Oxford Centre for
Hindu Studies Online
Oxford Centre for
Hindu Studies Online
Vaishnavism is one of the major denominations of Hinduism and has had an enormous impact on the development of Hinduism in general.
We begin with a history of Vaishnavism from its earliest roots in the Vedas to its developments in South and North India, before moving on to consider Vaishnava practice and some of the forms that Vaishnavism takes today.
Throughout the course we allow the traditions to speak for themselves through Vaishnava texts.
In this session, we look at how Vishnu is addressed and described in the Vedas, the oldest textual sources for Hinduism. While we may not find much about Vaishnavism as a social entity or a distinct practice here, we do find much intriguing information on Vishnu, much of which will be developed in later texts.
From the Vedas we move on to the epics (itihasa): The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and its appendix, the Harivamsa. In these texts, we witness an almost explosive growth of material on Vishnu and his avatars.
In this session, we take a closer look at how Vaishnavism is conceptualised in the Purana and Pancaratra texts, texts important particularly for the ways in which the social and ritual sides of Vaishnavism is developed in them. We also look at the oldest archaeological traces of Vaishnavism.
From texts, we now move to looking at individual Vaishnava teachers and the movements that they founded. We begin in the South, looking at the Alvars, Sri Vaishnavas, Vaikhanasas, and Madhvas. We also look at Shankara and his importance for all Vaishnava Vedantins.
Session Five: Vaishnavism in North IndiaIn this session, we begin in West India, then moving east and west according to a rough historical chronology. A particular focus in given to the developments in the Vraja area, as they impact many of the movements traced here.
Here, we will look at what differentiates Vaishnavas from other Hindus. Topics covered include initiation, meditation, kirtana, and diet.
In our final session, we examine how the Vaishnava traditions we encountered in previous sessions fare today. We will also learn about completely new developments. We will encounter both continuities and innovations and see something of the richness these traditions retain in the modern world.