the ten subjects of srimad bhagavatam

8/2/2019 The Ten Subjects of Srimad Bhagavatam

1/11

The Ten Subjects of Srimad BhagavatamJahnava Nitai Das

(Originally published in Tattva Prakasha Newsletter.)

The Bhagavata Purana, commonly referred to as the Srimad Bhagavatam, is considered theripened fruit of all Vedic knowledge. Sri Vyasa Muni, the compiler of the Vedic texts, advisesus as follows:

nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalamshuka-mukhad amrita-drava-samyutampibata bhagavatam rasam alayammuhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah

"O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree

of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Shuka Muni. Therefore this fruit hasbecome even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all,including liberated souls."

Srimad Bhagavatam is the galitam phalam, or ripened fruit, of all Vedic knowledge. It isexactly like amrita, for by hearing its recitation we can cross beyond birth and death.

The Srimad Bhagavatam describes the various incarnations of Lord Hari, and in the process

of these descriptions ten important subject matters are explained, namely sarga (theelemental creation), visarga (the secondary creation), sthanam (the planetary systems),poshanam (protection by the Lord), utayah (the creative impetus), manvantara (the periodsof Manu), isha-anukatha (the science of God), nirodha (dissolution), mukti (liberation), and

ashraya (the supreme shelter).

The reciters of Srimad Bhagavatam have utilized three methods to explain these tensubjects, namely by vedic reference (shrutena), by direct explanation (arthena), and bysummary explanations given by the great sages (anjasa).
http://www.indiadivine.org/members/jahnava-nitai-das.htmlhttp://www.indiadivine.org/members/jahnava-nitai-das.html


2/11

The following is a brief explanation of each of these ten subjects.

1) Sarga - the elemental creation.Sarga is defined as follows:

bhuta-matrendriya-dhiyamjanma sarga udahritah

"The elemental creation of sixteen principles of matter - namely the five gross elements(pancha-bhutas), the five objects of sense perception (tan-matras), the five knowledgeacquiring senses (jnanendriyas) and the mind - is known as sarga."

The five gross elements (pancha-bhutas) are earth, water, fire, air and ether; the five objectsof sensual perception (tan-matras) are sound, form, taste, smell, and touch; and the fiveknowledge acquiring senses (jnanendriyas) are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin.Together with the mind, these sixteen principles are created by the first purusha incarnation,Maha-Vishnu. Within these sixteen principles eight other principles exist subtly, making therea total of twenty-four principles of material existence.

2) Visarga - the secondary creation.Visarga is defined as follows:

brahmano guna-vaishamyadvisargah paurushah smritah

"The secondary creation by Brahma carried out through the interaction of the three modes ofnature is known as visarga."

By manipulating the sixteen original principles of material existence and by the interaction ofthe three modes of material nature (sattva, rajas and tamas), Lord Brahma carries out a

subsequent creation, more properly described as an assembling of universal ingredients.

3) Sthanam - the planetary systems.Sthanam is defined as follows:

sthitir vaikuntha-vijayah

"The true situation (sthanam) is the realm of Vaikuntha."

The entire creation by the Lord is to enable the conditioned souls to satisfy their materialdesire to lord over the material energy. As such, according to their desires, the Lord createsa suitable situation (sthanam) for them to dwell in. Within the universe, these situations can

be divided into fourteen main categories, known technically as bhuvanas, or planetary

systems, and 8,400,000 sub-categories, commonly known as species of life. From thetopmost sthanam of Brahma-loka (the abode of Lord Brahma) down to the lowest sthanamof Patala-loka, all situations are destructible. In every situation the conditioned living entity isconquered by birth and death. Only by attaining to our eternal constitutional situation in thespiritual realm of Vaikuntha can we conquer the birth and death of this material world. Thus

the true sthanam of the living entity is the realm of Vaikuntha. All other temporary situationswithin this material world cause one to become a victim of material suffering, simply shiftingfrom one situation to the next.


3/11

4) Poshanam - protection by the Lord.

Poshanam is defined as follows:

poshanam tad anugrahah

"Protection (poshanam) is the causless mercy of the Lord."

