[Advaita-l] Vishnu as vedAntic brahman in Adi and Sabha parva-s

[sreenivasa murthy]

Dear Readers,
   There is a very profound  declaration by Veda.        EkaM sat viprA bahudA vadanti ||
When SrutimAta itself gives out this Truth where is the need to quote from various  purANAs and itihAsas which merely repeats again and again the same truth bringing the names of the various dieties like Rudra, Narayana etc into the picture resulting in fanaticism ,disputes and hatred amongst the persons who cling   to the deities of their liking.   What is the point in clinging to such old and obsolete concepts In this 21st century? 
This  group is slowly  changing from advaita group to a  group discussing religious and theological issues. What a viparyAsa?

I may please be pardoned for this posting.
With respectful  namaskarams,Sreenivasa Murthy


      From: D Gayatri via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
 To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> 
 Sent: Saturday, 13 August 2016 4:40 AM
 Subject: [Advaita-l] Vishnu as vedAntic brahman in Adi and Sabha parva-s
   
Namaste

It is well known that in the Bhagavad Gita portion of the Mahabharata,
Vishnu has been praised as the Vedantic brahman by Krishna-Dvaipayana. What
is not-so-well-known is the praise of Vishnu in Vedantic terms in other
parts of the Mahabharata. I will present here, instances of such praise in
the Adi and Sabha parvas.

Just as the Rig Veda begins with the word Agni, indicating the importance
of Agni to the Rig Veda, so also the Mahabharata begins with the word
Narayana, indicating his importance in the scheme of the things of the
Mahabharata. The invocation verse at the beginning of the Adi parva goes
out to Narayana, Nara and Saraswati (all verses taken from the critical
BORI edition). I have used the help of translations given on the internet,
along with the one given by J. A. B. van Buitenen, coupled with my own
understanding of Sanskrit (which I acknowledge is far from perfect).


The invocation verse in the Adi parva -


नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम् | देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयमुदीरयेत् ||

[The Jaya (Mahabharata) shall be recited after bowing down do Narayana and
Nara, supreme among men, and to the Goddess Saraswati.]

Mbh: 1.1.20-22

आद्यं पुरुषमीशानं पुरुहूतं पुरुष्टुतम् | ऋतमेकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्यक्ताव्यक्तं
सनातनम् ||२०|| असच्च सच्चैव च यद्विश्वं सदसतः परम् | परावराणां स्रष्टारं
पुराणं परमव्ययम् ||२१|| मङ्गल्यं मङ्गलं विष्णुं वरेण्यमनघं शुचिम् |
नमस्कृत्य हृषीकेशं चराचरगुरुं हरिम् ||२२||

(The above verses also occur at the beginning of the Harivamsa)

[I bow to the primeval Purusha, the Lord, first one to receive oblations in
Vedic rituals, one to whom first orisons are sung, one who is the Truth,
one who is symbolized by the one-syllabled (Om), one who is Brahman, one
who is manifest and unmanifest, Eternal, the existent and the non-existent
and beyond the existent and non-existent, the aggregate of the entire
universe, the creator of things high and low, the Ancient one, the supreme
immutable, who is blissful and brings forth bliss, who is Vishnu, the
all-pervading (VIshnu is called Vishnu because he is all-pervading, an
etymology given by Yaska in his Nirukta), the most desirable (by seekers of
salvation), free from all sins and pure, who is Hrishikesha (the Lord of
the senses, who impels the sensory organs), the God Hari, who is the guru
(preceptor) of all creatures, those that move and those that move not.]


Mbh: 1.1.124

यदाश्रौषं कश्मलेनाभिपन्ने; रथोपस्थे सीदमानेऽर्जुने वै | कृष्णं
लोकान्दर्शयानं शरीरे; तदा नाशंसे विजयाय सञ्जय ||१२४||

(Dhritarashtra recounting to Samjaya, the Vishvaroopa Darshana episode of
the Bhagavad Gita)

[When I heard that Arjuna has been seized with cowardice and sat down on
his chariot and Krishna showed him all the worlds within his own body, then
Samjaya, I lost hope of victory].


