The Unassailable Glory of Lord Narayana -- Part 1: The Lord Extolled by the Vedas

The Veda, which forms the basis of sanAtana dharma (The Eternal Religion), is believed by all Astika-s (people who accept the authority of the Veda) to be unauthored (apauruSeya). It contains eternal truths which are not authored by anyone, human or even divine. All the great Acharyas of the different philosophical schools in sanAtana dharma concur on this one fact. Classified as Rg, yajuH, sAma, and atharva, and containing four sections (samhita-s, brAhmaNa-s, AraNyaka-s, and authentic upaniSad-s), all portions of the Veda are taken to be authentic in their entirety by all major philosophical schools, including advaita, vishiSTAdvaita, dvaita, and other schools of Vedanta. The Veda has been passed down from time immemorial, solely by the mode of rigorous study through listening, repeating, and chanting.

Students in a traditional Vedic school

Our great Lord Narayana is known as "vedAnta-vedya pratipAdyaH" which means "The Lord who is known from the eternal Vedic texts". Hari, one of the names of Lord Narayana, is uttered along with the divine praNava (the syllable "Om"), at the beginning and end of Vedic chants thus: "|| hariH om ||". This was mentioned by Kambar (kambanATTAlvAr in Tamil), the Tamil poet who sang Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana in beautiful Tamil, in the following invocatory verse at the beginning of his work:

"ஆதி அந்தம் அரி என யாவையும்
ஓதினார் அலகு இல்லன உள்ளன
வேதம் என்பன மெய்ந்நெறி நன்மையன்
பாதம் அல்லது பற்றிலர் பற்று இலார் "

Translation: Those great souls, who are devoid of selfish interests and therefore neutral, who chant the timeless and immeasurable Veda, beginning and ending it with "hariH om", do not put their faith in anything other than the tender feet of the One (i.e., Lord Vishnu or Narayana) who Himself is the truest way (to the highest human end, i.e., liberation) and is an ocean of auspicious qualities.


Let us enjoy the following passages from the commentaries of Sri Adi Sankara and other pUrvAcArya-s in his disciplic succession that confirm that it is none but Lord Narayana (known by various names such as Vishnu, vAsudeva, and Hari) alone who is to be known from the study of the Veda. We first take a look at the commentary to the Bhagavad Gita verse 15.15 and the commentaries to it:

sarvasya ca-ahaM hRdi sanniviSTo mattaH smRtirj~nAnamapohanaM ca |
vedaishca sarvairahameva vedyo vedantakRt-vedavit-eva ca-aham ||

(Bhagavad Gita 15.15)

In the above verse, Lord Narayana, in his Krishna form, teaches the following to Arjuna: "I am seated in the hearts of all beings. Memory, knowledge, as well as their loss come from Me. I alone am to be known from all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of Vedanta as well as its knower."

Sri Sankaracarya explains Lord Krishna's words here thus: "(Lord Krishna says): 'I am the Supreme Soul, the Paramatman to be known from all the Vedas. I alone am the originator of the Vedantic traditions, and it is I who know the Vedic teachings.' Thus, the majesty of the Lord, the Bhagavan who is known as 'Narayana' by name, are stated": vedaisca sarvair-ahameva paramAtmA vedyaH veditavyaH | vedantakRt vedAntArtha sampradAyakRt ityarthaH | vedavit vedArthavit eva ca aham | bhagavataH Ishvarasya nArAyaNAkhyasya vibhUtisaMkSepaH uktaH. Sri Anandagiri who wrote "glosses" (Tiika) to many of Sri Adi Sankara's works explains here that the statement of the Lord in the current verse removes any doubt that may linger in one's mind as to whether the Supreme Brahman extolled in the Vedas is different from Bhagavan Narayana: "vedavedyaM parambrahma bhagavato(a)nyAditi sha^nkAM vArayati -- vedairiti". Indeed, Sri Sankaracarya says in his commentary to the Bhagavad Gita thus:

"It (the Bhagavad Gita) expounds specially the nature of the Supreme Being and the Truth known as vAsudeva, the Para-brahman, who forms the subject of the discourse": paramArtha-tattvaM ca vAsudevAkhyaM parabrahma-abhideya-bhutaM visheSataH abhivyaj~nayad vishiSTa-prayojana-sambandha-abhideyavad gItA-shAstraM  (Introductory Chapter, Sri Sankara's bhagavadgItAbhASya).

