Smarta tradition
Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins , etc |
The Smarta tradition (
The Smarta tradition developed during (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.[9][10] The Smarta tradition is aligned with Advaita Vedanta, and regards Adi Shankara as its founder or reformer.[11] Shankara championed the thesis that ultimate reality is impersonal and Nirguna (attributeless) and any symbolic god serves the same equivalent purpose.[12] Inspired by this belief, the Smarta tradition followers, along with the five Hindu gods, include a sixth impersonal god in their practice.[12] The tradition has been called by William Jackson as "advaitin, monistic in its outlook".[13]
The term Smarta also refers to
Etymology
Smārta (स्मार्त) is an adjective derived from
Smarta has several meanings:[19][22]
- Relating to memory
- Recorded in or based on the Smriti
- Based on tradition, prescribed or sanctioned by traditional law
- Orthodox Brahmin versed in or guided by traditional law and Vedanta doctrine
In Smarta tradition context, the term Smarta means "Follower Of Smriti".[23] Smarta is especially associated with a "Sect Founded By Shankaracharya", according to Monier Williams.[22] Some families in South India follow Srauta strictly and do not accept any Vedanta systems. They even have a custom of the sacred thread being worn by women.
History
Part of a series on |
Hinduism |
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Both
The "Hindu Synthesis"
Hiltebeitel situates the origins of the Smarta tradition in the ongoing interaction between the Vedic-Brahmanic tradition and non-Vedic traditions. According to him, a period of consolidation in the development of Hinduism took place between the time of the late Vedic Upanishad (c. 500 BCE) and the period of the rise of the Guptas (c. 320-467), which he calls the "Hindus synthesis", "Brahmanic synthesis", or "orthodox synthesis".[25] It develops in interaction with other religions and peoples:
The emerging self-definitions of Hinduism were forged in the context of continuous interaction with heterodox religions (Buddhists, Jains, Ajivikas) throughout this whole period, and with foreign people (Yavanas, or Greeks; Sakas, or Scythians; Pahlavas, or Parthians; and Kusanas, or Kushans) from the third phase on [between the Mauryan empire and the rise of the Guptas].[26]
The smriti texts of the period between 200 BCE- 100 CE
Around the start of the common era, and thereafter, a syncretism of Haituka schools (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya and Yoga), the Smarta schools (Mimamsa, Vedanta) with ancient theistic ideas (bhakti, tantric) gave rise to a growth in traditions such as
According to Hiltebeitel, "the consolidation of Hinduism takes place under the sign of bhakti."[35] It is the Bhagavadgita that seals this achievement. The result is a universal achievement that may be called smarta. It views Shiva and Vishnu as "complementary in their functions but ontologically identical".[35]
Puranic Hinduism
According to Flood, the Smarta tradition originated with the development of the Puranas.[2] The Puranic corpus is a complex body of materials that advance the views of various competing cults. Flood connects the rise of the written Purana historically with the rise of devotional cults centring upon a particular deity in the Gupta era.[36][note 2]
After the end of the Gupta Empire and the collapse of the Harsha Empire, power became decentralised in India. Several larger kingdoms emerged, with "countless vasal states". The kingdoms were ruled via a feudal system. Smaller kingdoms were dependent on the protection of the larger kingdoms.[38] With the breakdown of the Gupta empire, gifts of virgin waste-land were heaped on brahmanas,[39][40] to ensure profitable agrarian exploitation of land owned by the kings, but also to provide status to the new ruling classes. Brahmanas spread further over India, interacting with local clans with different religions and ideologies.[39]
The early medieval Puranas were composed to disseminate religious mainstream ideology among the pre-literate tribal societies undergoing acculturation.[41] The Brahmanas used the Puranas to incorporate those clans into the agrarian society and its accompanying religion and ideology.[39] Local chiefs and peasants were absorbed into the castesystem, which was used to keep "control over the new kshatriyas and shudras.[42]
The Brahmanism of the
Many local religions and traditions were assimilated into puranic Hinduism. Vishnu and Shiva emerged as the main deities, together with Sakti/Deva, subsuming local cults, popular totem symbols and creation myths. Rama and Krsna became the focus of a strong bhakti tradition, which found expression particularly in the Bhagavata Purana. The Krsna tradition subsumed numerous Naga, yaksa and hill and tree based cults. Siva absorbed local cults by the suffixing of Isa or Isvara to the name of the local deity, for example Bhutesvara, Hatakesvara, Chandesvara.[44]
Shankara and Advaita Vedanta
Traditionally, Adi Shankara is regarded as the greatest teacher and reformer of the Smarta tradition.
