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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
8
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FOREWORD
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAME PANCARATRA.
Though several definitions have been given by the editor it is yet not very easy to say why the term Pañcarătra was used to denote the school of Vaisnavas who acknowledged the Caturvyüha theory where the God Vasudeva 1 assumes the different forms of Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. The very fact that there are several varieties of conflicting definitions shows that the followers of the school were not sure of the meaning of the term Pañcaratra, which became obscure in the course of time. This proves at the same time that the term had a very early origin even before the time of the Mahabharata, and that the attempt to establish the Pañcaratra school by means of later works such as the Sattvata, Jayākhya and Pauskara and scores of other Samhitas, represented an attempt at a revival of Pañcaratra theories, dogmas and prac tices. According to the various definitions of the term Păñcarātra so far known, it can be seen that the word is sometimes identified with certain other terms. In some works 2 the Pancarātra school is identified with the Bhāgavata school and in others 3 with the Sattvata school. The followers likewise were given several epithets among which the Sattvatas, Bhāgavatas, Pāñcaratrikas and Ekäntins 5 are more frequently used. The Viṣṇupurāņa 6 characterises the Sattvatas as the worshippers of Vasudeva and thus the Pâñcaratra came to be recogniz1 सर्वाणि तत्र भूतानि वसन्ति परमात्मनि । भूतेषु च स सर्वात्मा वासुदेवस्ततः स्मृतः ॥
fary. VI, 5, 80 (Cal. 1882)
2. ' यदपि भागवता मन्यन्ते ' शांकरे शारीरकभाष्ये ।
' तदिह भागवतं गतमत्सरा मतमिदं विमृशन्तु विपश्चितः ' आगमप्रामाण्ये P. I (Lazarus ed.)
3. ' सात्त्वतं विधिमास्थाय गीतः सङ्कर्षणेन यः' महाभारते भीष्मपर्वणि अ. 66,40. तथा च श्रीसात्त्वता ' स्पंदप्रदीपिका p. 20.
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4- 5. ' सूरिः सुहृद्भागवतः सात्त्वतः पञ्चकालवित् ।
' एकान्तिकस्तन्मयश्च पाञ्चरात्रिक इत्यपि ॥ ' पाद्मसंहिता IV, 2, 88. 6. ' वासुदेवश्व सात्त्वतैः ' विष्णुपुराण V, 17, 16 ( Cal. ed.)
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