Fwd: [SATCHITANAND] Gods with Multiple hands and heads

March 16, 2010

Dear learned members,My friend Mr. Paras wants to know (forwarded email below) the significane of multiple limbs to our deities such as Vishnu and Kali. I thought this group can enlighten me in this regard. Even If there is any reference, I can look up. Thanks very much in advance.Yours truly,Siva Sent from my iPhoneParas Garg <paras1602March 15, 2010 2:24:05 PM EDTSATCHITANAND Subject: [sATCHITANAND] Gods with Multiple hands and headsSATCHITANAND

Hi everyone,I have a question regarding the gods being depicted with many hands and heads. Lord Vishnu has 4 arms, God of Fire (Agni) have two heads seven hands and three legs, Lord Shiva has 5 heads, Saraswati with 4 hands and Lord Bramha with 4 head and 4 hands. What is the meaning behind it? Why is the depiction of god and goddesses so unique and different?

ThanksParas

March 18, 2010

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding the gods being depicted with many hands

and heads. Lord Vishnu has 4 arms, God of Fire (Agni) have two heads seven

hands and three legs, Lord Shiva has 5 heads, Saraswati with 4 hands and

Lord Bramha with 4 head and 4 hands. What is the meaning behind it? Why

is the depiction of god and goddesses so unique and different?

praNAms

Hare Krishna

I dont know whether anybody replied this mail...Here is

my take. IMO, one can give esoteric (or symbolical) philosophical meaning

to these numbers, who knows the significance of these numbers in veda-s.

For example lord's four hands & four heads as four veda-s (rigvedAdi

chaturveda), three legs of agni as three types of fire which agnihOtri-s

maintain (gArhapatya, Ahavaneeya & dakshiNAgni) his two faces as svadha

& svaha, his seven hands or seven tongues (saptajihva) as his multifarious

nature etc. But in short, multiple limbs to devata-s symbolically

shows the omnipresence (sarvavyApakatva) of the one truth in various forms...We,

the aspirants of vedAnta should not waste our time in counting the heads

& its accuracy :-))..Ofcourse nobody wants to measure the 'dashAngula'

& count the thousand heads & thousand eyes of veda purusha just

because veda saying he is sahasra sheersha purusha, sahasrAksha, sahasrapAt

etc....from these veda vAkya-s one should understand he is ultimately sarvavyApi

& one without second..

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar

March 18, 2010

Namaste.

Devatas have 3 forms namely: 1)Sthula 2) Sukshma 3) Para.

Para is of the nature of shuddha chaitanya; Sukshma is in the form of Mantra

Swarupa and Sthula is the gross form like we human beings having limbs etc. The

Mantra Drashtas (Seers) also called Rishis out of intense compassion have handed

down these mantras to the posterity for their upliftment. So, unless, we

understand the pulse of seers, we cannot appreciate their heart which is called

" rishi hridaya " and for that one needs a poetic heart. Remember, the Rg Veda

extols the Brahmanaspati as " Poet of Poets " .

Now, the sthula swarupa of the devata is visualised having limbs etc. and the

mode of visualisation & meditation is prescribed by that particular Seer of the

corresponding mantra. Attempt to " grasp the spirit of mantra drashtas " has

resulted in several bhashyas by scholars. What exactly is this spirit, nobody

knows, and hence Nasadiya sukta exclaims that " not even gods know this secret " .

