{{Hindu philosophy}}{{Short description|Hindu initiation ceremony}}The '''samashrayana''' ({{Langx|sa|समाश्रयणम्|translit=Samāśrayaṇam}}) or the '''panchasamskara''' ({{Langx|sa|पञ्चसंस्कार|translit=Pañcasaṃskāra}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RvJUEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA249 |title=The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism |date=2005-06-10 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-3251-0 |pages=249 |language=en}}</ref> is a Hindu sacrament generally associated with the Sri Vaishnava tradition.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0cxtNhMmr4C&q=samashrayanam |title=Bulletin of the Anthropological Survey of India |date=1971 |publisher=Director, Anthropological Survey of India, Indian Museum |pages=109 |language=en}}</ref> It consists of five rites of initiation performed by a shishya (disciple) to be formally initiated into the tradition by an acharya (preceptor).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Raymond Brady |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lpxADwAAQBAJ&pg=PT114 |title=Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration: Collected Works |date=2017-11-28 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-14310-3 |pages=114 |language=en}}</ref>
== Etymology == ''Samāśrayaṇam'' is Sanskrit for, "taking refuge with God".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Narayanan |first=Vasudha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8uL8ki9-D8C&pg=PA46 |title=The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual |date=1994 |publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-87249-965-2 |pages=46 |language=en}}</ref>
== Description == The samashryana consists of the five rites according to Sri Vaishnava tradition:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Raymond Brady |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lpxADwAAQBAJ&pg=PT115 |title=Williams on South Asian Religions and Immigration: Collected Works |date=2017-11-28 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-14310-3 |pages=115–117 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hudson |first=D. Dennis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IE8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA569 |title=The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram |date=2008-09-25 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-536922-9 |pages=569 |language=en}}</ref>
# ''Tapa'' - The embossing of the impression of Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra (discus) on the right shoulder of the initiate and the Panchajanya (conch) on the left shoulder of the initiate. # ''Puṇḍra'' - The application of the Vaishnava tilaka, the urdhva pundra, on twelve sacred locations of the body associated with Vishnu. # ''Nāma'' - The introduction of the suffix ''dasan'' (servant) to the initiate's new name, offered by the preceptor. # ''Mantra'' - The teaching of the Ashtakshara mantra and other sacred Vaishnava incantations. # ''Yajña'' - The instruction of the proper method of worshipping God.
==References== <references/>
Category:Vaishnavism Category:Hindu philosophical concepts Category:Sri Vaishnavism {{DEFAULTSORT:Samashrayana}}