Narayana Parathvam: I

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Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Recently, a devout Bhagavata requested adiyen to write about the

supremacy of Lord Narayana based on references from the Vedas,

Smrutis, and PuraNas. In response to this command, adiyen wrote a

multi-part series on the supremacy of Lord Narayana and is sharing

this series on the net.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

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This article discusses the supremacy of Lord Narayana as glorified

in the Vedas, Smrutis, Ithihasas, and PuraNas

 

The term Narayana is derived from the words Naaraanaam Ayanam and

Yesya Naaraaha Ayanam. Both of these deserve further examination.

Nara " means Vishnu (Naaraayana) because He is one who does not

perish. " Naara " means the entire universe composed of Chit

(sentient) & Achit (insentient) entities which originated

from " Nara " . Thus, " Naara " is the cause of the entire universe

having the subtle chit & achit as his body before creation and

creates them by giving expanded form and having the expanded chit

and achit as his body.

 

" Naaraanaam Ayanam " means " Naaraayana is the support for all chit

and achit " . This shows the " Bhahir Vyaapthi " - the manner in which

Naaraayana pervades the universe.

" Yesya Naaraaha Ayanam " means " Naaraayana is present inside all chit

and achit entities as the ultimate controller (anthar-yaamin, soul)

and owner (Seshi-Lord) of everthing. This shows the " Anthar

Vyaapthi " - the manner in which Naaraayana is present inside

everything.

The " NAakaara " (inflexion) at the end of the word " NaaraayaNA "

proves beyond doubt that the term " Naaraayana " is a proper noun

denoting the Lord of Goddess Lakshmi- who is Vishnu. This is

confirmed by the grammatical rule of the Vedas (Vyaakaranam - one

among the six accessories of the Veda) and by Paanini's sutra for

Sanskrit grammar. It is of significance to note that the renowned

critic Appiah Deekshitar (who was an extremely great scholar in the

16th century) undertook the exercise of proving that 1000 names of

the Vishnu Sahasranamam are applicable to Shiva. However, even he

could not do so since any other explanation of the word Narayana

violates the rules of Panini's grammar. We quote verbatim the words

of Sri Appiah Deekshitar in his Ananda Lahiri commentary.

" vEdhaviBhAgArThamEvAvathIrNEna sakalavEdhathAthparyABhigyEna

sarvajnyashirOmaNinA vEdhavyAsEna

pulasthyavaradAnalabDhadhEvathApAramArThyavEdhanEna shriparAsharENa

anyaIscha maharShiBhi: vEdhOpabrahmaNArTham praNIthEShu

shrimahaBhAratha vishNupurANAdhiShu nischithaparabrahma BhAvasya

sadBhi: sarvaIrapyaviBhAgEna parabrahmEthyEva pUjithasya

shrinarayaNasya kvachithkONE niviShtamanthrArThavAdha

purANavachanAdhilEshamavalambya jIvaBhAvam vakthum nAsmajjihvA

pravarthathE I

thaThA chEth mUrDhA cha shathaDhA Bhavathi I

vEdhavaIdhikadhrOhO dhEvathAdhrOhascha jAyathE I

athO nArAyaNa: parabrahmakOtirEvEthyasmAkam siDdhAntha: II

 

[Meaning: Our tongue would not rise to assert in the wake of a few

mantras, arthavadas, and puraNic statements found in some

insignificant place that Sri Narayana is a jiva since He has been

worshipped by sadhus as Godhead and has been confirmingly declared

as parabrahman in the Mahabharata, Vishnu-purana and other religious

works, which were composed solely for bringing out the essence of

Vedas by eminent sages like Vedavyasa, who classified and analysed

the vedas, and Parashara, who was blessed with the true knowledge

about Godhead by Sage Pulastya. If any such attempt were made, our

head would burst into a hundred pieces. We would be guilty of

treachery to the vedas, sages, and the deity itself. Therefore, it

is our considered opinion that Narayana alone qualifies for the

title of Godhead. ]

 

The two meanings of the term Narayana stated above reflect the

message of the Narayana sooktham Rk " anthar bahischa thath sarvam

vyApya nArAyaNa sthitha: " . The supremacy of Lord Narayana is

declared in the Narayana sooktham Rk " nArAyaNa param brahma tatthvam

nArAyaNa: para: " The above meanings of the word Narayana yield a

tertiary meaning which comes about due to the fact that Naaram-

denotes that which is impure, while ayanam can denote that which is

bereft of. Therefore, Narayana is one who is bereft of all

impurities and is majestically resplendent with his auspicious

qualities (kalyaNa guNams). Testimony in support of this fact can be

seen from the Narayana Upanishad salutation " nishkaLO niranjanO

nirvikalpO nirAKhyAtha: shuDdhO dhEva ekO Narayana: I na

dvithIyOsthi kaschith " Due to the equivalence of the terms Narayana

and Vishnu, further testimony from the vedas in support of the

supremacy of Lord Vishnu are provided below.

agnirvaI dhEvAnAmavamO viShNu: parama: ( aItharEya brAhmaNam 1-1)

agniravamO dhEvathAnAm viShNu: parama: (yajurvedam taittriya

samhithA 5-5-1-4)