"(Lord Krishna says) 'I, the Supreme Parabrahman known by name as vAsudeva, am the source of the whole world. From Me alone evolves the whole universe in all its changes, including existence and dissolution, action, effect, and enjoyment'": ahaM paraM brahma vAsudevAkhyaM sarvasya jagataH prabhava utpattiH | matta eva sthiti-nAsha-kriyA-phalopabhoga-lakSaNaM vikriyA-rUpaM sarvaM jagat pravartate |  (Sri Sankara's commentary to Bhagavad Gita, 10.8)

Moreover, in his commentary to the Kathopanisad verse 1.3.9, Sri Sankara says: "The statement here that 'He obtains The Supreme Abode of Vishnu' refers to entering the Supreme Abode and State of the all-pervading Brahman, the Supreme Soul, known by name as 'vAsudeva' ": tadviSNor vyApanashIlasya brahmaNaH paramAtmano vAsudevAkhyasya paramaM prakRSTaM padam sthAnam satattvaM-iti-etad asAvApnoti.

Echoing all the above points, Sri Anandagiri writes in his gloss to Sri Sankara's commentary (15.15) that Parabrahman cannot refer to anyone other than Bhagavan Sri vAsudeva -- "vedavedyaM parambrahma bhagavato(a)nyAditi sha^nkAM vArayati -- vedairiti".
 

The Lord as Sri Parthasarathy Perumal deity in the temple of Triplicane (Chennai, TN, India) - He is in His battlefield attire, ready to serve His devotee, Arjuna

Sri Madhusudana Sarasvati, in his magnum-opus "gUDhArthadIpika" (a glorious, independent commentary to the Bhagavad Gita) explains here (15.15) that even though the Vedas contain hymns to Indra and other devas, it is still only Bhagavan vAsudeva alone is to be known from the Vedas as He is the in-dwelling supersoul of all: "vedaishca sarvaih-indrAdi-devatA-prakAshaih-api ahameva vedyaH, sarvAtmatvAt". Sri Sarasvati then explains that Vedic passages such as --

"They call Agni as Indra, Mitra, and Varuna; they also say that He is the divine Garutman of beautiful wings. The sages speak of Him, who is one, in many ways; they call Him Agni, Yama, mAtarishvan."

(Atharva Veda, 9.10.28)

and "... for He is all the devas" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.6) are to be understood in that way.

As if to reiterate all these, Sri Sankara explains as follows, in the Vishnusahasranama Bhashya:


"shabdasahaH" (# 912):

He (Vishnu) is known as "shabdasahaH" as He is the one who alone is proclaimed by all the Vedas unanimously: sarve vedastAtparyeNa tameva vadantIti shabdasahaH


"kathitaH" (# 848):

vedAdibhir-ayameka eva paratvena kathita kathita iti kathitaH | sarvairvedaiH kathita iti vA kathitaH | "sarve vedA yatpadamAmananti", "vedaishca sarvairahameva vedyaH", "vede rAmAyaNe puNye bhArate bharatarSabhaH! adau madye tathA cAnte viSNuH sarvatra gIyate" iti shruti-smRtyAdi-vacanebhyaH |

Translation:  He (Vishnu) is known as kathitaH since He alone is declared as supreme by the Veda and Vedic texts; or He who is described by all the Vedas. The following statements from the shruti (Vedas) and smRtis confirm this:

"All the Vedas describe His status.." (Kathopanishad 1.2.15),

"I alone am to be known from all the Vedas" (Bhagavad Gita 15.15),

"Vishnu is sung everywhere at the beginning, middle, and end of the Vedas, the holy rAmAyaNa and the mahAbhArata, O Best of the lineage of Bharata!" (Harivamsa, 3.132.95).

[Sri Taraka Brahmananda Sarasvati, in his gloss on Sri Sankara's Vishnusahasranama Bhashya, has explained some finer points in the above explanations.]



