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116-459: The tradition traces its roots to the ancient Vedas and Pancharatra texts. The Madhva Sampradaya or Sadh Vaishnava Sampradaya is referred to as the Brahma Sampradaya , referring to its traditional origins in the succession of spiritual masters (gurus) have originated from Brahma . Madhva championed the ultimate reality as personal and Saguna Brahman ("the absolute with qualities") and it

232-529: A Mimamsa scholar, "thinks of the Veda as something to be trained and mastered to be put into practical ritual use", noticing that "it is not the meaning of the mantras that is most essential [...] but rather the perfect mastering of their sound form." According to Galewicz, Sayana saw the purpose ( artha ) of the Veda as the " artha of carrying out sacrifice", giving precedence to the Yajurveda . For Sayana, whether

348-459: A common noun means "knowledge". The term in some contexts, such as hymn 10.93.11 of the Rigveda , means "obtaining or finding wealth, property", while in some others it means "a bunch of grass together" as in a broom or for ritual fire . The term "Vedic texts" is used in two distinct meanings: The corpus of Vedic Sanskrit texts includes: While production of Brahmanas and Aranyakas ceased with

464-562: A disciple of Madhavendra Puri who was a disciple of Lakshmipati Tirtha who was a disciple of Vyasatirtha (1469-1539) of Madhvacharya's Sampradaya. Gujarat Vaishnava culture is also influenced by the Madhva philosophy. Madhvacharya established many Mathas by defeating various acharyas of different sampradayas. The followers of Madhva are of many distinct groups, they are, the Tuluvas , the Kannadigas ,

580-429: A herculean task of establishing his reach and form, then with his first step covers the earth, with second the ether, and the third entire heaven. विष्णोर्नु कं वीर्याणि प्र वोचं यः पार्थिवानि विममे रजांसि । यो अस्कभायदुत्तरं सधस्थं विचक्रमाणस्त्रेधोरुगायः ॥१॥… viṣṇōrnu kaṃ vīryāṇi pra vōcaṃ yaḥ pārthivāni vimamē rajāṃsi | yō askabhāyaduttaraṃ sadhasthaṃ vicakramāṇastrēdhōrugāyaḥ ||1|| I will now proclaim

696-464: A matha with his disciple Padmanabha Tirtha as its Peetadhipathi to spread Tattvavada (Dvaita) Vedanta outside the Tulunadu region with instructions that his disciples Narahari Tirtha , Madhava Tirtha , Akshobya Tirtha should be future successors of this matha. According to Surendranath Dasgupta , Uttaradi Math is the main matha of Madhvacharya and it was divided twice, so we end up with three mathas,

812-608: A number of older Veda manuscripts in Nepal that are dated from the 11th century onwards. The Vedas, Vedic rituals and its ancillary sciences called the Vedangas , were part of the curriculum at ancient universities such as at Taxila , Nalanda and Vikramashila . According to Deshpande, "the tradition of the Sanskrit grammarians also contributed significantly to the preservation and interpretation of Vedic texts." Yāska (4th c. BCE ) wrote

928-507: A particular area, or kingdom. Each school followed its own canon. Multiple recensions (revisions) are known for each of the Vedas. Thus, states Witzel as well as Renou, in the 2nd millennium BCE, there was likely no canon of one broadly accepted Vedic texts, no Vedic “Scripture”, but only a canon of various texts accepted by each school. Some of these texts have survived, most lost or yet to be found. Rigveda that survives in modern times, for example,

1044-840: A region spanning the Indian subcontinent, Persia and the European area, and some greater details are found in the Vedic era texts such as the Grhya Sūtras. Only one version of the Rigveda is known to have survived into the modern era. Several different versions of the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda are known, and many different versions of the Yajur Veda have been found in different parts of South Asia. The texts of

1160-441: A single god , agnosticism , and monistic beliefs where "there is an absolute reality that goes beyond the gods and that includes or transcends everything that exists." Indra , Agni , and Yama were popular subjects of worship by polytheist organizations. Each of the four Vedas were shared by the numerous schools, but revised, interpolated and adapted locally, in and after the Vedic period, giving rise to various recensions of

1276-571: A special form of Vishnu. Each of these special forms is given a special name in texts such as the Agni Purana and the Padma Purana . These texts, however, are inconsistent. Rarely, Vishnu is depicted bearing the bow Sharanga or the sword Nandaka . He is depicted with the Kaustubha gem in a necklace and wearing Vaijayanti , a garland of forest flowers. The shrivatsa mark is depicted on his chest in

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1392-524: A well-dressed jewelled man. He is typically shown with four arms, but two-armed representations are also found in Hindu texts on artworks. The historic identifiers of his icon include his image holding a conch shell ( shankha named Panchajanya ) between the first two fingers of one hand (left back), a war discus ( chakra named Sudarshana ) in another (right back). The conch shell is spiral and symbolizes all of interconnected spiraling cyclic existence, while

1508-424: Is Lord Vishnu (Narayana). Hence god Vishnu (Narayana) along with his consort Lakshmi , and their divine incarnations and forms are revered and worshipped in this tradition. In Sadh Vaishnavism, the creator is superior to the creation, and hence moksha comes only from the grace of Vishnu , but not from effort alone. In Sad Vaishnavism Jnana , Bhakti and Vairagya are necessary steps for moksha and doing Karma

1624-454: Is Vishnu is the all. Vishnu is described to be permeating all object and life forms, states S. Giora Shoham, where he is "ever-present within all things as the intrinsic principle of all", and the eternal, transcendental self in every being. The Vedic literature, including its Brahmanas layer, while praising Vishnu do not subjugate others gods and goddesses. They present an inclusive pluralistic henotheism . According to Max Muller , "Although