Practically, Adi Shankara Acharya fostered a rapprochement between Advaita and smarta orthodoxy, which by his time had not only continued to defend the varnasramadharma theory as defining the path of karman, but had developed the practice of pancayatanapuja ("five-shrine worship") as a solution to varied and conflicting devotional practices. Thus one could worship any one of five deities (Vishnu, Siva, Durga, Surya, Ganesa) as one's istadevata ("deity of choice").[9]
The
Recognition of Smarta as a tradition
Medieval era scholars such as Vedanta Desika and Vallabhacharya recognized Smarta as competing with Vaishnavism and other traditions. According to Jeffrey Timm, for example, in verse 10 of the Tattvarthadipanibandha,
According to Murray Milner Jr., a professor of Sociology, the Smarta tradition refers to "Hindus who tend toward Brahmanical orthodoxy in both thought and behavior". Smartas are usually committed to a "relatively unified Hinduism" and they reject extreme forms of sectarian isolationism, reminiscent of the European discourse about the church and Christian sects.[3] The tradition, states Milner, has roots that emerged sometime between 3rd century BCE and 3rd century CE, likely in response to the growth of Jainism and Buddhism.[3] It reflected a Hindu synthesis of four philosophical strands: Mimamsa, Advaita, Yoga and theism.[3]
Smarta tradition emerged initially as a synthesis movement to unify Hinduism into a nonsectarian form based on the Vedic heritage. It accepted varnasrama-dharma, states Bruce Sullivan, which reflected an acceptance of
Modern Hinduism
In recent times bhakti cults have increasingly become popular with the smartas.[63]
Vaitheespara notes the adherence of the Smarta Brahmans to "the pan-Indian Sanskrit-brahmanical tradition":
The emerging pan-Indian nationalism was clearly founded upon a number of cultural movements that, for the most part, reimagined an 'Aryo-centric', neo-brahmanical vision of India, which provided the 'ideology' for this hegemonic project. In the Tamil region, such a vision and ideology was closely associated with the Tamil Brahmans and, especially, the Smarta Brahmans who were considered the strongest adherents of the pan-Indian Sanskrit-Brahmanical tradition.[64]
Philosophy and practices
Panchayatana Puja
The Smartas evolved a kind of worship which is known as
Panchayatana puja is a practice that became popular in medieval India,[67] and has been attributed to Adi Shankara.[68] However, archaeological evidence suggests that this practice long predates the birth of Adi Shankara. Many Panchayatana mandalas and temples have been uncovered that are from the Gupta Empire period, and one Panchayatana set from the village of Nand (about 24 kilometers from Ajmer) has been dated to belong to the Kushan Empire era (pre-300 CE).[69] The Kushan period set includes Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Brahma and one deity whose identity is unclear.[69] According to James Harle, major Hindu temples from 1st millennium CE embed the pancayatana architecture very commonly, from Odisha to Karnataka to Kashmir; and the temples containing fusion deities such as Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu) are set in Panchayatana worship style.[70]
Saguna and Nirguna Brahman
According to Smartism, supreme reality, Brahman, transcends all of the various forms of personal deity.[71][note 5] The Smartas follow an orthodox Hindu philosophy, which means they accept the Vedas, and the ontological concepts of Atman and Brahman therein.