Govinda ("govindaH", #539):

The word "go" can be taken to mean "speech/words", and hence "govindaH" is one who is known through the "words", i.e., the words of the Vedanta. The Vishnutilaka text says, "You are known as Govinda as you are to be known through scriptural texts": gobhiH vANIbhiH vedyata iti vedAntavAkyairiti vA govindaH | 'gobhireva yato vedyo govindaH samudAhRta' iti viSNutilake |

The Lord is known only through the timeless Vedic statements. He cannot be known by experimentation and logical inference, as He is beyond what we can perceive. Moreover, the Vedic statements are unaothored. Any compromise on any of these points would lead to cyclic logic. This is also highlighted by Sri Sankara's explanation to the divine name "Govinda". Sri Amalananda Sarasvati was another Acharya who commented on Sri Sankara's works. In his work "vedAnta kalpataru" (a gloss on the "Bhamati", which is a sub-commentary to Sri Sankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras), he explains this while refuting the views of Saivas, Pasupatas, and Vaiseshikas (in Sutra 2.2.37) by saluting Sri Hari thus:

"tat-sukha-advaitabodha-AtmsvabhAva haraye namaH |

vedAntaika pramANAya kutarkANAM abhUmaye ||"

Translation: "Salutations to Lord Hari, who is blissful, who is without a second, who is pure and transcendental by nature, who is inferred from the texts of the Vedanta alone, and who cannot be understood by those who rely solely on pointless argumentative means."

Yet another point relevant to this discussion: In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Sri Krishna says: "I am the sacred syllable Om (known as Pranava)in all the Vedas". (Bhagavad-Gita 7.8). Here Sri Sankara adds "In Me (Lord Krishna), who am that Pranava, all the Vedas are woven" (tasmin praNavabhute mayi sarve vedAH protAH). Closely related to this Gita verse are the following divine names occurring in the Vishnu Sahasranama:


"mantraH" (#280)

Sri Sankara explains in his commentary that the Lord is called "mantraH", which means "the sacred chant", as He exists as the Rg, yajuH, and sAma Vedas (RgyajussAma-lakSaNaH mantraH). Moreover, He is the one revealed in those sacred chants (mantra-bodhyatvAt-vA mantraH) - this is the second explanation given by Sri Sankara.


"praNavaH" (#957)

Sri Sankara explains this name as: "praNavo nAma paramAtmano vAcaka oMkAra tat-abheda-upacAreNa-ayaM praNavaH" meaning, "The Supreme syllable 'Om', the Pranava, denotes the Paramatman, the Supreme Soul. He is hence said to be verily the Pranava itself."

Thus, it is indeed Lord Narayana who is the object of all Vedic knowledge and meditation.

(to be continued)

REFERENCES:

[1] Free online viewer/downloads of (a) the Sanskrit original and English translations of of Sri Sankara's Bhagavad-Gita commentary, and (b) Sanskrit texts of Sri Anandagiri's and Sri Madhusudana Saraswati's commentaries for the same: see under this article.

[2] Sanskrit commentary and English translation of Sri Sankara's commentary are adopted from the book titled "Visnusahasranama - with the Bhasya of Sri Samkaracarya, translated into English in light of Sri Samkara's Bhasya" by R. Ananthakrishna Sastry, published by Adyar Library and Research centre (1980 edition).

[3] English translation of Sri Madhusudana Sarasvati's "Gudhartha Dipika" commentary to the Bhagavad-Gita can be bought online at this Amazon.com link.

[4] Relevant page from Sri Amalananda Sarasvati's Kalpataru can be viewed here.

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Generosity (Audaryam) in Sri Sankara's Gita Bhashya -- Part 1

Our Supreme Lord of the Universe, who is known as Sriman Narayana, Lord Vasudeva, Lord Vishnu, and by a thousand other names, possesses several divine auspicious qualities (Kalyana Gunas). We dealt a little bit about His Paratvam (Lordliness), Saulabhyam (Accessibility), and Saushilyam (Friendliness) till now. In the next few posts, we shall experience Lord's quality of being generous (audAryam or magnanimity)

The Supreme Lord Narayana, after creating us, does not simply watch us suffer in this imperfect world where evils such as greed, animosity, disease, and natural calamities are abound. In contrast, the Lord provides everything He is capable of, by directly taking up the act of protecting His creation. Let us briefly review His threefold activity to understand His act of protection better:

