fifth-century Sanskrit inscription of southeast Asia found in the ruins of the
monument of Prasat Pram Loven of the Fu-nan (a kingdom which comprised
the Mekong delta), mentions Bha ̄gavatas among those who should enjoy the gift
which Gun.avarman donated to a newly installed footprint of Vis.n.u named
Cakratı ̄rthasva ̄min. These Bha ̄gavatas are probably the priests of that image
(Cœdès 1931; Bhattacharya 1961). The Br.hatsam.hita ̄ of Vara ̄hamihira (sixth
century) prescribes that the ritual installation of an image should be performed
by those devoted to that god – Bha ̄gavatas in the case of Vis.n.u – according to
their own rule (svavidhi) (chap. 60, verse 19, in Kern’s edition). An earlier verse
(12) in the same chapter stipulates that during this installation, the “twice-
born” (dvija) priest should sacrifice into the fire with the mantras which corre-
spond to the god to be installed. We may infer from this that in the case of Vis.n.u,
a twice-born Bha ̄gavata sacrifices with Vais.n.ava mantras.
Yogic and Ascetic Traditions (third to ca. fifth century AD)
Besides the Bha ̄gavata worship evidenced mainly through epigraphy, Sanskrit
literature from around the third century ad, attests a tendency which stresses
asceticism and yoga in association with devotion for Na ̄ra ̄yan.a. The existence of
organized Vais.n.ava ascetic communities in this period cannot be excluded,
though documentation to sustain this hypothesis is scanty. The early Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra
and Vaikha ̄nasa traditions promoted this yogico-ascetic-cum-devotional ten-
dency. A main trait of the early Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra view of ritual is non-injury, perhaps
in answer to the Buddhist criticism of Vedic rites. The Vaikha ̄nasa tradition,
especially as represented in its Sma ̄rtasu ̄tra, transformed Vedic types of rite and
included image worship. This probably answered the questions which arose
about the nature of ritual itself, on what the relations between Vedic rite and pu ̄ja ̄
could be, and, perhaps, how far they could be combined in a devotional context.
Early Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra and the Na ̄ra ̄yan.ı ̄yaparvan of the Maha ̄bha ̄rata
Scholars are not unanimous about the origin of the term pa ̄ñcara ̄tra as applied
to a Vais.n.ava tradition. Some trace it to the S ́atapathabra ̄hman.a (13.6.1)
(usually dated between tenth and seventh centuries bc), which contains the
oldest available occurrence of the term “pañcara ̄tra”: this passage describes the
god Na ̄ra ̄yan.a performing a pañcara ̄tra(“five nights”) purus.amedhasacrifice, after
which he is said to have surpassed all beings and become the entire universe.
Modern scholars have proposed various explanations of the name (van Buitenen
1971: 6 sqq.; Neevel 1977: 8–10; Brockington 1998: 299–301). Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra has
also been said to be connected with the Eka ̄yana, a lost Vedic s ́a ̄kha ̄(“school”).
Old Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra texts mention Eka ̄yana mantras and Eka ̄yana adherents
(Matsubara 1994: 54; Bhattacharya 1967: 206). But the Na ̄ra ̄yan.ı ̄yaparvan
history of vais.n.ava traditions 233