Considerations About Traditions Influential in the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā

In: Asiatische Studien: Zeitschrift der Schweizerischen Asiengesellschaft = Etudes asiatiques = Revue de la Société Suisse - Asie, Band 72, Heft 2, S. 421-443

Abstract

Abstract
The Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā, probably compiled in South India in the twelfth/thirteenth century, is one of the most interesting texts of the Vaiṣṇava Pāñcarātra tradition. Its most important deity is Sudarśana, the anthropomorphic discus of Viṣṇu, who is ritually worshipped by personal priests (purohita, purodhas) for the sake of the king. In contrast to other Pāñcarātra Saṃhitās, the Ahirbudhnyasaṃhitā contains extensive theological and cosmological chapters. It also shows traces of several other religious traditions. The paper is mainly devoted to this second characteristic and presents examples of influences from two sides, namely, from Śaivas on one hand and Atharvavedins on the other, and tries to give a possible explanation for their presence.