In Hinduism

Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa)

Source: archive.org: Catalogue of Pancaratra Agama Texts

Samādhivyākhyāna (समाधिव्याख्यान) (lit. “explaining the steps leading to samādhi”) is the name of chapter 3 (Kriyākāṇḍa) of the Pārameśvarasaṃhitā: an important Pāñcarātra text of 8700 verses followed closely by the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam—dealing with priestly concerns such as their daily routines, occasional liturgies and expiatory services.—Description of the chapter [samādhivyākhyāna]: Once the bath is over, the next step is to apply the religious marks [puṇḍra] to the body at the appropriate places (10-20), dress and then proceed to the place where God is kept and “wake up” the Lord; where there is no temple, he shall go through the process mentally imagining (see verses 38 ff) the sounds of conch, bells and drums, the door, the corridors etc., doing thus a mānasayāga. Before the aspirant can approach God for actual worship, he must further purify himself spiritually. [This is the second kind of snāna mentioned in ch. II, supra. This is done, in brief, by a mental dissolution of the physical self, composed of its five constituent bhūta-elements (39-150), mentally offering these bhūtas up for purification (by prāṇāyāma etc.). Control of breath (prāṇāyāma) is then described (90-139); the Lord should be meditated upon during the prāṇāyāma (129-30; 144-5), particularly as embodied in His mantra (mantrātman, mantradeha) (145-6); and thus through concentration (dhāraṇā) he should see steadily the inner effulgence of the all-pervading Lord in his samādhi (178-182). The presence of God’s (animating) Power is thus needed for this renewed, spiritually-cleansed body. In the human body thus reconstituted and transmuted, he should practice nyāsa (222-230),

context information

Pancaratra (पाञ्चरात्र, pāñcarātra) represents a tradition of Hinduism where Narayana is revered and worshipped. Closeley related to Vaishnavism, the Pancaratra literature includes various Agamas and tantras incorporating many Vaishnava philosophies.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Vyakhyana, Samadhi, Camati, Samati.

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Full-text: Mantradeha, Mantratman, Dharana, Pundra, Pranayama.

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