Panca ratra diksha Temple of Lord Rama

Navapadma Mandala of Parameshwara Samhita, used for initation ceremonies

5 different Vahanas of the Lord
Lord Lakshmi Narasimha
Krishna dancing on Snake Kaliya
Hanuman Vahana
Garuda Vahana

The Temple of Lord Ranganatha is the only follower of the very ancient and rare Parameshwara Samhita (one of the scriptures from the Pancaratra canon), with a very elaborated and detailed worship on festivals. Also it has some differences in mantras used for worship. Therefore i thought the initation ceremony for the priesthood in Srirangam are also very interesting. In their Diksha temple of Lord Rama, they have also 10 different forms of the Lord. Those are Matsya (Fishincarnation), Kurma (Turtoise incarnation), Varaha (Boar incarnation), Narasimha (Half Man/half Lion), Balarama and 5 different Vahanas (carrying vehicle) like Krishna dancing on Kaliya, Lord Vishnu on Garuda, Hanuman, Horse and elefant. The priest disciple will get the Diksha and the mantras for those seva*/puja to Lord Ranganatha from his Guru/Father after the sacraments of Panca samskara (see next blog). For this Diksha ceremony there is a special room, called Dhyana Mandapa. Inside this room, the disciple will get the very confidential instructions, Mantras and practical advises from his Teacher. Also he is asked to do Japa for the Holy Mantra he recieved from his Guru, to recide inside for a certain time frame. But before this, he will be tied up with 3 colour string representing the 3 moods of nature and blindfolded overnight. Then there will be certain homas for samhara- and sristi- nyasa (called also Bhuta shuddhi, to purify the body of the priest from bad karma/ make it fit for the service inside the temple sanctorum). After this he will be untied and auspicious items will be shown to him. That opening of the Mayasutra (string of illusion) is considered to be rebirth, and the 5 samskaras will be given to him as well. Tapa mudra/ brandings of shanka and chakra on each shoulder to mark him as a servant of the Lord. Mantra/ the soundvibration in which the Lord is fully manifest, also called the Tiru (sacred) Mantra. Urdhva Pundra/ tilak - 12 holy marks made from clay, chandan or kumkum/haldi will be paint on special Nadi parts (energy spots,like chakras) to represent the body as the house/temple of the Lord where He (Lord Vishnu) resides as Antaryami(supersoul). Nama - special name to indicate him as a servant of the Lord. The Nava Padma Mandala will be worshipped, and the disciple will put a flower blindfolded on the Mandala. Inside the Mandala there are 12 places, each infused with one form of Lord Vishnu. After he drops the flower on the Mandala, that spot connected with one of the 12 Names of Lord Vishnu will be given as his Archaka Name like Madhava, Keshava, Narayana etc... (Bhattacharya will be a common title to indicate that he is a priest). And the final samskara: Yaga/ worship.The practical way will be shown and teached to the disciple. After all this he is eligible to perform puja inside the Temple complex. Of course there are more rules and standards to be a good priest/brahmana, and Bhagavad Gita has a good sloka for this (Chapter 18, Vers 42).