The Smarta tradition (Sanskrit: स्मार्त, IAST: Smārta), also called Smartism, is a movement in Hinduism that developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature.

[3] The Smarta tradition rejects theistic sectarianism,[3] and is notable for the domestic worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal – Ganesha, Shiva, Shakti, Vishnu and Surya.

[2][5] There has been a considerable overlap in the ideas and practices of the Smarta tradition with other significant historic movements within Hinduism, namely Shaivism, Brahmanism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.

[11] Shankara championed the thesis that ultimate reality is impersonal and Nirguna (attributeless) and any symbolic god serves the same equivalent purpose.

[19] The smriti are a specific body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written down but constantly revised, in contrast to Srutis (The Vedic Literature) considered authorless, that were transmitted verbally across the generations and fixed.

[25] It develops in interaction with other religions and peoples: The emerging self-definitions of Hinduism were forged in the context of continuous interaction with heterodox religions (Buddhists, Jains, Ajivikas) throughout this whole period, and with foreign people (Yavanas, or Greeks; Sakas, or Scythians; Pahlavas, or Parthians; and Kusanas, or Kushans) from the third phase on [between the Mauryan empire and the rise of the Guptas].

"[27] The Smriti texts interpret the Vedas in a number of ways, which gave rise to six darsanas (orthodox schools) of Hindu philosophy.

[31] The revived Smarta tradition attempted to integrate varied and conflicting devotional practices, with its ideas of nondual experience of Atman (self, soul) as Brahman.

[32] The rapprochement included the practice of pancayatana-puja (five shrine worship), wherein a Hindu could focus on any saguna deity of choice (istadevata) such as Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Surya and Ganesha as an interim step towards realizing the nirguna Brahman.

[32] The growth of this Smarta Tradition began in the Gupta period (4th–5th century CE), and likely was dominated by Dvija classes, in particular the Brahmins,[33] of the early medieval Indian society.

[38] With the breakdown of the Gupta empire, gifts of virgin waste-land were heaped on brahmanas,[39][40] to ensure profitable agrarian exploitation of land owned by the kings, but also to provide status to the new ruling classes.

[39] The early medieval Puranas were composed to disseminate religious mainstream ideology among the pre-literate tribal societies undergoing acculturation.

[42] The Brahmanism of the Dharmashastras and the smritis underwent a radical transformation at the hands of the Purana composers, resulting in the rise of Puranic Hinduism,[41] "which like a colossus striding across the religious firmament soon came to overshadow all existing religions".

It was distinguished from its Vedic Smarta roots by its popular base, its theological and sectarian pluralism, its Tantric veneer, and the central place of bhakti.

Vishnu and Shiva emerged as the main deities, together with Sakti/Deva, subsuming local cults, popular totem symbols and creation myths.

According to Jeffrey Timm, for example, in verse 10 of the Tattvarthadipanibandha, Vallabhacharya states that, "Mutually contradictory conclusions are non-contradictory when they are considered from their respective contexts, like Vaishnava, Smarta, etc.

"[59] According to Murray Milner Jr., a professor of Sociology, the Smarta tradition refers to "Hindus who tend toward Brahmanical orthodoxy in both thought and behavior".

Smartas are usually committed to a "relatively unified Hinduism" and they reject extreme forms of sectarian isolationism, reminiscent of the European discourse about the church and Christian sects.

[3] Smarta tradition emerged initially as a synthesis movement to unify Hinduism into a nonsectarian form based on the Vedic heritage.

[71][note 5] The Smartas follow an orthodox Hindu philosophy, which means they accept the Vedas, and the ontological concepts of Atman and Brahman therein.

These include the shruti (Vedas),[76][77][78][20] but most markedly the smriti literature, which incorporated shramanic and Buddhist influences[79] of the period from about 200 BCE to about 300 CE[79][80] and the emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold.

The emphasis in Vedic texts here is the jnana-kanda (knowledge, philosophical speculations) in the Upanishadic part of the Vedas, not its karma-kanda (ritual injunctions).

[82] Along with the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras are the central texts of the Advaita Vedanta tradition, providing the truths about the identity of Atman and Brahman and their changeless nature.

[2] Some of this smriti literature incorporated shramanic and Buddhist influences[79] of the period from about 200 BC to about AD 300 [79][80] and the emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold.

[88] These have hosted the Daśanāmi Sampradāya under four Maṭhas, at Dwarka in the West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Sringeri in the South and Badrinath in the North.

[94] [95] Other Advaita Vedanta mathas following Smarta Tradition include: The adjective Smārta is also used to classify a Brahmin who adheres to the Smriti corpus of texts.

[100] According to Brouwer, examples of Smarta Visvakarmas include Niligundapanta (traditionally blacksmiths and carpenters), Konnurpanta (all five artisan trades) and Madipattar (goldsmiths).