Monday, November 19, 2012

Narasimha-Purva-Tapini-Upanishath




tSmaTs àaeCyte iv:[uivRzexaRtae> àveznat!.
yasmat vishTam idam viSvam yasya Saktya mahAtmana: | tasmAtsa prOcyate vishNurviSerdhAto: praveSanAt || ISOpanishad would start as

$za vaSyimd‡ sv¡ yiTk jgTya< jgt!,
ISA vAsyam idam sarvam yat kin ca jagatyAm jagat | and reinforce this permeation. While elaborating all the creation by and from Him, tripAd vibhuti mahAnArayaNopanishat 2.4 would state:

kar[aTmk< sv¡ kayaRTmk< skl< naray[>,
kAraNAtmakam sarvam kAryAtmakam sakalam nArAyaNa: |

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Meaning:  Sriman nArAyaNa alone is the rUpam in all the creation and the reason for all this creation. Thus MahAvishNu impresses all with His radiance (jwalantam).



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"He is jwalantam" - SrI ugra nrsimha swAmy - Mayapur

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2.4 - MEANING OF JVALANTAM
ySmat! Svmihça svaRn! laekan! svaRn! devan! svaRnaTmn> svaRi[ ÉUtain Svtejsa Jvlit Jvalyit JvaLyte Jvalyte, sivta àsivta dIÝae dIpyn! dIPyman>, Jvln! Jvilta tpn! ivtpn! sNtpn! raecnae raecman> zaeÉn> zaeÉman> kLya[>, tSmaÊCyte JvlNtimit.



yasmAt svamahimnA sarvAn lokAn sarvAn devAn sarvAnAtmana: sarvANi bhUtAni svatejasA jvalati jvAlayati jvAlyate jvAlayate | savitA prasavitA dIpto dIpayan dIpyamAna: | jvalan jvalitA tapan vitapan santapan rocano rocamAna: Sobhana: SobhamAna: kalyANa: | tasmAducyate jvalantamiti || Meaning:  Because of His self mahima and His self prakASa (svayam jyOthi), He makes all worlds, devAs, all jIvAs, all bhUtAs shine and be brilliant. He makes the worlds and makes them multiply. He shines, and He makes everything shine. He is brilliance and makes everything brilliant. He is dIpam, is in the dIpam, and causes the dIpam to shine. He spreads the heat and makes the worlds 'suffer'. He spreads the rays and makes the rays spread. He is managala svarUpI. He is the cause of all mangalams. He is the kalyANa purushan. Hence it is said that He is 'jvalantam'.

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This mantram emphasizes the bright and visible aspects of the bhagavAn. The upanishats contain Aditya upAsana and jyoti upAsana as madhu vidyA. Thus the Lord is jyoti. SkandOpanishat even states that ‘sa eva jyotishamjyOti’ - He is light within the light, and BrhadAraNyaka upanishat 4.4.16 also agrees with it. So various bright and heat- and light-giving aspects of the Lord are emphasized through the word jvalantam. Sri Nrsimha is also combined with Sri SudarSana through the tattvam portrayed here. Sri Ramanuja would echo all His auspicious and awe-inspiring kalyaaNa guNaas throughout his bhAshyAs. His choicest phrases would resonate in many places as follows:



kalyANa guNagaNA...jn~Ana bala aisvarya vIrya Sakti tejas... This is also an axiom in Sri vaishNava siddhAntam. BhagavAn has many auspicious properties; among them balam, aisvaryam, vIryam, sakti, and tEjas are most noteworthy. Thus all His radiant qualities provide an inspiring basis for Sri vaishNava siddhAntam through Sri Ramanuja's bold expressions in Sri bhAshyam, especially in his extended commentary on the first sUtra, and through his bhakti rasAnubhavam that has poured into all his gadyams. The commentary also highlights a verse from yajur Vedam that is also used as an ASirvAda mantram in Sri vaishNava tradition even to this day. In this visible Universe, we have to meditate on the sUrya to realize Him fully as jvalantam. Thus the Chandogya upanishat elaborates on madhu vidyA. And that is also why we perform sandhyAvandanam and why some even perform dIpa pUja. Upanishatic seer would declare this rUpam as kalyANam in ISOpanishad 16 as follows:

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---VyUh rZmINsmUh tej>, yÄe êp< kLya[tm< tÄe pZyaim,
---vyUha raSmIn samUha teja: | yatte rUpam kalyANatamam tatte paSyAmi | ChAndogya upanishat would elaborate this jyOti further and declare in verse 3.13.7 that it shines in the midst of all as

Aw ydt> prae idvae JyaeitdIRPyte ivñt> p&óe;u svRt>


p&óe:vnuÄme;UÄme;u laekei:vd< vav t*iddmiSmÚNt> pué;e Jyaeit> .
atha yadata: paro divo jyoti: dIpyate viSvata: prshTheshu sarvata: prshTheshvanuttameshUttameshu lokeshvidam vAva tadyadidamasminnanta: purushe jyoti: || Meaning:  Beyond all the lokAs this svayam jyOti shines lording over everything else… This jvalantam exists everywhere as reinforced by mahAnArAyanopanishat 1.2.2 and similarly by SvetASvatara upanishat 4.2:

tdevai¶StdaidTyStÖayuStÊ cNÔma>, tdev zu³< td! äü tdapStTàjapit>.
tadeva agni: tadAditya: tat vAyu: tadu candramA: |

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tadeva Sukram tad brahma tat Apa: tat prajApati: || Meaning:  It alone is agni, sUrya, vAyu, candrA, the whitish stars, the brahmA, the water, and the prajApati. AzhvArs would second these Vedic thoughts in many places in the divya Prabandham. For example tiruvAymozhi 3-3-4 and 3-4-5 would end and start as follows:

என் கண் பாசம் ைவத்த பரஞ்சுடர் ேசாதிக்ேக



en kaN pAsam vaitta param sudar cOtikkE

ேசாதியாகி எல்லா உலகும் ெதா ம் ஆதி
cOti Aki ellA ulakum tOzhum Adi mUrtti And tiruvAymozhi 10-10-10 would say:

ர்த்தி

சூழ்ந்ததனில் ெபாிய பரநன் மலர்ச்ேசாதிேயா
sUzhtatanil periya para nanmalar cOtiyO He is Govindan – Go also means Jyoti or flame – Hence He is the seed within the flame, i.e. He is what is in jyOti. This shining light is also multifaceted and that takes us to His next name: sarvatO mukham.