We saw in a previous post that the Lord creates all the material elements, and then Lord Brahma is born from the divine lotus that springs from His navel. In support of this, Sri Adi Sankara, while commenting upon the words of Arjuna, says the following: Lord Krishna is the one who is the cause of even Brahma, known as Hiranyagarbha, hence He is called the Primordial Creator ["yato brahmaNo hiraNyagarbhasyApi Adi kartA kAraNaM atas tasmAd Adi-kartre" Gita Bhashya, 11.37]. He is called Adi deva (Primal God) since He creates the universe; He is called the purANa puruSa (Primordial Person) since even as He dwells within all of us, He has always existed since time immemorial; He is the abode of all creatures at the time of mahApralaya or universal dissolution ["tvam Adi-devo jagataH sraSTRtvAt, puruSaH purI shayanAt, purANas cirantanaH, tvam evAsya vishvasya paraM prakRSTam nidhAnam nidhIyate(a)smin jagat sarvam mahApralayAdau iti" Gita Bhashya, 11.38], and that He is the 'Great-grand sire' of all since He is the father of even four-faced Brahma who is popularly known as 'Grand sire' ["pitAmahasyApi pitA prapitAmahaH; brahmaNo(a)pi pitAmahaH iti arthaH", Gita Bhashya, 11.39]

Lord Brahma takes over the task of further creation under the instructions of our Supreme Lord. It is the Supreme Lord Vasudeva Himself who indirectly creates beings and destroys them by being the inner-controller of Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. But He directly takes up the act of sustenance for Himself. Thus, the popular conception of Lord Brahma as the creator, Lord Vishnu as the protector, and Lord Siva as the destroyer is reconciled with the Vedic and scholarly statement that it is indeed only Lord Narayana who performs the threefold act of creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the entire universe, as we discussed before in another post. This is exactly the explanation given by Sri Sankara in the Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya:

"rajoguNaM samAshritya viri~ncirUpeNa bhUtAni karotIti bhUtakRt | tamOguNamAsthAya sa rudrAtmanA bhUtAni kRtanti kRNoti hinastIti vA bhUtakRt | sattvaguNamadhiSThAya bhUtAni bibharti dhArayati poSayatIti vA bhUtabhRt"

(Sri Sankara's Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya, Names #4 and #5)

Translation: "Through the mode of rajas (activity/passion) in the form of Brahma, He creates beings and hence He is known as bhUtakRt. Or, using the mode of tamas (ignorance/darkness) in the body of Rudra (Siva), He destroys beings and hence He is known as bhUtakRt. Taking up the mode of sattva (goodness/stability) He (directly) supports and protects all beings and hence He is known as bhUtabhRt".

Sri Sankara says later in the same text, while commenting on the divine name "subhujaH" (#265), which means "beautiful-armed", that the Lord's arms are indeed beautiful as they protect the universe ("shobhanA bhujAH jagadrakSAkarA asyeti subhujaH").

Thus, the act of resolving to protect His creatures itself is a sign of his magnanimity. It is appropriate to ask thus: What is that greatest, priceless gift that the Lord can give that serves as a best example of this ever-benevolent nature of Him? In my opinion, His greatest gift to us is twofold: First, the Lord gives Himself to His devotees by being accessible to us through His avatars. Secondly, He gives another priceless gift -- the scriptures, known as shAstra-s that teach us dharma and adharma (good and evil) that provide the way for well-being and prosperity, as well as the way to serve Him best. A very nice summary of these two aspects of His generosity has been given to us by the great teacher, Acharya Sri Adi Sankara. Let us then turn to Sri Adi Sankara's introduction to the Bhagavad Gita.

The story of Lord Krishna's birth, according to Sri Sankara:

Right after the invocatory verse ("nArAyaNaH paro-avyaktAt") that we saw in a previous post, the Acharya proceeds with his commentary to the Bhagavad Gita as follows:

"sa bhagavAn sRSTvedaM jagat... dvividho hi vedokto dharmaH pravRtti-lakSaNo nivRtti-lakSaNashca jagataH sthiti-kAraNam | prANinAM sAkSAd abhyudayaniH-shreyasa-hetur yaH sa dharmo brAhmaNAdyair varNibhir Ashramibhish ca shreyo(a)rthibhir anuSThIyamAnaH |"

Translation: "The Lord (Bhagavan) created the universe and wishing to secure order in His created universe, taught the paths of involving in works and renunciation. It is this two-fold Vedic path of works and renunciation that is responsible for the protection of the universe. This Vedic path, which secures prosperity and well-being for all creatures, was practiced by men of all classes and orders in life who sought welfare, starting with Brahmanas (knowers of Brahman or Supreme Lord)."