The Smarta Tradition accepts two concepts of Brahman, which are the
Texts
Smartas follow the
[M]ost of the basic ideas and practices of classical Hinduism derive from the new smriti literature. In other words, Hindus for the most part pay little more than lip service to the Vedic scriptures. The most important dimensions of being Hindu derive, instead, from the smriti texts. The point can also be made in terms of the emerging social reality. Whereas the shruti is taken seriously by a small number of Brahmins, the smriti are taken seriously by the overwhelming majority of Hindus, regardless of class or caste identity.[79]
The identity of Atman and Brahman, and their unchanging, eternal nature, are the basic truths in this tradition. The emphasis in Vedic texts here is the jnana-kanda (knowledge, philosophical speculations) in the Upanishadic part of the Vedas, not its karma-kanda (ritual injunctions).[82] Along with the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras are the central texts of the Advaita Vedanta tradition, providing the truths about the identity of Atman and Brahman and their changeless nature.[82][83]
- The major Smriti texts are:[84]
- The two epics Ramayana of Valmiki and the Mahabharata, which have been commented on by many Smarta philosophers and scholars. Harikathas, Pravachanams, Upanyasams, and Kalakshepams on these texts are still very popular. The Ramayana is the text of choice for daily devotional reading or Nitya Parayanam for many Smartas and it has pervaded and guided Hindu conscience for centuries.
- The Madhusudhana Saraswati and Sridhara Swami. The Bhagavad Gita exemplifies the "Hindu synthesis" of Brahmanic orthodoxy with the emerging bhakti traditions[81] and the use of the shramanic and Yogic terminology to spread the Brahmanic idea of living according to one's duty or dharma, in contrast to the yogic ideal of liberation from the workings of karma.[85]
- The Srimad Bhagavatham and Vishnu Puranaare treated with the same reverence as the major epics, as also being the chosen texts for daily devotional reading (Parayana grantham). "Sridhariyam" on the Bhagavatham, and "Bhavartha-Dipika" on the Vishnu Purana are well-known commentaries, both by Sridhara Swami.
- Common religious law books or dharma literature, namely the Apastamba Smritiand the Bodhyayana Smriti.
The Brahmasutra is considered as the Nyaya Prasthana (canonical base for reasoning).
Institutions
The Smarta Tradition includes temples and monasteries. More Smarta temples are found in West and South India, than in North India.[87]
Adi Shankara is one of the leading scholars of the Smarta Tradition, and he founded some of the most famous monasteries in Hinduism.
The mathas which Shankara built exist until today, and continue the teachings and influence of Shankara.[91][92]
The table below gives an overview of the four largest Advaita Mathas founded by Adi Shankara, and their details.
The
Shishya (lineage) |
Direction
|
Maṭha | State | Mahāvākya
|
Veda
|
Sampradaya |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Padmapāda
|
East | Govardhana Pīṭhaṃ
|
Odisha | Prajñānam brahma (Consciousness is Brahman) | Rig Veda
|
Bhogavala |
Sureśvara | South | Sringeri Śārada Pīṭhaṃ | Karnataka | Aham brahmāsmi (I am Brahman) | Yajur Veda
|
Bhūrivala |
Hastāmalakācārya | West | Dvāraka Pīṭhaṃ
|
Gujarat | Tattvamasi (That thou art) | Sama Veda
|
Kitavala |
Toṭakācārya | North | Jyotirmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ
|
Uttarakhand | Ayamātmā brahma (This Atman is Brahman) | Atharva Veda
|
Nandavala |
Other Advaita Vedanta mathas following Smarta Tradition include:
- Sodhe, Sirsi, Karnataka
- Ramachandrapura Math at Haniya, Hosanagara, Karnataka
- Kanchi matha, at Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu
- Chitrapur Math, Shirali, Karnataka
- Ponda, Goa
- Sri Samsthan Dabholi Math, Dabholi, Goa
Smarta Brahmins and Visvakarmas
Smarta Brahmins
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The adjective Smārta is also used to classify a Brahmin who adheres to the Smriti corpus of texts.[17][96]
Smarta Brahmins specialize in the Smriti corpus of texts,
In a more general sense, all Brahmins who do not come from small communities of orthodox Vedic sects are considered Smarta Brahmins. Many orthodox Vedic sects have also turned to temple worship and management, which is considered a Smarta and Agamic tradition. Sri Vaishnava Brahmins sought to combine the Smarta tradition, Alvar Bhakti, and the Pancharatra traditions. Kashmiri Pandits combine Smarta and Agamic tradition.[citation needed]