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2.5

-

MEANING OF SARVATO MUKHAM

ySmadiniNÔya=ip svRt> pZyit svRt> ï&[aeit svRtae gCDit svRt AadÄe s svRg> svRtiStóit, @k> purSta* #d< bÉUv ytae bÉUv ÉuvnSy gaepa>, ymXyeit Éuvn< sa yasmAt anindriyo api sarvata: paSyati sarvata: SruNoti sarvato gacchati sarvata Adatte sa sarvaga: sarvata: tishThati | eka: purastAdya idam babhUva yato babhUva bhuvanasya gopA: | yamadhyeti bhuvanam sAmparAyo namAmi tamaham sarvatomukham | tasmAducyate sarvato mukhamiti || Meaning:  He sees and also hears everything and everywhere without indriyAs, goes everywhere, absorbs everything in Himself, manifests in everything and is in everything. Hence it is said that He is sarvatomukham. In the beginning He was the only One. Later He became everything. Those protecting the worlds originated from Him. Everything rests in Him finally. I salute Him who has faces everywhere. The concept exhibited here is a very big one indeed. This can be considered as a condensation of the vaiSvAnara vidyA.



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"He is sarvato mukhan!" (SrI lakshmInrsimha SwAmy - YadagiriguTTa) 26


The Universe is considered as a grand composite object consisting of the mula purusha and prAkrti, stars, moon, earth, human beings, and everything else figuratively glued together through His will and mahimA. Hence the Purusha sUktam starts as

shözI;aR pué;>, shöa]> shöpat!, s ÉUim< ivñtae v&Tva,
sahasra SIrsha purusha:| sahasrAksha: sahasra pAt| sa bhUmim viSvato vrtva|



And the nArAyanA sUktam starts as

shözI;¡ dev< ivña]< ivñzMÉuvm!,
sahasra SIrsham devam viSvAksham viSva Sambhuvam | When we see He sees. When we hear He hears. When we breath He breaths. When we speak He speaks. When we act He acts. Even while He exists, He has no indriyas of His own as we know them. All our indriyas are His and whatever action we perform is His action. SvetASvatara upanishat 2.16 would state this tattvam as follows:

@;ae h dev> àidzae=nu svaR> pUvaeR h jat> s % gÉeR ANt>, s @v jat> s jin:yma[> àTy'!jna.
esho ha deva: pradiSoanu sarvA: pUrvo ha jAta: sa u garbhe anta: | sa eva jAta: sa janishyamANa: pratyang janAmstishThati sarvatOmukha: ||

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Meaning:  This devA alone exists in all directions. It is He who originated in the beginning (as HiraNyagarbhan). He is alone in all the seeds. He is the born, yet to be born, and exists in all those that are born and as the one with faces everywhere. SvetASvatara upanishat 3.3 and taittrIya upanishat nArAyaNavalli and a viSvedeva rk would again state this tattvam more elaborately as follows:

ivñtí]uuét ivñtaemuoae ivñtae bahuét ivñtSpat!, s< bahu_ya< xmit s.



viSvada: cakshuruta viSvatomukho viSvato bAhuruta viSvataspAt | sam bAhubhyAm dhamati sampatatrai:dyAvA bhUmI janayan deva eka: || Meaning:  He exists with eyes everywhere, mouths everywhere, hands everywhere, and legs everywhere. He is the Only one and He has also given the men their hands and the birds their wings and has created even all that is in the sky. That is why the Bhagavad gIta preaches selfless actions since we should not think that we are performing these acts. Whenever we do something, it is His action, and we are doing it on behalf of Him. That is also why we perform Atma samarpaNam and kArya samarpaNam at the end of vedic rituals and pUjAs in order to remind ourselves that we are a part of Him and that He guides our actions. Sri Desika would mention that all our indriyas are used by Him by saying in SriI kAmAsikAshTakam verse 5 'svAtina sarvendriya:' meaning that He uses whatever indriyam (from us) as He pleases.

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The Bhagavad gIta devotes a whole chapter, adhyAyA 11, to explain this concept of His divine rUpam. Despite His presence in everywhere and everything, he remains untouched by all this and enjoys the best rasAs in everything – so Sri nArAyana BhattAtiri would utter in nArAyaNeeyam verse 99-8:

deheiNÔyaid:vaivòae ýuÌtTvadm&tmuors< canuÉu']e Tvmev !
dehendriyAdishu AvishTo hi udgatatvAt amrta mukha rasam ca anubhumkshe tvameva



Meaning:  Even though you reside in all our bodies and indriyAs, you still remain to stay away from us even as you drink the amrta raSam from all the best we can offer. The Mantra rAja pada Stotram would echo the same tatvam:

sveRiNÔyErip ivna sv¡ svRÇ svRda, yae janait nmaMya*< tmh< svRtaemuom!.
sarvendriyairapi vinA sarvam sarvatra sarvadA | yo jAnAti namAmyAdyam tamaham sarvatomukham || Since He is vaiSvAnara, He exhibited this concept in a small way by incarnating as the nrsimha avatAram when the situation called for His mahima. Hence the next word in the mantram, nrsimham.

