The name for a group
of brahmins who are identified not by geography or family, but by the
theological scriptures that they regard as the most authoritative.
The smrtis—either the writings themselves or comments and
com pilations based on them—are the most authoritative texts for the Smartas.
The smrtis, or "remembered" texts, were a subset
of the shrutis, or "heard" scriptures, and although essential, were
regarded as less authoritative.
In a nutshell, the shrutis referred to the Vedas, which are
the oldest and most authoritative Hindu religious books, and the smrtis
referred to dharma literature, such as the Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, and
Ramayana, as well as the puranas, a collection of Hindu religious works.
As a result, the Smartas stand in stark contrast to
sectarian brahmins, whether Shaiva (devotees of Shiva) or Vaishnava (devotees
of Vishnu), for whom their particular sectarian texts hold supreme religious
authority.
Smarta brahmins may therefore claim to be the most orthodox
since they follow the oldest and most well-established religious teachings.
Individual Smartas may worship multiple Hindu deities, and
many do, since they are distinguished by their authoritative writings and
practices rather than by the god they worship.
However, many Smartas, especially in southern India, do the pan
chayatana puja to the five divine forms—Vishnu, Shiva, Surya, Ganesh, and the
Goddess—in order to demonstrate the ultimate oneness underlying the many
manifestations of divinity.