Poshanam can be defined in two ways according to the mentality of the living entity. For theconditioned souls, poshanam refers to material maintenance. It is the Lord who fulfills thedesires of all living entities:

nityo nityanam chetanash chetananameko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman

"The supreme eternal among all eternals, the supremely conscious among all the consciousliving entities - it is that supreme one among the many who fufills the desires of all."

For the devotees of the Lord, poshanam refers to the Lord's causeless mercy and protection.

Protection from hunger is the lowest form of protection, which the Lord offers to theconditioned living entities. For the devotees, the Lord's protection is protection from theillusion of maya. The Lord gives the devotee the strength to always remember Him andengage in His devotional service.

5) Utayah - the creative impetus.Utayah is defined as follows:

utayah karma-vasanah

"The impetus for activity (utayah) is the desire for fruitive work."

The conditioned soul forgets that the Lord is his eternal protector and maintainer, and thus

an impetus for fruitive activity is manifested for one's self maintenance. This desire forfruitive activity is the driving force behind all work within this material world. The karma-vasanas are the accumulated residue of one's previous activities. Every material activity weperform creates a residual impresion within our consciousness, which is carried with us lifeafter life. The sum total of these impressions form our creative impetus to work.

The true impetus of the living entity should be to go back to Godhead, to the supreme abodeof Vaikuntha, and activities performed in that direction form the right path of work.

6) Manvantara - the change of Manus.Manvantara is defined as follows:

manvantarani sad-dharmah

"The reign of the Manus (manvantaras) are for establishing the eternal religious principles."

Manu is the father of mankind, the progenitor, empowered to guide the human race towardsself-realization. Manu provides revealed scriptures to mankind which regulate their activities

in a manner that will be for their eternal welfare. When the living entities accept such aregulated path, the Lord provides them with all protection by which they may attain theirconstitutional situation in Vaikuntha. Thus the desire to go back to Godhead and regulated


4/11

activities performed to achieve that goal form the proper path of action.

7) Isha-anukatha - the science of God.Isha-anukatha is defined as follows:

avataranucharitam

haresh chasyanuvartinampumsam isha-kathah proktananakhyanopabrimhitah

"The science of God (isha-anukatha) describes the incarnations of the Personality of Godheadand His different activities together with the activities of His great devotees."

The entire material creation is for the ultimate purpose of the living entities' salvation. Whenthe conditioned living entities utilize the creation for secondary purposes, such as materialfruitive activity, the Lord incarnates to reclaim these forgetful souls. The Lord directly deliversliving entities by His divine appearance as well as by its recorded history. The Supreme Lordis so potent that simpy by hearing about His transcendental activities in His variousincarnations one becomes free from material bondage. Thus the topics of the Lord and His

devotees, which constitute the science of God, should be given respectful aural reception.

8) Nirodha - the disolution.Nirodha is defined as follows:

nirodho 'syanushayanamatmanah saha shaktibhih

"The merging of the living entity, along with his conditioned living tendency, with the mysticlying down of the Maha-Vishnu is called the winding up of the cosmic manifestation, ornirodha."

As we have briefly mentioned before, the entire material creation offers two facilities to theconditioned living entities. The living entities may either utilize it to fulfill their desire to lord itover material nature, or they may utilize it to go back to Godhead, the spiritual abode ofVaikuntha. For the living entities who take advantage of the science of God as propagated bythe Manus, and who develop a desire to act in such a regulated manner, the Lord providesthem full protection from the material energy and resituates them in their proper situation in

Vaikuntha. For the other living entities, who choose to disregard the science of God, the Lordgives them an interim period of relief at the time of dissolution. This temporary period ofrelief is technically called nirodha, or the winding up of the cosmic manifestation. All theliving entities along with their conditional tendencies (vasanas) merge into the body of Maha-Vishnu to await another creation and another opportunity to take up the science of God.Though the physical bodies are given up at this time, the subtle bodies (sukshma-sariras)

remain with the living entities along with their latent desires. This is indicated by the words

atmanah saha shaktibhih.

9) Mukti - liberation.Mukti is defined as follows:

muktir hitvanyatha rupamsva-rupena vyavasthitih


5/11

"Liberation (mukti) is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives

up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies."