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"He is nrsimham!"

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2.6 - MEANING OF NRSIMHAM
ySmat! sveR;a< ÉUtana< vIyRtm> ïeótmí is ïeótmí tSmaÚ&is Stvte vIyaRy m&gae n ÉIm> k…crae igiróa>, ySyaeé;uu iÇ;u iv³m[e:vix i]yiNt Éuvnain ivña, tSmaÊCyte n&is


yasmAt

sarveshAm

bhUtAnAm

vIryatama:

SreshThatamaSca

simhamo

vIryatama: SreshThatamaSca tasmAt nrsimha AsIt parameSvaro jagat hitam vA etat rUpam aksharam bhavati | pratadvishNu: stavate vIryAya mrgo na bIma: kucaro girishThA: | yasyorushu trishu vikramaNeshvadhi Kshiyanti bhuvanAni viSva | tasmAducyate nrsimhamiti || Meaning:  Of all beings the lion is the most powerful and loftiest (considering power and loftiness together). So the Lord took the (man) lion avatAr. This endless rUpam come to perform good deeds to the worlds. Hence it is said that He is Nrsimham. This mahAvishNu having a lot of vIryam and coming in the mruga rUpam is not a source of fear for the bhaktas. He is instead worshipped by them. He is the one who exists as one who performs sancAram in this world and lives (even) in the mountains. In His trivikrama avatAr He covered all the worlds in three steps. Thus this verse connects the lines from the VishNu sUktam with the nrsimha 31


tattvam. It interprets the word 'mrga' as lion. Compare gIta verse 10.30 'mrgANAm ca mrgendro(a)ham'. Also compare a verse from AsIrvAda panchati 'paSavo vIro mrga:'. Vedic seer saw this bold person as a diamond among the lions. This commentary also highlights a verse in VishNu PurANam. In this verse it is said that the bhaktas are not afraid of Him. This portrays the situation where Sri PrahlAda calms the Lord after HiraNyakasipu vadam while all the devas watching Him were shivering with fear after having taken a look at His rUpam. The Lord even touched the bAlA's head and stroked his hair and blessed him with His AsIrvAdam.



However, in a humorous way perhaps, many acetanas in this Universe and even early Vedic gods are said to follow His orders with 'fear’ and respect. Without such fear, chaos will prevail owing to aberrations in intended paths and actions or His precise intentions behind the inner working of this universe will not be strictly followed. Such a situation leads to the next word in the mantra rAjA, BhIshaNam.

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2.7 - MEANING OF BHISHANAM
ySma*Sy êp< †:q!va sveRlaeka> sveR deva> svaRi[ ÉUtain ÉITya playNte Svy< yt> k…tiíÚ ibÉeit, ÉI;aSmaÖat> pvte ÉI;aedeit sUyR>, ÉI;aSmadi¶íeNÔí m&TyuxaRvit pÂm>, tSmaÊCyte ÉI;[imit.
yasmAt asya rUpam drshTva sarve loka: sarve devA: sarvANi bhutAni bhItyA palAyante svayam yata: kutaScinna bibheti | bhIshAsmAdvAta: pavate: bhIshodeti sUrya: | bhIshAsmAt agni: ca indra: ca mrtyurdhAvati pancama: | tasmAducyate bhIshaNamiti || Meaning:  His rupAm causing fear in the all the worlds, all devAs, all bhutAs and making them run with fear, yet He being not afraid of anything, is called bhIshaNam, One who causes fear. The air swirls around because it is afraid of Him (and hence follows His orders); the sUrya is afraid of Him and does his job out of fear. And even agni and Indra and as the fifth enumerated here, the yama, are afraid of Him and do their duties. This description can also be considered as a commentary on taittrIya upanishat Ananda valli verse 8.0. This upanishat exhorts that the way to live without fear is to have Him in our minds all the time. 33



"He is bhIshaNam"

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In one sense this explanation enforces the fact that He rules all the worlds through His careful design - a design with precision far beyond our imagination. He appears in the terrorizing form because He is also vaiSvAnara and chose to exhibit this tattvam in a small way through this Nrsimha rUpam. However the bhaktas who know Him and hold Him dearly in their hearts will have no fear. Per taittrIya upanishat Anandavalli verse 4.0,

AanNd< äü[ae ivÖan!, n ibÉeit kdacneit,
Anandam brAhmano vidvAn | na bibheti kadAcaneti | A veda bhAshyam would say: darSana mAtreNa virodInAm bhayahetu | Meaning:  The enemies will get very fearful once they get a glance at him – He stirs fears in the enemies of the righteous. In general His intention is not to cause fear. His intention is to perform good deeds. He considers all our welfare, because He is sat and mahAvishNu. To emphasize this fact, the next word in the mantra is put in carefully. This word leads the bhaktAs to feel safe by telling them that He is looking after our welfare since He is all auspiciousness - He is Mangalam or Bhadram.



