Ritual Worship of the Narasiṁhamantra as Depicted in the "Sātvatasamhitā"

• Authors: Dębicka-Borek Ewa
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Most probably, the Sātvatasamhitā is the only one among the recognized samhitās of the Vaiṣṇava Pāñcarātra that elaborates upon the procedure of worshipping [the mantra of] Narasiṁha belonging to vibhava deities (vaibhavīyanarasimhakalpa). Its aim is formulated in SātS 16, where it is stated that an initiation with the help of narasimhamantra (narasimhadīksā) as well as the further worship of this mantra remove sins committed in previous lives, even in the case of nāstikas. The detailed account of the procedure is given in the next chapter, i.e. SātS 17. Yet, when analyzed out of the general context of the text, vaibhavīyanarasimhakalpa seems to present a fully fledged procedure meant for a sādhaka striving for magical powers (siddhi); it depicts the narasimhadīksā which grants the right to worship the narasimhamantra in order to realize worldly aims. The traces of textual re-working suggest that the idea of vaibhavīyanarasimhakalpa might come from another context. It is also probable that for some reasons its original function considering the attainment of magical powers was reformulated within the scope of SātS into the purifying ceremony preceding the proper initiation.

Keywords

EN

Vaishnavism; Pāñcarātra; Sātvatasamhitā; initiation; narasimhadīksā; kalpa; purification; conversion

• Publisher: Księgarnia Akademicka
• Journal: Cracow Indological Studies
• Year: 2013
• Volume: 15: Text History and Society as Depicted in Indian Literature and Art. Part II. ŚRAVYA. Poetry & Prose
• Pages: 167-207

Contributors

author

Dębicka-Borek Ewa

• Jagiellonian University, Kraków

References

• Brunner, H. 1975. Le sādhaka, personnage oublié du śivaïsme du Sud. In: Journal Asiatique 263: 411–443.
• Brunner-Lachaux. 1977 = SŚP III.
• Carman, J. B. 2007. Illuminating the Relation between Pāñcarātra and the Early Śrīvaiṣṇava Community. In: G. Oberhammer and M. Rastelli (eds). Studies in Hinduism IV. On the Mutual Influences and Relationship of Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta and Pāñcarātra. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: 55–77.
• Czerniak-Drożdżowicz, M. 2008. Studia nad pańćaratrą. Tradycja i współczesność. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.
• Dębicka-Borek, E. 2011. Ῑśvarasaṁhitā or Narasiṁhakalpa. On strategies of textual representations. In: C. Galewicz (ed.). Cracow Indological Studies 13: 85–125.
• Dviwedī. 1982 = SātS.
• Eschmann, A. 2005 (repr.). The Vaiṣṇava Typology of Hinduization and the Origin of Jagannātha. In: A. Eschmann, H. Kulke and G. C. Tripathi (eds). The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa. New Delhi: Manohar: 99–117.
• Gengnagel, J. 2010. Conversion or initiation. On the Removal of Sectarian Marks (liṅgoddhāra) in Śaiva Siddhānta. In: A. Zotter and C. Zotter (eds). Hindu and Buddhist Initiations in India and Nepal. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag: 299–318.
• Goudriaan, T. 1981. Hindu Tantric Literature in Sanskrit. In: T. Goudriaan and S. Gupta (eds). Hindu Tantric and Śākta Literature. Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz: 1–172.
• Gupta, S. 1983. The Changing Pattern of Pāñcarātra Initiation. A Case Study in the Reinterpretation of Ritual. In: R. Kloppenborg (ed.). Selected Studies on Ritual in the Indian Religions. Essays to D.J. Hoens. (Studies in the History of Religions, 45). Leiden: Brill: 69–91.
• Hikita, H. 1990. Sāttvata Saṁhitā: An Annotated Translation. Chapter 17 (1). In: Soto-shū kenkyū kiyo 21: 190–137.
• Hikita, H. 1992a. Sāttvata Saṁhitā: An Annotated Translation. Chapter 16. In: Tokai Bukkyo 37: 168–157.
• Hikita, H. 1992b. Sāttvata Saṁhitā: An Annotated Translation. Chapter 17 (2). In: Soto-shū kenkyūin kenkyū kiyo 23: 214–168.
• Hikita, H. 1993. Sāttvata Saṁhitā: An Annotated Translation. Chapter 18. In: Bulletin of the Faculty of Letters Aichi Gakuin University 22: 1–26.
• Hudson, D. D. 2002. Early Evidence of the Pāñcarātra āgama. In: K. A. Harper and R. L. Brown (eds). The Roots of Tantra. SUNY Series in Tantric Studies. Albany: State University of New York Press: 133–167.
• Hudson, D. D. 2007). The vyūhas in Stone. In: Studies in Hinduism IV. On the Mutual Influences and Relationship of Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta and Pāñcarātra. G. Oberhammer and M. Rastelli (eds.). Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften: 125–178.
• Matsubara, M. 1994. Pāñcarātra Saṁhitās & Early Vaiṣṇava Theology. With a Translation and Critical Notes from Chapters on Theology in Ahirbudhnya Saṁhitā. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
• Oberhammer, G. 2010. The forgotten secret of human love. An attempt of an approach. In: H. Marlewicz (ed.). Cracow Indological Studies 12: 51–81.
• Parampurushdas, Shrutiprakashdas (eds). 2002. Catalgue of Pāñcarātra Saṁhitā. Amdavad: Swaminarayan Aksharpith.
• Rastelli, M. 2000. The Religious Practice of the Sādhaka according to the Jayākhyasaṁhitā. In: Indo-Iranian Journal: 319–395.
• Rastelli, M. (2006). Die Tradition des Pāñcarātra im Spiegel der Pārameśvarasaṁhitā. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
• Rastelli, M. 2007. Maṇḍalas and Yantras in the Pāñcarātra Tradition. In: G. Bühnemann et al. (eds). Maṇḍalas and Yantras in the Hindu Tradition. New Delhi: D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd: 119–152.
• Sanderson, A. 2001. History through Textual Criticism in the Study of Śaivism, the Pāñcarātra and the Buddhist Yoginītantras. In: F. Grimal (ed.). Les sources et le temps. Sources and Time. A Colloquium. Pondicherry, 11–13 January 1997. Pondicherry: Institut Français de Pondichéry; École Française d’Extrême-Orient:1–47.
• Sanderson, A. 2009. The Śaiva Age—the Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period. In: S. Einoo (ed.). Genesis and Development of Tantrism. Tokyo: University of Tokyo, Institute of Oriental Culture: 41–349.
• Smith, H. D. 1975. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Printed Texts of the Pāñcarātrāgama. Vol. I. Gaekwad’s Oriental Series, 158. Baroda: Oriental Institute.
• Smith, H. D. 1980. A Descriptive Bibliography of the Printed Texts of the Pāñcarātrāgama. Vol. II. An Annotated Index to Selected Poems. Gaekwad’s Oriental Series, 168. Baroda: Oriental Institute.

Identifiers

DOI

10.12797/CIS.15.2013.15.10