Smarta tradition

Smarta tradition
Name	Smarta tradition
Type	Hindu denomination
Theology	Advaita Vedanta (primarily)
Scripture	Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Brahma Sutras, Puranas
Languages	Sanskrit, regional languages
Founder	Attributed to Adi Shankara's consolidation
Regions	India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, diaspora

Smarta tradition is a major Hindu religious tradition associated with the worship of multiple deities and the philosophical school of Advaita Vedanta. It emphasizes Vedic ritual, scriptural study, and a liberal approach to deity worship, historically linked to scholastic efforts and monastic networks across South Asia. The tradition has shaped temple practice, caste relations, and philosophical debate from early medieval periods through contemporary revival movements.

History

The historical development involves figures and institutions such as Adi Shankara, Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, Gaudapada, Mandana Misra, Sureshvara, Padmapada, Sankara (philosopher), Jagadguru, Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Kanchipuram, Dvaraka Pitha, Puri Govardhan Math, Jyotir Math, and monasteries linked to Brahmins across regions like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka Rajya, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal Presidency, Odisha, Goa, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Historical texts and institutions intersect with figures such as Bhaskara, Ramanuja, Vishnu Sharma, Nimbarka, Madhvacharya, Vallabha, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Ramananda, Basava, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Akbar, Shivaji, and contacts with colonial entities like the East India Company and intellectuals such as Sir William Jones and Max Müller. Smarta lineages engaged in debates at centers such as Nalanda, Taxila, Kashi, Ujjain, Puri, Tirupati, and institutions like Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and interacted with movements including Bhakti movement, Tantra, Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.

Doctrine and Philosophy

Smarta doctrine is closely associated with texts like the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita, advanced through philosophers such as Adi Shankara, Gaudapada, Sureshvara, Padmapada, Vachaspati Mishra, Saradvandana, and later interpreters like Madhusudana Sarasvati and Vidyaranya. Philosophical positions were debated with proponents of Dvaita Vedanta like Madhvacharya and Ramanuja of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition, and with schools such as Nyaya represented by Gangesha, Gautama, and Udayana. The tradition integrates ritual exegesis from Mimamsa figures like Jaimini and Prabhakara and engages metaphysical concerns related to Brahman, Atman, Maya, Karma, Samsara, and liberation as in the works of Shankara and commentators like Anandavardhana.

Practices and Rituals

Smarta ritual life involves Vedic samskaras practiced by lineages of Brahmin priests in villages and towns tied to temples such as Varanasi, Tirupati, Srirangam, Meenakshi Amman Temple, and Jagannath Temple. Practices include recitation of the Vedas, performance of Yajna, observance of rites like upanayana, marriage rites according to regional śrauta traditions, and domestic devotion including puja conducted in household shrines. Liturgical forms draw on manuals and itineraries from centers like Sringeri, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, and Kashi Vishwanath Temple, and incorporate festival cycles such as Navaratri, Diwali, Makar Sankranti, and Mahashivaratri. Ritual specialists maintain ties with educational institutions such as traditional gurukulas, modern universities like University of Madras, Banaras Hindu University, and seminaries associated with mathas.

Deities and Panchayatana Puja

A distinctive practice is the panchayatana system of worship, which arranges five primary icons often including Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya, and Ganesha or regional forms such as Skanda. Panchayatana installations appear in temples and homes from Kanchipuram to Konark and in collections found at sites like Ellora Caves, Ajanta Caves, and medieval temple complexes of Hoysala Empire, Chola Empire, Pallava dynasty, Chalukya dynasty, and Rashtrakuta dynasty. This pluralistic schema allowed syncretic devotion across traditions exemplified by temples like Brihadeeswarar Temple, Meenakshi Amman Temple, Somnath Temple, Tiruvarur, and Srirangam.

Key Texts and Philosophers

Canonical texts include the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda, principal Upanishads such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Chandogya Upanishad, the Bhagavad Gita, and Brahma Sutras. Commentarial tradition features works by Adi Shankara, Sureshvara, Vachaspati Mishra, Madhusudana Sarasvati, Vidyāraṇya, Nilakantha Dikshita, and later scholars such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy engaged in textual modernizations. Inscriptional and epigraphic records appear in grants and copperplates from dynasties like the Cholas, Pallavas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagara Empire, and colonial-era publications by scholars such as James Prinsep.

Social Structure and Influence

Smarta communities historically overlap with Brahmin subgroups such as Iyer, Iyengar (though Iyengars are chiefly Vaishnava), Namboothiri, Bengali Brahmins, Punjabi Brahmins, Goud Saraswat Brahmin, Chitpavan Brahmin, and regional priestly castes. The tradition affected patronage patterns involving rulers like the Pallava kings, Chola emperors, Hoysala rulers, Vijayanagara rulers, Maratha Empire leaders, and merchants in urban centers such as Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Hyderabad, and Pune. Social role extended into law and administration through engagement with institutions like the British Raj bureaucracy and reform movements including Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, and legal codifications influenced by jurists such as B.R. Ambedkar.

Modern Developments and Revival movements

Modern revival and reform connect Smarta practices with figures and organizations including Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Mission, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, SVT, Arya Samaj critiques, and academic study at institutions like Banaras Hindu University, University of Calcutta, Oxford University, Harvard University, and research by scholars such as R.C. Zaehner, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Indira Gandhi era cultural policy, and contemporary mathas like Sringeri Sharada Peetham and Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Diaspora communities in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, and Mauritius maintain Smarta-derived household practices alongside interfaith dialogues involving organizations such as Parliament of the World's Religions and academic centers like SOAS University of London.

Category:Hindu traditions