"He is bhadram" SrI lakshmInrsimha swAmy - Kikere, Karnataka

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2.8 - MEANING OF BHADRAM
ySmat! ÉÔae ÉUTva svRda ÉÔ< ddait raecnae raecman> zaeÉn> zaeÉman> kLya[>, ÉÔ< k[eRiÉ> ïu[uyam deva> ÉÔ< pZyema]iÉyRjÇa>, iSwrEr Vyzem deviht< ydayu>, tSmaÊCyte ÉÔimit.
yasmAt bhadro bUtva sarvadA bhadram dadAti rocano rocamAna: Sobhana:



SobhamAna: kalyANa: | bhadram karNebhi: SruNuyAma devA: bhadram paSyemAkshabhiryajatrA: | sthirairangai: tushTuvAgum-stanUbhi: vyaSema devahitam yadAyu: | tasmAducyate bhadramiti || Meaning:  Since He is all bhadram (all good things and all mangalam) and since he provides for all the good things and since He shines and makes everything shine and since He is Sobhana and the cause of Sobhanam in everything and since He is also all auspiciousness in the sense of kalyANa guNa svarUpi, it is said that He is bhadram. DevAs! We should hear (that) bhadram with our ears. Oh the worshipped! We should see that bhadram with our eyes. With bodies having healthy angams let us keep worshipping You and live forever worshipping You. This verse says how to achieve dharma in our lives - by hearing, speaking and worshipping the bhadram. This also amplifies the meaning of the Rg and atharva veda sAnti Mantras by associating the concept of bhadram with Sri Nrsimha nArAyaNa himself.

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It should also be noted that MahA nArAayNopanishat mantram refers to "bhadram":

ivñain dev sivtÊRirtain prasuv, yÑÔ< tNm Aasuv,
viSvAni deva savitur duritAni parAsuva | yadbhadram tanma Asuva| Oh savitur (sUrya) devA! Please bless us by removing our sins. Whatever is bhadram or lofty shall reach us (from all directions) and bless us. The term bhadram is highlighted in rk 1.89.8 embedded in the commentary above and in the entire AnO bhadrA sUktam and in many other rks.



We do not know what this bhadram is well ahead of its time. So we pray in time that we should attain (only) good things (bhadram) in our lives. The most superior bhadram is Him, and He makes other bhadrams possible. His power to grant sarva mangalam and bhadram to those who surrender to him is also echoed in the mantra rAja pada stotram:

svaeR=ip y< smaiïTy skl< ÉÔmîute, iïya c ÉÔya juòae ySt< ÉÔ< nmaMyhm!.
sarvoapi yam samASritya sakalam bhadramaSnutE | SriyA ca bhadrayA jushTo yastam bhadram namAmyaham || The power of this Lord is such that He removes the mrtyu and apamrtyu of his bhaktAs as soon as they sincerely think and worship Him. Thus He is mrtyu of mrtyu for His bhaktAs. This concept is indicated by the next word in the mantra rAjA, mrtyum-mrtyum.

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2.9 - MEANING OF MRTYUM-MRTYUM
ySmat! Svmihça SvÉ´ana< Sm&t @v m&Tyu-mpm&Tyu< c maryit, y AaTmda blda ySy ivñ %paste àivz< ySy deva>, ySy Dayam&t< yae m&Tyum&Tyu> kSmE devay hiv;a ivxem, tSmaÊCyte m&Tyum&Tyuimit.
yasmAt svamahimnA svabhaktAnAm smrta eva mrtyu-mapamrtyum ca mArayati|



ya AtmadA baladA yasya viSva upAsate praviSam yasya devA: | yasya chAyAmrtam yo mrtyumrtyu: kasmai devAya havishA vidhema | tasmAducyate mrtyumrtyumiti || Meaning:  Just by His svamahima He eliminates the mrtyu (death) and apamrtyu (untimely death) of His baktAs just as soon as they think about him, it is said that He is mrtyum-mrtyum. He provides us the Atma. He provides us strength. All devas surrender unto Him and worship Him. Let us satisfy Him whose shadow itself is amrutam and who is the mrtyu of mrtyu through the havis of our yajn~As. The result of His worship is the liberation and the moksha that His bhaktAs direly want. This concept is portrayed by the term mrutyum-mrutyum. sUktam. The fact that not only the baktAs but also the mumukshus and the devAs worship Him is indicated by the next and the final term of the mantra rAjA. The commentary highlights rk 10.8.121.2 and perhaps the entire HiraNyagarbha

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"He is mrtyum-mrtyum" SrI jwAlanrsimha swAmy, Ahobilam

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Upanishats uniformly declare that realizing Him as the AtmA in all of us is the only way to liberation from mrtyu. Thus He is mrtyu-mrtyu.



Hiranyavadam sculpture found in Belur Temple

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"He is namAmi" SrI gunjanrsimha swAmy - Narsipur, Karnataka

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2.10 - MEANING OF NAMAMI
ySma*< sveRdeva nmiNt mumu]vae äüvaidní, à nUn< äü[SpitmRNÇ< vdTyu´m!, yiSmiÚNÔae vé[ae imÇae AyRma deva Aaeka yasmAdyam sarve devA namanti mumukshavo brahmavAdinaSca |



pra nunam brahmaNaspatir mantram vadatyuktam | yasmin indro varuNo mitro aryamA devA okAmsi cakrire | tasmAducyate namAmIti || Meaning:  All devAs, mumukshus, and brahmavAdis worship Him suitably using various mantras according to their style. Hence it is said that He is namAmi. Even Indra, varunA, mitra, and aryamA dwell in Him only. It can be considered that this explanation unites the polytheistic approach of the early vedAs into the Sri Nrsimha nArAyanA worship by saying that He is the indweller of even the famous gods of the early vedAs. He is also namAmi in the sense He is the most eligible for our salutation and worship. The commentary here highlights the brahmaNaspati rk 1.40. BrhadAraNyaka Upanishat 4.4.16 declares that

deva Jyaeit;a< JyaeitrayuhaeRpaste=m&tm!,
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devA jyotishAm jyotir Ayu: upAsate amrtam | Meaning:  devAs worship this jyoti within jyoti as AtmA and amrtam or parabrahmam. Sri SampradAyam would instruct us to salute Him as (PraNavam) nArAyanAya namO

