[Advaita-l] Taittiriya Aranyaka mantras - A source of Hari-Hara abheda

[V Subrahmanian]

Here are two specific instances where the concept of Hari-Hara abheda in
the Veda is especially visible with the commentary of Sayanacharya:

The famous mantra 'harim harantam....' occurring in the 10th prapaaThaka of
the Narayanopanishad 49th anuvaka is commented by Sayana thus:

हे परमात्मन्, त्वां सर्वे देवाः अनुयन्ति भृत्यभावेनानुसरन्ति | त्वां
कथंभूतम् ? हरिं विष्णुरूपम् | तथा भक्तानां पापं हरन्तम् | विश्वस्य जगतः
ईशानम् | मतीनां सर्वपाणिबुद्धीनां वृषभं श्रेष्ठत्वेन नियन्तारं पुण्यपापयोः
सर्वपाणिबुद्धिप्रेरकमिति यावत् | तदुक्तम् 'धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्' इति |
...किंच अयनमस्माभिः संपादितं मोक्षमार्गं मा विवधीः मा हिंसय | किंच दातुं
विक्रमस्व पराक्रमं कुरु, दातुमुद्यमं कुरु इत्यर्थः |

 O Paramatman, all gods follow You taking you to be their leader. You are
Hari, of the form of Vishnu. You annul the sins of devotees. You are the
Lord of the world. You control/regulate/inspire the intellect of all
beings. That is popularly stated 'dhiyo yo naH pracodayaat.' Further, do
not render our hard-earned path to liberation, difficult. Make efforts to
give that to us.

Just two mantras after the above occurs, there this, another famous mantra:

मा नो महान्तमुत मा नो अर्भकं मान उक्षन्तमुत मा न उक्षितम् | मा नस्तोके तनये
...नमसा विधेम ते |

..which is chanted during the Sri Rudra japa. This is a prayer to Rudra to
protect one from all calamities.

After this is the yet another famous mantra that is chanted just before
taking meals, which is a practice even today, also specified by Sayana in
his bhashya:

 *प्रजापते नत्वदेतान्यन्यो* विश्वा जातानि परिता बभूव। यत्कामास्ते
जुहुमस्तन्नो अस्तु वयग्स्याम पतयो रयीणागुम् स्वाहा। प्रजापतये इदं न मम॥

For this Sayana writes:

हे प्रजापते ब्रह्मन् पार्वतीवल्लभ त्वत् त्वत्तो जातानि उत्पन्नानि विश्वा
विश्वानि समस्तानि तानि प्रसिद्धानि एतानि उपलभ्यमानानि
सुरनरतिर्यगादिलक्षणानि पञ्च भूतानि चतुर्दश भुवनानि
नानाविधब्रह्माण्डपिण्डाण्डानि त्वत्तोऽन्यो यः  कश्चिन्न परिबभूव |  .... अपि
तु सृष्टिकाले त्वमेव सृजति, जीवनकाले त्वमेव जीवयसि प्रलये त्वमेव उपसंहरसि
नान्यः कश्चिदित्यभिप्रायः | यस्मादेवं तस्मात् ते
निखिलजगदुत्पत्तिस्थितिलयक्र्त्रे भगवते तुभ्यं जुहुमः |

O Prajapati, Brahman, Paarvativallabha, from You, and not from anyone else,
the entire world of variegated beings has come into being. At the time of
creation, You alone create, during the sustenance, You alone enliven, at
the time of destruction, You alone take everything into You. Not anyone
else does this. Since this is so, O the Cause of the creation, sustenance
and destruction of everything, Bhagavan, we shall offer all oblations to
You...

From the two stated mantras, occurring in very close proximity to each
other in the Veda, we see that both Vishnu and Shiva are seen by the Veda
to be the Jagatkaaranam. Only a Vedantin of the towering stature of
Sayanacharya, an no one else, can comment on the two mantras the way he has
done. He accords the Supreme status to both Vishnu and Shiva in commenting
on those mantras. We find this alone to be the conclusion of Veda Vyasa
from his seminal statement in the Mahabharata:

रुद्रो नारायणश्चैव सत्त्वमेकं द्विधा कृतम्।
लोके चरति कौन्तेय व्यक्तिस्थं सर्वकर्मसु।। 12-350-27a 12-350-27b.

[Rudra and Narayana are only two manifestations of One Principle.......]

Sridhara Swamin captures the purport of the Veda thus:

माधवोमाधवावीशौ सर्वसिद्धिविधायिनौ। वन्दे परस्परात्मानौ परस्परनुतिप्रियौ॥

I bow to Mādhava and Umādhava (Shiva) who are both 'Isha-s' Supreme Lords. They
are capable of bestowing all accomplishments (to their devotees). They are
both the selves of each other and both love to engage in the stuti of each
other.
Shankara, after citing several such verses from Veda Vyasa's works in the
commentary to the Vishnu Sahasra nama concludes:  इत्यादिवाक्यानि
एकत्वप्रतिपादकानि - these statements are establishing the unity, ekatva, of
all beings including the gods Shiva-Vishnu and Trimurtis.

Om Tat Sat