita
  Brahma Samhita
  The Brahma Samhita is a Sanskrit Pancaratra text, composed of verses of prayer spoken by Brahma glorifying the supreme The Brahma Samhita is a [[Sanskrit]] [[Pancaratra]] text, composed of verses of prayer spoken by [[Brahma]] glorifying the supreme...
  
  
• Brihat-Brahma-Samhita
• Isvara-Samhita
• Kapinjala-Samhita
• Gautama-Samhita
• Citrasikhandi-Samhita
• Jayakhya-Samhita
• Jayottara-Samhita
• Nalakubara-Samhita
• Naradiya-Samhita
• Pancaprasna-Samhita
• Parama-Samhita
• Paramapurusa-Samhita
• Parasara-Samhita
• Padma-Samhita
• Paramesvara-Samhita
• Purusottama-Samhita
• Pauskara-Samhita
• Bharadvaja-Samhita
• Bhargava-Tantra
• Mayavaibhava-Samhita
• Markandeya-Samhita
• Laksmi Tantra
  Laksmi Tantra
  Laksmi Tantra is a Pancharatra text which was compiled at sometime between the ninth and twelfth centuries. It deals with the worship of the mother-goddess Laksmi , the Sakti of Vishnu-Narayana. The text not only glorifies Laksmi, but also women in general as beings created in the cherished form of...
  
  
• Varaha-Samhita
• Vasistha-Samhita
• Visva-Samhita
• Visvamitra-Samhita
• Visnutattva-Samhita
• Visnu Tantra
• Visnu-Samhita
• Visvaksena-Samhita
• Vihagendra-Samhita
• Vrddha-Padma-Samhita
• Sriprasna-Samhita
• Sanatkumara-Samhita
• Sattvata-Samhita
• Hayasirsa-Samhita

This list is mainly based on the list of the Sanskrit texts from the H. Daniel Smith Agama Collection, Cleveland, Ohio.

Of these Samhitas in Srirangam

Srirangam

Srirangam , Old name is Vellithirumutha gramam and Tamil name is Thiruvarangam , is an island and a part of the city of Tiruchirapalli , in South India....

 SriRanganatha Swamy temple "SriParamesvara Samhita",a variant of paushkara samhita is followed and in practice.

In SriKanchipuram Varadaraja

Varadaraja

Varadarāja was a 17th century Sanskrit grammarian. He compiled an abridgement of the work of his master, the Siddhānta Kaumudī of Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita, in three versions, referred to as madhya "middle", laghu "short" and sāra "substance, quintessence" versions of the Siddhāntakaumudī, the latter...

 Swamy temple "Sri Jayakhya Samhita" is followed and in practice.

In SriMelukote Cheluva Narayana Swamy temple "Sri ISwara samhita" is followed and in practice.

In Tiruvellarai Sri Pundarikaksha Swamy Temple "Sri Paadma Samhita" is followed and in practice.

In Tirukkudantai (kumbakONam) Aravamudhan Sarngapani is worshipped with "Sriprasna samhita". Rest of the places use
pAdma samhita or its variants.

Gaudiya Vaishnava

Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu"...

s follow Brahma Samhita

Brahma Samhita

The Brahma Samhita is a Sanskrit Pancaratra text, composed of verses of prayer spoken by Brahma glorifying the supreme The Brahma Samhita is a [[Sanskrit]] [[Pancaratra]] text, composed of verses of prayer spoken by [[Brahma]] glorifying the supreme...

and "Naradiya Samhita".

Literature

• Aiyangar, Pandit M. Duraiswami, and Venugopalacharya, Pandit T. Sri Pancaratraraksa of Sri Vedanta Desika. The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, India, 1996.
• Apte, Dr. P. P. (edited). Pauskara Samhita. Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati Series No.54, Tirupati, India, 1991.
• Bhatt, Dr. S.R. The Philosophy of the Pancharatra. Ganesh and Company, Madras, India, 1968
• Gupta, Sanjukta. Laksmi Tantra, A Pancaratra Text. E.J.Brill, Leiden Netherlands 1972, reprint Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 2003.
• Krishnamacharya, Pandit V. (edited). Ahirbudhnya-Samhita of the Päncaräträgama (vol I and II). The Adyar Library and Research Centre, Madras, India, 1986.
• Matsubara, Mitsunori, Pancaratra Samhitas and Early Vaisnava Theology, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi, 1994.
• ---, Monotheistic Theory of the early Vaisnavas, Vyuha Theory in the Early Pancaratra, 1990.
• ---, The Formation of the Pancaratra's Theory of the Four Vyuhas, 1991.
• Otto Schrader, F., Introduction to the Pancaratra and the Ahirbudhnya Samhita, Adyar Library, Madras 1916. Second edition 1973.
• Rangachar, S., Philosophy of Pancaratras, Sri Devi Prakashana, Mandya (Karnatak) 1991.
• Rao, S.K. Ramachandra. The Ägama Encyclopedia: Päncharäträgama. Volume IV, Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi, India, 2005.
• Sarma, Pandit K. Ramachandra (edited). Pauñkarägama. The Adyar Library and Research Centre. Madras, India, 1995.
• Siddhantashastree, Rabindra Kumar. Vaisñavism Through the Ages. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1985.
• Sutton, Nicholas, Religious Doctrines in the Mahabharata, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi 2000.
• tirumanjanam, the sahasra kalasa abhishekam,'http://www.srihayagrivan.org/ebooks/076_sk.pdf'

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