He is also Govindan – Go means Vedas or Saluations – He is the seed and the real recipient of the Vedic salutations, yagnyas and stothrams irrespective of the immediate object or devatha of worship. Sri nrsimha pancAmrta stotram by Sri Rama would say in verse 3:



devaSsmSta> olu yaeigmuOya> gNxvR iv*axr ikÚraí, yTpadmUl< stt< nmiNt t< naris devAsamastA: khalu yogi mukhyA: gandharva vidyAdhara kinnarASca | yatpAdamUlam sadatam namanti tam nArasimham Saranam gatoasmi || Sri yAmucArya would declare He and His pAdAravindam are only the rightful objects of worship in stotraratnam verse 6 as follows:

yNmUi×R me ïuitizrSsu c Éait yiSmn!
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ASmNmnaerwpw> skl> smeit, Stae:yaim n> k…lxn< k…ldEvt< tt! padarivNdmrivNdivlaecnSy.
yan mUrdhni me Sruti-Sirassu ca bhAti yasmin asmat manorathapatha: sakala: sameti | stoshyAmi na: kuladhanam kuladaivatam tat pAdAravindam aravinda vilocanasya || That He is incessantly thought about and worshipped is portrayed by the famous rk and mangala slokam:



tiÖ:[ae> prm< pd< sda pZyiNt sUry> idvIv c]urattm!, tiÖàasae ivpNyvae jag&va~ sSsimNxte, iv:[ae yRt! prm< pdm!. pyaRÞya AnNtrayay svRStaemaeit raÇ %Ämmh ÉRvit svRSyaÞyE svRSy ijTyE svRmev tenaßaeit sv¡ jyit.
tadvishNo: paramam padam sadA paSyanti sUraya: divIva cakshurAtatam | tadviprAso vipanyavo jAgrvAgum sassamindhate | vishNor yat paramam padam ||

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paryAptyA

anantarAyAya

sarvastomoti

rAtra

uttama

mahar

bhavati

sarvasyAptyai sarvasya jityai sarvameva tenApnoti sarvam jayati || Thus He is namAmi.



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3. NIGAMAGAMA RASAMALAYAM
The upanishatic commentary and adiyEns’ interpretation largely derive from rg, yajur and atharva vedams. The rishi might have felt that sAma vedam seems to have been left out. So he concludes his exposition in the first adhyAya of this Upanishat by reciting the taittrIya upanishat rendering of a famous sAman:

AhmiSm àwmja \ta 3 Sy, pUv¡ deve_ya Am&tSy na 3 Éaiy, yaema ddait s #dev ma 3 va>, AhmÚmÚmdNtma 3 iÒ, Ah< ivñ< Éuvnm_yÉaþa 3 m!, suvnR JyaetI>, y @v< ved, #Tyupin;t!,
ahamasmi prathamajA rutA 3 sya | pUrvam devebhyo amrtasya nA 3 bhAyi | yomA dadAti sa ideva mA 3 vA: | ahamannamanna madantamA 3 dmi | aham viSvam bhuvanamabhya baahvA 3 m | suvarna jyotI: | ya evam veda | ityupanishat | Thus mantra rAja and the upanishat commentary portray Sri nrsimhA as sarva nigama rasAm through mantra rAjA. If we include ahirbudhnya samhita and the famous mantra rAja pada stotram in it and all other sath AgamAs, we can verily enjoy Sri Nrsimha as sarva nigamAgama rasAmAlayam. prabandham and all other sath sampradAya Sri sUktis. So let us summarize this tattvam paraphrasing a famous slOkam in Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.1.3: This is indeed the anubhavam one obtains from all the vedAs, Srimad BhAgavatam, divya



SrI lakshmInrsimha swAmy Hedathale, Karnataka

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ingmagm kLptrae gi¦t< )l< mÙ rajm!, ipbt he risk> ïIn&isMh tap[Iy rsmalym!.
nigamAgama kalpataro gaLitam phalam mantra rAjam | pibata he rasika: SrInrsimha tApaNIya rasamAlayam: || The original slOkam of Srimad BhAgavatam is:

ingmkLptraegRi¦t< )l<< zukmuoadm&tÔvs


ipbt Éagvt< rsmaly< muhurhaeriska Éuiv Éavuka>.
nigamAgama kalpataro gaLitam phalam SukamukAd mrtadrava samyutam | pibata bhAgavatam rasamAlayam muhurahOrasikA bhuvi bhAvukA:|| Meaning of the paraphrased slOkam :  mantra rAjA is the ripened fruit of vedAgama kalpataru. It is (and describes) the sweet nectar (Sriman nArAyanA). Oh rasikas! Always drink and relish this amruta rasam.

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SrI MAlOlan - SrI MaTham

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4. SRI LAKSHMINRSIMHA TATTVAM
The pUrva tApini Upanishat describes elaborately other esoteric aspects of the Mantra Raja set to anushTup meter. Especially it mentions that there are four angams to this mantram. They are: 1. PraNavam, 2. SavitrI (grNi: sUrya Aditya), 3. Yajur Maha LakshmI GAyatrI (Mantram), and 4. Sri nrsimha GAyatrI (Mantram). Thus the Sri Lakshmi is carried by Sri Lakshmi nrsimhan symbolically. The Yajur Maha LakshmI GAyatrI is



(à[vm!) ÉUlRúmI> ÉuvlRúmI> suv> kalki[R, tÚae lúmI> àcaedyat!.
(PraNavam) bhurlakshmI: bhuvarlakshmI: suva: kAlakarNi | tanno lakshmI: pracodayAt || The Narasimha GAyatrI is

(à[vm!) nris àcaedyat!.
(PraNavam) narsimhAya vidmahe vajranakhAya dImahi | tanno narasimha: pracodayAt ||