The Lord's magnanimity is evident from the above. Further still, Sri Sankara says that the Lord Himself patiently and generously teaches the Vedic dharma to human beings again when we lose track of it out of our own folly:

"dIrgheNa kAlena anuSThAtRRNAM kAmodbhavAd dhIyamAna-viveka-j~nAna-hetukena adharmeNa abhiyUyamAne dharme, pravardhamAne ca adharme, jagataH sthitiM paripAlayiSuH sa Adi kartA nArAyaNAkhyo viSNur bhaumasya brahmaNo brAhmaNatvasya cAbhirakSaNArthaM devakyAM vasudevAd aMshena kRSNaH sambabhUva |"

Translation: "As time progressed, the evil of lust overpowered the practitioners they gradually lost the faculty of discrimination (between good and bad), leading to irreligion overpowering religion. It was then that the Primordial Creator, Lord Vishnu known as Narayana, wishing to maintain order in the universe, incarnated Himself as Krishna, begotten by devakI and vasudeva, for the preservation of the Vedic path."

  Lord Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva to protect the world and the Vedic Dharma

Sri Sankara then says that the Lord is ever possessed with the six qualities of wisdom, supremacy, power, strength, might, and vigor (sa ca bhagavAn j~nAna-aishvarya-shakti-bala-vIrya-tejobhiH sampannaH) and is ever the unborn (ajaH-avyayaH) Lord of Beings (bhUtAnAm IshvaraH) who is Eternal, Pure, Intelligent and Free (nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta svabhAvaH). The Acharya then says that even though our Lord Narayana has nothing to achieve and has no selfish interest, with the sole intention of helping His creatures, He taught Arjuna, who was plunged in grief and delusion, the two-fold Vedic religion:

"svaprayojana abhAve(a)pi bhUtAnujighRkSayA vaidikaM hi dharma-dvayaM arjunAya shoka-moha-mahodadhau nimagnAya upadidesha"

It is only those like us, whose life is imperfect and lacking, will have something more that he/she is yet to achieve and hence we are driven by that desire to act for our own selfish ends. Being the eternally-perfect Supreme Lord of the cosmos, He has no wants and desires and thus has no compulsion to act. Even then, He performs His divine deeds to benefit us, generously giving us more than what we deserve.

(to be continued)

Tailpiece:

The appellation "Eternal, Pure, Intelligent, and Free" (nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta) is often used by Sri Sankara in his commentaries and refer to the Supreme Lord, who is also known as Parabrahman and Paramatman. He employs them in the Brahma Sutra Bhashya at least at two places (I.i.1 and II.i.14), in his commentaries to the Upanishads (eg., Brihadaranyaka I.iv.7), and in the Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya while explaining the name "Paramatma" (kArya kAraNa vilakSaNo nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta svabhAvaH).

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Lord Narayana - The Supreme Transcendental and Immanent Lord (Paratvam, Antaryamitvam)

May we contemplate on the Supreme Lord Vasudeva so that we may begin this journey without hurdles.


As we promised in the last post, we are now ready to embark on a journey filled with enjoyment of the Lord's Glories. What I am going to write in this series is from whatever sense I have made, with my tiny brain, of this great tradition of Sanatana Dharma. I am just a novice in these matters. All the faults belong to me, and whatever little good comes out of my writing belongs to the great teachers and preachers who I have been fortunate enough to listen to.

Contemplation on the Lord's Divine Attributes and enjoying the same with fellow devotees is one of the best ways of serving Him, and gives immense bliss to the everyone. Two of His primary attributes are: His Lordliness and His Accesibility. Everyone is familiar with the Divine Names of the Supreme Lord of the Universe - the Vedas describe Him as Narayana, Vishnu, Vasudeva, and Hari. We all are familiar with His Divine Incarnations, Divine Form, and His Divine Sportive Acts. All these prove that He is quite accessible to His devotees. In order to understand and appreciate this fully, one first needs to understand His Lordliness in a proper manner.

