The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1769 page)

(Skt., ‘five-faced’). A Hindu epithet of
iva
, representing any of the fivefold characteristics of his nature—e.g. the elements; the four quarters + Sada
iva—the most complex of the faces, invisible even to the advanced yogin. The contemplation of the five faces is a central focus for meditation.

 
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see
N
VARANA
.

 
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see
FIVE SUPREME BEINGS
.

 
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Pañcar
tra
.

An early
Vai
ava
tradition and sect with a large number of texts called
Sa
hit
s
, of which the ‘three gems’ (the
Pau
kara
,
S
ttvata
, and
Jay
khya Sa
hit
s
) are the most important and earliest (5th–6th cents. CE). The
Jay
khya Sa
hit
is the
locus classicus
of Pañcar
tra religious practice, which consists of the divinization of the body through the assimilation of a divine
mantra
body by
nyasa
and
visualization
.
Bhakti
and grace are also important. Other topics dealt with are outer worship (
b
hya yoga