For eg., Vamadeva perceived Siva with 5 faces and envisioned Panchakshari

Mantra. So, what exactly is the true essence of this is quite difficult to

grasp unless we " catch " the spirit of Sage Vamadeva. And this spirit is handed

down from generation to generation which is called " Guru Parampara " . If we take

Lord Siva for instance, His 5 faces denote 5 Amnayas ie., Uttara, Dakshina,

Purva, Pashma & Anuttara respectively. Entire mantra sastra has emanated from 5

faces of Siva that fall into these 5 categories only. The entire gamut of

Srividya falls into these 5 Amnayas. Similarly, the limbs ie., hands denote the

functional aspect of the deity because it is with the help of the hands only

that we are able to perform actions / functions. The weapons in the hands

denote the esoteric aspect behind their functionality. The weapons of Siva like

khaTwAnga denote the Prayaschita Karma; trishula denotes the Triputi Bhedana;

Kapala (skull) denotes the eternal union with Sakti (as per Mahamaheshwara

Abhinava Gupta Acharya (some scholars are of the view that it is Jagat); pasha

denotes the Jiva & Samsara Bandhana; parashu (axe) denotes the severing of this

Jiva bhAva; Khadga denotes the Jnana; fire denotes the Trika fire (pralaya agni)

through which He dissolves the Universe; Snake denotes the Time; Bell denotes

His nAdAtmaka tattva.

If we take the example of Divine Mother Lalitha, She holds 4 weapons (ayudhas)

in her 4 hands. They are Pasa (Noose), Ankusam (Goad), Kodanda (Bow) and Pancha

Pushpa Banaas (5 Arrows made of 5 types of flowers). Specific bijas and mantras

are associated with each ayudha. Mantra anushtana of those bijas are undertaken

for specific purposes. The Noose denotes rAga; Goad denotes krOdha; Bow denotes

Mind and 5 Arrows of 5 Flowers denotes 5 tanmAtrAs namely sabda, sparsha, rupa,

rasa, gandha. These 5 later alongwith 5 senses & 5 elements become the Jagat

(vide reference Sthula Panchikarana & Sukshma Panchikarana). Mother Herself

has transformed into this Jagat with the help of Lord Siva with this

panchikarana vidhana. Also, the Divine Mother makes us run after these sensual

pleasures (which are the 5 arrows) through the Mind. The experience of such a

sensual pleasure is considered by the Jiva to be " very sweet " and hence Mother

is seen to hold Sugarcane Bow which is the symbolical representation of " Sweet &

Pleasurable Experience of Senses through Mind " . Thus the Jiva gets trapped in

Samsara which is denoted by Noose in Her hand. Now, various vasanas attack the

Jiva in the form of rAga, dwesha. The by-product is dwesha which is denoted by

Goad in the hands of Mother.

Like this Divine Mother entangles us in the Samsara Bandhana which is

symbolically depicted with the weapons She holds in Her hands. Now, the same

weapons are used for one's upliftment also through the " Divine Grace " . If the

Grace of Mother works, She removes the Noose and unties the knot of ignorance;

withdraw the Goad, Bow & Arrows. These acts of Mother are called 5 acts namely

Srishti, Sthiti, Samhara, Tirodhana & Anugraha.

Corresponding mantras are there in Sarada Tilaka Tantra for these weapons of

Mother and I would not delve into it for fear of violating the norms of the

forum.

Similarly, if we take the case of Lord Narayana, His weapons like sudarshana,

sankha, gada denote His esoteric functional aspect and so on and so forth for

rest of the devatas like Subramanya, Ganapati etc.

Even the vahana (the vehicle) on which the deities ride has got symbolic

representation. Vrishabha of Siva denotes Dharma, Garuda of Vishnu denotes

Pranava (also the Samvatsara in the form of Uttarayana & Dakshinayana); Peacock

(sikhi) of Subramanya denotes Agni, Lion of Durga denotes Vishnu in the form of

Darma Devata; Mouse of Ganapati denotes the Tongue (since Ganapati is Lord or

Speech, Shri Ganapati Muni extols Mouse as His field of Operation –

Brahmanaspati or Vakpati); Swan of Saraswati denotes the Viveka Jnana (or the

Vital Breath in the form of Ham & Sa as Saraswati denotes the Prana tattva that

is ever-flowing in the form of Ajapa Mantra);

So, the reason behind my exhaustive explanation is that depending upon the

functional aspect of the deity visualized by the Seer, a dhyana sloka has been

envisioned that has been handed down to us by our ever-compassionate Rishis that

has to be understood correctly by the guru-parampara.