Those living entities who develop a desire to act for their ultimate welfare regulate their lifeaccording to the instructions of the Manus. Such living entities receive the mercy andprotection of the Lord in the form of His divine activities and incarnations, either personally

or in its literary form as the science of God. By hearing the narrations of the Lord's activitiesthese living entities are able to give up all external identification with the principles ofmaterial existence and its interaction. Such purified living entities develop their originalspiritual bodies and are resituated in their constitutional position in Vaikuntha, the spiritualabode of the Lord. This is technically known as mukti or liberation. The words hitvanyatharupam indicate that these living entities have become completely free from all materialcoverings including the sukshma-sarira and related vasanas. The word vyavasthitih indicates

the real and eternal sthanam of the living entity - sthitir vaikuntha vijayah.

10) Ashraya - the supreme shelter.Ashraya is defined in the following three verses:

abhasash ca nirodhash ca

yato 'sty adhyavasiyatesa ashrayah param brahmaparamatmeti shabdyate

"The supreme one who is celebrated as the Supreme Being or the Supreme Soul is thesupreme source of the cosmic manifestation as well as its reservoir and winding up. Thus He

is the supreme shelter, the Absolute Truth."

yo 'dhyatmiko 'yam purushahso 'sav evadhidaivikah

yas tatrobhaya-vicchedahpurusho hy adhibhautikah

ekam ekatarabhaveyada nopalabhamahetritayam tatra yo vedasa atma svashrayashrayah

"The individual person possessing different instruments of senses is called the adhyatmicperson, and the individual controlling deity of the senses is called adhidaivic. Theembodiment seen on the eyeballs is called the adhibhautic person. All three of the abovementioned stages of different living entities are interdependent. In the absence of one,another is not understood. But the Supreme Being who sees every one of them as theshelter of the shelter is independent of all, and therefore He is the supreme shelter."

The Srimad Bhagavata Purana begins with the Vedanta statement "janmady asya

yathah" to bring to our attention the supreme source and shelter of all existence - theashraya-tattva. In order to explain the transcendence of the ashraya the other ninesubjects have been explained.

In all of existence there are factually only two divisions, namely the dependent (para-tantra) and the independent (sva-tantra). The independent (svarat) refers only to thatSupreme Lord invoked in the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam by the words "om namobhagavate vasudevaya". Sri Vyasa Muni begins by first offering his obeisances toBhagavan Sri Krishna (Vasudeva), and then identifies Him as the absolute and


6/11

independent shelter of everything - janmadyasya yathah svarat satyam param dhimahi.

The transcendental Sri Krishna is that tenth subject of Srimad Bhagavatam, and in orderto properly describe Him, Sri Vyasa Muni has explained the other nine subject matters.

Studied together, these ten subject matters fully establish the Supreme personality ofGodhead, Bhagavan Sri Krishna, as the transcendental Absolute Truth. The Vedanta

Sutras begin by instructing us to inquire into the nature of the Absolute Truth - atathobrahma jijnasa. This Srimad Bhagavatam is the perfect companion to that inquiry, as it isthe natural commentary to the Vedanta Sutras.

Both the Vedanta Sutras and the Srimad Bhagavatam begin from the point ofunderstanding the ultimate source of everything. Sri Vyasa Muni, the author of these twotexts, begins both with the same verse: janmady asya yathah, "From whom everything

emanates." But in the Srimad Bhagavatam he expands and elaborates on this veryimportant philosophical subject in great detail:

janmady asya yatah anvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat

tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayahtejo-vari-mrdam yatha vinimayo yatra tri-sargo 'mrsa

dhamna svena sada nirasta-kuhakam satyam param dhimahi

"I meditate upon Lord Sri Krishna because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval

cause of all causes of creation, sustenance and destruction on the manifested universes.He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independentbecause there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedicknowledge unto the heart of brahmaji, the original living being. By Him even the greatsages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusoryrepresentations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the

material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactionsof the three modes of nature,appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord SriKrishna, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free fromthe illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the

Absolute Truth."