1740-507: Is also considered a form of puja . Hence in Sad Vaishnavism, Jnana Yoga , Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga are equally important in order to attain liberation (moksha) compared to Sri Vaishnavism where bhakti yoga alone is enough to attain moksha. However Madhva holds the perspective that not all jivas are destined for liberation and rejects the idea of an inherent principle linking a jiva's existence with liberation. However, he acknowledges

1856-463: Is attested to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text, the Rigveda , as redacted into a single text during the Brahmana period, without any variant readings within that school. The Vedas were orally transmitted by memorization, and were written down only after 500 BCE, All printed editions of the Vedas that survive in the modern times are likely the version existing in about

1972-628: Is derived from the root vid- "to know". This is reconstructed as being derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *weyd- , meaning "see" or "know". The noun is from Proto-Indo-European *weydos , cognate to Greek (ϝ)εἶδος "aspect", "form" . This is not to be confused with the homonymous 1st and 3rd person singular perfect tense véda , cognate to Greek (ϝ)οἶδα ( (w)oida ) "I know". Root cognates are Greek ἰδέα , English wit , Latin videō "I see", Russian ве́дать ( védat' ) "to know", etc. The Sanskrit term veda as

2088-408: Is equivalent and produce the sun, with the verses asserting that this sun is the source of all energy and light for all. In other hymns of the Rigveda, Vishnu is a close friend of Indra. Elsewhere in Rigveda, Atharvaveda and Upanishadic texts, Vishnu is equivalent to Prajapati, both are described as the protector and preparer of the womb, and according to Klaus Klostermaier, this may be the root behind

2204-439: Is followed by artha - bodha , perception of their meaning." Mukherjee explains that the Vedic knowledge was first perceived by the rishis and munis . Only the perfect language of the Vedas, as in contrast to ordinary speech, can reveal these truths, which were preserved by committing them to memory. According to Mukherjee, while these truths are imparted to the student by the memorized texts, "the realization of Truth " and

2320-724: Is freedom and life. The Shatapatha Brahmana elaborates this theme of Vishnu, as his herculean effort and sacrifice to create and gain powers that help others, one who realizes and defeats the evil symbolized by the Asuras after they had usurped the three worlds, and thus Vishnu is the saviour of the mortals and the immortals ( Devas ). To what is One Seven germs unripened yet are heaven's prolific seed: their functions they maintain by Vishnu's ordinance. Endued with wisdom through intelligence and thought, they compass us about present on every side. What thing I truly am I know not clearly: mysterious, fettered in my mind I wonder. When

2436-465: Is in only one extremely well preserved school of Śåkalya, from a region called Videha , in modern north Bihar , south of Nepal . The Vedic canon in its entirety consists of texts from all the various Vedic schools taken together. There were Vedic schools that believed in polytheism in which numerous gods had different natural functions, henotheistic beliefs where only one god was worshipped but others were thought to exist, monotheistic beliefs in

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2552-504: Is one of the principal deities of Hinduism . He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism , one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism . Vishnu is known as The Preserver within the Trimurti , the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva . In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme Lord who creates, protects, and transforms the universe . Tridevi

2668-514: Is remembered"). This indigenous system of categorization was adopted by Max Müller and, while it is subject to some debate, it is still widely used. As Axel Michaels explains: These classifications are often not tenable for linguistic and formal reasons: There is not only one collection at any one time, but rather several handed down in separate Vedic schools; Upanişads [...] are sometimes not to be distinguished from Āraṇyakas [...]; Brāhmaṇas contain older strata of language attributed to

2784-505: Is stated to be the energy and creative power ( Shakti ) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the supreme being is with qualities ( Saguna ), and has definite form, but is limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman , and

2900-523: Is the Vedic period itself, where incipient lists divide the Vedic texts into three (trayī) or four branches: Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. Each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies such as newborn baby's rites of passage, coming of age, marriages, retirement and cremation, sacrifices and symbolic sacrifices),

3016-441: Is the bond to the wide-striding one: the wellspring of honey in the highest step of Viṣṇu. आहं पितॄन्सुविदत्राँ अवित्सि नपातं च विक्रमणं च विष्णोः । बर्हिषदो ये स्वधया सुतस्य भजन्त पित्वस्त इहागमिष्ठाः ॥३॥ ऋग्वेद १०-१५-३ 3. I have found here the forefathers good to find and the grandson and the wide stride of Viṣṇu. Those who, sitting on the ritual grass, share in the pressed soma and the food at (the cry of) "svadhā", they are

3132-471: Is the oldest extant Indic text. It is a collection of 1,028 Vedic Sanskrit hymns and 10,600 verses in all, organized into ten books (Sanskrit: mandalas ). The hymns are dedicated to Rigvedic deities . The books were composed by poets from different priestly groups over a period of several centuries between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE, (the early Vedic period ) in the Punjab ( Sapta Sindhu ) region of

3248-637: Is the pontiffs and pandits of the Mathatraya that have been the principle architects of post-Madhva Dvaita Vedanta through the centuries. As a matter of fact, these have taken the lion's share in the task of developing and propagating the philosophy of Madhva . For this reason they can unhesitatingly be regarded as the intellectual heirs to the legacy of Madhva , Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha . Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and other Saraswat Brahmins who follow Madhvacharya and his philosophy Dvaita Vedanta are followers of two Madhva Mathas. They are mainly concentrated in

3364-616: Is the primary focus of the Vaishnavism-focused Puranas genre of Hindu texts . Of these, according to Ludo Rocher , the most important texts are the Bhagavata Purana , Vishnu Purana , Nāradeya Purana , Garuda Purana and Vayu Purana . The Purana texts include many versions of cosmologies, mythologies, encyclopedic entries about various aspects of life, and chapters that were medieval era regional Vishnu temples-related tourist guides called mahatmyas . One version of

