The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Parivartini Ekadashi
502
already present in the cause, emerges
from it through a natural transformation
of that cause, and is causally related to it.
All three schools believe that the
world as perceived is real and has some
single ultimate source behind it: for the
Samkhyas, the first principles are
purusha and prakrti, for the
Vishishthadvaita school, the god
Vishnu, and for the Bhedabhada school,
Brahman. All believe that real things
come into being because these first
principles undergo real transformations.
Parinamavada allows for an explanation
of the phenomenal world that
compromises the transcendence of
these first principles by making them
part of the world. Philosophically, their
difficulties arise in describing how the
transcendent can become mundane,
and then become transcendent again.
The transformation relationship is
vehemently opposed by the Advaita
Vedanta philosophical school, which
upholds a philosophical position
known as monism (the belief that a
single Ultimate Reality lies behind all
things, and that all things are merely
differing forms of that reality). Advaita
proponents claim that reality is nondual
(advaita)—that is, that all things
are “actually” the formless, unqualified
Brahman, despite the appearance
of difference and diversity in the
world. Since Brahman is the only real
thing, and Brahman never changes,
the parinama model is a fundamental
misunderstanding of the ultimate
nature of things, since it assumes real
change. The Advaita proponents’
explanation for the nature of the relationship
and the world is known as
vivartavada (“illusory manifestation”),
in which the ultimate appears
to become transformed but in reality
never changes. For further information
see Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and
Charles A. Moore (eds.), A Sourcebook
in Indian Philosophy, 1957; and Karl
H. Potter (ed.), Presuppositions of
India’s Philosophies, 1972.
Parivartini Ekadashi
Religious observance falling on the
eleventh day (ekadashi) of the bright
(waxing) half of the lunar month of
Bhadrapada (August–September). As are
all the eleventh-day observances, this is
dedicated to the worship of Vishnu. This
day is particularly devoted to the worship
of Vishnu’s wife Lakshmi, the goddess
presiding over wealth and
prosperity. In her form as Mahalakshmi
(as told in the Devimahatmya) she is
able to kill demons that the gods cannot,
and restore to gods the kingdom they
have lost. This festival occurs during the
time Vishnu is believed to be sleeping on
the serpent Shesha, on an ocean of milk,
with Lakshmi massaging his feet. The
name Parivartini means “turning,” and
on this day Vishnu is believed to be stirring
in his sleep. See also ocean, churning
of the; and cosmology.
Parivrajaka
(from Sanskrit parivraj, “to wander
about”) A term that can be used to
denote any wandering religious mendicant.
Continual wandering is a very old
Indian ascetic practice. It shows the
conscious renunciation of the fixed and
stable world of the householder, particularly
in earlier societies, and it prevents
the wanderer from forming any sort of
attachments, even to places. This exemplifies
the fourth and final stage of life
found in the dharma literature, the
sanyasi, in which a person has
renounced all attachments of everyday
life to search for spiritual attainment.
Parmananddas
(early 16th c.) One of the ashtachap, a
group of eight northern Indian bhakti
(devotional) poets. The compositions of
these eight poets were used for liturgical
purposes by the Pushti Marg, a religious
community whose members are devotees
(bhakta) of Krishna. In the Pushti
Marg’s sectarian literature, all eight
are also named as members of the community
and as associates of either the