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This upanishat also asserts: gAyatri vA itam sarvam yatitam kincha | tasmAdya etAm mahAlaksmIm yajuShIm veda mahatIm sriyamaSnute | ityeshA vai nrsimha gAyatrI vedAnAm devAnAm nidAnam bhavati | ya evam veda | Meaning:  All this world is the gAyatrI rUpam only. So he who realizes this yajur lakshmi gAyatrI will attain the greatest pride and wealth. Nrsimha gAyatrI is also the



home of all vedAs and devAs. So says the vedam. The sath sAmpradAyam asserts that SrI is an indivisible part of the Purushottaman. Thus wherever there is nrsimha nArAyanA there is also SrI MahAlakshmi. Moreover the upanishat instructs that the cakrAs of this mode of worship are Sri Sudarsana cakra and SrI cakra, and the devis of this upAsana include all the devis especially SrI Lakshmi devi. Thus SrI Lakshmi nrsimha tattvam can be traced back to its roots. Let all the gAyatrIs along with the Mantra Raja and other potent Vedic slokAs help us realize our divine powers and attain eternal salvation. Let us meditate on Sriman nArAyaNA and Sri Lakshmi nrsimhA and offer our sincere prayers.

. devae n> zuÉmatnaetu, yÑÔ< tNm Aasuv>. . (à[vm!) zaiNt> zaiNt> zaiNt>.
|| devo na: SubhamAtanotu | yadbhadram tanma Asuva: || || (PraNavam) Saanti: Saanti: Saanti: || 52


REFERENCES
1. Various writings on upanishats including those written by Sri Anna 2. Rg Veda by Griffith and other sources on vEdas 3. Sri NityAnusandAnam 4. Divya Prabandham 5. Sri Desika stotramAla by VaikuNTha vAsi Oppliappan Koil Sri U. Ve. V. N. Ramadesikachariar Swamy


6. SrI nArAyaNeeyam 7. Stotraratna of SrI yAmunAcarya by Swami AdidEvAnandA 8. Sri Bhagavat Gita 9. Srimad BhAgavatam 10. Sri Mantra rAja Padha stOtram - 42nd ebook- http://www.Srihayagrivan.org

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Sindhudurg Narasimha Ramtek research article part 2




Analysed text: sarasvatT/ trivikramapadodbhutd vandanTyd sarvajiasyd(pi>) irasd rasalam.krtisobhand// kdmadevasutah
rngadevas tarkikasekharah/ trivikramakavervddyo nauti srTnrharim sadd// simhanardjyesdrva(ri>vatsare/ anigamvaikalyatdmeti rdme (')bhaktasya sarvadd/2/ samudgayamaka A.D. 1240.13

The text is a mixture of verse (sloka) and prose (i.e. ofgadya and padya). The verses appear to contain several double-entendres (slesa), whereas the last hemistich is to be read twice (indicated by the figure 2 between dandas) in a different way in order to make a complete sloka verse. This is made explicit by the prose statement that it should be understood as a samudgayamaka,i.e. that the same aksaras can be grouped into two ways yielding different, in fact opposite meanings.14 Thus we can read: vaikalyatam... 'bhaktasya or vai kalyatdm ... bhaktasya. The text testifies to the pilgrimage to Ramtek and worship of Narasimha (the deity of the temple in which the inscription is found) by a certain Sa(?)rngadevason of Kamadeva. The Srinrhariwho is praised may, besides the obvious Narasimha, also be the Yadava king Simhana whose name marks him as a' lion among men '. Sarngadeva is called tdrkikasekhara,which excludes the possibility of his being identical with the musician Sarfigadeva, author of the who worked at the court of the Yadava king Simhana and SamgTtaratndkara, whose father we know to have been Soddhala.'5 The first sloka is an invocation of the goddess Sarasvati. When we resolve the slesa, however, we read the poet's own praise. Moreover, it would seem that the philosopher and poet in referring
2cf. Med. Ind. Pal., 11,'Nagari' (W. & S. India, Yadava, 13th century). One of the few deviations appears to be the alternative form of ra. 13 Swamikannu Pillai, 1982, table 1. '4 Lienhart, 1984, 186. 15Samgltaratndkara 1. 5.




