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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 82 - catur-mUrtih.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • December 25, 2002 


        SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam – Slokma 82 - catur-mUrtih.

		catur-mUrtih catur-bAhuh catur-vyUhah catur-gatih   |
		catur-AtmA catur-bhAvah catur-veda-vit eka-pAt    ||

om catur-mUrtaye namah
om catur-bAhave namah
om catur-vyUhAya namah
om catur-gataye namah
om catur-Atmane namah
om catur-bhAvAya namah
om catur-veda-vide namah
om eka-apade namah

771. catur-mUrtih – He of Four Forms.

Om catur-mUrtaye namah.

The nAma means He of Four Forms.  Different vyAkhyAna kartA-s have
anubhavam of His four-foldedness in different ways.

SrI bhaTTar comments that the reference to “Four Forms” immediately
reminds one of the four vyUha forms (vAsudeva, saÂ’nkarshaNa, pradyumna,
and aniruddha).  These four vyUha forms preceded the vibhava
incarnations such as rAma, kRshNa, etc.  Even in His vibhava form as
Lord kRshNa, He had four forms, in the forms of balabhadra, vAsudeva,
pradyumna, and aniruddha (balabhadra is the elder brother of kRshNa,
pradyumna is His son, and aniruddha is His grandson).  Similarly, in
His incarnation as rAma, the four brothers (rAma, lakshmaNa, bharata,
and Satrughna) originated from the same pAyasam that was given to
daSaratha at the end of the putra kAmeshTi yAgam.  

SrI SaÂ’nkara refers to His Four Forms as virAT, sUtrAtman, avyAkRta,
and turIya (gross, subtle, uncompounded, and transcendent).  SrI
rAdhAkRshNa SAstri provides the following explanation for the four
forms:

-	In the process of creation, the first tattva is called avyakta, the
state of mUla prkRti before it started evolving.
-	virAT refers to the sthUla form of the evolved state of mUla prakRti,
before bhagavAn entered it in the form of antaryAmi and made it
functional.
-	SUtrAtman refers to the prANa Sakti in all of us; SrI SAstri refers
to this form as HiraNyagarbha;  This is the form in which bhagavAn
manifests Himself in our buddhi and manas (sUkshma form);  
-	Thje turIya state is the one that is beyond the three states above,
and is called parama pursha or purshottama.  This is the state in which
everything is contained in Him, and He alone exists, with His Supreme
effulgence, before the jIva-s get their forms etc.

SrI cinmayAnanda refers to His four forms with four different colors in
the four yuga-s:  white in kRta yuga, red in tretA yuga, yellow in
dvApara yuga, and dark (black) in kali yuga.  SrI cinmayAnanda also
refers to the four states of the self – the waking state, the dream
state, the deep-sleep state, and the Pure Self state.  In the
microcosm, these are called viSva, taijasa, praj~nA, and turIya, and in
the macrocosm, they are called virAt, hiraNyagarbha, ISvara, and
paramAtman.  This latter is similar to the interpretation by SrI
SaÂ’nkara.   

Again, SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri describes the terms viSva, taijasa,
prAj~na, and turIya.  SarIram has three aspects to it:  sthUla,
sUkshsma, and kAraNa.  sthUla is the external appearance, with a shape
and a form.  sUkshma aspect refers to manas, prANan, etc.  The kAraNa
SarIra aspect is reflected in the memories acquired from previous
births.  An example of this is the knowledge that a child has as soon
as it is born, that by crying it will get milk, by sucking at the
motherÂ’s breast it will be fed, etc.  The viSva, taijasa, and prAj~na
are the states of the jIva associated with the sthUla, sUkshma, and
kArANa SarIra-s.  These are also associated with the person is in
waking, dream, or sleep states.   In all the above states, the jIva
wrongly considers that the sarIra belongs to “him”, and has the feeling
of ownership for his body etc.  When the jIva realizes the truth and
passes beyond this feeling of “I” ness, this state is the turIya state.
 

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj refers to His four forms in SrI vaikunTha,
satya loka, Sveta dvIpa, and kshIrAbdhi respectively.  He quotes the
following in support:  

	vaikunThe prathamA mUrtih satya loke tathAÂ’parrA   |
	Sveta dvIpe tRtIyA ca caturthI kshIra sAgare    ||

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

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