Vaidyanatha Dikshita and Harmony of Sampradayas

 Sri Vaidyanatha Dikshita was a great scholar who lived in Thanjavur, Nannilam, Kandramanikkam. He lived perhaps some 300 years ago. He made an exhaustive compendium of the principles and practices of achara, prayaschitta and dharma. It is called Smrutimuktaphalam and it is of six parts. Many years ago one Brahmasri Srinivasa Sastri of Nadukkaveri published Smrutimuktaphalam with the Tamil meaning. Then Veda Dharma Paribalana Sabha in mid twentieth century brought out the book again. Then again in 2010 the same reference work was brought out by Vaidhya Sri Radhakrishna Sastrigal. The speciality of the work is - under different subject heads various references and ancient authors like Dharma Sastras, Nirnayasindu, Mitakshari, Madhaveeyam were all arrayed together in one copious reckoning.

There an important idea is given as occurring in a work called Paddhathi. The quote says to this effect : in Puranas in various places may be you find one deity extolled and one deity not so i.e. May be Vishnu is praised over Shiva, Shiva prasied over Vishnu, in another place Brahma praised and so on. The purport of this practice was not to belittle any deity. Because all the deities are various forms of the self-same Ishwara. Then the reason for doing like that is to enhance one's devotion towards one's Ishta Devata and not anything else. This applies to all puranas, epics and Vedas. This is clearly in line with the ancient and prominent concept of Hinduism, which is so clearly expressed even in Rig Veda - 'Ekam Sat vipra bahuda: vadanti'. The Ultimate Existent Divinity is One. Sages describe it various ways. This same idea is elaborately explained in the quotation from Paddhati. The quote is follows :

"Eka eva IshwarO jagatshrishtikaraNAya mAyayA brahmavishnurudrEndrAdi vigrahAnusvIkrutya tattat vigrahE baktAn tEna tEna rUpENa anugruhNan vardatE | ashtAdasa purANAnAm kartA vyAsOpi tattat vigraha baktAnAm tatra tatra baktyadisayOdpAdanAya tattat rUpam sthauti | 'ayam Eva sarvagna: sarvEswara: sarvatmA nAnyE | athO ayam Eka Eva sEvya' ithi | sA thu nindA thEshAm na nindAparA bhavati | kintu prakruta vigraha stutiparA |"

One cannot but wonder at the uniform importance and focus this concept has occupied down the time from Rig Veda till date in Hinduism.

Srirangam Mohanarangan

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