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Saṃpradāya

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | 564 words | Copyright

Saṃpradāya (Skt., from saṃ-pra da, ‘to give completely up’, ‘to hand down by tradition’). In Indian religions, any established doctrine and set of practices transmitted from one teacher to another. From this it has come to mean any sectarian religious teaching or a religious sect. In the Mahābhārata (Anuśāsanaparvan 141), the four (supposedly) original saṃpradāyas are listed more as styles of increasing asceticism through which tapas is generated. For Jains, see MULA SANGHA.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Saṃpradāya." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Saṃpradāya." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Sapradya.html

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