Mbh: 1.1.193-195


भगवान्वासुदेवश्च कीर्त्यतेऽत्र सनातनः | स हि सत्यमृतं चैव पवित्रं पुण्यमेव
च ||१९३|| शाश्वतं ब्रह्म परमं ध्रुवं ज्योतिः सनातनम् | यस्य दिव्यानि
कर्माणि कथयन्ति मनीषिणः ||१९४|| असत्सत्सदसच्चैव यस्माद्देवात्प्रवर्तते |
सन्ततिश्च प्रवृत्तिश्च जन्म मृत्युः पुनर्भवः ||१९५||a

[The eternal and unchanging blessed Lord (Bhagavan), vAsudeva (Krishna) is
glorified here (in the Mahabharata). He is true, he is right, he is pure
and holy. He is the eternal Brahman, supreme and immovable, the everlasting
Light, of whose divine exploits, the wise tell the tales. From Him begins
the existent that is not yet, and the non-existent that becomes.
Continuity, pravritti, birth, death, rebirth (are from Him)]

Mbh: 1.19.13

अध्यात्मयोगनिद्रां च पद्मनाभस्य सेवतः | युगादिकालशयनं विष्णोरमिततेजसः ||१३||

[(The ocean is the bed of) the boundlessly powerful Vishnu, the one with
the Lotus-navel, who sleeps in Adhyatma yoga nidra at the beginning of the
yuga]


Mbh: 1.57.83-87

अनुग्रहार्थं लोकानां विष्णुर्लोकनमस्कृतः | वसुदेवात्तु देवक्यां
प्रादुर्भूतो महायशाः ||८३|| अनादिनिधनो देवः स कर्ता जगतः प्रभुः |
अव्यक्तमक्षरं ब्रह्म प्रधानं निर्गुणात्मकम् ||८४|| आत्मानमव्ययं चैव
प्रकृतिं प्रभवं परम् | पुरुषं विश्वकर्माणं सत्त्वयोगं ध्रुवाक्षरम् ||८५||
अनन्तमचलं देवं हंसं नारायणं प्रभुम् | धातारमजरं नित्यं तमाहुः परमव्ययम्
||८६|| पुरुषः स विभुः कर्ता सर्वभूतपितामहः | धर्मसंवर्धनार्थाय
प्रजज्ञेऽन्धकवृष्णिषु ||८७||


[Vishnu, whose fame is great, who is worshiped by all the worlds, the
Unmanifest, Akshara, Brahman, and Cause, to favor all the worlds became
manifest in Devaki by Vasudeva–God without beginning or end, the Lord,
Maker of the universe, who is without attributes as well as the
imperishable Soul (Atman), and Nature, the ultimate Source, the Man, the
Maker of all things, the Yoker of Being, the stable Intransient, the
Unending, Unmoving God, the Swan, the Lord Nārāyana, whom they call the
unaging, sempiternal Place, supreme and everlasting. He is the ubiquitous
Purusha, Maker (kartA), and Grandfather of all creatures; and so in order
to further the growth of Dharma, he was born amidst the Andhaka-Vršnis (as
Krishna).]

Mbh: 1.61.90

यस्तु नारायणो नाम देवदेवः सनातनः | तस्यांशो मानुषेष्वासीद्वासुदेवः
प्रतापवान् ||९०||

[The eternal god of the gods with the name Narayana, descended on the earth
with a portion of himself among mankind as the majestic vAsudeva]


Mbh: 2.35.22-25

(These are the words of Bhishma)


कृष्ण एव हि लोकानामुत्पत्तिरपि चाप्ययः | कृष्णस्य हि कृते भूतमिदं विश्वं
समर्पितम् ||२२|| एष प्रकृतिरव्यक्ता कर्ता चैव सनातनः | परश्च
सर्वभूतेभ्यस्तस्माद्वृद्धतमोऽच्युतः ||२३|| बुद्धिर्मनो महान्वायुस्तेजोऽम्भः
खं मही च या | चतुर्विधं च यद्भूतं सर्वं कृष्णे प्रतिष्ठितम् ||२४||
आदित्यश्चन्द्रमाश्चैव नक्षत्राणि ग्रहाश्च ये | दिशश्चोपदिशश्चैव सर्वं
कृष्णे प्रतिष्ठितम् ||२५||


[Krishna alone is the origin of the worlds as well as their dissolution,
for Krishna's sake is all that exists here offered. He is the Unmanifest
Cause and the Sempiternal Doer, higher than all creatures; it is thus that
Acyuta is the eldest. Spirit, mind, the Large One, wind, fire, water, ether
and earth, and the fourfold creation, all rest upon Krishna. The sun, the
moon, the stars, the planets, the points of the compass and the
intermediate points—it all rests on Krishna.]


Regards
Gayatri
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