Ekāntika
Ekāntika · eka-antika, “the one devoted to one alone”
Grammar: adjective and noun, from ekānta (devoted to one alone).
Meaning: the vaishṇava who is devoted to Vishṇu alone; the text glosses it as one who keeps special niyamas.
In the scriptures: In the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janma Khaṇḍa of the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa teaches Nanda the dharma of the vaishṇava. By merely receiving the Vishṇu-mantra from the guru a man becomes jīvanmukta and reaches Hari-pada. The Vishṇu-bhakta uplifts seven generations of his forefathers and seven after him. One who has the puraścaraṇa of the Nārāyaṇa mantra done in a kshetra uplifts a thousand men and himself with ease. Śrī Kṛshṇa then says that an ekāntika vaishṇava uplifts a lakh, a hundred thousand, men. At Vishṇu’s feet he must set aside his own acts and resolves (Chapter 83).
Related terms: Vaishṇava · Puraścaraṇa
Sources
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 83