A comparison between Vaikhānasa Āgama & Pāñcarātra Āgama:

The Vaikhānasa Āgama details the rituals for worshiping Viṣṇu and outlines the lifestyle for it's practitioners. According to the tradition, Ṛṣi Vikhanasa, also known as Vikhanasa, is credited as the founder of this system. He's believed to have originated from the mind of Nārāyaṇa. Vikhanasa Muni hailed from the Aukheya branch of the Taittirīya Śākhā of the Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda.

Vikhanasa Muni didn't create a standalone āgama saṁhitā, but he authored dharma-sūtras, gṛhya sūtras, and śrauta sūtras, which emphasize the worship of Viṣṇu as the Supreme Deity alongside their usual purposes. Kaśyapa, Atri, Marīci, and Bhṛgu, who were śiṣyas of Vikhanasa Muni, each of them composed their own saṁhitās. Practices given in these saṁhitās are purely Vedic in nature and do not include any Tantric elements like mudrās and all. Their main subject is the worship of Viṣṇu in arcā form.

The Vaikhānasa saṁhitās explain that the Supreme Personality, or Bhagavān, manifests in the five forms to facilitate devotee's understanding and worship: Viṣṇu, Puruṣa, Satya, Acyuta, and Aniruddha. Viṣṇu is regarded as the original form, thus known as Ādimūrti.

These forms have unique characteristics. Viṣṇu is omnipresent, Puruṣa is the vital force, Satya is immutable and perceives in boundless ways, and Acyuta is imperishable.

Viṣṇu manifests in four forms: Mahāviṣṇu, Sadāviṣṇu, Sarvavyāpin, and Nārāyaṇa. Satya originates from Mahāviṣṇu, Acyuta arises from Sadāviṣṇu, and Aniruddha emanates from Sarvavyāpin. Dharma, Jñāna, Aiśvarya and Vairāgya are the respective qualities of Puruṣa, Satya, Acyuta and Aniruddha. Prakṛti is both sentient and insentient. Sentient are the jīvas and the insentient ones are pañcabhūtas, mānas, indriyas etc.

The concept of Viṣṇu pervading every aspect of the universe and everything being considered as His body is also acknowledged. The Vaikhānasa āgamas state that worshipping Viṣṇu in His Arcā form is the most esteemed form of worship. Only individuals born into families adhering to Vaikhānasa dharma/gṛhya/śrauta sūtras are qualified to conduct worship according to these Āgamas.

While both the Pañcarātra and Vaikhānasa Āgamas acknowledge Viṣṇu's Parattva and provide instructions, rituals, and principles for followers of their respective traditions, they also exhibit notable differences.

In Vaikhānasa tradition, only mantras from the Vedas (śruti) are utilized, requiring priests to be proficient in their respective Veda śākhās before conducting the rituals. In contrast to this, the Pañcarātra tradition incorporates śruti mantras along with the additional tāntrika mantras and mudrās. Pañcarātra allows individuals who are anadhikārīs to śruti mantras to worship Viṣṇu solely through tāntrika mantras and procedures .

Only those Brāhmaṇas born in the families that have been followers of Vikhanasa Muni since time immemorial and belonging to Vaikhānasa gṛhya/śrauta sūtras, having under gone all necessary saṁskāras as per those sūtras are allowed to worship Viṣṇu as per rituals prescribed in Vaikhānasa Āgamas. Whereas in the Pañcarātras all men and women belonging to the cātur-varṇas can be given dīkṣā and allowed to worship Viṣṇu as per the Pañcarātrika rituals, without transgressing the niyamas given in the dharma śāstras regarding the varṇa vyavasthā.

As per Vaikhānasa Āgamas, even in Devālayas, only those who are from Vaikhānasa Arcaka families can conduct services of Paricaryā like making garlands, collecting water etc. In Pāñcarātras, those who are dīkṣita can perform certain appropriate paricaryā duties, once they are dīkṣita, even if they are strī or śūdras. Vaikhānasas only recognize one tattva named Narāyaṇa and Pañcarātra recognize tattva traya - Cit, Acit and Īśvara. Vaikhānasas adhere to a version of Advaita philosophy that is unique to them. While major line Pāñcarātrikas adhere to Viśiṣṭādvaita.

Both Āgamas do not allow reconsecration of bimbas established as per one system to another. While Pāñcarātra venerates Vaikhānasa āgama as an equal counterpart, Vaikhānasa Āgama views Pāñcarātra as an inferior system. Both Āgamas agree that they are revealed by Bhagavān Himself and consider both systems to have existed since the time of creation. This is evident in the Bhṛgu Munis saṁhitā of the Vaikhānasa Āgama where he states that the Pāñcarātra is an alternative method of worshipping Viṣṇu. Today Vaikhānasa tradition is only found in few pockets of southern India, while Pāñcarātrika saṁhitās are practiced totally or partially throughout the world.

🙏 Namo Narasiṁha 🙏