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

[V Subrahmanian]

On Sat, Aug 13, 2016 at 9:23 AM, Venkatesh Murthy via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste
>
> You have a very weak case if you are trying to prove Supremacy of
> Vishnu in an Advaita forum. Advaita does not accept Superior and
> Inferior Gods like Madhvas. Every God is Supreme for His or Her
> Upasaka. This is also known as Nahi Ninda Nyaya in Purva Mimamsa.
> Kindly read also the texts of Appayya Dikshita. Also we accept Vishnu
> and Siva are One and the Same. Vishnoshca Hrudayam Sivah and Sivasya
> Hrudayam Vishnuh.
>
> These verses and the idea contained in them are found in the Mahabharata
 (a statement by Arjuna) and the Harivamśa (by Brahmā) and in the
Skandopaniṣat.

regards
subrahmanian.v

>
> 2016-08-13 4:40 GMT+05:30 D Gayatri via Advaita-l
> <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>:
> > 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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>
>
> --
> Regards
>
> -Venkatesh
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