Let us then investigate: How then, is He intimately related to His creation? How is He to be contemplated as the Supreme Lord? We shall now see how one of the great Acharyas of the sanatana dharma, Shri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada answers this questions for us.

Bhagavatpada Acharya says in his benedictory verse for the introductory chapter to the Bhagavad Gita:

nArAyaNaH paro'vyaktAd aNDam avyakta-sambhavam |
aNDasyAntas tv ime lokAH sapta-dvIpA ca medinI ||

Narayana is beyond the seed of material existance. From this seed, the cosmos comes to exist.
Within the bounds of this cosmic egg are the seven worlds and this earth.

[nArAyaNaH - The Supreme Lord, paraH - is beyond, avyaktAd - the primordial matter known as avyakta or mUlaprakRti (avyakta literally means "the undeveloped"). aNDam - the cosmic egg from which the entire material creation emanates, avyakta-sambhavam - is born from this primordial nature, andasya - of this cosmic egg, antaH - within the bounds, tu - verily, ime lokAH - these worlds, sapta-dvIpA - the seven islands (according to puranic literature of Hinduism, the earthly regions in the universe are classified into seven islands), ca - and, medinI - the earth in which we live (belonging to the solar system of the Milky Way, according to modern science).]

In this introductory verse, the AcArya says that the Supreme Lord Narayana is beyond the material universe consisting of the primordial matter known as avyakta or mUla-prakRti, and that it is the mUla prakRti that gives rise to the Cosmic Egg, within the bounds of which material existence belonging to the category of effects is confined to. I will try to explain the concepts and terminology in creation are further in next paragraph, which may be skipped for those who are not curious about the same.

From puranic literature, it is well-known that the first thing in the realm of effects to be created by Lord Narayana is the avyakta principle. Subject to the Lord's control and as per His volition (sa"nkalpa), the avyakta principle then evolves into mahAn, then to aha"nkAra, followed by the five subtle elements or tanmAtras (sabda, sparsha, rUpa, rasa, and gandha - sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell respectively) and the five gross elements or pancabhUtas (akAsha, vAyu, agni, Apa, and pRthvI - ether, wind, fire, water, and earth). The Lord then performs pancIkaraNa, the process of intermixing the five gross elements for creation to proceed. From this, the principles of five sensory organs and five motor organs arise. The Lord then forms a body known as Hiranyagarbha, which is then taken up by one of the several baddha jIvas or souls that are to be born in the world of samsAra (existence in the realm of effects) selected by the Lord based on their karma or actions. This jIva taking up the name and form known as Hiranyagarbha is none but Lord Brahma, who then proceeds to create further bodies based on the Lord's instructions. The jIvas are then assigned to different bodies by the Supreme Lord Narayana himself, again based on their past karma.

From the above, it is clear that Supreme Lord Narayana is different from creation, which is in the category of effects (known in Sanskrit as kArya vastu). In other words, the Lord is the kAraNa (cause) and the entire universe is His kArya (effect). Shankaracharya has also explained elsewhere (BSBh. IV.iv.19-20) in his commentary to the Brahma Sutras, that the Highest Lord is not confined in any way to this mundane universe:

"Moreover, according to scripture, there is also an eternal form of the highest Lord which does not abide in effects", and

"Scripture and Smriti both declare that the highest light does not abide within effected things".

In the previous section in the Brahma Sutra Bhashya, he says that the liberated soul is reabsorbed into the world of Parabrahman Narayana, and also that it is the purest, Highest Place of Vishnu (paramapada, vaikuNTha, or brahmaloka), which is beyond the realm of effects.

Another aspect of His lordliness is that though He exists beyond the material universe, He simultaneously exists as the manifest universe in two ways: (1) with the entire cosmos is His body, and (2) as the inner-controller of every particle and every being/creature. This is part of his divine pastime, and in no way compromises his Lordliness.