<< Ofcourse nobody wants to measure the 'dashAngula' & count>>>>

Just a side note on the above statement ie., " dashAmgulaM " .

The size of any finite element is expressed in terms of count of the fingers.

And the number of fingers of both the hands is 10. Since, Parama Purusha /

Paramatma is infinite and beyond the reach of our senses, the mantra drashta

describes the Purusha as " Beyond the reach of 10 fingers " .

There is also another version which is understood by a poetic heart. The Mantra

Drashta, out of exclamation, becoming poetic, exclaims the beauty and grandeur

of the Parama Purusha and in exclamation and surprise, he raises his both the

hands above. Out of ecstasy this mantra comes from the deep chasms of his heart

" athya tishtah dasangulam " ie., this purusha can't be measured with my hands.

Purusha sukta is a wonderful poetry describes the grandeur of the Supreme God,

the Antaryaga of the Devatas, the Evolution of Cosmos. The person / upasaka /

sadhaka who does the antaryaga of the devatas as mentioned in Purushasukta

attains the position of the Rashmis / Kiranas / Marichis / Rays emanating from

the Sun and become one with Parama Jyoti. " Marichinaam Padam Ichanti

Vedhasah...... "

Regs,

Sriram

advaitin , Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr wrote:

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I have a question regarding the gods being depicted with many hands and

> heads. Lord Vishnu has 4 arms, God of Fire (Agni) have two heads seven

> hands and three legs, Lord Shiva has 5 heads, Saraswati with 4 hands and

> Lord Bramha with 4 head and 4 hands. What is the meaning behind it? Why is

> the depiction of god and goddesses so unique and different?

>

> praNAms

> Hare Krishna

> I dont know whether anybody replied this mail...Here is my take. IMO, one

> can give esoteric (or symbolical) philosophical meaning to these numbers,

> who knows the significance of these numbers in veda-s. For example lord's

> four hands & four heads as four veda-s (rigvedAdi chaturveda), three legs

> of agni as three types of fire which agnihOtri-s maintain (gArhapatya,

> Ahavaneeya & dakshiNAgni) his two faces as svadha & svaha, his seven hands

> or seven tongues (saptajihva) as his multifarious nature etc. But in

> short, multiple limbs to devata-s symbolically shows the omnipresence

> (sarvavyApakatva) of the one truth in various forms...We, the aspirants of

> vedAnta should not waste our time in counting the heads & its accuracy

> :-))..Ofcourse nobody wants to measure the 'dashAngula' & count the

> thousand heads & thousand eyes of veda purusha just because veda saying he

> is sahasra sheersha purusha, sahasrAksha, sahasrapAt etc....from these

> veda vAkya-s one should understand he is ultimately sarvavyApi & one

> without second..

> Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

> bhaskar

>

March 18, 2010

Namaste,

advaitin , Bhaskar YR <bhaskar.yr wrote:

> thousand heads & thousand eyes of veda purusha just because veda saying he

> is sahasra sheersha purusha, sahasrAksha, sahasrapAt etc....from these

> veda vAkya-s one should understand he is ultimately sarvavyApi & one

> without second..

Swami Tattvavidananda explains in a pravachanaM that the clear example of

the vedokta 'shata, sahasra anantaM bhavati' (in vedic terminology, the

words 100, 1000 etc. are symbols for infinite) is in purushha sUkta itself.

When the purushha of purushha sUkta is described as sahasra-sIrshha, then,

if we are assuming an anthropomorphic vision of the seer, it should be

dvi-sahasra-aksha (2000 eyes), and dvi-sahasra-paadaH (2000 legs).

Instead, the vedic rishhi (not surprisingly named nArAyaNa, without a

father, as vedic rishhis have names in the format " X son of Y " ) says

sahasra-sIrshha, sahasra-aksha and sahasra-paadaH.