Smarta Visvakarmas
Visvakarmas are artisans found in South India, such as in the state of Karnataka. They are known for their traditional expertise and skills as blacksmiths, carpenters, coppersmiths, sculptors, and goldsmiths. Smarta Visvakarmas are vegetarian artisans who follow the Smarta tradition. They contrast with Vaishnava Visvakarmas who follow the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism and some of whom may consume non-vegetarian food.[100][101] The re-marriage of widows is a tradition found among the Smarta Visvakarmas, but has been atypical among Vaishnava Visvakarma.[101]
According to Brouwer, examples of Smarta Visvakarmas include Niligundapanta (traditionally blacksmiths and carpenters), Konnurpanta (all five artisan trades) and Madipattar (goldsmiths).[100] The Smarta & Vaishnava Visvakarmas claim to be Brahmins but were never considered to be Brahmins by the mainstream smarta brahmins of Karnataka and other castes.[100]
Influence
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Vaitheespara notes the adherence of the Smarta Brahmans to "the pan-Indian Sanskrit-brahmanical tradition" and their influence on pan-Indian nationalism:
The emerging pan-Indian nationalism was clearly founded upon a number of cultural movements that, for the most part, reimagined an 'Aryo-centric', neo-brahmanical vision of India, which provided the 'ideology' for this hegemonic project. In the Tamil region, such a vision and ideology was closely associated with the Tamil Brahmans and, especially, the Smarta Brahmans who were considered the strongest adherents of the pan-Indian Sanskrit-Brahmanical tradition.[64]
See also
- Neo-Vedanta
- Advaita Vedanta
- Ishta-deva
- Smarana
- Prominent Smarta teachers
- Gaudapada[citation needed]
- Govinda Bhagavatpada
- Adi Shankara
- Sureshwaracharya
- Padmapadacharya[citation needed]
- Hastamalakacharya[citation needed]
- Totakacharya[citation needed]
- Vachaspati Mishra[citation needed]
- Sri Ramakrishna[citation needed]
- Swami Vivekananda[citation needed]
- Sri Ramana Maharshi[citation needed]
- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan[102][103]
- Madhusudana Saraswati
- Swami Karpatri
- Sects
Examples of sects that follow the Smarta tradition and Advaita Vedanta, with Shankara as the primary reformer:
- Halenadu Karnataka Brahmin
- Hoysala Karnataka Brahmins
- Iyers
Notes
- ^ The Vedanga texts, states Alf Hiltebeitel, are Smriti texts that were composed in the second half of the Vedic period that ended around 500 BCE.(Hiltebeitel 2013, p. 13) The Vedanga texts include the Kalpa (Vedanga) texts consisting of the Srautasutras, Grihyasutras and Dharmasutras, many of which were revised well past the Vedic period.(Hiltebeitel 2013, pp. 13–14) The Grihyasutras and Dharmasutras, states Hiltebeitel, were composed between 600 BCE and 400 CE, and these are sometimes called the Smartasutras, the roots of the Smriti tradition.(Hiltebeitel 2013, pp. 13–14)
- ^ Wendy Doniger, based on her study of indologists, assigns approximate dates to the various Puranas:[37]
- Markandeya Purana to c. 250 CE (with one portion dated to c. 550 CE)
- Matsya Purana to c. 250–500
- Vayu Purana to c. 350
- Harivamsa and Vishnu Puranato c. 450
- Brahmanda Purana to c. 350–950
- Vamana Purana to c. 450–900, Kurma Purana to c. 550–850
- Linga Purana to c. 600–1000
- ^ The term "mayavada" is still being used, in a critical way, by the Hare Krshnas.[52][53][54][55]
- "ajāta" from Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka philosophy.[49][46] Adi Shankara Acharya succeeded in reading Gaudapada's mayavada[51][note 3] into Badarayana's Brahma Sutras, "and give it a locus classicus", against the realistic strain of the Brahma Sutras.[51] Yet, while there is borrowed terminology, Gaudapada's doctrines are unlike Buddhism. Gaudapada's influential text consists of four chapters; Chapter One, Two and Three of which are entirely Vedantin and founded on the Upanishads, with little Buddhist flavor.[56] Chapter Four uses Buddhist terminology and incorporates Buddhist doctrines, state both Murti and Richard King, but Vedanta scholars who followed Gaudapada through the 17th century never referenced nor used Chapter Four, they only quote from the first three.[56][57] The Gaudapada tradition is Vedantin with its foundation of Atman and Brahman, and his doctrines fundamentally different from Buddhism which deny these foundational concepts of Hinduism.[56][58]
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- ^ Flood 1996, pp. 113, 134, 155–161, 167–168.