Mundaka Upanishad 2-1-4 says:

The indwelling Self (Atman) of all is surely He of whom the heaven is the head, the moon and sun are the two eyes, the directions are the two ears, the revealed Vedas are the speech, air is the vital force, the whole Universe is the heart, and (It is He) from whose two feet emerged the earth.

In the penultimate sentence of the commentary to the same verse, Bhagavatpada Acharya says:

"this dEva, (known as) Vishnu or Ananta, is the first to have a body in this universe, and has all the three worlds as his body. He is the inner-dweller of all elements."





We will explore the concept of inner-dweller (antaryAmi/antarAtmA) in a little while. It is worth comparing the statement made by Bhagavatpada Acharya to that of his immediate disciple Totakacharya, who further adds the following lines in the last verse of his work shrutisArasamuddharaNa. This famous verse is now recited by everyone who chants Vishnu Sahasranama, in the dhyAnam section just before "shAntAkAram bhujaga shayanam", even though it does not belong to the original Sahasranama text in the Mahabharata:

bhUH pAdau yasya khaM codaramasuranilaH candra sUryau ca netre
karNAvAshAH shiro dyaurmukhamapi dahano yasya vAstavyamabdhiH |
antaHstaM yasya vishvam suranarakhagagobhogigandharvadaityaiH citraM
raMramyate tam tribhuvanavapuSaM viSNumIsham namAmi ||

(shrutisArasamuddharaNa, 179)

"I bow down to Lord Visnu (Vishnu), whose body comprises the three worlds. His feet are the earth, the cavity of His belly is space, his vital breath is the wind, and His eyes are the sun and the moon. His ears are the directions, His head is the heaven, His face is the fire, and His bladder is the ocean. Within Him this universe delights with its variety of gods (divinities created by Supreme Lord), human beings, birds, cows, snakes, celestial beings, and demons. To that Visnu I offer my salutations."


The above principle that the Lord has the material universe as (one of) His body (ies), or in other words, that He is the supersoul of all of His creation, is known as sharIra-sharIri bhAva in vishiSTAdvaita vedanta school of Bhagavad Ramanujacharya. In this school, the Lord is aptly called "ubhaya-vibhUti nAtha", meaning both the material universe (liilA vibhUti) and His own transcendental realm (nitya vibhUti a.k.a. vaikunTam or paramapadam) are His bodies.

The Vedas further affirm that the Lord entered into his creation as the inner-controller of all as he created. The name Vishnu is significant here since it means "all-pervading". Hence, Lord Narayana, having created the material universe, entered into each and every particle of creation as the antaryAmin, which menas inner-controller. This is confirmed by Shankaracharya in his commentary to the antaryAmi brAhmaNa section (Chapter 3, Section 7) of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, where he says:

"Such is the Lord, who controls from within, known as Narayana, who dwells from within the earth and controlls it, whom the earth-deity (prithvI) does not know. He is also the inner-controller of everyone, including you, myself, and all beings." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Bhashya 3.7.3)






Sureshvaracharya, another disciple of Adi Shankaracharya (as attested by himself in his works), confirms this further in the antaryAmi brAhmaNa section of his vArtika (metrical exposition) on Bhagavatpadacharya's commentary on the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:

"Krishna Dwaipayana (Veda Vyasa), desiring welfare for all creatures, has repeated this time and again: Lord Narayana is beyond the avyakta, the cosmic egg is born from it. Salutations to Lord Narayana, the inner-dweller of all the dEvatas (divinities created by the Lord). It is to Him that the Narayana chants in the Vedas are addressed to." (Brihadaranyaka Bhashyavartika, Verses 39-42 expounding Section 3.7)

Anandagiri or Anandaj~nAna, a medieval advaitic scholar and a disciple of shuddhAnanda, wrote a Tiika (gloss) on the vArttika. To the above, he says: "The author of the vArtika says that the glory of the Supreme Lord Narayana is evident not only from the purANic and Agamic texts, but also in the Vedas." Anandagiri then quotes the first verse in the Narayana Sukta of Taittiriya Aranyaka (Section 10.11) to his support.

The Acharyas of yore have thus praised the Lord as the Supreme Transcendental (beyond material existence) as well as Immanent (who pervades and controls everything) God. Such is his greatness, as understood in the Vedantic texts.

 (to be continued)

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