Dwaitha Hierarchy or Tāratamya
– Abhijith R. Shastry
The Mādhwa Sampradāya or school of thought emphasizes on Devathā Tāratamya, which relates to a complex hierarchy of Devathās (Gods). Achārya Madhwa has formulated this in detail in his many works. It is important to understand this hierarchy to understand not only the role of various Gods but also the driving force of his/her Antaryāmi, to maintain the cosmic order. As the Purusha Sūktha says, ‘He (Parama Purusha/Sri Hari/Nārāyaņa considered as the Supreme Being) is the manifestation of the cosmic multiverse’ where different universes are created and destroyed time-to-time. The subsequent 17 layers of Devathas are meant for executing various roles in maintaining this cosmic order with his supervision. In comparison we (mānavas) are not even equivalent to the mere dust particle of his feet. Lot of scholars have written in detail, sung in praise and describled about this in their works. This is a small attempt for our internet readers to illustrate this hierarchy for a beginner’s understanding, inspired from Achārya Madhwa’s Tatvasiddhānta and the work of great saint Jagannātha Dasa, Ārohana Tāratamya Sandhi (from Harikathāmrithasāra) and all my Gurudeva’s who helped me put forth this in place.
Note: Information presented here is for reference and general purposes only. We recommend going through actual scholarly works of Madhwa school of thought, for any in depth analysis of this subject.
A very interesting read. Thank you for compiling and sharing, Abhijith.
Kudos Abhi !! Good and informative read !!
Excellent article: congrats abhi
Thank you Abhi for your efforts and finding, good thoughts
Good one.. we need to have a discussion on adhyatma.
Informative and nice effort. I am too new on this topic to comment.
Very good information. Wish for more such writings.
Good read brother 👍🏽
Level no. 5 – It is Shanmahishis and not Astamahishis. Rukmini & Satyabhama do not come in this level.
Namasthe Ramaa Bhat,
As per new scholarly studies and thought process, the concept of Shanmahishi’s has come up. The great scholar, Late Sri Bannanje Govindacharya had mentioned this in his pravachanas as well. Also, it is right to arrive at this conclusion as well. However, I have placed my article on the basis of the works of the great saint Sri Jagannatha Dasaru, who considers Asta Mahishi’s in the said level and imagines them as the 8 petals of the lotus that adorns Lakshmi Narayana. Thank you for reading though and giving valuable feedback, please share amongst your circle of friends and relatives as well.