Several scholars consider that the term bha ̄gavatarefers to a group of Vais.n.ava
Sma ̄rtas which was already in existence in the sixth century adand was still
widespread in south India at the beginning of the twentieth century. These
Bha ̄gavatas are said to adhere to nondualism and worship the five gods Vis.n.u,
S ́iva, Durga ̄, Su ̄rya, and Gan.es ́a, consider Vis.n.u equal to S ́iva, by contrast with
other Sma ̄rtas who prefer Siva to Vis.n.u. Their main scripture is said to be the
Bha ̄gavatapura ̄n.a and their mantra om. namo bhagavate va ̄sudeva ̄ya(Farquhar
1967: 142–3; 181; 233; 297–8). A “Bha ̄gavatasamprada ̄ya” group of
Va i s.n.avas having the above characteristics was known until recently in the
Kannad.a country. Its priests officiate in temples, several of them in Udipi. Curi-
ously, they follow the S ́aiva ̄gama (not the Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra ̄gama) ritual, though they
seem to have integrated Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra ritual elements (Siauve 1968: 11–12).
Bha ̄gavata is also the name of Brahmin actors ofku ̄cipu ̄d.iwho enact plays on
Va i s.n.ava themes in the Telugu country (Sastry 1991: 64).
The significance of the term bha ̄gavata vis-à-visthe term pa ̄ñcara ̄trafluctuated
from the seventh century onwards. It signified devotee of the Lord in general
including Pa ̄ñcara ̄trins or referred to the follower of a specific Bha ̄gavata tradi-
tion or was taken as synonymous with Pa ̄ñcara ̄trin. Ba ̄n.a’s Hars.acarita (seventh
century) clearly mentions Bha ̄gavata and Pa ̄ñcara ̄trika as distinct groups.
Vaikha ̄nasa texts of around the tenth century set the Bha ̄gavatas and
Pa ̄ñcara ̄trikas apart. They describe Bha ̄gavatas as “tonsured,” their doctrine
being “secondary” and their scriptures being “mixed” (Colas 1996: 173). But
by the eleventh century Vis ́is.t.a ̄dvaitins like Ya ̄muna and Ra ̄ma ̄nuja identify
Bha ̄gavatas with Pa ̄ñcara ̄trins.
Evidence from Cambodian epigraphy shows that a Bha ̄gavata could be one
who performs temple rites and perhaps also a Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra expert or one who
resides in a Vais.n.ava monastery. The mid-seventh-century deteriorated inscrip-
tion of the stele of Baset found at Battamban records that the a ̄ca ̄ryaDharmapa ̄la
who was born in a Bha ̄gavata family installed an image of Acyuta and mentions
his (?) expertise in Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra (Cœdès 1942: 193–5). A ninth-century inscrip-
tion of Prasat Kok Po relates the ritual installation of an image of Hari in
857 adby a “Bha ̄gavata kavi” named S ́rı ̄niva ̄sakavi who was the preceptor
of Jayavarman III. It also mentions a member of S ́rı ̄niva ̄sakavi’s family,
Amr.tagarbha, who bore the title Bha ̄gavata (Cœdès and Dupont 1937: 389–90).
The above-mentioned ninth-century inscription of Prasat Komnap lists the
qualifications of those Bha ̄gavatas who are eligible to reside in the Vais.n.ava
monastery: they practice the three sandhya ̄rites, observe good conduct and
textual study, are not householders, restrain their senses, have nowhere to stay
during the rainy season, and eat one meal a day.
The expansion and influence of the Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra system
The early history of the Pa ̄ñcara ̄tra and of its corpus after the NP (see above) still
remains uncertain (Matsubara 1994: 17 sqq.). Modern scholarship tends to
history of vais.n.ava traditions 239