There is a single non-trivial number that satisfies the above property of

x=2x. It is infinity. Hence the devata of this sUkta is the infinite one.

That is the beauty of vedic formulation of putting infinity in daily prayer

chants!!!

My praNAmams to Swami-ji for beautiful pravachanaMs.

My thanks to the owners of the following websites for putting them online.

http://www.avgsatsang.org/hhstvs.html

Namaste

Ramakrishna

March 19, 2010

Thank you for that explanation Venkata-ji.

By the way, Are you or any of other esteemed members know about the history

and practice of putting Sanskrit tattoos (OM and other mantras) on one's

body. I see this once in a while and wonder whether this is a special trade

and/or part of a spiritual tradition.

I don't have any Sanskrit tattoos on me and have no plans to put any. But I

do see that sometimes on other people.

Thanks in advance.

Namaste and love to all

Harsha

advaitin [advaitin ] On Behalf

Of Venkata Sriram

Thursday, March 18, 2010 6:13 AM

advaitin

Re: Fwd: [sATCHITANAND] Gods with Multiple hands and

heads

Namaste.

Devatas have 3 forms namely: 1)Sthula 2) Sukshma 3) Para.

Para is of the nature of shuddha chaitanya; Sukshma is in the form of Mantra

Swarupa and Sthula is the gross form like we human beings having limbs etc.

The Mantra Drashtas (Seers) also called Rishis out of intense compassion

have handed down these mantras to the posterity for their upliftment. So,

unless, we understand the pulse of seers, we cannot appreciate their heart

which is called " rishi hridaya " and for that one needs a poetic heart.

Remember, the Rg Veda extols the Brahmanaspati as " Poet of Poets " .

Now, the sthula swarupa of the devata is visualised having limbs etc. and

the mode of visualisation & meditation is prescribed by that particular Seer

of the corresponding mantra. Attempt to " grasp the spirit of mantra

drashtas " has resulted in several bhashyas by scholars. What exactly is

this spirit, nobody knows, and hence Nasadiya sukta exclaims that " not even

gods know this secret " .

For eg., Vamadeva perceived Siva with 5 faces and envisioned Panchakshari

Mantra. So, what exactly is the true essence of this is quite difficult to

grasp unless we " catch " the spirit of Sage Vamadeva. And this spirit is

handed down from generation to generation which is called " Guru Parampara " .

If we take Lord Siva for instance, His 5 faces denote 5 Amnayas ie., Uttara,

Dakshina, Purva, Pashma & Anuttara respectively. Entire mantra sastra has

emanated from 5 faces of Siva that fall into these 5 categories only. The

entire gamut of Srividya falls into these 5 Amnayas. Similarly, the limbs

ie., hands denote the functional aspect of the deity because it is with the

help of the hands only that we are able to perform actions / functions. The

weapons in the hands denote the esoteric aspect behind their functionality.

The weapons of Siva like khaTwAnga denote the Prayaschita Karma; trishula

denotes the Triputi Bhedana; Kapala (skull) denotes the eternal union with

Sakti (as per Mahamaheshwara Abhinava Gupta Acharya (some scholars are of

the view that it is Jagat); pasha denotes the Jiva & Samsara Bandhana;

parashu (axe) denotes the severing of this Jiva bhAva; Khadga denotes the

Jnana; fire denotes the Trika fire (pralaya agni) through which He dissolves

the Universe; Snake denotes the Time; Bell denotes His nAdAtmaka tattva.

If we take the example of Divine Mother Lalitha, She holds 4 weapons

(ayudhas) in her 4 hands. They are Pasa (Noose), Ankusam (Goad), Kodanda

(Bow) and Pancha Pushpa Banaas (5 Arrows made of 5 types of flowers).

Specific bijas and mantras are associated with each ayudha. Mantra

anushtana of those bijas are undertaken for specific purposes. The Noose

denotes rAga; Goad denotes krOdha; Bow denotes Mind and 5 Arrows of 5

Flowers denotes 5 tanmAtrAs namely sabda, sparsha, rupa, rasa, gandha.

