Vaikhanasa is one of the principal traditions of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and primarily worships

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, 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 t ...

(and his associated

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

s) as the Supreme

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. The followers are mainly Brahmins of

Krishna Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...

Taittiriya Shakha The ''Taittirīya Shakha'' (Sanskrit, loosely meaning 'Branch or School of the sage Tittiri'), is a ''shakha'' (i.e. 'branch', 'school', or rescension) of the Krishna (black) Yajurveda. Most prevalent in South India, it consists of the ''Taitti ...

and Vaikhanasa Kalpasutra. The name ''Vaikhānasa'' stands for the followers and the fundamental philosophy itself with the name derived from founder, Sage Sri Vikhanasa. It is principally

monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...

in its philosophy, whilst also incorporating elements which could be described as being

panentheistic Panentheism ("all in God", from the Greek grc, πᾶν, pân, all, label=none, grc, ἐν, en, in, label=none and grc, Θεός, Theós, God, label=none) is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends bey ...

. Vaikhanasa principle focuses on rituals and worship of Lord Vishnu rather than the philosophy of

Uttara Mimamsa ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

, , the larger and more prevalent form on Vishnu worship. ''Vaikhanasa bhagavath Shastra'' is the guiding principle for rituals in

Tirumala Venkateswara temple Sri Venkateswara Swami Vaari Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The Temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared ...

History

The Vaikhanasa Brahmins/Vaikhanasas originated as a group of ascetics. In the Manava Dharmasastra, Manu discusses vanaprastha, forest-dweller, the third of the four asramas, stages of life, and mentions a "Vaikhanasa rule". Other ancient authorities support this reference, so it seems there was a Vaikhanasa ascetic community before the common era. They are mentioned in the Narayaniya, which is a late section of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

of uncertain date but probably no earlier than the third century CE. Surviving Vaikhanasa sutras are no older than the fourth century CE. Inscriptions from perhaps the eighth century CE identify Vaikhanasas as temple priests, and from the end of the tenth century they are prominently mentioned in South Indian inscriptions. Vaikhanasas were the priests of Vishnu temples. They were not merely ritual priests, but were trusted with administering the temples and their lands. Śrī Bhagavad Rāmānujacharya, leader of the Śrī Vaiṣṇavas and the organiser of temple administration at

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first amon ...

Temple, replaced the Vaikhanasa system of worship which came into practice with the

Pañcaratra ''Pancharatra'' (IAST: ''Pāñcarātra'') was a religious movement in Hinduism that originated in late 3rd-century BCE around the ideas of Narayana and the various avatars of Vishnu as their central deities.thamar Kovil very nearer to Srirangam Manakkal Nambi temple anakkal Nambi who administered Sri Vaishnavism before Sri Alavandar - Acharya/Guru of Sri Ramanujacharya Tiruvallikeni Temple, Mylapore Sri Peiazhwar Temple which are very famous and popular SriVaishnava temples worshipped according to Sri Vaikhanasa Agama rituals. Today Vaikhanasas are the chief priests in more than half of the Vaishnava temples in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Karnataka. Their present-day temple activities are worthy of attention, as are their efforts to work for community integrity which is threatened by increasing social and technological changes.

Vaikhanasam

"The Vaikhanasa-sutra belonging to the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series has been edited by Dr. W. Caland and translated into English with a learned introduction. This sutra - text forms part of the
Krishna Yajurveda The ''Yajurveda'' ( sa, यजुर्वेद, ', from ' meaning "worship", and ''veda'' meaning "knowledge") is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals.Michael Witzel (2003), "Vedas and Upaniṣads", in ''The Blackwell C ...
tradition and derives its name probably from Vaikhanas who was its author. The work contains three types of Sutras —the Shrauta, the Grhya and the Dharma which altogether may be designated as Smarta-sutra. There is no doubt that both the portions have definitely one author, since the style of the Grhya and Dharma-sutras is the same. Moreover, the author himself promises to continue a topic discussed in the Grhya- portion again in the books on Dharma. The work is on the whole a small one but it contains in the main the same materials as are treated by its predecessors." —''Vaikhanasasmartasutram: The Domestic Rules and Sacred Laws of the Vaikhanasa School Belonging to the Krishna Yajurveda'' translated into English by W. Caland.

