Shandilya Samhita (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: शांडिल्य संहिता) is a Sanskrit text attributed to the

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

sage

Brahmarshi In Hinduism, a Brahmarshi (Sanskrit ', a tatpurusha compound of ' and ') is a member of the highest class of Rishis ("seers" or "sages"). A Brahmarshi is a sage who has attained enlightenment and became a Jivanmukta by completely understanding th ...

Shandilya Bampur के पाण्डेय, गोत्र पराशर सर्वश्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मण है। एवं संस्कृत के महान ग्रंथों के रचयिता म� ...

. It is treatise on

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

Artha ''Artha'' (; ; Pali: Attha, Tamil: பொருள், poruḷ) is one of the four goals or objectives of human life in Hindu traditions.James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing, New York, , pp 55–56 ...

Kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit: काम, ) is the concept of pleasure, enjoyment and desire in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It can also refer to "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsका� ...

Moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

and

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

. It is the collection of ''Shandilya Sutras to the'' devotion of the God. It includes Sanskrit verses on spiritual devotion, it's prescribed practices, virtues of faith, wisdom and self-control, etc.

Background

Devashree Narada and Maharshi Shandilya were two major followers of ''

Pancharatra ''Pancharatra'' (IAST: ''Pāñcarātra'') was a religious movement in Hinduism that originated in late 3rd-century BCE around the ideas of Narayana and the various avatar and forms of Vishnu as their central deities.

Bhakti'' tradition in the ancient period of the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. ''Devashree Narada'' wrote “''Narada Pancharatra''” for devotion of Lord Vishnu. Similarly, it is said that when Maharshi Shandilya did not find the ultimate goal even in the four Vedas, he took refuge in

and got indescribable satisfaction from it. He then contributed towards ''Bhakti Sutras'' in the Pancharatra Tradition. He wrote "Shandilya Samhita" under Pancharatragama. ''Shandilya Samhita'' is one of the important text that form the expansion of

literature in Hindu tradition. It is based on Shandilya Sutras which is the earliest known text that systematized the devotional Pancharatra doctrine. "In some old texts ''Pancharatra Samhita'' is also referred as ''Shandilya Samhita"''. Shandilya Samhita is considered as the authentic text of ''

Smarta The ''Smarta'' tradition (, ) is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature. It reflects a synthesis of four philosophical strands, namely Uttara Mīmāṃsā, Advaita Vedanta, Advaita, Yoga (philo ...

- Bhakti'' tradition in Hinduism. It had made a special contribution to the development of the Vaishnava sect. H Daniel Smith in his text "Vaishnava Iconography" has mentioned all the available Samhitas. Shandilya Samhita is one among the available Samhitas mentioned in the text.

Description

In the modern times, professor ''Anant Shastri Fadke'' of Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi, introduced the present version of Shandilya Samhita. It was later edited by Gopinath Kaviraj and again later forword by the vice chancellor Mandan Mishra of Sampoornanand Sanskrit University in 1996 The original Shandilya Samhita contains five sections (Khanda) on Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha and Bhakti. It is said that the first four sections of the Shandilya Samhita namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha have been lost. Only fifth section called as Bhakti Khanda has been survived. The present version of Shandilya Samhita's Bhakti Khanda has four sections. The first shloka of the first chapter in the Bhakti Khanda of the Shandilya Samhita asserts that the four lost Khandas of the Shandilya Samhita were discussed previously before the starting of the Bhakti Khanda. The Shandilya Samhita consists of approximately 3600 verses devoted to

Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...

. In the text Shandilya Samhita, Lord Krishna is identified as the supreme god or the ultimate truth. The text deals with the ethical behavior and the methods of sacred conduct followed by devotees. It is classified as a '' sāttvika'' text in the ''Muniprokta'' group of

Aagama.

Sections of Bhakti Khanda

There four sections in the present survived Bhakti Khanda of Shandilya Samhita. The sections are further divided into chapters. All sections have their own different numbers of chapters. There are 20, 9, 11 and 16 chapters in the first, second, third and fourth sections respectively. These chapters are the collection of the discussion of sages with the teacher Maharshi Shandilya about philosophical questions.

Sources

* Kaviraj, Gopinath. The Sandilya Sanhita Bhaktikhanda. N.p., Creative Media Partners, LLC, 2023. * Rosen, Steven. Vaisnavism. India, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (Pvt. Limited), 1994. * Sandilya Samhita, Bombay Sake, 1809 * Part I & II Sandilya Samhita. Edited by Pandit Ananta (Gopal Phadke, Professor, Government Sanskrit College. Benares * Government Gazette. India, n.p, 1964. * Maitra, Susil Kumar. Studies in Philosophy and Religion. India, Chuckervertty, Chatterjee, 1956. * Pathak, Vishwambhar Sharan. Smārta Religious Tradition: Being a Study of the Epigraphic Data on the Smārta Religious Tradition of Northern India, C. 600 A.D. to C. 1200 A.D.. India, Kusumanjali Prakashan, 1987. * Accessions List, South Asia. India, E.G. Smith for the U.S. Library of Congress Office, New Delhi, 1993. * Shri Gulabravmaharaj: Sadhana aur Sahitya. N.p., Vani Prakashan. * Śrīvāstava, Kiraṇa Kumārī. Ahirbudhnya saṃhita, saṅkshipta rūparekhā. India, Ekseleṃsa Pabliśarsa, 1993. * Siṃha, Lakshmīśvara Prasāda. Bhāratīya darśanoṃ meṃ kāmatattva. India, Kiśora Vidyā Niketana, 1986. * Upadhyaya, Baldeva. Vaishṇava sampradāyoṃ kā sāhitya aura siddhānta: Bhāratavarsha ke pradhāna Vaishṇava sampradāyoṃ ke sāhitya tathā siddhānta kā sāṅgopāṅga vivecana. India, Caukhambā Amarabhāratī Prakāśana, 1978. * Śarmā, Bhāratī. Bhakti, Bhāgavata aura Mānasa ke sandarbha meṃ. India, Hindī Pracāraka Pablikeśansa, 1995. * Choudhary, Ramswarth. Madhura rasa: svarūpa aura vikāsa. India, Rājakamala Prakāśana, 1968. * धर्मायण, 2077 वि.सं. भाग-3, अंक 101-104. N.p., Mahavir Mandir, Patna. * Dwivedi, Dr Shyamkant (2013). Vaishnav Tantra (in Hindi) (First ed.). Varanasi: Chaukhambha Publishers.

References

{{Reflist Hindu texts Sanskrit texts Sanskrit literature