Vaikhanasa (Sanskrit:वैखानस,romanized: Vaikhānasa) orVaikhanasagama (Sanskrit:वैखानसागम,romanized: Vaikhānasāgama) is a tradition ofHinduism that primarily worshipsVishnu (and his associatedavatars) as the SupremeGod. The tradition draws its name from the philosophy propounded by its founder, Sage Vikhanasa.[1]
Vaikhanasa is classified as aVaishnavaAgama, concerned with the performance of practices such as temple rituals.[2] Its adherents are primarily theBrahmins who belong to the school of theKrishna YajurvedaTaittiriya Shakha and the Vaikhanasa Kalpasutra.[3] It is principallymonotheistic in its philosophy, whilst also incorporating elements that could be described as beingpanentheistic. Like thePancharatra, it is well established in South India.[4]
The Vaikhanasas originated as a group of forest-dwelling ascetics.[5] In theManava Dharmashastra, the legendaryManu discusses thevanaprastha, forest-dweller, the third of the fourashrama 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 theNarayaniyam, which is a late section of theMahabharata of uncertain date but probably no earlier than the third century CE. Surviving Vaikhanasa sutras are no older than the fourth century CE.[citation needed]
Inscriptions from perhaps the eighth century CE identify Vaikhanasas astemple priests, and from the end of the tenth century they are prominently mentioned in South Indian inscriptions. Vaikhanasas were the priests of Vishnu temples, trusted with administering the temples and their lands.
Vedanta Desika, a leader of theSri Vaishnava school, has given equal importance to both vaikhanasa andPancharatra system in his work Saranagati Deepika 32 :
tvAm paancaraatrikanayEna pruthakvidhEnavaikhanasEna ca pathA niyatAdhikArA: |
samjn~A vishESha niyamEna samarcayanta:preetyA nayanti phalavanti dinAni dhanyA: ||
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.[citation needed]
Vaikhanasas claim to be a surviving school ofVedic ritual, theTaittiriya Shakha of theKrishna Yajurveda. Vaikhanasa tradition says the sage Vikhanasa, who was a manifestation of Vishnu, acquired an education of the Vedas and the Shastras. He learnt how to worship Vishnu as anarcāvatāra, a temple image regarded to be an iconic form of the deity. He is regarded to have travelled to the holy forest known as theNaimisharanya and composed the Vaikhanasa Kalpasutra and taught the treatise known as the Sri Vaikhanasa Bhagavad Shastra to his four disciples, the sagesAtri,Bhrigu,Kashyapa andMarichi, which contained the procedures of Samurtarcana, Amurtarchana, and devotional service to Vishnu in the form of his images.[6]
Most Vaikhanasa literature is almost completely concerned with rituals, prescribing the rituals and their rules of performance. To Vaikhanasas, their temple worship is a continuation of the Vedicyajna. Regular and correct worship of Vishnu in a temple are regarded to bring the same results as the fire sacrifice even for people who do not maintain their fires.[7]
Vaikhanasa texts venerate four aspects of Vishnu:Purusha, the principle of life;Satya, the static aspect of deity;Achyuta, the immutable aspect; andAniruddha, the irreducible aspect. They prescribe the two primarymantras of Vaishnavism:Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya andOm Namo Narayanaya.[8] Distinction is emphasised between Vishnu in his form ofniṣkalā, a primeval and indivisible form unperceived even by Brahma, and his form ofsakala, the figured, divisible, emanated, and movable form. In his form of Sakala, the deity is regarded to respond to devotional meditation. Vishnu's consort,Shri, is regarded to be as important as nature,Prakriti, as the power (shakti) of Vishnu.
The Vaikhanasa doctrine states that spiritual liberation (moksha) is release into Vishnu's abode ofVaikuntha. The nature of a devotee's moksha is regarded to be dependent on their performance ofjapa (attentive repetition of prayer), huta,yajna (ritual sacrifice),archana (service to images), anddhyana (yogic meditation). Of the four, the text known as the Marichi Samhita offers precedence to archana.[citation needed]
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The Vaikhanasa Brahmins/Vaikhanasas are a tiny Vaishnavite Brahmin community[9] of about 4000 families[better source needed] 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
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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 [Homaagni], and a Bali [offering-but not animal sacrifice] with something that may be visible, touchable, audible, or eatable. An offering of [Havis - 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 [circumambulation from left to right clockwise as a kind of worship]around 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, known asMantra Pushpam, that is, 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.
With dwindling practitioners, the system needed a boost. [...] The syllabus adheres to the practices observed at the Tirumala temple, which follows the Vaikhanasa system.
