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Subjects covered in the pAncarAtra:

The ideal pAncarAtra samhita is said to consist of four quarters teaching respectively j~nAna (knowledge), yoga (concentration), kriyA (making i.e., construction and consecration of temples and images), and caryA (doing i.e., the religious and social observances, daily rites, festivals, varNASrama dharma- s). These four quarters are not given equal importance in all the samhita-s, and some of them even omit some of the quarters.

A total of over 1.5 million sloka-s are estimated to have existed describing the pAnca-rAtra when all the 225 or so samhitA-s are considered. Just to give an example, the caryA section of the pAdma samhitA consists of almost all aspects of temple worship, such as the initiation ceremony or the dIkshA for the devotees to perform worship in the temples, the rules of daily routine, the various kinds of snapana-s, festivals celebrated through the year, prAyaScitt-as to be performed on different occasions, bhUta-Suddhi, anganyAsa, karanyAsa, etc. necessary before chanting mantra-s, a description of vaishNava mantra-s like the shadAksharI, astAkshari, dvAdaSAksharI, sudarSana mantra, nr*simha mantra, etc., tAntric abhisheka, mandala worship, the showing of various mudrA-s during worship, etc.


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