3480-481: The Saṃhitās ; there are various dialects and locally prominent traditions of the Vedic schools. Nevertheless, it is advisable to stick to the division adopted by Max Müller because it follows the Indian tradition, conveys the historical sequence fairly accurately, and underlies the current editions, translations, and monographs on Vedic literature." Among the widely known śrutis include the Vedas and their embedded texts –

3596-522: The Nirukta , which reflects the concerns about the loss of meaning of the mantras, while Pāṇinis (4th c. BCE) Aṣṭādhyāyī is the most important surviving text of the Vyākaraṇa traditions. Mimamsa scholar Sayanas (14th c. CE) major Vedartha Prakasha is a rare commentary on the Vedas, which is also referred to by contemporary scholars. Yaska and Sayana, reflecting an ancient understanding, state that

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3712-560: The Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation , philosophy and spiritual knowledge). Some scholars add a fifth category – the Upāsanās (worship). The texts of the Upanishads discuss ideas akin to the heterodox sramana traditions. The Samhitas and Brahmanas describe daily rituals and are generally meant for

3828-804: The Brahmacharya and Gr̥hastha stages of the Chaturashrama system, while the Aranyakas and Upanishads are meant for the Vānaprastha and Sannyasa stages, respectively. Vedas are śruti ("what is heard"), distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called smr̥ti ("what is remembered"). Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya , which means "not of a man, superhuman" and "impersonal, authorless", revelations of sacred sounds and texts heard by ancient sages after intense meditation. The Vedas have been orally transmitted since

3944-538: The Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (text discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge). The Upasanas (short ritual worship-related sections) are considered by some scholars as the fifth part. Witzel notes that the rituals, rites and ceremonies described in these ancient texts reconstruct to a large degree the Indo-European marriage rituals observed in

4060-638: The Garuda Purana Saroddhara ) . Perumal ( Tamil : பெருமாள் )—also known as Thirumal (Tamil: திருமால் ), or Mayon (as described in the Tamil scriptures)— was accepted as a manifestation of Vishnu during the process of the syncretism of South Indian deities into mainstream Hinduism. Mayon is indicated to be the deity associated with the mullai tiṇai (pastoral landscape) in the Tolkappiyam . Tamil Sangam literature (200 BCE to 500 CE) mentions Mayon or

4176-702: The Garuda Purana Saroddhara , a commentary or 'extracted essence' written by Navanidhirama about the Garuda Purana (i.e. not the Purana itself, with which it seems to be confused): The Fish , the Tortoise , the Boar , the Man-Lion , the Dwarf , Parasurama , Rama , Krisna , Buddha , and also Kalki : These ten names should always be meditated upon by the wise. Those who recite them near

4292-655: The Konkan coast (including Goa ), Malabar Coast of Karnataka and Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh mainly Varanasi and surrounding areas. These two Saraswat Mathas are Kashi Math and Gokarna Math . Some of the prominent Madhva teachers include: Vedas Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Vedas ( / ˈ v eɪ d ə z / or / ˈ v iː d ə z / ; Sanskrit : वेदः , romanized :  Vēdaḥ , lit.   'knowledge'), sometimes collectively called

4408-907: The Marathis , the Telugus , the Tamilians , the Biharis , the Malayalis , and the Konkanis . Thus there are twenty-four separate institutions of the Madhva-Vaishnava faith. The mathas present in the Tulu region are called Tuluva Mathas. Most of the Tulu -Speaking in the Tulu region and Malayalam -Speaking people in the Kerala region who follow Madhvacharya 's philosophy are followers of

4524-508: The Muktika anthology of 108 Upanishads . It is unclear when these texts were composed, and estimates vary from the 1st-century BCE to 17th-century CE for the texts. These Upanishads highlight Vishnu, Narayana , Rama or one of his avatars as the supreme metaphysical reality called Brahman in Hinduism. They discuss a diverse range of topics, from ethics to the methods of worship. Vishnu

4640-552: The Nirukta defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā ('one who enters everywhere'); also adding atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati ('that which is free from fetters and bondage is Vishnu'). In the tenth part of the Padma Purana (4-15th century CE), Danta (Son of Bhīma and King of Vidarbha ) lists 108 names of Vishnu (17.98–102). These include the ten primary avatars (see Dashavarara , below ) and descriptions of

4756-461: The Puranas in the table below. However, this is a complicated process, and the lists are unlikely to be exhaustive because: The Dashavatara is a list of the so-called Vibhavas , or '10 [primary] Avatars ' of Vishnu. The Agni Purana , Varaha Purana , Padma Purana , Linga Purana , Narada Purana , Garuda Purana , and Skanda Purana all provide matching lists. The same Vibhavas are also found in

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4872-516: The Samhitas , the Upanishads , the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas . The well-known smṛtis include Bhagavad Gita , Bhagavata Purana and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata , amongst others. Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeyā , which means "not of a man, superhuman" and "impersonal, authorless". The Vedas, for orthodox Indian theologians, are considered revelations seen by ancient sages after intense meditation, and texts that have been more carefully preserved since ancient times. In

4988-533: The Sri Vaishnava denomination of Hinduism, Perumal is venerated in popular tradition as Venkateshwara at Tirupati , and Sri Ranganathaswamy at Srirangam . Vishnu is a Rigvedic deity , but not a prominent one when compared to Indra , Agni and others. Just 5 out of 1028 hymns of the Rigveda are dedicated to Vishnu, although he is mentioned in other hymns. Vishnu is mentioned in the Brahmana layer of text in

5104-624: The Trivikrama , which is one of the lasting mythologies in Hinduism since the Vedic times. It is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves , which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Trivikrama refers to the celebrated three steps or "three strides" of Vishnu. Starting as a small insignificant looking being, Vishnu undertakes

5220-494: The Ŗik (words) without understanding their inner meaning or essence, the knowledge of dharma and Parabrahman . Mukherjee concludes that in the Rigvedic education of the mantras "the contemplation and comprehension of their meaning was considered as more important and vital to education than their mere mechanical repetition and correct pronunciation." Mookei refers to Sayana as stating that "the mastery of texts, akshara-praptī ,

