See: indriya, tattva.

See: indriya, tattva. panchachara: (Sanskrit) "Five rules." The five Vira Saivite codes of conduct. --Lingachara: Daily worship of the Sivalinga. -- sadachara: attention to vocation and duty. --Sivachara: Acknowledging Siva as the one God and observing equality among members. --bhrityachara: Humility toward all creatures. --ganachara: defense of the community and its tenets.

Pancha Ganapati Utsava: (Sanskrit) "Five-fold Ganapati festival." A modern five-day festival observed from the 21st through 25th of December. Pancha (five) denotes Ganesha's five faces, each representing a specific power (shakti). One face is worshiped each day, creating 1) harmony in the home, 2) concord among relatives, neighbors and friends, 3) good business and public relations, 4) cultural upliftment and 5) heartfelt charity and religiousness.

The festival, a favorite among children, was conceived in 1985 by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami along with elders of various Hindu sects. It is a time of sharing gifts, renewing ties of family and friendship while focusing inwardly on this great God of abundance. See: Ganesha. Panchakshara Mantra: (Sanskrit) "Five-syllabled incantation." Saivism's most sacred mantra. See: Namah Sivaya.

Panchamukha Ganapati: (Sanskrit) "Five-faced Ganapati." A special form of Lord Ganesha with five faces; similar to Siddhi Ganapati. pancha nitya karma(s): (Sanskrit) "Five constant duties." A traditional regimen of religious practice for Hindus: 1) dharma (virtuous living), 2) upasana (worship), 3) utsava (holy days), 4) tirthayatra (pilgrimage) and 5) samskaras (sacraments.) See: dharma, festival, samskara, tirthayatra. Pancharatra: (Sanskrit) An ancient name of Vaishnavism.

The term literally means "five nights," but may be a corruption of pancharatha ("five vehicles, ways or paths"), thought to indicate five ancient sects in the vicinity of Mathura that eventually merged into one with the worship of Krishna. Pancharatra Agama(s): (Sanskrit) The most popular of the two major groups of Vaishnava Agamas (the other being the Vaikasana Agamas).

Panchartha Bhashya: (Sanskrit) Commentary by Kaundinya (ca 100) on Lakulisha's Pashupata Sutras, one of the few extant philosophical texts of Pashupata Saivism. It was rediscovered in 1930. See: Pashupata Saivism. pancha shraddha: (Sanskrit) "Five faiths." A concise summary of Hindu belief exactly correlated to the "five constant practices," pancha nitya karmas.