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Bhagavadgita Pages, Chapters 1 to 18

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V.Krishnaraj

                Narayaneeyam

Four Handed Lord Vishnu
Depiction of Vishnu as the Lord of Guruvayur

    Narayana Bhattatiri (1560 C.E.), the author of Narayaneeyam, came from a distinguished South Malabar family of Brahmana poets, scholars and Bhaktas. Bhatta is the honorific title of a learned Brahmana.  Bhattacharya and Bhattatiri have similar import. He married early in life to the daughter of  Acyuta Pisaroti, who recognized the lad's talent and taught him Vyaakarana (Grammar). He had teachers, Madhavacharya for Vedas and Damodara for Taraka. Pisaroti (Pisharady) and Narayana Bhattatiri suffered from a similar joint and or paralytic disease; it is presumed that the student took his teacher's disease by Āvāhana (Invitation, invocation). Many physicians treated him to no avail and the story goes like this. (Could it possible that they had paralytic polio with joint contractures? It appears that many were afflicted with paralysis and joint disease at that time. This combination suggests paralytic polio. Many recover from paralytic polio and some end up with paralysis and joint contractures.) NB sent a messenger to a scholar and poet about his illness and the latter wrote a cryptic note, "eat with fish."  NB took it to mean that he should write eulogies on Narayana starting from his Fish incarnation. Thus, the journey to Guruvayur and composition of Nārāyanīyam began.  The work is an epitome of Bhagavata Purana and consists of 1036 verses.  The date of completion of Narayaneeyam was Nov 27, 1586.

A variation of the story says that NB composed NArAyaneeyam after he contracted the disease; he thanked his disease for inducing him to write the composition. Later only, he paid his second homage to Bhagavan.

    Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple's history goes into the mist of antiquity and it stands 25 km north-west of Trichur in Kerala state. Guru-Vayu-Pura-Mahatmyam in Sanskrit, part of Narada Purana, contains mention of its antiquity. Legend has it that the temple is more than 5100 years old; the idol hewn out of black stone is much older.  The legend dates it back to Dwapara Yuga. The chief architect was Visvakarma at Guruvayur. The town took the name of Guruvayur after Guru (Brhaspati) and Vayu who brought the idol to shores of the Lotus Lake, now known as Arattu-kulam (Bathing pond). Being the first worshipper, Brahma at the beginning of Padma Kalpa began worshipping Krishna.

    The Guruvayur Temple in Kerala depicts Krishna [Krishnavathara] as he appeared to Vasudeva and Devaki at the time of His birth on this earth with four arms carrying the conch, the discus, the mace, and the lotus, Tulsi garland and pearl necklace. This is the effulgent and majestic form of MahaVishnu. Guruvayur is so sacred that it is considered the Vaikunta on earth (Bhuloka Vaikunta) with MahaVishnu appearing with four hands.

    When Krishna departed to Vaikunta after his sojourn on earth, Dwaraka was swallowed by the sea. (Now that we know that tsunami waves --Dec 2004 dealt a heavy blow to mostly the coast of Tamil Nadu and Andhra, it is possible that Dwaraka was swallowed up by some cataclysmic event. To this list of victims we have to add Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. Or it could be that the oceans rose from global warming.)  Uddhava, an old man, devotee, friend and counselor of Krishna during Krishna's Dwaraka days was left behind when Krishna ascended to Vaikunta. Uddhava saved the image of Narayana (Krishna with four hands), according to Brhaspati, the preceptor of gods.  Mahavishnu Himself worshipped the idol in Vaikuntham. Varuna, the sea-god swallowed the image and tossed it everywhere by its waves; the sea receded; the image, worshipped for 100 years in Dwaraka, was recovered and the wind-god took it on his head and Brhaspati and Vayu began their journey to find a home for the image. During their wandering all over India, they met Parasurama who chose a place for the idol near a Lotus Lake, where Siva and Parvati welcomed the Guru and Vayu.  The idol was named Guru-Vayu-r-Appan (Guru-Vayu-the Father or Lord--the Lord of Guruvayur). According to the legend, Siva named the place Guruvayur to honor Guru Brhaspati and his disciple Vayu. Siva and Parvati having ceded their site for the installation of the idol, moved to the opposite bank of the lake and had a temple of their own, Mamiyur temple. Before Dwaraka had the idol of Mahavishnu-Krishna, many hands were in possession of the idol from the time Mahavishnu gave it to Brahma in the first Brahma Kalpa: Sutapas, Kasyapa, Vasudeva, Krishna, Uddhava, Brhaspati and Vayu and lastly Guruvayur. Sutapas and Prsni , Kasyapa and Aditi, and Vasudeva and Devaki over generations served as parents of Vishnu in many forms: Sutapas and Prsni gave birth to Vishnu in the form of Prsnigarbha, Kasyappa and Aditi to Vamana, and Vasudeva and Devaki to Krishna, who installed the idol in Dwaraka, consecrated and worshipped it after the demise of Vasudeva and Devaki.