5336-526: The "correct tradition" ( sampradaya ) has as much authority as the written Shastra", explaining that the tradition "bears the authority to clarify and provide direction in the application of knowledge". The emphasis in this transmission is on the "proper articulation and pronunciation of the Vedic sounds", as prescribed in the Shiksha , the Vedanga (Vedic study) of sound as uttered in a Vedic recitation, mastering

5452-682: The "dark one" and as the Supreme deity who creates, sustains, and destroys the universe and was worshipped in the plains and mountains of Tamilakam . The verses of Paripadal describe the glory of Perumal in the most poetic of terms. Many Poems of the Paripadal consider Perumal as the Supreme god of Tamils . He is a popular Hindu deity among Tamilians in Tamil Nadu , as well among the Tamil diaspora . Revered by

5568-517: The 14th century BCE, the only epigraphic record of Indo-Aryan contemporary to the Rigvedic period. He gives 150 BCE ( Patañjali ) as a terminus ante quem for all Vedic Sanskrit literature, and 1200 BCE (the early Iron Age ) as terminus post quem for the Atharvaveda. The Vedas were orally transmitted since their composition in the Vedic period for several millennia. The authoritative transmission of

5684-419: The 16th century CE. The canonical division of the Vedas is fourfold ( turīya ) viz., Of these, the first three were the principal original division, also called " trayī vidyā "; that is, "the triple science" of reciting hymns (Rigveda), performing sacrifices (Yajurveda), and chanting songs (Samaveda). The Rig Veda most likely was composed between c. 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE. Witzel notes that it

5800-503: The 2nd millennium BCE with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques . The mantras, the oldest part of the Vedas, are recited in the modern age for their phonology rather than the semantics , and are considered to be "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer. By reciting them the cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base." The various Indian philosophies and Hindu sects have taken differing positions on

5916-603: The Brahmin communities considered study to be a "process of understanding". A literary tradition is traceable in post-Vedic times, after the rise of Buddhism in the Maurya period , perhaps earliest in the Kanva recension of the Yajurveda about the 1st century BCE; however oral tradition of transmission remained active. Jack Goody has argued for an earlier literary tradition, concluding that

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6032-626: The Brahmin community. According to Sharma, the influence of Dvaita Vedanta ideas have been most prominent on the Chaitanya school of Bengal Vaishnavism, whose devotees started the International Society for Krishna Consciousness ( ISKCON ) - known colloquially as the Hare Krishna Movement . and also in Assam . Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1496-1534) is said to be a disciple of Isvara Puri who was

6148-585: The Hindu Epic Mahabharata , the creation of Vedas is credited to Brahma . The Vedic hymns themselves assert that they were skillfully created by Rishis (sages), after inspired creativity, just as a carpenter builds a chariot. The oldest part of the Rig Veda Samhita was orally composed in north-western India ( Punjab ) between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE, while book 10 of the Rig Veda, and

6264-614: The Hindu tradition. His ideas are one of three subschools in Vedanta , the other two are known as Adi Shankara 's Advaita (absolute monism) and Ramanujacharya 's Vishistadvaita (qualified monism). According to Madhva, the Divine and the soul are completely distinct from each other. The Madhva Sampradaya worships Vishnu as the highest Hindu deity and regards Madhva , whom they consider to be an incarnation of Vishnu's son, Vayu , as an incarnate saviour. Madhvism regards Vayu as Vishnu 's agent in this world, and Hanuman , Bhima , and Madhvacharya to be his three incarnations; for this reason,

6380-409: The Madhva viewpoint, nothing can condition Brahman. According to Madhva, Brahman is neither the limited infinite divine reality of the Nyaya school nor a being in inseparable relation with matter and selves as in the philosophy of Ramanuja . Rather, Brahman is viewed as completely independent, but whilst the jivas are viewed as dependent upon Brahman for activity, knowledge, and existence. According to

6496-479: The Upanishads discuss ideas akin to the heterodox sramana -traditions. Nasadiya Sukta (Hymn of non-Eternity): Who really knows? Who can here proclaim it? Whence, whence this creation sprang? Gods came later, after the creation of this universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen? Whether God's will created it, or whether He was mute; Only He who is its overseer in highest heaven knows, He only knows, or perhaps He does not know. The Rigveda Samhita

6612-444: The Upanishads. This has inspired later Hindu scholars such as Adi Shankara to classify each Veda into karma-kanda (कर्म खण्ड, action/sacrificial ritual-related sections, the Samhitas and Brahmanas ); and jnana-kanda (ज्ञान खण्ड, knowledge/spirituality-related sections, mainly the Upanishads'). Vedas are śruti ("what is heard"), distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called smṛti ("what

6728-410: The Vaishnava viewpoint, Vishnu creates the world by his will and brings into existence the world of objects and selves. Objects and selves, though real and irreducible to each other, are dependent on Brahman. At the time of dissolution of the world, material and objects are considered to be transformed into undifferentiated matter and selves into disembodied intelligence by Brahman; it is believed, even in

6844-496: The Veda , are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India . Composed in Vedic Sanskrit , the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism . There are four Vedas: the Rigveda , the Yajurveda , the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda . Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas ( mantras and benedictions ), the Brahmanas (commentaries on and explanation of rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices – Yajñas ),

6960-454: The Veda can be interpreted in three ways, giving "the truth about gods , dharma and parabrahman ." The pūrva-kāņda (or karma-kanda ), the part of the Veda dealing with ritual, gives knowledge of dharma , "which brings us satisfaction." The uttara-kanda (or jnana-kanda ), the part of the Veda dealing with the knowledge of the absolute, gives knowledge of Parabrahma , "which fulfills all of our desires." According to Holdrege, for