Thus Srimad Bhagavatam is the key to unlock the secrets of the Vedanta Sutras. There isno literature in the world as great as this Srimad Bhagavata Purana. The transcendentalnarations within it give us light in this dark age of Kali yuga:

krishne sva-dhamopagatedharma-jnanadibhih sahakalau nashta-drisham esha

puranarko 'dhunoditah

"This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after thedeparture of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc.

Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age ofKali shall get light from this Purana."

Questions and Answers : I am doing a project on Hinduism at school, so could you please give mesome imformation on the Hindu conception of the Supreme Being.

In Hinduism the concept of the Supreme Being entails comprehension of three different


7/11

divine features. Though each feature appears unique, factually they are one and the

same Supreme Person. This is described in the Vedic text known as Bhagavata Purana asfollows:

vadanti tat tattva-vidastattvam yaj jnanam advayam

brahmeti paramatmetibhagavan iti sabdyate

"The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases of understanding by the knower of theAbsolute Truth, and all of them are identical. Such phases of the Absolute Truth areexpressed as Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan."

These three features, known technically as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan can be

understood as follows.

Brahman is the all-pervasive impersonal form of God; Paramatma is the localized form ofGod within the heart of every living entity; and Bhagavan is the personal form of Godwho resides in His spiritual abode.

These three features are factually the same Supreme Person. This can be understood bya simple analogy as told by our spiritual master Srila Prabhupada:

"These three divine aspects can be explained by the example of the sun, which also hasthree different aspects, namely the sunshine, the sun's surface and the sun planet itself.

One who studies the sunshine only is the preliminary student. One who understands thesun's surface is further advanced. And one who can enter into the sun planet is thehighest. Ordinary students who are satisfied by simply understanding the sunshine-itsuniversal pervasiveness and the glaring effulgence of its impersonal nature-may becompared to those who can realize only the Brahman feature of the Absolute Truth. Thestudent who has advanced still further can know the sun disc, which is compared to

knowledge of the Paramatma feature of the Absolute Truth. And the student who canenter into the heart of the sun planet is compared to those who realize the personalfeatures of the Supreme Absolute Truth."

There is another story on similar lines:

There once were three brothers who lived in a village. They had never gone to the citybefore, and they had no understanding of what a train was. One day they went to thecity to see for themselves what a train was. As they waited they heard the sound of thetrain's whistle, and they turned to another man and asked, "Is that the train?" And theman answered, "Yes." Hearing this one of the three brothers returned to his village andtold everyone that the train is the sound of a whistle. The other two brothers, not being

convinced with the answer, waited, and soon they saw the head light of the train in the

distance. They turned to another man and asked, "Is that light the train?" The manreplied, "Yes." Hearing this, one of the brothers was satisfied, and he returned to hisvillage and explained how actually a train is not just a sound, but a bright light as well.After waiting some more time, the third brother saw the train pull into the station, andhe was surprised at what he saw. There were doors and compartments, and so many

people getting in and going out! There were food vendors, and ticket collectors, old menand young children! There was so much variety. After seeing this he was satisfied and hereturned to his village to inform everyone what a train actually was. It wasn't just animpersonal sound or a localized light. It was complete variety.


8/11

Thus the Supreme Person possesses three unique features, one impersonal and all-pervading, one localized within the hearts of all living entities, and one as a supremeindividual residing in His spiritual abode. To understand the Absolute Truth, one mustcomprehend all three of these features simultaneously.

If god resides in everybody (as we believe in the soul concept ofhinduism), how come He is good, dutiful, and noble in some and wickedand deceitful in another? And if it were our previous actions that decideour state of affairs, then there would have been a time when all weregood. How did the soul deviate form the lord?God resides in everyone's heart as the Paramatma, accompanying the individual living

entity. In the Gita Lord Krishna states this as follows:

isvarah sarva-bhutanamhrid-dese 'rjuna tisthati

bhramayan sarva-bhutaniyantrarudhani mayaya

"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing thewanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the materialenergy."

