Pancharatra

Pancharatra is a major early Vaishnava tradition and a large body of sacred texts (agamas) that prescribe the worship of Vishnu/Narayana as the supreme being. The Pancharatra corpus, collected in texts known as the Pancharatra Agamas, covers theology, cosmology, ritual, and temple iconography, and it has shaped devotional practice in many Vaishnava communities.

The tradition presents Narayana as the source of the cosmos, with a framework of emanations and divine energy often associated with Lakshmi as his consort and power. It provides systematic instructions for initiatory rites, temple consecration, daily worship, and the manufacture and depiction of Vishnu and his forms. Ritual and liturgical procedures described in Pancharatra texts have influenced how Vaishnava worship is conducted in temples and households.

Pancharatra has been highly influential on later Vaishnava schools, especially Sri Vaishnavism, which incorporates Pancharatra material into its theology and temple rites. It is one of the two major Vaishnava agamic traditions, the other being Vaikhanasa, though regional practice and emphasis vary.

Historically, Pancharatra texts appear to have developed over centuries in ancient India and circulated widely across northern and southern regions. They were studied and interpreted by scholars and served as an important liturgical and doctrinal resource for Vaishnava communities.

In contemporary scholarship, Pancharatra is recognized as a key source for understanding early Vaishnava ritual practice, iconography, and theology. Debates continue regarding its chronology, internal divisions, and relationship to other Hindu traditions.