7076-429: The Vedas bear hallmarks of a literate culture along with oral transmission, but Goody's views have been strongly criticised by Falk, Lopez Jr,. and Staal, though they have also found some support. The Vedas were written down only after 500 BCE, but only the orally transmitted texts are regarded as authoritative, given the emphasis on the exact pronunciation of the sounds. Witzel suggests that attempts to write down

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7192-450: The Vedas is by an oral tradition in a sampradaya from father to son or from teacher ( guru ) to student ( shishya ), believed to be initiated by the Vedic rishis who heard the primordial sounds . Only this tradition, embodied by a living teacher, can teach the correct pronunciation of the sounds and explain hidden meanings, in a way the "dead and entombed manuscript" cannot do. As Leela Prasad states, "According to Shankara ,

7308-519: The Vedas, thereafter his profile rises and over the history of Indian scriptures, states Jan Gonda , Vishnu becomes a divinity of the highest rank, one equivalent to the Supreme Being. Though a minor mention and with overlapping attributes in the Vedas, he has important characteristics in various hymns of the Rig Veda, such as 1.154.5, 1.56.3 and 10.15.3. In these hymns, the Vedic scriptures assert that Vishnu resides in that highest home where departed Atman (Self) reside, an assertion that may have been

7424-480: The Vedas. Schools of Indian philosophy that acknowledge the importance or primal authority of the Vedas comprise Hindu philosophy specifically and are together classified as the six "orthodox" ( āstika ) schools. However, śramaṇa traditions, such as Charvaka , Ajivika , Buddhism , and Jainism , which did not regard the Vedas as authoritative, are referred to as "heterodox" or "non-orthodox" ( nāstika ) schools. The Sanskrit word véda "knowledge, wisdom"

7540-414: The Vedic texts towards the end of 1st millennium BCE were unsuccessful, resulting in smriti rules explicitly forbidding the writing down of the Vedas. Due to the ephemeral nature of the manuscript material (birch bark or palm leaves), surviving manuscripts rarely surpass an age of a few hundred years. The Sampurnanand Sanskrit University has a Rigveda manuscript from the 14th century; however, there are

7656-427: The Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is Surya or Savitr (Sun god), who also bears the name Suryanarayana . Again, this link to Surya is a characteristic Vishnu shares with fellow Vedic deities named Mitra and Agni, wherein in different hymns, they too "bring men together" and cause all living beings to rise up and impel them to go about their daily activities. In hymn 7.99 of Rigveda, Indra-Vishnu

7772-406: The advent of writing in the early first millennium CE. According to Staal , criticising the Goody -Watt hypothesis "according to which literacy is more reliable than orality", this tradition of oral transmission "is closely related to Indian forms of science" and "by far the more remarkable" than the relatively recent tradition of written transmission. While according to Mookerji, understanding

7888-488: The alphabet as a mnemotechnical device , "matching physical movements (such as nodding the head) with particular sounds and chanting in a group" and visualizing sounds by using mudras (hand signs). This provided an additional visual confirmation, and also an alternate means to check the reading integrity by the audience, in addition to the audible means. Houben and Rath note that a strong "memory culture" existed in ancient India when texts were transmitted orally, before

8004-476: The avatar (or incarnation) within Hinduism is most often associated with Vishnu, the preserver or sustainer aspect of God within the Hindu Trimurti . The avatars of Vishnu descend to empower the good and to destroy evil, thereby restoring Dharma and relieving the burden of the Earth. An oft-quoted passage from the Bhagavad Gita describes the typical role of an avatar of Vishnu: Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth. For

8120-438: The beginning there was only one God and that was Narayana or Vishnu . Madhvacharya states that the ultimate divine reality, which Hindu traditions refer to as Brahman , and the individual souls, known as jīvātmans , exist as independent realities and that these are distinct. Madhva states " brahmaśabdaśca Viṣṇaveva ", that Brahman can only refer to Vishnu . According to Madhvism, Vishnu was not just any other deva , but rather

8236-483: The cosmology, for example, states that Vishnu's eye is at the Southern Celestial Pole from where he watches the cosmos. In another version found in section 4.80 of the Vayu Purana, he is the Hiranyagarbha , or the golden egg from which were simultaneously born all feminine and masculine beings of the universe. The Vishnu Purana presents Vishnu as the central element of its cosmology, unlike some other Puranas where Shiva or Brahma or goddess Shakti are. The reverence and

8352-410: The cosmos is regenerated, "by enlivening and nourishing the forms of creation at their base. As long as the purity of the sounds is preserved, the recitation of the mantras will be efficacious, irrespective of whether their discursive meaning is understood by human beings." Frazier further notes that "later Vedic texts sought deeper understanding of the reasons the rituals worked", which indicates that

8468-485: The discus symbolizes him as that which restores dharma with war if necessary when cosmic equilibrium is overwhelmed by evil. One of his arms sometimes carries a club or mace ( gada named Kaumodaki ) which symbolizes authority and power of knowledge. In the fourth arm, he holds a lotus flower ( padma ) which symbolizes purity and transcendence. The items he holds in various hands vary, giving rise to twenty four combinations of iconography, each combination representing

8584-602: The diseased are called relatives. Apparent disagreements concerning the placement of either the Buddha or Balarama in the Dashavarara seems to occur from the Dashavarara list in the Shiva Purana (the only other list with ten avatars including Balarama in the Garuda Purana substitutes Vamana, not Buddha). Regardless, both versions of the Dashavarara have a scriptural basis in the canon of authentic Vedic literature (but not from

8700-418: The empirically perceived universe. In this Brahmana, states Klaus Klostermaier, Purusha Narayana (Vishnu) asserts, "all the worlds have I placed within mine own self, and my own self has I placed within all the worlds." The text equates Vishnu to all knowledge there is (Vedas), calling the essence of everything as imperishable, all Vedas and principles of universe as imperishable, and that this imperishable which

8816-595: The end of the Vedic period, additional Upanishads were composed after the end of the Vedic period. The Brahmanas , Aranyakas , and Upanishads , among other things, interpret and discuss the Samhitas in philosophical and metaphorical ways to explore abstract concepts such as the Absolute ( Brahman ), and the soul or the self ( Atman ), introducing Vedanta philosophy, one of the major trends of later Hinduism . In other parts, they show evolution of ideas, such as from actual sacrifice to symbolic sacrifice, and of spirituality in

8932-471: The exponents of karma-kandha the Veda is to be "inscribed in the minds and hearts of men" by memorization and recitation, while for the exponents of the jnana-kanda and meditation the Vedas express a transcendental reality which can be approached with mystical means. Holdrege notes that in Vedic learning "priority has been given to recitation over interpretation" of the Samhitas. Galewicz states that Sayana,

9048-424: The first-born of holy Law approached me, then of this speech, I first obtain a portion. (...) They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and he is heavenly-winged Garutman. To what is One, sages give many a title. The Shatapatha Brahmana contains ideas which Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism has long mapped to a pantheistic vision of Vishnu as supreme, he as the essence in every being and everything in

9164-469: The form of a curl of hair. He generally wears yellow garments. He wears a crown called the Kiritamukuta . Vishnu iconography shows him either in standing pose, seated in a yoga pose, or reclining. A traditional depiction of Vishnu is as Narayana , showing him reclining on the coils of the serpent Shesha floating over the divine ocean Kshira Sagara , accompanied by his consort Lakshmi , as he "dreams

9280-439: The form of an Avatar (incarnation) to restore the cosmic order and protect dharma . The Dashavatara are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu. Out of these ten, Rama and Krishna are the most important. Vishnu (also spelled Viṣṇu, Sanskrit : विष्णु ) means 'all pervasive' and, according to Medhātith ( c.  1000 CE), 'one who is everything and inside everything'. Vedanga scholar Yaska (4th century BCE) in

9396-463: The forms of a swan [Hamsa], a tortoise [ Kurma ], a fish [ Matsya ], O foremost of regenerate ones, I shall then display myself as a boar [ Varaha ], then as a Man-lion ( Nrisingha ), then as a dwarf [ Vamana ], then as Rama of Bhrigu's race, then as Rama , the son of Dasaratha, then as Krishna the scion of the Sattwata race, and lastly as Kalki . Specified avatars of Vishnu are listed against some of

9512-523: The four kinds of mantras into four Samhitas (Collections). The Vedas are among the oldest sacred texts . The bulk of the Rigveda Samhita was composed in the northwestern region (Punjab) of the Indian subcontinent , most likely between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE, although a wider approximation of c. 1700–1100 BCE has also been given. The other three Samhitas are considered to date from

9628-549: The gods are sometimes distinctly invoked as the great and the small, the young and the old (Rig Veda 1:27:13), this is only an attempt to find the most comprehensive expression for the divine powers and nowhere is any of the gods represented as the subordinate to others. It would be easy to find, in the numerous hymns of the Veda, passages in which almost every single god is represented as supreme and absolute." The Vaishnava Upanishads are minor Upanishads of Hinduism , related to Vishnu theology. There are 14 Vaishnava Upanishads in

9744-442: The heroic deeds of Visnu, who has measured out the terrestrial regions, who established the upper abode having, wide-paced, strode out triply… The Vishnu Sukta 1.154 of Rigveda says that the first and second of Vishnu's strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to the mortals and the third is the realm of the immortals. The Trivikrama describing hymns integrate salvific themes, stating Vishnu to symbolize that which

9860-584: The knowledge of paramatman as revealed to the rishis is the real aim of Vedic learning, and not the mere recitation of texts. The supreme knowledge of the Absolute, para Brahman - jnana , the knowledge of rta and satya , can be obtained by taking vows of silence and obedience sense-restraint, dhyana , the practice of tapas (austerities), and discussing the Vedanta . The four Vedas were transmitted in various śākhā s (branches, schools). Each school likely represented an ancient community of

9976-568: The latter encompassing the Bhagavad Gita ), and Rama (most notably in the Ramayana ). Krishna in particular is venerated in Vaishnavism as the ultimate, primeval, transcendental source of all existence, including all the other demigods and gods, such as Vishnu. In the Mahabharata , Vishnu (as Narayana ) states to Narada that He will appear in the following ten incarnations: Appearing in

10092-445: The mantras had meaning depended on the context of their practical usage. This conception of the Veda, as a repertoire to be mastered and performed, takes precedence over the internal meaning or "autonomous message of the hymns." Most Śrauta rituals are not performed in the modern era, and those that are, are rare. Mukherjee notes that the Rigveda, and Sayana's commentary, contain passages criticizing as fruitless mere recitation of

10208-502: The meaning ( vedarthajnana or artha - bodha ) of the words of the Vedas was part of the Vedic learning , Holdrege and other Indologists have noted that in the transmission of the Samhitas , the emphasis is on the phonology of the sounds ( śabda ) and not on the meaning ( artha ) of the mantras. Already at the end of the Vedic period their original meaning had become obscure for "ordinary people", and niruktas , etymological compendia, were developed to preserve and clarify

10324-514: The meaning of the mantras, in contrast to the number of commentaries on the Brahmanas and Upanishads, but states that the lack of emphasis on the "discursive meaning does not necessarily imply that they are meaningless". In the Brahmanical perspective, the sounds have their own meaning, mantras are considered as "primordial rhythms of creation", preceding the forms to which they refer. By reciting them

10440-485: The most welcome arrivals here. In the Vedic hymns, Vishnu is invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra, whom he helps kill the symbol of evil named Vritra . His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 refer to Vishnu. In section 7.99 of the Rigveda, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra. In

