Yatidharmasaṅgraha
By Swami Harshananda
Though the smṛtis, the dharmaśāstra and also the purāṇas, deal with the duties and responsibilities of persons belonging to the four varṇas[1] and āśramas,[2] there are only a few works that deal exclusively with Yatidharma or sanyāsa. The Yatidharmasañgraha is also known by two more names. They are:
- The Yatidharmaprakāśa
- The Yatidharmasamuccaya
The Yatidharmasamuccaya of Viśveśvara-sarasvatī is perhaps the best among such treatises. He was a disciple of Sarvajña-viśveśa and lived earlier than A. D. 1600. Nothing more is known about the author.
Overview of Yatidharmasaṅgraha[edit]
Though the work is in prose, it has been profusely quoted from the Upaniṣads, the purāṇas and the smṛtis. Some of them are:
- Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad
- Jābāla Upaniṣad
- Katha Upaniṣad
- Mundaka Upaniṣad
- Bhagavadgitā
- Viṣṇupurāṇa
- Skandapurāṇa
- Smṛti of Atri
- Smṛti of Bṛhaspati
- Smṛti of Dakṣa
- Smṛti of Devala
- Smṛti of Gobhila
- Smṛti of Manu
- Smṛti of Parāśara
- Smṛti of Yājñavalkya
- Smṛti of Yama
Contents of Yatidharmasaṅgraha[edit]
The number of topics dealt with exceeds 90. The more important ones from among them are as follows:
- When to take sanyāsa
- Śrāddhas to be performed
- Certain rites to be performed by the āhitāgni[3] and others who have not
- Repetition of the praiṣa mantra three times, this being central to the whole process of taking sanyāsa
- Accepting the external insignia of sanyāsa like:
- Doraka - girdle
- Kaupīna - loin-cloth
- Wearing-cloth
- Kantha - quilt of rags
- Daṇḍa - staff
- Approaching a competent guru[4] to acquire ātmajñāna[5]
- Receiving the mahāvākya[6]
- Few things of necessity that a yati or a sanyāsin can keep for the maintenance of the body
- Code of conduct
- Service to the guru
- Japa or repetition of praṇava[7] and Rudra[8]
- Upāsanā[9] on the Ātman/Brahman
- Sanyāsin has no karma[10] to perform
- Rules about ablutions, bath and other daily activities
- Bhikṣācaryā or begging
- How to observe the vows of cāturmāsya[11]
- Method of honoring guest-sanyāsins, the processes called paryaṅkavidhi and yoga-patta
- Things forbidden for a sanyāsin
- Prāyaścittas or expiations for transgressions
- Mādhukaribhikṣā[12]
- Saṅyāsa purifies him and his family
- Characteristics of a jivanmukta, the liberated soul.
References[edit]
- ↑ Varṇas means castes.
- ↑ Āśramas means stages of life.
- ↑ Āhitāgni is the one who is keeping the Vedic fires.
- ↑ Guru means preceptor.
- ↑ Ātmajñāna means knowledge of the Self.
- ↑ Mahāvākya means great Vedic sentence like tat tvam asi.
- ↑ Pranava means Orh.
- ↑ Rudra means a Vedic passage.
- ↑ Upāsanā means meditation.
- ↑ Karma means rituals.
- ↑ Cāturmāsya means ritual staying in a place during the rainy season.
- ↑ Mādhukaribhikṣā means collecting alms just as a bee collects honey, from not more than seven houses.
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore