@jamadagnisri I don’t think most Hindus have ever identified as Smārtas, which was and still is mainly a Brāhmaṇa descriptor. Nor do most of them know this term. Merely worshiping multiple gods or Śiva-Viṣṇu together is not Smārta.
@jamadagnisri Popular bhakti & Utsavas have Śaivam & Vaiṣṇavam to thank for thriving so well. I think it’s not accurate to give Smārtam some pan-Jāti/pan-bhāratīya credentials which it never really had.
@jamadagnisri That the term was Brāhmaṇa-centric is clear from the attempt of Śrī Govinda Nāyaka who deals with its meaning:
स्मार्तवैष्णवमाध्वशैवादिवाचकब्राह्मणस्मार्तशब्दयोः प्रयोगे अज्ञप्रसिद्ध्या स्मार्तानाम् एव बोधः न तु वैष्णवादीनां तद्वच्च नारायणपदम् अपि
स्मार्तवैष्णवमाध्वशैवादिवाचकब्राह्मणस्मार्तशब्दयोः प्रयोगे अज्ञप्रसिद्ध्या स्मार्तानाम् एव बोधः न तु वैष्णवादीनां तद्वच्च नारायणपदम् अपि
@jamadagnisri This is a work called Nārāyaṇaśabdasādhāraṇyam.
Govinda argues that the word nārāyaṇa can be used for any of the trimūrtis though it is the established (prasiddha) usage among the lay (ajña) to use it only for viṣṇu. He gives an analogy here.++
Govinda argues that the word nārāyaṇa can be used for any of the trimūrtis though it is the established (prasiddha) usage among the lay (ajña) to use it only for viṣṇu. He gives an analogy here.++
@jamadagnisri ++ Just like “smārta” can apply for Smārta, [śrī-]vaiṣṇava, mādhva & śaiva Brāhmaṇas, although the ordinary world will use the word to refer to Smārtas only.
@jamadagnisri In terms of integration, Smārtam proper has done very very little to absorb village deities into its fold. Śrī Vaiṣṇavam is likely as good as Smārtam in this and Mādhvamata fares a little better. Āgama Śaivam in TN OTOH has a remarkable record for integrating Grāmya deities.
@jamadagnisri Even today, in TN & among the diaspora in Singapore & Malaysia, Grāmya deities such as Munīśvara, Māri, etc are all brought into “mainstream Dharma” under the Śaiva aegis alone.
@jamadagnisri Strongly recommend ppl to read Alexis Sanderson’s The Śaiva Age for an epigraphically & textually grounded, evidence-based look at history. I say this even as a born Smārta. Śaiva contributions are extremely significant, to be very modest about it.
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