Role of Purusha-sukta in Philosophy of Vishishtadvaita

DOI

10.2991/iccessh-19.2019.47How to use a DOI?

Keywords

myth; philosophy; Purusha-sukta; Ramanuja; Vishishtadvaita; Vedanta; Pancaratra

Abstract

The study of the philosophical doctrine of Vishishtadvaita uncovers some logical difficulties of this system. Particularly, the concept of God and his relationships with the world and souls cannot be rationally explained and systemized in a non-contradictory way (as we can see for example in Advaita-Vedanta system). The basic word-combination which is used by Ramanuja to name such a relationship between God and the World is “sharira-shariri-bhava sambandha”. This metaphorical description presents three different ontological entities (God-world-soul) as the inseparable unity (aprthaksiddhi). The metaphysical core of this philosophical doctrine is closely connected with the religious images and patterns, developed in Vaishnava religious tradition. The theological doctrines of Pancaratra and the poetical hymns of alvars can help us to put an order on the history and structure of the ontological doctrine of Vishishtadvaita. The paper deals with the reception of the cosmological model of the famous hymn “Purusha-sukta” (“Rigveda”, X, 190) by the philosophical system of Vishishtadvaita. Our assertion is that a creation myth provides a philosophical system with a matrix of its theological and cosmological doctrines. The above mentioned explanation of the God-world-soul relationship in Vishishtadvaita is rooted in “Purusha-sukta”, but it is accepted not through the smrti-texts, but through the ritualistic tradition of Pancaratra. The other issue which it is planned to clear up is the historical relationship of Vishishtadvaita and Pancaratra.

Copyright

© 2019, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ruzana Pskhu
PY  - 2019/07
DA  - 2019/07
TI  - Role of Purusha-sukta in Philosophy of Vishishtadvaita
BT  - Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2019)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 200
EP  - 202
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/iccessh-19.2019.47
DO  - 10.2991/iccessh-19.2019.47
ID  - Pskhu2019/07
ER  -