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Home > Kerala Temples > Introduction to Kerala Temples > Thaanthric system and Literature. Thaanthric system and Literature.The thaanthric saasthra is based on various ancient scriptures like Vedas, epics and puraanas. Sir John Woodroffe calls Thanthra Saasthra as Saadhana Saasthra of moksha or final liberation. The religious literature consists of thanthras a work containing doctrine of mystical formularis), aagama (means tradition) and Samhitha (collection of sacred texts). It is noticed that aagamas are special class of works which propagate the worship of Siva and Sakthi. On the other hand samhithas are those sharing similar features and specially devoted to Vishnu. Thanthras very often derive materials from both these classes of literature. In practice the samhithas are the sacred books of Vaishnavas while the aagamas are propagated by Saiva and often called Saiva – aagamas. It is the Saakthaas who practice thantras as such in the strict sense. The thanthras relate to Vedic and non Vedic classes and those two are technically known as dakshina maargga and vaama maargga respectively. There are three important thaanthric systems (thanthra-sambradaayas) prevalent in the country i.e. Kerala, Kashmiri and Gouda (Bengal). Geographically they represent three distinct regions viz Asva kraantha, Rathha kraantha and Vishnu kraantha and in each region there are 64 thaanthric granthhas in vogue. The thaanthric sambradaya of kerala is more Vedic than the Kashmiri and Gouda sambradaayas. The kerala sambradaaya is more saathvik in nature and it is Vedic worship in thaanthric mode. The kashmiri and the Gouda system follow the vaama maargga (non vedic). In addition there were other granthhas known as Yamalas and Damaras. The Sthothras, Kalpa soothras or commentaries of Parasurama, Agasthya, Durvassavu and Sankaracharya are very important and those works are held as authentic texts and with great acceptability. The aagamas are treated as utterances of Siva in response to the queries of His consort Parvathi. The subject of nigamas are non vedic but some of the rites like pasulambanam and somapaanam relate to vedic system and as such it can be treated as continuation of aagamas. The thaanthric books not only cover the system of manthras and poojas but also include topics like Vedaantha, Yoga, Ayurveda, Astrology etc. The Iuminaries like Narayanath Braanthan (Narayanacharyan), Sankara Bhagavath Paadar, Isaanasiva, Gurudeva, Ravi, Vilwamangalam Thrivikraman, Raghavanandan, Madhavan and Vasudevan had laid down certain principles on thaanthric systems of worship. The important works in this field include Saarada Thilakam, Prapanchasaara Thanthra, Prayoga Manjari, Kriya Deepika, Isaanasiva Gurudeva Paddhathi, Vishnu Samhitha, Devolbhavam, Gopalakaanushtaana Rama deepika, Rahasya gopala thanthra chinthamani etc. Of the above, the earliest Sanskrit work which was current among the thaanthris in Kerala is Prapanchasaara Thanthra of Sankaracharya*. It is divided into 36 patalas (chapters) and deals with the worship of Devathas in the thaanthric way. Padmapaada, the principal disciple of Sankaracharya, had also written a commentary on this volume named vivarna. The prayoga karma deepika by an unknown writer is a gloss on this vivarana. The Prayogamanjari of Ravi and Kriya Saara of an anonymous author are also some of the earlier works. Though earlier it was believed that Isaanasiva Gurudeva belonged to the Mattamayur like of Saiva saints of Dhara. Later scholars who studied the Isaanasiva Gurudeva Paddhathi hold that there is enough evidence in the text itself to show Isanasiva must have been a Kerala writer. The work comprises of 4 parts with 119 patalas viz.