As the Paramatma, the Lord's function is that of an observer and witness. He sees the

activities of the individual living entity, but does not interfere in his actions. He directsthe wanderings of the living entity by providing knowledge, rememberance andforgetfulness to the conditioned soul according to the souls desires:

sarvasya caham hrdi sannivistomattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca

"I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge andforgetfulness. "

The activities manifested through the body have no connection with the Paramatma.They are manifested by the desires of the individual living entity (jiva-atma). In everybody there are two souls, the individual living entity (jiva-atma) and the Supreme Lord

(paramatma). The individual soul is eternally dependent on the Lord, thus even to fulfilhis material desires he requires the assistance of the Paramatma. Even to reject the theLord, he requires the help of the Lord.

The Paramatma is equal to all, for He is situated beyond the dualities of good and bad.In the Gita it is stated:

samo 'ham sarva-bhutesuna me dvesyo 'sti na priyah

ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktyamayi te tesu capy aham

"I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever rendersservice unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him."


9/11

The Paramatma is equal to all and situated beyond all material activities.

The individual soul, on the other hand, is covered by the modes of nature (gunas), andthus according to his conditioning within these modes he may manifest good or baddesires, which lead to good or bad activities. This conditioning within the modes hasbeen built up over countless lives, from time immemorial. At every moment we are

increasing our conditioning within various modes of nature by our activities andassociation. Those who are influenced by the mode of goodness (sattva-guna) have atendency to perform good activities. Those who are influenced by the lower modes ofpassion and ignorance (rajo-guna and tamo-guna) have a tendency to commit sinfulactivities.

The Paramatma witnesses the activities of all the living entities so that He may award the

appropriate results to everyone through their karma. The individual soul is only theknower of his own individual body, but the Paramatma is the knower of all bodiessimultaneously. Though He appears to be situated in many different bodies, actually Heremains as one. It is just like the sun, which appears to be overhead no matter whereone stands. For a man in India, the sun appears to be directly overhead, and for anotherman in China, the sun also appears to be overhead. In a similar manner, the Paramatma

appears to be situated separately in everyone's heart.

The deviation of the soul from the Lord traces back beyond time. Originally we were allKrishna conscious living entities situated in the eternal spiritual realm of Vaikuntha. Inthe realm of Vaikuntha there is only one Lord, and all others are servants. Those whodevelop a desire to be the Lord are given this material world where they may fulfil that

desire. Factually, being parts of God, we are all servants. It would be foolish for the handto want to become independent from the body. Such is the situation for the soul whowishes to be separate from the Lord. The Lord, being full of love, provides this materialworld to the deviant soul for two purposes, to allow the soul to act as the Lord of matterand thus fulfil his desire, and to provide an environment where the soul can realize hisproper position as a part of God. The entire material existence is like a university which

the soul may utilize to come to the proper understanding of who he is - an eternalservant of God.

It is the duty of the part to serve the whole. A part of the body must act to serve theentire body. A member of a country must act to serve the country. A family membermust act to serve the family. This is a universal law which functions naturally. The

individual souls, being part and parcel of God, have a duty to serve God. When theycarry out that duty, they are properly situated. When they choose to ignore the absolutewhole, and instead develop selfish desires, at that time they are given this materialworld.

The individual soul, being quite atomic or infinitesimal, very soon becomes entangled in

his fantasy world. Though he comes hoping to be the Lord of matter, he ends up

becoming it's servant. At that time the Lord incarnates to again put him on the properpath of education and enlightenment.

Why is the ti lak different for different sampradayas, even though allsampradayas lead to Krishna. Also, if Gaudiya Vaishnavas are an off shootof the Madhva Sampradaya, why is the ti laka of Madhvacarya differentfrom Gauranga?The tilak is an external symbol of our surrender to Krishna, or to our object of worship.


10/11

The shape and material used may differ according to the particular process of surrender

the sampradaya follows.

In the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya the tilak is made out of the white mud found in anthills.The scriptures tell us that the mud from the base of a Tulasi plant and the white mudfrom within the ant hill are both pure and best for making tilak. The Sri Vaishnavas will

draw two lines representing the feet of Sri Narayana, and in the middle they will put ared line to represent Lakshmi Devi. The red line was originally made from a red stonefound within the ant hill. The ants would usually make their ant hill on top of these redstones. When you rub the stone in water, a red color paint is formed. The category ofShakti is generally represented with the color red in all lines, both Vedic and Tantrik.Because the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya begins with Sri Lakshmi Devi, and because theyapproach Narayana only through Lakshmi, their tilak reflects this process of surrender.