10556-429: The northwest Indian subcontinent . According to Michael Witzel, the initial codification of the Rigveda took place at the end of the Rigvedic period at c.  1200 BCE , in the early Kuru kingdom. Vishnu Vishnu ( / ˈ v ɪ ʃ n uː / ; Sanskrit : विष्णु , lit.   'All Pervasive', IAST : Viṣṇu , pronounced [ʋɪʂɳʊ] ), also known as Narayana and Hari ,

10672-573: The one and only Supreme Being. Madhvacharya also asserted, yathecchasi tatha kuru , which Sharma translates and explains as "one has the right to choose between right and wrong, a choice each individual makes out of his own responsibility and his own risk". Madhva rejects Shankara's conception of the Nirguna Brahman —that is, Brahman without characterisations—and accepts the conception of the Saguna Brahman —that is, Brahman with characterisations—as

10788-598: The original meaning of many Sanskrit words. According to Staal, as referenced by Holdrege, though the mantras may have a discursive meaning, when the mantras are recited in the Vedic rituals "they are disengaged from their original context and are employed in ways that have little or nothing to do with their meaning". The words of the mantras are "themselves sacred", and "do not constitute linguistic utterances ". Instead, as Klostermaier notes, in their application in Vedic rituals they become magical sounds, "means to an end". Holdrege notes that there are scarce commentaries on

10904-560: The other Samhitas were composed between 1200 and 900 BCE more eastward, between the Yamuna and the Ganges rivers, the heartland of Aryavarta and the Kuru Kingdom ( c.  1200  – c.  900 BCE ). The "circum-Vedic" texts, as well as the redaction of the Samhitas, date to c.  1000 –500 BCE. According to tradition, Vyasa is the compiler of the Vedas, who arranged

11020-845: The other two being Vyasaraja Math and Raghavendra Math . All the mathas outside Tulunadu region are one way or other descended from Padmanabha Tirtha. Since Padmanabha Tirtha was from Desh region all the mathas descended from him are known as Deshastha Mathas or Deccan plateau Mathas . Marathi , Kannada , Telugu , Hindi , Bihari , Tamil , speaking people following Madhvacharya outside Tulunadu and Konkan regions are all followers of these ten Madhva Mathas. Most of peetadhipathis who presided over these ten mathas belonged to Deshastha Brahmin community. These ten Madhva Mathas are, Uttaradi Matha , Vyasaraja Matha , Raghavendra Matha , Sripadaraja Matha, Kanva Matha, Kudli Matha, Tambehalli Matha (also known as Majjigehalli Maṭha), Kundapura Vyasaraja Matha, Sagarakatte Matha, Baligaru Matha. Mathatraya are

11136-593: The post-Vedic fusion of all the attributes of the Vedic Prajapati unto the avatars of Vishnu. In the Yajurveda , Taittiriya Aranyaka (10.13.1), " Narayana sukta ", Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being. The first verse of "Narayana Suktam" mentions the words paramam padam , which literally mean 'highest post' and may be understood as the 'supreme abode for all Selfs'. This is also known as Param Dhama , Paramapadam , or Vaikuntha . Rigveda 1.22.20 also mentions

11252-552: The presence of divine grace at work within chosen individuals. The term Sadh Vaishnavism is derived from sadh , meaning "true", and the Hindu deity Vishnu , whose worshipers are known as Vaishnava; this name of the tradition may thus be translated as "true Vaishnavism." The term Madhva is derived from the name of the tradition's founder, Madhvacharya. The term sampradaya refers to a Hindu religious tradition. The followers of Sadh Vaishnavism are known as Sadh Vaishnavas . Traditional Sad Vaishnavism's philosophical foundation

11368-419: The primal Atman (Self) of the universe. There are both benevolent and fearsome depictions of Vishnu. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient being sleeping on the coils of the serpent Shesha (who represents time) floating in the primeval ocean of milk called Kshira Sagara with his consort, Lakshmi. Whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces, Vishnu descends in

11484-552: The protection of the good and for the destruction of evil, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being age after age. Vedic literature, in particular the Puranas (ancient; similar to encyclopedias ) and Itihasa (chronicle, history, legend), narrate numerous avatars of Vishnu. The most well-known of these avatars are Krishna (most notably in the Vishnu Purana , Bhagavata Purana , and Mahabharata ;

11600-515: The qualities, attributes, or aspects of God. The Garuda Purana (chapter XV) and the " Anushasana Parva " of the Mahabharata both list over 1000 names for Vishnu, each name describing a quality, attribute, or aspect of God. Known as the Vishnu Sahasranama , Vishnu here is defined as 'the omnipresent'. Other notable names in this list include : Vishnu iconography shows him with dark blue, blue-grey or black coloured skin, and as

11716-402: The reason for his increasing emphasis and popularity in Hindu soteriology . He is also described in the Vedic literature as the one who supports heaven and earth. तदस्य प्रियमभि पाथो अश्यां नरो यत्र देवयवो मदन्ति । उरुक्रमस्य स हि बन्धुरित्था विष्णोः पदे परमे मध्व उत्सः ॥५॥ ऋग्वेद १-१५४-५ 5. Might I reach that dear cattle-pen of his, where men seeking the gods find elation, for exactly that

11832-524: The roles of Hanuman in the Ramayana and Bhima in the Mahabharata are emphasised, and Madhvacharya is particularly held in high esteem. Vayu is prominently shown by Madhva in countless texts. Madhvacharya was a staunch Vaishnava who pushed strongly the belief that Vishnu was the highest of Hindu deities, and refused to accept any claims that other Hindu deities might be equally as high. Madhvacharya says that in

11948-458: The sacred Vedas included up to eleven forms of recitation of the same text. The texts were subsequently "proof-read" by comparing the different recited versions. Forms of recitation included the jaṭā-pāṭha (literally "mesh recitation") in which every two adjacent words in the text were first recited in their original order, then repeated in the reverse order, and finally repeated in the original order. That these methods have been effective,

