Pancharatra in the context of "Agama (Hinduism)"

The Vishnu Purana (Sanskrit: विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus.

The manuscripts of Vishnu Purana have survived into the modern era in many versions. More than any other major Purana, the Vishnu Purana presents its contents in Pancalaksana format – Sarga (cosmogony), Pratisarga (cosmology), Vamsa (genealogy of the gods and goddesses, sages, and kings and queens), Manvantara (cosmic cycles), and Vamsanucarita (legends during the times of various kings and queens). Some manuscripts of the text are notable for not including sections found in other major Puranas, such as those on Mahatmyas and tour guides on pilgrimage, but some versions include chapters on temples and travel guides to sacred pilgrimage sites. The text is also notable as the earliest Purana to have been translated and published in 1840 CE by HH Wilson, based on manuscripts then available, setting the presumptions and premises about what Puranas may have been.

Sri Vaishnavism (Sanskrit: श्रीवैष्णवसम्प्रदाय, romanized: Śrīvaiṣṇavasampradāya) is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who are together revered in this tradition.

The tradition traces its roots to the ancient Vedas and Pancharatra texts, popularised by the Alvars and their canon, the Naalayira Divya Prabandham. The founding of Sri Vaishnavism is traditionally attributed to Nathamuni of the 10th century CE; its central philosopher has been Ramanuja of the 11th century, who developed the Vishishtadvaita ("qualified non-dualism") Vedanta sub-school of Hindu philosophy. The tradition split into two denominations around the 16th century. The Vadakalai or uttarakalārya sect emphasize the Vedas and follow the doctrine of Vedanta Desika, whereas the Tenkalai or dakṣiṇakalārya sect emphasize the Naalayira Divya Prabandham follow the principles of Manavala Mamunigal. The Telugu Brahmins of the Sri Vaishnava tradition form a single distinct sect called the Andhra Vaishnavas, and are not divided into the Vadakalai and Tenkalai denominations, unlike the Tamil Iyengars.

Sadh Vaishnavism (Sanskrit: सद्वैष्णवसम्प्रदाय;), also referred to as Madhva Vaishnavism, the Madhva Sampradaya, or Tattvavada, part of the Brahma Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism—Bhagavata tradition of Hinduism. Sadh Vaishnavism was founded by the thirteenth century philosopher-saint Madhvacharya, who developed the Tattvavada (Dvaita Vedanta) ("arguments from a realist viewpoint") sub-school of Vedanta in Hindu philosophy.

The tradition traces its roots to the ancient Vedas and Pancharatra texts. The Madhva Sampradaya or Sadh-Vaishnava Sampradaya is referred to as the Brahma Sampradaya, referring to its traditional origins in the succession of spiritual masters (gurus) have originated from Brahma.

The Ranganathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ranganatha (a form of Vishnu) and his consort Ranganayaki (a form of Lakshmi). The temple is located in Srirangam, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India. Constructed in the Tamil architectural style, the temple is glorified by the Tamil poet-saints called the Alvars in their canon, the Naalayira Divya Prabhandam, and has the unique distinction of being the foremost among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to the god Vishnu. The Srirangam temple stands as the largest religious complex in the world in active worship with a continuous historical presence as a Hindu temple. Some of these structures have been renovated, expanded and rebuilt over the centuries as a living temple. The latest addition is the outer tower that is approximately 73 metres (240 ft) tall, which was completed in 1987 with support from the Ahobila mutt among others. The temple is an thriving Hindu house of worship and follows the Tenkalai tradition of Sri Vaishnavism, based on the Pancharatra agama. The annual 21-day festival conducted during the Tamil month of Margali (December–January) attracts 1 million visitors. The temple complex has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is in UNESCO's tentative list. In 2017, the temple won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Merit 2017 for cultural heritage conservation, making it the first temple in Tamil Nadu to receive the award from the UNESCO.

It is among the most illustrious Vaishnava temples in the world, rich in legend and history. The deity finds a mention in the Sanskrit epic Ramayana which is dated well before 3000 BCE which also pushes the existence of deity to the same era. The temple has played an important role in Vaishnava history starting with the 11th-century career of Ramanuja and his predecessors Nathamuni and Yamunacharya in Srirangam. Its location, on an island between the Kollidam and Kaveri rivers, has rendered it vulnerable to flooding as well as the rampaging of invading armies which repeatedly commandeered the site for military encampment. The temple was looted and destroyed by the Delhi Sultanate armies in a broad plunder raid on various cities of the Pandyan kingdom in the early 14th century. The temple was rebuilt in the late 14th century, the site fortified and expanded with many more gopurams in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was one of the hubs of early Bhakti movement with a devotional singing and dance tradition, but this tradition stopped during the 14th century and was revived in a limited way much later.