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

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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, sa’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 Sa’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

Sa’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

mother’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 tathA’parrA |

Sveta dvIpe tRtIyA ca caturthI kshIra sAgare ||

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

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