These 5 later alongwith 5 senses & 5 elements become the Jagat (vide

reference Sthula Panchikarana & Sukshma Panchikarana). Mother Herself has

transformed into this Jagat with the help of Lord Siva with this

panchikarana vidhana. Also, the Divine Mother makes us run after these

sensual pleasures (which are the 5 arrows) through the Mind. The experience

of such a sensual pleasure is considered by the Jiva to be " very sweet " and

hence Mother is seen to hold Sugarcane Bow which is the symbolical

representation of " Sweet & Pleasurable Experience of Senses through Mind " .

Thus the Jiva gets trapped in Samsara which is denoted by Noose in Her hand.

Now, various vasanas attack the Jiva in the form of rAga, dwesha. The

by-product is dwesha which is denoted by Goad in the hands of Mother.

Like this Divine Mother entangles us in the Samsara Bandhana which is

symbolically depicted with the weapons She holds in Her hands. Now, the

same weapons are used for one's upliftment also through the " Divine Grace " .

If the Grace of Mother works, She removes the Noose and unties the knot of

ignorance; withdraw the Goad, Bow & Arrows. These acts of Mother are

called 5 acts namely Srishti, Sthiti, Samhara, Tirodhana & Anugraha.

Corresponding mantras are there in Sarada Tilaka Tantra for these weapons of

Mother and I would not delve into it for fear of violating the norms of the

forum.

Similarly, if we take the case of Lord Narayana, His weapons like

sudarshana, sankha, gada denote His esoteric functional aspect and so on and

so forth for rest of the devatas like Subramanya, Ganapati etc.

Even the vahana (the vehicle) on which the deities ride has got symbolic

representation. Vrishabha of Siva denotes Dharma, Garuda of Vishnu denotes

Pranava (also the Samvatsara in the form of Uttarayana & Dakshinayana);

Peacock (sikhi) of Subramanya denotes Agni, Lion of Durga denotes Vishnu in

the form of Darma Devata; Mouse of Ganapati denotes the Tongue (since

Ganapati is Lord or Speech, Shri Ganapati Muni extols Mouse as His field of

Operation - Brahmanaspati or Vakpati); Swan of Saraswati denotes the Viveka

Jnana (or the Vital Breath in the form of Ham & Sa as Saraswati denotes the

Prana tattva that is ever-flowing in the form of Ajapa Mantra);

So, the reason behind my exhaustive explanation is that depending upon the

functional aspect of the deity visualized by the Seer, a dhyana sloka has

been envisioned that has been handed down to us by our ever-compassionate

Rishis that has to be understood correctly by the guru-parampara.

<< Ofcourse nobody wants to measure the 'dashAngula' & count>>>>

Just a side note on the above statement ie., " dashAmgulaM " .

The size of any finite element is expressed in terms of count of the

fingers. And the number of fingers of both the hands is 10. Since, Parama

Purusha / Paramatma is infinite and beyond the reach of our senses, the

mantra drashta describes the Purusha as " Beyond the reach of 10 fingers " .

There is also another version which is understood by a poetic heart. The

Mantra Drashta, out of exclamation, becoming poetic, exclaims the beauty and

grandeur of the Parama Purusha and in exclamation and surprise, he raises

his both the hands above. Out of ecstasy this mantra comes from the deep

chasms of his heart " athya tishtah dasangulam " ie., this purusha can't be

measured with my hands.

Purusha sukta is a wonderful poetry describes the grandeur of the Supreme

God, the Antaryaga of the Devatas, the Evolution of Cosmos. The person /

upasaka / sadhaka who does the antaryaga of the devatas as mentioned in

Purushasukta attains the position of the Rashmis / Kiranas / Marichis / Rays

emanating from the Sun and become one with Parama Jyoti. " Marichinaam Padam

Ichanti Vedhasah...... "