to Sarasvati's (Goddess of Learning, i.e. 'learning') descent from Trivikrama (i.e. Visnu) are making a pun on their own lineage. It is well-known that the members of the distinguished and learned family that traced its origin back to Trivikrama held important offices at the court of the Yadavas, notably Cafigadeva, who was the astronomer of king Simhana. 6 Sarfigadevacould have been a member of the family. This ancestral Trivikrama, who belonged to the Sandilya gotra, is called kavicakravartin 'Prince of the Poets' in the Patna inscription,'7 and he is, in all likelihood, identical to the author of the viz. Trivikramabhatta, who flourished at the Nalacampu or DamayantTkathd, beginning of the tenth century A.D.'8This excludes the possibility that the poet Trivikrama mentioned in the present inscription who is said to sing the praise of Sarfigadeva, which might be taken to mean that Sarngadeva commissioned him to compose this inscription for him, is the same as the ' Prince of the Poets ' who wrote the Nalacampu. Consequently, there were two poets Trivikrama, one living in the tenth century, the other in the middle of the thirteenth. Like the first, the second Trivikrama apparently made use of the campu style of composition. This result with respect to agrees perfectly with the results of an investigation of Mirashi 19 the author of the Maddlasdcampu,who earlier had been generally held to be identical with his namesake, the author of the Nalacampu. Mirashi has argued convincingly that the poet Trivikrama who wrote the Madalasacampu,and who was a devotee of Visnu rather than of Siva as was the author of the Nalacampu, was not the author of the Nalacampu, who in his introduction 'tells us that he was born in the Sandilya gotra and was the son of Devaditya (v. 1. Nemaditya) and grandson of Sridhara.' 20 According to Mirashi, the second Trivikrama, who does not give any particulars about his descent in his work the Madalasacampu, is 'much inferior' as a poet and wrote 'apparently in a much later age .21 If our identification of the poet Trivikrama of the inscription with the author of the Maddlasdcampuis correct, this ' later age' can now be determined as the middle of the thirteenth century, he may have been also the author of a verse quoted in Jalhana's SiuktimuktdvalT 172, v. 13)22, which was composed (p. in the court of the Yadavas in A.D. 1258. The possible hint at Trivikramabhatta in the first sloka of the inscription makes it conceivable that the second Trivikrama was well aware of his illustrious predecessor whose style he sought to imitate. Finally, in the third verse the inscription testifies to the importance that was attached by that time to the worship of Rama. Apart from the samudgayamaka, this verse, like the first two, may also contain a slesa, since' Rama' was also the name of the chief general of king Simhana who had succeeded his father Kholesvara in his military profession and who was killed in an expedition against Gujarat in the year of the present inscription or shortly before it.23
16EI, I(1892), 338-46; Pingree, 1970-81, III, 39f. 17 I, 340, 343. EI, ,8Kielhorn in EI, i, 340; Bhandarkar, in EI, ix (1907-8), 28; Yazdani, 1960, i, 596; Lienhart, 1984, 267. '9Mirashi, 1964 b. 20ibid., p. 2. 21 ibid., p. 6; cf. Lienhart, 1984, 268. 22 See Sternbach, 1978-80, 387, s.v. 'Trivikrama II'. 23Amba Inscription (A.D. 1240) in Arch. Survey of Western India, IIl, 85-93 (by Biihler). A similar double-entendre is found in the Amba inscription which records the erection of a RamaNarayana temple to commemorate the death of general 'Rama' who is praised by his aunt (Laksmi) in the following ambiguous words: p(r)audhas tyage sa ramo nayavinayaviddm agraganyas sa rdmo sauryasvami sa ramo sa sa harapadakamaladhydnadhlrah rdmah. lanikhddhlsas rdma
jakulasaraso rdjahamsahsa rdmah //38//

Sindhudurg Narasimha Ramtek research article part 1




1. Introduction The hill of Ramtek (210.28'N, 790.28'E), c. 45km. NE of Nagpur (Maharashtra), merits special attention because it appears to be one of the very few places in India where an uninterrupted historical development from the fourth century A.D. to the present day can be investigated through a series of archaeological monuments which, although partly restored or built over in later periods, seem never to have been exposed to destructive and iconoclastic forces. From at least the fifth century onwards the hill, also known as Ramagiri, Sinduragiri, or Tapamgiri (Tapogiri), served as a regional centre of religious activity and probably, also had a more secular function as an outstanding strategic base controlling the highway that connected, and still connects, the central and eastern part of the basin of the Ganges with the northern Deccan. This could possibly explain, at least in part, why the religious structures on top of the hill have attracted the attention and care of the rulers of the area from a very early date. Archaeological explorations in the Nagpur Plain during the last two decades have brought to light a great number of interesting sites belonging to the culture of the Vakatakas (fourth-fifth centuries), notably Nagardhan and adjacent Hamlapuri (7 km. south of Ramtek), generally considered to be the area of the Vakataka capital, Nandivardhana. In Hamlapuri, a splendid collection of Buddhist bronzes was recently found which seems to prove, in the words of Jamkhedkar, 'that Buddhism was a living faith under the Brahmanical Vakatakas'.2 Whereas other Vakataka centres of culture fell into decay and were gradually obliterated,3 Ramtek survived and to date still has four intact and one impaired Vakataka temples (four of them still containing the original idol), besides a small cave-temple and a cave-reclusory, probably also dating back to this period. Moreover, at least one stone tank situated on the top of the hill appears to preserve very old cloister constructions which could likewise go back to the Vakataka period. In addition, the hill and its immediate surroundings contain at least one undamaged temple that may go back to the Calukya period (the Kalika temple c. 200 m. NW of the hill), and temples and tanks constructed during the Yadava period (twelfth-thirteenth centuries), the Vijayanagara period (fifteenth-sixteenth centuries), as well as the Maratha period (eighteenth century and later). In view of this astonishing richness in historical monuments, it is surprising to discover that the hill has been systematically ignored in all standard works dealing with the history of Indian art and architecture.4 In two forthcoming articles the present author has described the archaeological remains of Ramtek hill on the basis of an inventory made during field-work in November 1986; and secondly, has evaluated the
'I am grateful to Prof. Dr. J. Ensink and Prof. Dr. R. Salomon for their valuable suggestions, and to Prof. Dr. A. W. Entwistle for correcting the English of this article. 2Jamkhedkar, 1985, 18. 3 Nagardhan: IAR, 1981-82, 49 f.; IAR, 1982-83, 137; Jamkhedkar, 1986, 339. Mandal: IAR, 1975-76, 36; IAR, 1976-77, 39. Mansar: Nagpur Gaz. 57, 303; Hunter, 1934; Mirashi, 1959, 22. Nagara: IAR, 1979-80, 56; IAR, 1980-81, 40: IAR, 1981-82, 49. Markandi: Jamkhedkar, 1974. Paunar: Mirashi in CII, v, 23 if.; Deo and Dhavalikar, 1968; Jamkhedkar, s.d. 4I looked in vain in H. Cousens, 1931, Brown, 1976. Deglurkar, 1974, Verma, 1973, Deshpande, 1985, Huntington, 1985, Harle, 1986. A short treatment of two of the Vakataka temples is found in Williams, 1983, 225-7.