(Kalpa = a thousand cycles of Mahayugas; go to BG08 for more details on Yugas and Kalpas.)

    The idol in Guruvayur according to the legend is neither Svayambhuva nor an artifact made by human hand. It is a Vigraha (life-like image) of Narayana carved out of stone, PAthAla Anjanam (subterranean dark-colored stone). Anjanam = «ïºÉõ  == «ïºì¸ø  == Sulphuret of anitmony, black bismuth. His form in the temple is called Divyakaisoravesham (Divine boy form---10-15 years of age).  Devotees feel the Chaitanya (Divine Cosmic Consciousness or Intellect) in the temple. This Chaitanya is pure innocence of  child Krishna. The High Priests (Melsanthi) of the temple in sacred deference to worship of Child Krishna remain in temple premises in voluntary celibacy for a period up to 6 months.

The Lord of Guruvayoor is easy to please; His appearance is one of puerile levity of divine kind, quick forgiveness, and liberal munificence.  Sankaracharya composed Govindashtakam and Bhajagovindam when he was on a visit to Guruvayur.

The present is Sveta Varaha Kalpa (White Boar Kalpa), meaning that Vishnu in his incarnation as White Boar lifted the earth from the netherworld Rasatala after Hiranyaksa hid it there. In the present Kali Yuga of 432,000 years, 5000 years have gone by. The immediately preceding Kalpa was Padma Kalpa (Padma = Lotus).

                                                              Table: The Kalpas

Brahma lives for 311.04 Trillion years and dies; a new Brahma replaces him.

Narayaneeyam Canto 8 V1

    At the end of Mahapralaya, the first Brahma Kalpa saw the arrival of new Brahman, who received the knowledge of the Vedas from You (Krishna) and set out creation as it existed in the previous Kalpa.

Table: The Yugas

  Note:  AUM is space filler.

12 months make a day and night of the celestials; 360 such divine days make a divine year.

One Maha Yuga (4.32million years) is equal to 12,000 divine years.

Brahmanda Purana (3.4.2.92-103a) states the great sages counted up to 18-digit numbers.

Dasa = 10; Satam, Parivrdha = 100; Sahasram, Paripadmaka = 1,000; Ayutam = 10,000; Niyutam = 100,000; Prayutam = 1,000,000; Arvutam, Arbudam = 10,000,000; Nyarbudam = 100,000,000; Vridam, Kharbudam = 1,000,000,000; Param  = 10,000,000,000; Kharvam = 100,000,000,000; Nikharvam = 1,000,000,000,000; Sankham = 10,000,000,000,000; Padmam = 100,000,000,000,000; Samudra = 1,000,000,000,000; Antyam = 1,000,000,000,000,000; Madhyamam = 10,000,000,000,000,000; Parardham = 100,000,000,000,000,000; Para  = 2XParardha = 0ne lifetime of Brahma = 311.04 Trillion mortal years of man.

Classification of Pralaya or dissolution. Dissolution comes in three ways: incidental, elemental, and absolute. See the variation in classification below.

  Naimittika (Brahma laya) and Prakrtika dissolutions destroy the whole universe, while Atyantika and Nitya layas (dissolution) involve individual lives. In Atyantika laya or dissolution, the individual soul is liberated forever from the shackles of Samsara and stays close to Brahman.  Atyantika means “staying close.”  Nitya laya or dissolution is ordinary death and the individual soul has not attained liberation and will take on a body depending on its karmic load. So is the case with individual souls who undergo Naimittika dissolution or Brahma laya.

