Essay name: Diksha (initiation) in Pancharatra
Author:
Shanta Srinivasan
Affiliation: University of Madras / Department of Sanskrit
This English essay studies Diksha in Pancharatra with reference to important texts. Diksha refers to initiation ceremonies into a particular esoteric tradition which is given, for example, by the teacher (Guru) to the student (Shishya). Pancharatra refers to an ancient school of Vaishnavism based on ancient Tantra-like texts called Agamas which were commonly written in Sanskrit verse.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
33 (of 57)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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The P膩帽car膩tra Agama, even if it is admitted to have been developed out of the ek膩nti-dharma, should be considered to have been promulgated in the Vedic atmosphere. The P膩帽car膩tra is thus pro-Vedic rather than non-Vedic. Many expressions and technical terms of the Vedic texts are found in the Pa帽car膩tra conveying the same sense. As they are too many, it may not be possible to enlist all of them. Some of the common terms are: havi岣� (oblation), y膩ga ijy膩 (worship offered to a deity), utsava (festival), dhvaj膩roha峁嘺 (raising the flag at the commencement of the festival), avabh峁泃a (ceremonial bath in a tank or river at the conclusion of the festival), prati峁ａ弓h膩 (consecration), jir峁噊ddh膩ra (conducting repair to the broken parts), pra峁噄t膩 (a vessel to hold water), vedi (altar), idhma (fuel used in the sacred fire), 膩v膩hana (invocation), visarjana (sending off), pr膩ya艣cittahoma (expiatory rites in the sacred life), arghya, p膩dya 膩camaniya (water offered to a guest for refreshing) etc. 33