historical development of the religious structure of the Ramtek complex by making use of this inventory.5Among the collected data are several inscriptions which could be only referred to in the above-mentioned articles, but which deserve a more detailed treatment. This is the purpose of the present paper. For an historical evaluation of the religious content of these inscriptions the reader is referred to the second of the two articles mentioned. To the best of my knowledge there are four Sanskrit inscriptions to be found in temples on the Ramtek hill, as well as two ancient pieces of graffiti. Three inscriptions and the graffiti are found on the walls and pillars of one of the two Narasimha temples, the so-called Kevala-Nrsimha temple (pls. I(a) and (b)); the other lengthy inscription is found in the Laksmana temple. The latter has been published by Mirashi and Kulkarni in Epigraphia Indica, xxv, 1939-40. However, that edition does not attempt to restore the original metrical composition of the text, nor is a translation given. Unfortunately, the oldest inscription, found in the Kevala-Nrsimha temple, cannot be presented here. Its publication is envisaged by the Archaeological Survey of India, and here we can only note what has been published about it so far. In a recent article Jamkhedkar observed: 'During conservation (i.e. of the Kevala-Nrsimha temple), an inscription, covered with lime plaster, was discovered on the temple wall beneath the thick layers of white wash. This 14-line record in nail-headed Gupta Brahmi characters, caused to be carved by Prabhavati Gupta herself, refers to the god as Prabhavatisvamin. On the basis of the internal evidence the temple as well as the image can be dated to c. 415-425 A.D.... The presence of a cluster of stone temples enshrining different avatdras of Visnu (viz. Trivikrama, Varaha) at Ramtek has established beyond doubt the prevalence of a Bhdgavata cult on parallel lines with that popular in the Gupta court. On architectural, sculptural and epigraphical evidence these can be firmly dated at least to the first quarter of the fifth century A.D. The stylistic characteristic observed in the images of Visnu found at Nagra, Nandapuri (Ramtek) and Mandhal suggest that on art historical considerations, the introduction of Vaisnavism in the Vidarbha area can be further pushed back, at least by half a century.' 6 One may add that the other Narasimha temple, which is referred to as the Ugra-Nrsimha, and is not far from the first, seems to be older still. It is similar to the first in construction as well as in having the huge Narasimha idol installed. It is, however, less refined, lacking the two small windows and the ornamentation along the doorposts and on the outer walls. However, it has eight firepits (kundas)along its sides, above which are small pedestals constructed against the temple wall on which, originally, dikpala deities may have been installed. Two fragments of such images have been found and are at present stored in the Central Nagpur Museum. If the statement of Jamkhedkar quoted above proves to be correct, we should assign the earliest Narasimha temple to the beginning of the fifth century. However, stylistic considerations would favour a somewhat later dating, say, the end of the fifth century at the earliest, a date to which the two pieces of graffiti also seem to point.7
5 The antiquities of Ramtek Hill (Maharashtra)' (to appear in the Journal of South Asian Studies, 5, 1989) and' Ramtek. An ancient centre of Visnu devotion in Maharashtra' (to appear in: The history of sacred places as reflected in traditional literature, ed. Hans Bakker, Leiden, Brill, 1989). 6Jamkhedkar, 1986, 340. 7cf. Williams, 1983, 226.




2. The graffiti (Pls. II(a) and (b)) The first graffito is found on a square pillar at the temple entrance. It is written in Deccani style characters with solid triangular head-marks (PI. II(a)). The letter forms, which show a tendency to roundedness, resemble the scripts of the Deccan of the fifth-century Vakatakas and Kadambas.8 The inscription reads: srTmadanalobha evidently the name of one of the early visitors. The other graffito is found on the left square pillar that stands in front of the cella (PI. II(b)). Its characters show a mixture of solid triangular and block head-marks and have notches in the horizontal bars.9 The last quadrangular letter with a dot inside resembles the tha of the Western Calukya script of the sixth century.'0 Hence the inscription dates from the fifth-sixth century. It reads: bharaka(ta?)natha probably also the name of a devotee. 3. The Kevala-Nrsimha temple inscriptions On the same pillar on which the second graffito is found, on the side that faces the entrance, is engraved a more lengthy Sanskrit inscription. An outwardly very similar inscription is found on the parallel pillar at the right side of the cella entrance. Both pillars have recently been connected by an iron frame which fences in the entry to that part of the temple where the image is installed. The appearance of both parallel inscriptions on the two pillars in front of the adytum strongly suggests that they somehow belong together and were engraved at about the same time. As it happens, photographs of both inscriptions have been published in Indian Archaeology 1982-83-A Review (p. 167), hereafter IAR, but this might have been more or less accidental since the description of these two plates (p. 137) confuses them with the reported PrabhavatT Gupta inscription 'on the southern wall of the mandapa'. Unfortunately, no photograph of the latter is given. Nothing is said as to the contents of the two parallel inscriptions, and they certainly do not endorse the statement made in the IAR that the temple' on the basis of these inscriptions could definitely be dated to the fifth to sixth century A.D.") In fact, both inscriptions belong to the Yadava period as will be shown below. I shall refer to these two inscriptions as' Kevala-Nrsimha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 1 ' and 'No. 2' Kevala-Nrsimha Temple Ramtek Inscription No. 1 (P1.III) Text: 1. 1 trivikramapadodbhutavamdanlyisarasvatl/sarvajnasyd 1.2 . sirasdrasalamkrtisobhand//kdmadevasutah 1.3. rngadevastdrkikasekharah/trivikramakavervd 1.4 dyonautisrinrharimsaddllsimhanardjyesdrva 1.5 . vatsare/a.mgamvaikalyatdmetirdmebhaktasya 1.6 sarvadd/2/samudgayamaka. krtljdndtu/
8Dani, 1963, pl. XV; Biihler, 1896, pls. VII. x-xiii. 9Dani, 1963, 80 f. '0ibid., 184f. " IAR, 1982-83, 137.