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
5 (of 57)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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For instance, though the sense of the word m峁沢a is understood in the
sense of an animal but, what exactly the animal is, is not clear. It is at
this juncture the Tantra or Agama, steps in. That God is stated to
have revealed the Agama, is admitted for holding the validity of the
Agamas. The words are of the nature of classical Sanskrit and hence
are easily understandable. The fourth class among castes and women
are allowed to use the expressions here with the admixture of tantric
syllabic words they deal with in the temple and worship of God.
Agama in its broad sense denotes quintessence of the vedas
and traditional literature handed down through generations. The word
Agama is derived from the root 'gam' and with the preposition 'a' it
means 'to come'. This may also mean moving (mentally) towards
1. "Str墨 S奴dr膩峁嚹乵 na Sarve峁Ｄ乵aupan膩yanikakriy膩 |
Diksopanayanam karma k峁泃v膩 samyagyath膩vidhi."||
SKS Brahmaratr膩 ch.IV.V.70
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