The tilaks of each sampradaya actually depict the siddhanta of the sampradaya.

In the Vallabha sampradaya the tilak worn is generally a single vertical red line. This linerepresents Sri Yamuna Devi. The form of Krishna worshipped in the Vallabha line is SriNathji or Govardhana. The consort of the Govardhana hill is the river Yamuna. Theirprocess of surrender goes through Sri Yamuna Devi.

In the Madhva sampradaya the tilak is made out of Gopichandana mud from Dwaraka.Two vertical lines are made out of Gopichandana to represent the feet of Lord Krishna.This gopichandana tilak is nearly identical to that used in the Gaudiya sampradaya. Inbetween a vertical black line is made from the daily coal of the yajna-kunda. In theirsampradaya, the process of worship involved nitya-homa, or daily fire sacrifices to the

Lord. The remnant coal of the puja was taken each day to mark the forehead.Underneath the black line, a yellow or red dot was put to indicate Lakshmi or Radha.Those who did not perform daily fire sacrifice would only put the simple gopichandanatilak.

In the Gaudiya sampradaya the tilak is usually made out of the Gopichandana mud.

Some lineages prefer to use the mud from Vrindavana. The main tilak is basicallyidentical to the Madhva tilak. The slight difference arises due to the emphasis on nama-sankirtana, or the chanting of the Lord's names. In Sri Chaitanya's line, nama-sankirtanais the yajna to be performed in kali yuga, and not the daily fire sacrifice performed in theMadhva sampradaya. As such, the black line made from the ash of the fire sacrifice is notapplied in the Gaudiya sampradaya. The second difference arises due to Sri Chaitanya's

process of approaching the Lord. In the Gaudiya line one does not approach SrimatiRadharani directly, but always indirectly through the servant. To indicate this, the red dotrepresenting Radha is replaced with a tulasi leaf offered at the base of the Lord's feet.Only with the mercy of Tulasi Devi can we develop pure devotion to Sri Sri Radha andKrishna.

In the scriptures there are very general descriptions of the procedure for applying tilak.

For example it is mentioned that the tilak should be urdhva-pundra, or vertical lines; thebody should be marked in twelve locations, etc. But these instructions are very generaland leave a lot of the details to the acharyas. Even in a simple point, such as the locationof the tilak, one person may interpret the 'shoulder' to start from the arm, where asanother may interpret it to start higher up near the neck. This is actually the case in the

two branches of the Sri Vaishna sampradaya.

The actual design of the tilak will manifest either through divine revelation or throughscientific study. An example of divine revelation is the Gaudiya lineage of Sri


11/11

Shyamananda. Radharani revealed a portion of her broken bangle to Sri Shyamananda,

which he used in applying tilak to his forehead. As a result, his followers apply a uniquedesign of tilak from other branches of the Gaudiya sampradaya.

In other cases, an acharya may scientifically analyze the sampradaya siddhanta andcompare its compatibility with the tilak they wear. The external purpose of the tilak is to

differentiate the followers of a sampradaya from other classes of philosophers, just asone branch of the armed forces wears a uniform to differentiate itself from the otherbranches. In such a case, the tilak may change when there occurs a shift or branching ofthe sampradaya due to philosophical views. The newly formed branch may re-analysethe tilak in connection with its siddhanta and make changes that fully reflect theirprocess of surrender. Such is the case among the two branches of the Sri Vaishnavasampradaya. Due to a difference of opinion in regards to the process of surrender, two

distinct tilaks emerged.

In any case, the ultimate purpose of tilak is to sanctify oneself and mark the body as thetemple of the Lord. The scriptures do not specify in detail the manner that this should bedone, and as such it is the acharyas who crystalize the procedures while adhering to thegeneral prescriptions given in the scriptures.

the ten subjects of srimad bhagavatam

Documents