Vishnu-Parvathi controversy

[Guest guest]

>From Sri A. Bharat, resident of Bangalore, and frequent

attender of acharyas' discourses..

> Ram Gopalaswamy (gopalram) wrote:

> Tue, 6 Oct 1998 12:42:42 -0400 (EDT)

>

> Dear vaishNava-s,

>

> I keep hearing this fantastical story that Lord vishNu married away

> His sister, pArvatI to lord Siva.

>

> It seems to me like a story spun by mAyAvAdi-s.

>

> I wonder what vaidika-vaishNava's have to say about the story.

>

> -Ram

 

Dear Mani

 

With ref to the point raised (extract below) whether

Vishnu and Parvathi are related,our Gurus say as

follows:

 

This is the result of a later merging of two distinct

persons.As is known Krishna ordered Yogamaya to wrest

Balarama's garbha from Devaki and place it in Rohini's

womb;and also herself to be born of Yashoda in time

for exchange with Krishna.Later when Kamsa tried to

dash her against a stone she rose up into the sky

and mocked and warned him.This Yogamaya who was given

the boon of being worhshipped thenceforth, was Durga.

Since she was born of Yashoda and was also associated

with Devaki she is considered Krishna's sister.

 

Siva's wife as known traditionally and also through

recognized writers like Kalidasa was called Parvati.

She was Daksha's daughter Dakshayini in her previous

birth.She also became known as Uma and Aparna in

the second birth.

 

These two distinct persons were merged into one in

later Saiva literature.

 

Textual support for this is adequate.

 

(1) In SriVishnu Puranam at that point the following

names are given re Yogamaya:Arya,Durga,Vedagarbha,

Ambika,Bhadra,Bhadrakali Kshemada,Bhagyada.

 

(2) In Srimad Bhagavatam the following names are

given:Durga,Bhadrakali,Vijaya,Vaishnavi,Kumuda,Chandika,

Krshnaa,Madhavi,Kanyaka,Maaya,Narayani,Iisaani,Sarada,

Ambika.

 

It can be seen that the characteristic names of Siva's

wife are totally absent.

 

(3)Sri Andal in Nach.Tiru. calls Krishna's sister "Antari"

again referring to Yogamaya or Durga because she stood

in the sky(antaram) while she did her bidding.

(4)Periyazhvar calls her "Veyya Kalai-ppaagi" again

referring to Durga.

Thus there seems to be no reason to doubt that making

Parvati Vishnu's sister was a later concoction-

intentional or otherwise.

 

Incidentally there is another theory that Vishnu HIMSELF

is Parvati.I recently found that it owes its origin not

to a religious text but to a fairy tale.In fact the line

quoted by the Kanchi"Periyavar" in one of his lectures

occurs in KATHA SARIT SAGARA- Siva tells Parvati,"Yo hi

Narayanah sa tvam"!.

With best wishes

BHARAT

[Guest guest]

Mani Varadarajan wrote:

> With ref to the point raised (extract below) whether

> Vishnu and Parvathi are related,our Gurus say as

> follows:

>

> This is the result of a later merging of two distinct

> persons.As is known Krishna ordered Yogamaya to wrest

> Balarama's garbha from Devaki and place it in Rohini's

> womb;and also herself to be born of Yashoda in time

> for exchange with Krishna.Later when Kamsa tried to

> dash her against a stone she rose up into the sky

> and mocked and warned him.This Yogamaya who was given

> the boon of being worhshipped thenceforth, was Durga.

> Since she was born of Yashoda and was also associated

> with Devaki she is considered Krishna's sister.

 

There is a Durga stotra found in the mahAbhArata in the yuddha parva.

Before the yuddha, Krishna asks Arjuna to pray to durgA. The stotra has

the following lines:

 

gopendrasyAnuje nanda-gopa kulodhbhave |

 

[ ... ]

 

skandamAtar-bhagavatI durge kAntAra-vAsinI|

 

gopendrasyAnuje = sister of the lord of gopas (= Krishna)

skanda mAtA = mother of skanda.

 

These lines are found in the southern recension and the stotra is

somewhat popular in the advaita circles, at least followers of the

Sringeri Mutt (to which my family belongs). But, Jan Gonda says "A

typical instance is the durgAstava, existing in many versions (MBh. 4,6

B)", Medieval Religious Literature in Sanskrit, Otto

Harrosowitz-Weisbaden, page 233.

 

Also, refer footnote 12, page 233 "Cf, the Critical Edition, V, Poona

1936, p. 300", same book. I don't know if the lines I quoted are found

in the critical edition prepared by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research

Institute.

 

Rama

[Guest guest]

Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian wrote:

> There is a Durga stotra found in the mahAbhArata in the yuddha parva.

 

Sorry, that should be virATa parva. There is no yuddha parva in the MBh.

> Before the yuddha, Krishna asks Arjuna to pray to durgA. The stotra has

> the following lines:

>

> gopendrasyAnuje nanda-gopa kulodhbhave |

 

Another mistake I found, when I referred to the text after posting. The

line should read

 

gopendrasyAnuje jyeshhTe nanda-gopa kulodhbhave |

 

Hopefully there were no other mistakes.

 

Rama