Adherents

The Vaikhanasa Brahmins/Vaikhanasas are a tiny Vaishnavite Brahmin community of about 4000 families widely dispersed in South India at Vaishnava temples in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Karnataka and also worldwide especially in the United States of America, Germany, Australia, UK, and some parts of Europe. Some of the prominent Hindu temples following the Vaikhanasa Agama are # Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Tirumala # Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India # Shiva Vishnu Temple, Livermore, California, USA # India Cultural Center and Temple, Memphis, Tennessee, USA # Sri Prasanna Venkateswaraa Swamy Temple (Sai Baba Mandir), Monmouth Junction, NJ, USA # Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple (Chinna Tirupathi), Dwarakatirumala, Eluru Dist., Andhra Pradesh, India. #Sri Veeranarayana swamy Temple, Belavadi, Chikmagalur Dist, Karnataka # Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple (Konaseema Tirupathi), Vadapalli, East Godavari Dist, Andhra Pradesh, India. # Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple (Tirumala Giri), Tirumala Giri, Jaggayyapet, Krishna Dist., Andhra Pradesh, India. # Sri Lakshmi Varaha Venkataramana Swamy Temple (Abhinava Tirupathi), Anjaneya Nagar, 3rd Stage Banashankari, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. # Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple Ballapur pet, Bangalore Karnataka, India # Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Ilupeju, Lagos, Nigeria. # Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Srigiri, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, India # Sri Rama and Sri Tuppadanjaneyaswamy Temple, Rangaswamy temple street, Avenue road cross, Bangalore. # Sri Chennakeshava swamy temple, Ganigarapet, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. # Sri Venkataramanswamy Temple Avenue road Bangalore # Sri Venkataramanswamy Temple Dharmarayaswamy temple road, Ganigarapet Bangalore # Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple, Near Upparpet Police station, Bangalore. # Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh # Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Vedadri, Jaggayyapet, Krishna Dist., Andhra Pradesh, India. # Sri Biligirirangaswamy temple Biligirirangana betta, Yelandur Tq Chamarajanagara district karnataka # Sri venugopalaswamy temple, Kere thondanur pandavapura tq mandya district, karnataka # Sri Veeranjaneya swmy temple mulabagilu tq kolar district, karnataka # Sri Valmiki anjaneya swmy temple sajjanarao circle Bengaluru karnataka # Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple of Greater Chicago # Sri Lakshmi Temple Ashland Boston US # Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple of Singapore # Flower Mound Hindu Temple of Flower Mound Texas # Sri Devanathan Perumal Temple Thiruvahintharapuram, cuddalore, India # Sri Varatharaja Perumal Temple Puducherry, India # Sri Venkateswara swamy Temple, Then thirumalai, Mettupalayam, Coimbatore # Sri Venugopalaswamy temple, Guraza, Krishna District, Andhra pradesh # Sri Chennakeshava swamy temple, Tarakaturu, Machilipatnam, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India. # Sri Chennakesava swamy temple, Mallavolu, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. # Sri Chennakeshava swamy temple, Vullipalem, Repalle, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India # Sri Venugopal swamy temple, kodali, krishna district, Andhra pradesh, India # Sri Lakshminarashima swamy temple, sholingur, vellor district, Tamil Nadu, India # Sri Vijayendra Swamy Temple, Bethamangala, Kolar District, Karnataka, India # Sri Sundara Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Uthiramerur, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India # Sri Sundararaja Perumal Temple, Velianallore village, Kanchipuram, Tamil nadu, India # sri chennakesava swamy temple, Mallavolu, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. # Sri Kallazhagar Temple, Thirumaliruncholai, Alagarkoil, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. # Sri Venkatesa Perumal Temple, Sowcarpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India # Sri Adhi Jegannatha Perumal Temple, Thiruppullani, Ramnad Dist, Tamil Nadu, India # Sri Vegu Sundhara Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Sakkaramallur, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India. # Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple, Nungambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India # Sri Madhava Perumal Temple, Mylapore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India # Sri kesava Swamy temple, gandredu, pedapudi mandal, east godavari dist, andhra pradesh. # sri thiruvenkatamudiyan temple, south thirupathy, Ariyakudi sivagangai district, Tamilnadu. # Sri LakshmiNarayana Swamy Temple, Sekharipuram Agraharam, Palakkad, Kerala, India. # Srimath Khadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Kadiri, Andhra Pradesh. # Madanagopalaswamy Temple, Dangeru, K. Gangavaram mandal, Konaseema Dist., Andhra Pradesh, India. # Sri Bhu Sametha Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Sivala, K. Gangavaram mandal, Konaseema Dist., Andhra Pradesh, India # Sri Seetaramachandraswamy Temple, Kota, K. Gangavaram Mandal, Konaseema Dist., Andhra Pradesh, India. # Sri Govindaraja Swamy Temple, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. # Sri Kodandarama Swamy Temple, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. # Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Ramapuram, Chennai. # Sri Gajendra varadha raja perumal temple, tirupattur(635601), Tamil nadu

Doctrines

Vaikhanasas claim to be a surviving school of Vedic ritual, the Taittiriya Shakha of the

