Both
Alf Hiltebeitel and Gavin Flood locate the origins of the Smarta Tradition in the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism, particularly with the
nondualist (Advaita) interpretation of Vedanta, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.
The "Hindu Synthesis" Hiltebeitel situates the origins of the Smarta tradition in the ongoing interaction between the Vedic-Brahmanic tradition and non-Vedic traditions. According to him, a period of consolidation in the development of Hinduism took place between the time of the late Vedic Upanishad (c. 500 BCE) and the period of the rise of the
Guptas (c. 320–467), which he calls the "Hindus synthesis", "Brahmanic synthesis", or "orthodox synthesis". It develops in interaction with other religions and peoples: The
smriti texts of the period between 200 BCE and 100 CE proclaim the authority of the Vedas, and "nonrejection of the Vedas comes to be one of the most important touchstones for defining Hinduism over and against the heterodoxies, which rejected the Vedas." The Smriti texts interpret the Vedas in a number of ways, which gave rise to six
darsanas (orthodox schools) of
Hindu philosophy. Of the six Hindu darsanas, the Mimamsa and the Vedanta "are rooted primarily in the Vedic
sruti tradition and are sometimes called
smarta schools in the sense that they develop
smarta orthodox current of thoughts that are based, like
smriti, directly on
sruti." They emphasize the Vedas with reason and other
pramanas, in contrast to
Haituka schools which emphasize
hetu (cause, reason) independent of the Vedas while accepting the authority of the Vedas. Of the two Smarta traditions, Mimamsa focused on Vedic ritual traditions, while Vedanta focussed on
Upanishadic knowledge tradition. Around the start of the common era, and thereafter, a syncretism of
Haituka schools (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya and Yoga), the
Smarta schools (Mimamsa, Vedanta) with ancient theistic ideas (bhakti, tantric) gave rise to a growth in traditions such as
Shaivism,
Vaishnavism and
Shaktism. The revived Smarta tradition attempted to integrate varied and conflicting devotional practices, with its ideas of nondual experience of
Atman (self, soul) as
Brahman. 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. 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, of the early medieval Indian society. This Smarta tradition competed with other major traditions of Hinduism such as Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism. 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. The tradition, states Milner, has roots that emerged sometime between 3rd century BCE and 3rd century CE, likely in response to the growth of Jainism and Buddhism. According to Upinder Singh, the Smarta tradition's religious practice emerged as a transformation of
Brahmanism and can be described as
Hinduism. Smarta as a tradition emphasized all gods as equal and different ways of perceiving the all-pervasive metaphysical impersonal
Brahman.
Modern Hinduism In recent times bhakti cults have increasingly become popular with the smartas. Vaitheespara notes the adherence of the Smarta Brahmans to "the pan-Indian Sanskrit-brahmanical tradition": ==Philosophy and practices==