Altogether it has 18,000 stanzas. In view of the sudden deterioration in the application of thaanthric systems some Achaaryas composed important guide books known as putayoor Bhaasha, Thanthra Samucchaya, Parameswaranushtaanam, Sesha Samucchaya etc. based on earlier works like Thanthraganam, Swathanthra thanthram, Kalpa soothram, Bhaira Yaamalam, Rudra Yaamalam, Saarada thilakam, Kalpasoothra bhaashyam etc. of these a notable volume is Kriya Deepika commonly known as Putayoor bhaasha written by Poonthottath Putayoor Vasudevan of Taliparamba in Kannur district of Kerala. The book was written in 1342 A.D. corresponding to 518 Malayalam era. Kriya Deepika deals with rituals and rites relating to Vishnu, Siva, Sankaranarayana, Durga, Subramanya, Ganapathi and Saastha. The contents of this volume include topics like bhoo parigraha upto prathista, daily pooja, uthsavam, kalasaabisheka, praayaschittha and naveekarana, Kanipayyur Sankaran Namboothirippad states in the preface of the Kriya Deepika that it was published 85 years earlier than the Thanthra Samucchaya. The Thanthra Samucchaya** the famous thaanthric text was written by Chennas (Jayanthimangalam) Narayanan Namboothirippad of Thirumangalam (near Thriprangode in Malappuram district) around 1427 AD. Chennas Narayanan Namboothirippad was celebrated poet and he also adorned the court of Manavikrama Raja the Great (1466 – 1471), the Zamorin of Calicut. This work is based on all the earlier works in this field, as indicated in this volume itself. Thanthra Samucchaya has two Sanskrit commentaries known as Vimarsini and Vivarana. The other works are Silpa Chandrika, Maathangaleela and Kaavyothsavam. As Mayamatha, Kasyapa silpa, Isaanasiva Gurudeva Paddhathi, Saivaagama nibandhanga, Prayoga Manjari etc are often quoted in vimarsini it can be presumed that all these works were earlier to Thanthra Samucchaya. Manushyaalaya Chandrika of Thirumangalath Neelakanta and Silparathna, are post Thanthra Samucchaya works. Of these, the author of Vimarsini was Chennas Sankaran Namboothirippad (son and disciple of Chennas Narayanan Namboothirippad). As an appendage to Thanthra Samucchaya, Chennas Sankaran Namboothiripad had composed another volume known as Sesha Samucchaya *** which cover topics on rites and rituals of other Gods not covered in Thanthra Samucchaya. These deities are Brahma, Sun (Aadithya or Soorya), Vysravanan, Sree Krishna (Gosaala Krishnan), Sree Saraswathi, Sree Bhagavathi, Sree Gouri (Sree Parvathi), Agraja (Jaishta Bhagavathi), Bhadrakaali, Saptha maathrukkal (and also with Veerabhadra and Ganapathi), Kshethrapaalan, Bhairava Sivan (as per Rurujit vidhaana) and associated Maathrukkals, and Dik paalakas. The same author had written a commentary on this book known as Vimarsini. Another, thaanthric text is Kuzhikkatt Paccha (a transliteration in prose of the Sanskrit poetic work of Thanthra Samucchaya) which was written by Kuzhikkattillath Maheswaran Bhattathirippad (1805 – 1875) of Thukalasseri in Thiruvalla taluk of Pathanamthitta district. Paccha means bhaasha or the prose version given in the local language Malayalam. An enlarged edition of this book # has now been released incorporating the mode of worship of Bhadrakaali and Kumara Balikarma compiled by Ubarangalam Deenambadi Subbraya Thanthrikal.are the widely followed guide books on temple architecture and rituals in temples of kerala which accept the thaanthric system. The Thanthra Darppanam by Mangalappilli Sankaran Namboothirippad (Published by Thanthra Vidya Peetham, Thirunavaya, Malappuram district) gives the methodology of pooja and uthsava rites. The Sa Parivara poojakal by Bramhasree Kakkad Narayanan Namboothiri also gives details of various steps for conducting pooja of different deities. All these volumes help the priests and devotees to understand the basic concepts on the rites followed in temples of kerala. In this context it is worth mentioning that in certain temples (like Sree Vallabhaswami temple, Thiruvalla) Poojas are performed in densely philosophical vedic style (sroutha pooja). This is different from the pattern followed in Thanthra Samucchaya. In the foregoing paragraphs a brief review on the evolution of temples over the centuries has been discussed with a backdrop on historical background, classification of temples and on the guide books on the subject. As it is essential to enrich the knowledge of the general reader on the various concepts associated with each minute part of the temple, procedures adopted for installing them, pooja systems, priesthood etc. * ** *** #
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