Considerations About Traditions Influential in the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā
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Marion Rastelli
Abstract
The Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā, probably compiled in South India in the twelfth/thirteenth century, is one of the most interesting texts of the Vaiṣṇava Pāñcarātra tradition. Its most important deity is Sudarśana, the anthropomorphic discus of Viṣṇu, who is ritually worshipped by personal priests (purohita, purodhas) for the sake of the king. In contrast to other Pāñcarātra Saṃhitās, the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā contains extensive theological and cosmological chapters. It also shows traces of several other religious traditions. The paper is mainly devoted to this second characteristic and presents examples of influences from two sides, namely, from Śaivas on one hand and Atharvavedins on the other, and tries to give a possible explanation for their presence.
Acknowledgments
A first version of this paper in German was read at a public lecture series held at the Centre for Tantric Studies of the University of Hamburg during the winter term 2012–13 under the title “Die esoterische Tradition des Pāñcarātra: Einflüsse und Ziele”. I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions to improve the paper and Cynthia Peck-Kubaczek for suggesting various stylistic corrections of the English manuscript.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Aufsätze – Articles – Articles
- Les manuscrits du sud de la vallée de l’Indus en écriture khojkī sindhī: état des lieux et perspectives
- Hell as “Eternal” Punishment? On the Depiction of Hell in Vīlhojī’s Kathā Gyāncarī
- Entwicklungen in der Darstellung Buddhistischer Erzählstoffe in Sri Lanka
- Mack the Knife and Knife-Black Dorothy Appositional Metaphoric Compounds: A Comparison and Contrast of the Varying Approaches in Sanskrit Treatises on Grammar and Poetics
- Music Theory, Mathematics, and Patterns of Innovation in the Saṅgītaratnākara
- Considerations About Traditions Influential in the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā
- Meanings Out of Rules. Definitions, Functions and Uses of Paribhāṣās in Śrautasūtras, Gṛhyasūtras, Vyākaraṇa, Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta
- A General Overview
- The paribhāṣās in the Śrautasūtras: Problems, Opportunities and Premises for an Investigation
- Towards a Methodology for Applying the paribhāṣās in the Kauśikasūtra (II)
- From Commentary to paribhāṣās: Kātyāyana and Patañjali vis-à-vis Vyāḍi
- The Role of paribhāṣās in Mīmāṃsā: Rational Rules of Textual Exegesis
- … And What about the Vedānta Paribhāṣā’s paribhāṣātva? Some hypotheses on the use of paribhāṣās in later Advaita Vedānta
- Meanings Out of Rules: The Editor’s Overview
- Rezensionen – Comptes rendus – Reviews
- Some More Notes on Siderits and Katsura’s Translation of Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
- Rezension – Compte rendu – Review
- Otter, Felix: Grundkurs Sanskrit: Eine Einführung in die Sprache der altindischen Erzählliteratur
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Aufsätze – Articles – Articles
- Les manuscrits du sud de la vallée de l’Indus en écriture khojkī sindhī: état des lieux et perspectives
- Hell as “Eternal” Punishment? On the Depiction of Hell in Vīlhojī’s Kathā Gyāncarī
- Entwicklungen in der Darstellung Buddhistischer Erzählstoffe in Sri Lanka
- Mack the Knife and Knife-Black Dorothy Appositional Metaphoric Compounds: A Comparison and Contrast of the Varying Approaches in Sanskrit Treatises on Grammar and Poetics
- Music Theory, Mathematics, and Patterns of Innovation in the Saṅgītaratnākara
- Considerations About Traditions Influential in the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā
- Meanings Out of Rules. Definitions, Functions and Uses of Paribhāṣās in Śrautasūtras, Gṛhyasūtras, Vyākaraṇa, Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta
- A General Overview
- The paribhāṣās in the Śrautasūtras: Problems, Opportunities and Premises for an Investigation
- Towards a Methodology for Applying the paribhāṣās in the Kauśikasūtra (II)
- From Commentary to paribhāṣās: Kātyāyana and Patañjali vis-à-vis Vyāḍi
- The Role of paribhāṣās in Mīmāṃsā: Rational Rules of Textual Exegesis
- … And What about the Vedānta Paribhāṣā’s paribhāṣātva? Some hypotheses on the use of paribhāṣās in later Advaita Vedānta
- Meanings Out of Rules: The Editor’s Overview
- Rezensionen – Comptes rendus – Reviews
- Some More Notes on Siderits and Katsura’s Translation of Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
- Rezension – Compte rendu – Review
- Otter, Felix: Grundkurs Sanskrit: Eine Einführung in die Sprache der altindischen Erzählliteratur