12064-522: The same paramam padam . In the Atharvaveda , the mythology of a boar who raises goddess earth from the depths of cosmic ocean appears, but without the word Vishnu or his alternate avatar names. In post-Vedic mythology, this legend becomes one of the basis of many cosmogonic myth called the Varaha legend, with Varaha as an avatar of Vishnu. Several hymns of the Rigveda repeat the mighty deed of Vishnu called

12180-465: The state of dissolution, that Brahman, matter, and the jivas remain distinct from one another, and do not merge with one another. The devotional movement of the Haridasa of Karnataka was an expression of Madhva 's religious thought. The Haridasa movement initiated by Madhva has had a deep impact on the people in different parts of the country. The Haridasas were mostly Madhwas and almost exclusively of

12296-484: The text. Some texts were revised into the modern era, raising significant debate on parts of the text which are believed to have been corrupted at a later date. The Vedas each have an Index or Anukramani , the principal work of this kind being the general Index or Sarvānukramaṇī . Prodigious energy was expended by ancient Indian culture in ensuring that these texts were transmitted from generation to generation with inordinate fidelity. For example, memorization of

12412-407: The texts "literally forward and backward in fully acoustic fashion". Houben and Rath note that the Vedic textual tradition cannot simply be characterized as oral, "since it also depends significantly on a memory culture". The Vedas were preserved with precision with the help of elaborate mnemonic techniques , such as memorizing the texts in eleven different modes of recitation ( pathas ), using

12528-501: The three mathas which are descended in the lineage of Madhvacharya 's direct disciples, Padmanabha Tirtha , Narahari Tirtha , Madhava Tirtha , Akshobya Tirtha . Jayatirtha succeeded the main matha after Akshobya Tirtha. Uttaradi Matha, Vyasaraja Matha and Raghavendra Math are descended from Jayatirtha . Uttaradi Matha , Vyasaraja Matha and Raghavendra Matha are considered to be the three premier apostolic institutions of Dvaita Vedanta and are jointly referred as Mathatraya . It

12644-514: The time of the Kuru Kingdom , approximately c. 1200–900 BCE. The "circum-Vedic" texts, as well as the redaction of the Samhitas, date to c.  1000 –500 BCE, resulting in a Vedic period , spanning the mid 2nd to mid 1st millennium BCE, or the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age . The Vedic period reaches its peak only after the composition of the mantra texts, with the establishment of

12760-787: The twelve Madhva Mathas. The twelve Madhva Mathas are Pejawara Matha , Palimaru Matha, Adamaru Matha, Puttige Matha, Sodhe Matha, Kaniyooru Matha, Shiroor Matha, Krishnapura Matha , Bhandarakeri Matha, Subramanya Matha , Chitrapura Matha, Bhimanakatte matha . Out of these twelve Tuluva mathas, eight are part of the Ashta (eight) mathas of Udupi who take turns once every two years ( Paryaya ) to worship Lord Krishna in at Udupi. These twelve mathas are descended from Madhvacharya 's direct disciples, Adhokshaja Teertha, Hrishikesha Teertha, Narasimha Teertha, Upendra Teertha, Rama Teertha, Vamana Teertha, Janardhana Teertha and Madhva 's brother Vishnu Tirtha . Along with Ashta Mathas of Udupi Madhvacharya also founded

12876-407: The ultimate divine reality. In Madhva philosophy, Brahman possesses all positive qualities; at the root of these are existence, consciousness, and bliss. An impersonal Brahman, such as Shankara's Nirguna Brahman cannot perform these functions. For Madhva, the personal Brahman is not different from Vishnu, whom Vaishnavas consider to be the creator, the maintainer and destroyer of the world. According to

12992-525: The universe into reality." His abode is described as Vaikuntha and his mount ( vahana ) is the bird king Garuda . Vishnu was associated with the sun because he used to be "a minor solar deity but rose in importance in the following centuries." Particularly in Vaishnavism , the Trimurti (also known as the Hindu Triad or Great Trinity ) represents the three fundamental forces ( guṇas ) through which

13108-474: The universe is created, maintained, and destroyed in cyclic succession . Each of these forces is represented by a Hindu deity: The trimurti themselves are beyond three gunas and are not affected by it. In Hindu tradition, the trio is often referred to as Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh . All have the same meaning of three in one; different forms or manifestations of One person the Supreme Being . The concept of

13224-553: The various shakhas all over Northern India which annotated the mantra samhitas with Brahmana discussions of their meaning, and reaches its end in the age of Buddha and Panini and the rise of the Mahajanapadas (archaeologically, Northern Black Polished Ware ). Michael Witzel gives a time span of c.  1500 to c.  500 –400 BCE. Witzel makes special reference to the Near Eastern Mitanni material of

13340-420: The worship of Vishnu is described in 22 chapters of the first part of Vishnu Purana, along with the profuse use of the synonymous names of Vishnu such as Hari, Janardana, Madhava, Achyuta, Hrishikesha and others. The Vishnu Purana also discusses the Hindu concept of supreme reality called Brahman in the context of the Upanishads ; a discussion that the theistic Vedanta scholar Ramanuja interprets to be about

13456-639: Was established by Madhva , who started his Vedic studies with Achyutapreksha in an Advaita Vedanta monastery. But there was constant disagreement between the master and the disciple and the studies soon ended. However, he sought initiation at the hands of this guru under the name of Poornaprajna and wrote his commentaries under the name Ananda Tirtha. Madhvacharya converted his own guru Achyutapreksha to Dvaita Vedanta , like Ramanuja converting his Advaita guru Yadavapreksha renaming him Govindasure to Vishistadvaita. Madhva brought Vedantic and Upanishadic ideas to this tradition, and wrote texts on dualism, called Dvaita in

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