. Vaikhanasa tradition says the sage Vikhanasa, who was a manifestation of Lord Mahavishnu, had the Upanayanam along with Brahma consecrated by His father Lord Mahavishnu and educated under Lord Mahavishnu all the Vedas and Bhagawat Saastra on how to worship SriBhagawaan in His Archaavathaara - Iconic Form. Sri Vikhanasa Maharishi came down to earth's most holy place Naimisaaranyam composed the Vaikhanasa Kalpasutra and taught Sri Vaikhanasa Bhagawat Saastra to his four disciples viz., Atri, Bhrigu, Kashyapa and Marichi, respectively the procedures of Samurtarcana, Amurtarchana, devotional service to Vishnu in images. Most Vaikhanasa literature is almost completely concerned with rituals, prescribing the rituals and their rules of performance. To the Vaikhanasas their temple worship is a continuation of Vedic fire sacrifice. Regular and correct worship of Vishnu in a temple will bring the same results as the fire sacrifice even for people who do not maintain their fires. Jnana, knowledge, sections of Vaikhanasa texts are short and it is necessary to infer their doctrines from discussions in the texts on ritual. The Vaikhanasas evolved the theory of the five aspects of Vishnu:

, the all-pervading supreme deity; Purusha, the principle of life; Satya, the static aspect of deity; Achyuta, the immutable aspect; and Aniruddha, the irreducible aspect. The distinction is emphasised between Vishnu in his Niskala presence, the unfigured primeval and indivisible form unperceived even by Brahma, and his Sakala presence, the figured, divisible, emanated, and movable form. In his sakala presence he responds gracefully to devotional meditation. Shri is important as nature, Prakriti, and as the power, Shakti, of Vishnu. The Vaikhanasa doctrine states that Moksha is release into Vishnu's heaven. The nature of a man's Moksha is dependent on a devotee's service of

japa ''Japa'' ( sa, जप) is the meditative repetition of a mantra or a divine name. It is a practice found in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, with parallels found in other religions. ''Japa'' may be performed while sitting in a medit ...

(attentive repetition of prayer), Huta, yaaga (ritual sacrifice), '' archana'' (service to images), or

dhyana Dhyana may refer to: Meditative practices in Indian religions * Dhyana in Buddhism (Pāli: ''jhāna'') * Dhyana in Hinduism * Jain Dhyāna, see Jain meditation Other *''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener (1944-2013) * ''Dhyana'' ...

(Yogic meditation). Of the four, the Marichi Samhita says archana is the realisation of all aims.

Symbols

Temples and images with the Vaikhanasas are of more importance than perhaps any other sect of Hinduism. In accordance with Vaikhanasa doctrine of the two forms of Vishnu, the Nishkala, the unfigured, and the Sakala, the figured, two cult images are distinguished. There is the large immovable image representing Vishnu's Niskala form, which is ritually placed in a sanctuary and elaborately consecrated, and a smaller movable image representing Vishnu's Sakala form. If the devotee wishes for temporal and eternal results he should worship both forms. But if he is after only eternal results he should worship the immovable image. After purification and meditation to identify with Vishnu, the devotee surrenders to Vishnu and places the movable image on a bathing pedestal and elaborately bathes it. This is preparation for receiving the presence of God by immediate contact via a connecting string. The invocation starts with a Mantra, sacred utterance, saying that the Imperishable is linked to the Perishable and that the Self is released from all evil as it knows God. Flowers are presented to all the deities present. Then the hymn called the Aatmasukta is recited that identifies the body of the devotee with the cosmos, followed by meditation on Vishnu's Niskala aspect: these parts of the ritual are to request Vishnu to take his Sakala form in the movable image so that the devotee can converse with Him. A Puja ceremony takes place with God as the royal guest, followed by a Homa, offering into the fire omaagni and a Bali ffering-but not animal sacrificewith something that may be visible, touchable, audible, or eatable. An offering of avis - anything offered as an oblation with fire cooked food, is important as the God's meal. Afterwards the Prasaada (Food that was offered to God) is eaten by the worshipers and devotees. The offering area is cleaned and a Bali of cooked rice sprinkled with butter is offered to Vishnu. Then comes a Pradakshina ircumambulation from left to right clockwise as a kind of worshipround the temple. After Daksina, the officiating BrahmaN's share of the Prasadam, is given, Vishnu is meditated upon as the personal manifestation of the sacrifice. Finally Puspanjali antra Pushpam i.e., offering a handful of flowers at the God's lotus feet after chanting the holy Mantraas, and the temple door is closed after Mangala arathi.

External links

Sri Vikhanasa MaharshiVaikhanasam

References

{{Reflist Tirumala Venkateswara Temple Hindu denominations Vaishnava sects