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- ^ Knipe 2015, p. 36.
- ^ Buhnemann, Gudrun, Puja: A Study In Smarta Ritual, Publications Of The De Nobili Research Library, Gerold & Co., Vienna, 1988. pp. 32–33.
- ^ Buhnemann, Gudrun, Mandalas And Yantras In The Hindu Traditions, Leiden, Brill, 2003. p. 57. "Initially A Brief Explanation Of The Word Smarta May Be In Order. Smarta Is A Rather Loosely Used Term Which Refers To A Brahmin Who Is An 'Adherent Of The Smrti' And Of The Tradition Which Is 'Based On The Smrti'."
- ^ a b Flood, Gavin (1996), An Introduction To Hinduism, Cambridge University Press. p. 17. "There Is Also An Important Tradition Of Brahmans Called Smartas, Those Who Follow The Smrti Or Secondary Revelation ..." p. 56. "The Brahmans Who Followed The Teachings Of These Texts Were Known As Smartas, Those Who Followed The Smrtis ..." p. 113. "The Brahmans Who Followed The Puranic Religion Became Known As Smarta, Those Whose Worship Was Based On The Smrtis, Or Pauranika, Those Based On The Puranas."
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- ^ a b c d Hiltebeitel 2013, pp. 29–30.
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- ^ a b Sharma 2000, p. 64.
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- ^ Basham 1991, p. 109.
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- ^ "The Four Denominations of Hinduism". Himalayan Academy. Basics of Hinduism. Kauai Hindu Monastery.
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- ISBN 978-0-300-06217-5– via archive.org.
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- ISBN 978-0-19-534713-5.
- ^ Kiyokazu Okita (2010), Theism, Pantheism, and Panentheism: Three Medieval Vaishnava Views of Nature and their Possible Ecological Implications, Journal of Vaishnava Studies, Volume 18, Number 2, pages 5-26
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- ^ a b William Wainwright (2012), Concepts of God, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University
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- ^ Lochtefeld 2002, p. 656.
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- ^ Smarta sect, Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5.
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- ^ Dr, Vaidhyanathan 2017, p. 35.
- ^ Jonathan Bader 2017, p. 270.
- ^ Buhnemann, Gudrun, Mandalas And Yantras In The Hindu Traditions, Leiden, Brill, 2003. p. 57. "Initially A Brief Explanation Of The Word Smarta May Be In Order. Smarta Is A Rather Loosely Used Term Which Refers To A Brahmin Who Is An 'Adherent Of The Smrti' And Of The Tradition Which Is 'Based On The Smrti'."
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- ^ "Adi Shankara's four Amnaya Peethams". Archived from the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2006.
External links
Advaita Vedanta
- Adi Sankaracharya and Advaita Vedanta Library
- Advaita Vedanta Homepage
- Jagadguru Mahasamsthanam, Sringeri Sharada Peetam