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SahasranAmam - 2.2.

From the Bhakti List Archives

N Krishnamachari • June 4, 1997 


                 Sri Vishnu Sahasra NAmam - Part 2 - Section 2.

I am sorry I could not follow up with this section on the heels of Part 2
Section 1 which I submitted sometime back.  The contents below are
not necessarily dependent on the previous item, and so can be read
independently.

Dasan Krishnamachari
================

A brief introduction to the five types of manifestations of the Lord, to which
Sri Bhattar refers in his exposition of the significance of the 1000 names of
the Lord, is included below.  

The para can be viewed as the full and undifferentiated manifestation of the 
Lord in His complete and resplendent glory in which He has chosen to be 
unlimited by anything.  He does not assume this form as a
result of another object, and in this form He is endowed with the fullness of
the six qualities - jnAna, bala, aisvarya, vIrya, sakti, teja).  In this form,
He is the shAdguNya paripUrNa, mahArNava, ni:sima - complete in all respects
in the Six qualities, the Great Ocean of all that is perfect, unlimited by 
anything.

Sri Bhattar refers to the sAtvata samhita in explaining the
para, vyuha, and vibhava forms.  

   "shAdguNya vigraham devam bhAsvajjvalana tejasam
    sarvatah pANi pAdam tat iti upakramya
    param etat samAkhyAtam ekam sarvAsrayam vibhum".

"In the para form, the Lord has the body endowed with all six qualities;  He
shines with intense brilliance and luminosity, and has hands and feet all
around.  This form is unique, is the support of all, and is all-pervasive".
  
In the vyuha manifestation, the Lord assumes different forms which are rich in
some of the Six qualities, with different functions which emphasize these
qualities.  The vyuha forms can be viewed as the differentiated forms which
arise
from the para form.  The vyuha forms are also referred to as Emanations by 
the translator of the Bhagavad GuNa darpana, Sri A. Srinivasa Raghavan.

In particular, the following vyuha forms are identified:
    - pradyumna -    aisvarya and vIrya - function of srshti or creation
      aniruddha -    sakti and tejas    - function of sthiti or protection
                                            and preservation
      samkarshaNa -  jnAna and bala     - function of samhAra or destruction

The sAtvata samhita describes the vyuha forms as follows:  

    etat pUrvam trayam ca anyat jnAnAdyaih bheditam guNai:  |  
    viddhi etat vyuha samgjnam vai nissreyasa phala pradam ||

"From this para form emerge three other forms (SamkarshaNa, pradyumna,
aniruddha), which are distinguished by the possession of knowledge and other
qualities allotted to each one of them, and which bestow these benefits
to the devotees".

The vibhava is that group of manifestations which are taken by BhagavAn in
the form of god, man, animal, etc. (sura, nara, tiryagAdi).  Vibhava is of two
kinds:  mukhya and anuvrtti, also referred to as vibhava and vibhava antara.

Vibhava occurs in one of four forms:

  1. Some like matsya and kurma are direct manifestations

  2. In some incarnations, the Lord enters into the bodies of distinguished
sages such as Sri VyAsa

  3. In others, He invests His sakti for some period of time in others.  The
example of Puranjaya is given here, and we will dwell into the details when we
look at the explanation behind the nAma puranjaya later on.

  4. There are others in which He manifests Himself in idols as for instance
in the arcAvatAra.

It seems to me that Sri Bhattar, in his vyAkhyAna, has grouped the arcA form 
as a subgroup of the vibhava form.  I request the bhAgavatas in this group to 
shed more light on whether I have misunderstood this explanation.

Sri Bhattar distinguishes the vibhava form from the Lord's creations such as
the four-faced Brahma, who are not manifestations of Bhagavan, but are the
creations of Bhagavan.
Sri Bhattar refers to the following from the Paushkara samhita to give us an
understanding of the difference:

      jnAnopadeshTA bhagavAn kapilAkshastu adhokshaja:   |
      vidyAmurti: caturvaktro brahmA vai loka pUjita:    ||
      tadamsa bhUto vai yasya visva vyanjana lakshaNa:   ||

  "The red-eyed BhagavAn, Adhokshaja, is the teacher of all knowledge.  The
four-faced BrahmA who is the embodiment of learning and who is worshiped by
all worlds, is but a tiny amsa (part) of Bhagavan.  He is the subordinate of
BhagavAn, and he only propounds the knowledge he got from Bhagavan to all in the
world".

These are distinguished as the prAdurbhAva and prAdurbhAvAntara forms.
Here the prAdurbhAva is the adhokshaja form, and the prAdurbhAvAntara 
is Brahma.  It is pointed out that the creations of the Lord such as 
Brahma, agni, etc., are to be understood at a different level than the 
manifestations of the Lord in His para, vyuha, and vibhava forms.  This is the
basis for why those who have been initiated in the worship of acyuta 
are to worship only Acyuta and not the other gods (prAdurbhAvAnAm
ArAdhyatvam .prAdurbhAvAntarANAm ArAdhana nishedhasca).

With the above brief introduction, I will attempt to summarize the meanings
behinds the Names starting in the next section.