Research in Vienna, Austria

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

yes, in Vienna impressive and excellent work on Pancaratra and also on

Vishishtadvaita

is done. The homepage of the institute is to be found at:

 

http://www.oeaw.ac.at/ias/

 

The last publication is titled "Studies in Hinduism III, Pancaratra and

Visistadvaita vedanta", ed. by Gerhard Oberhammer and Marion Rastelli. The

articles published there are on Parameshvarasamhita, Paramasamhita, Vatsya

Varadaguru etc. Three of the five articles are in English.

> Prof.Oberhammer was closely associated with the late Dr

> Varadachary who was an authority on the Agamas.

 

I am very sorry to hear that Prof. Varadacary passed away! His excellent

book

on South Indian Agamas is unsurpassed!

> Dr Varadachary also mentions that pAncharatA deals with rites of passage

such

> as antima kramams, shathAbhishekam etc. This is generally covered by the

> grhya sutras and the dharma sAstras. He mentions that pAncharatrA is to be

> treated as highly elevated as a smriti and that it's validity is

considered

> as a shruthi within the Sri Vaishnava sampradAyam.

 

Some of the Pancaratrasamhitas do in fact enumerate the Samskaras (e.g.

Sanatkumarasamhita).

> Dr Varadachary's book, "Pancaratragama" which was recently published by

TTD

> is an excellent introduction. However, I have not been able to find

english

> books on the Vaikhanasa agamam.

 

There is one excellent book on the Vaikhanasa Agamas in French by Prof.

Gerard Colas from Paris. I can give you the details if you want. Prof. Colas

has,

however, also published

many articles on the Vaikhanasa Agamas in English. Details available with

me. The Late Rompicarla Parthasarathi Bhattacarya, Vaikhanasagama Pandit in

Tirumalai, also published some articles in English (and Sanskrit and Telugu) in

the Journal of the Oriental Institute of the Venkateshwara University in

Tirupati.

> The only vaikhAnasa sutram I am aware of is the one that belongs to the

> Yajur Vedam. Are both the sutram and the agamam of the same origin? Any

info

> on the Vaikhanasa agamam is highly appreciated.

 

There is only one Vaikhanasasutra. It belongs to the Taittiriya branch of

the

black Yajurveda. Vikhanas, the founder of the Vaikhanasa-branch, is said to

be

the teacher of four Rishis (Kashyapa, Atri, Marici and Bhrgu), who wrote

down what Vikhanas taught them - the outcome are the Vaikhanasa Agamas. Many of

these Agamas have recently been republished by the TTD, some in Devenagari

script, some in Telugu script.

> [ To my knowledge, Pancaratra is not considered as Sruti or Veda

> within the tradition, since it is an authored text. -- Moderator ]

 

Still many of the Pancaratra Agamas refer to an original but lost so-called

"Ekayanasakha" and therefore in a sense es equated with the Veda.

 

I totally agree that Pancaratra and Vishishtatvaita should not be confused.

Usually I refer to the relation between these two systems as "Pancaratra can

be called the ritual substratum of the Vishishtadvata (whose representatives

are the Shrivaishnavas)".

 

Are there other modes of characterizing this relation?

 

 

Best regards

ute

 

Dr. Ute Huesken

Lehmkuhle 31

37130 Gleichen

Germany

phone: +49-5508-923686

 

 

--

Dr. Ute Huesken

Lehmkuhle 31

37130 Gleichen

Germany

 

phone: 0049-5508-923686

 

e-mail:

ute_huesken

ute.huesken

 

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