Laya: is the dissolution of the universe at the end of MahāYuga, an aggregate of four Yugas. Physical world is destroyed by flood and fire. This is followed by creation (Sristi), preservation (Sthiti) and dissolution (Laya).  (Laya and Lysis are cognate words.)

Pralaya is the dissolution at the end of a Kalpa (one day of Brahma). Mahāpralaya is the dissolution at the end of a Mahākalpa (a thousand MahaYugas, Brahma Laya, Naimittika Laya). Physical, subtle, and causal worlds are destroyed or absorbed. All existence, time, space and individual consciousness, all the lokas (worlds), and their inhabitants return to God as waters of rivers return to the ocean.

Time Scale: Laya<Pralaya<Mahāpralaya.

There are 1000 Mahayugas in one day or Kalpa of Brahma. Fourteen Manus come and go during one Kalpa. At the end of a Kalpa, one Brahma's day (4.32 billion years), the earth is depleted of its resources. A total scarcity ensues and lasts for a hundred years. For lack of food, all beings lose their vitality, become listless and indifferent, wither and die. The eternal Vishnu transforms into Rudra and absorbs all living beings into himself. Vishnu enters the seven rays of the sun, imbibes all the waters of the earth and prompts evaporation of water from and desiccation of all animal and inanimate matter. All waters of oceans, rivers, lakes, springs and of the Patala evaporate and disappear. The seven rays of the sun thus turgid with the waters of the globe augment into seven suns whose radiant glow engulfs all and sets them on fire. The earth on account of extreme dryness looks like the back of a tortoise. Hari in the form of Rudra becomes the scorching tongue and breath (of fire) of Serpent Sesha. Patala and earth are reduced to ashes. The fires leap and spread to the upper atmosphere, domain of gods and heavens; the three worlds are reduced to cinder. The residents of these spheres move to Maharloka; later they and the residents of Maharloka unable to bear the heat move to Janaloka.

    Janardhana, in the form of Rudra, consumes the world and exhales dark heavy clouds, Samvarta, which collide, roar and emit lightning. The clouds are of many colors, black like blue lotus, white as water-lily, dusk-like smoke, yellow, grayish brown like an ass, deep blue as lapis lazuli, azure like the sapphire, white as the conch or jasmine buds, black like collyrium, and bright-red like ladybird. The massive clouds assume shapes of towns, houses, mountains and columns. They pour rains for a hundred years submerging the three worlds in water and darkness; all oceans join to become one ocean. Vishnu's strong breath blowing for a hundred years disperse the clouds. The wind returns back to Vishnu who is the creator, supporter and destroyer of the universe. He goes to sleep (Yoganidra-Meditation Sleep) on the coiled bed of Sesa in the form of Brahma. (By now the saints have taken safe refuge in Janaloka.) This is called Incidental dissolution. When Brahma closes his eyes, all things fall and disappear; when he opens his eyes, all things come back to life. This incidental dissolution is also called Naimittika Pralaya, Kalpal dissolution, or intermediate dissolution.

More on Yoganidra of Vishnu and Yogis

Sleep is deified and the deity associated with Yoganidra goes under several names: Parvati/Durga/Mahamaya/Devi/MahaKali or Mahalakshmi. Parvati is regarded as the sister of Vishnu and Mahalakshmi is the Consort of Vishnu. At the end of Cosmic Cycle, Mahalakshmi assumes the form of Nidra-goddess or Sleep-goddess (Nidrā, Yoganidrā, Mahāmāyā, Mahāmārī, Kşudhā, Tṛşā, Kalarātri, Durgā, Pārvati --one with several names). Vishnu goes into cosmic yogic sleep  after the deluge on serpent Adisesha. Sesa means Remainder and means what remains after the world is destroyed. Vishnu sleeps in the potentially generative Cosmic ocean on what remains after destruction.

When Yoganidra remains and resides in Vishnu's eyes, it is Nimesham-closed eyes); When the sleep-goddess leaves the eyes and Vishnu, it is Unmesham or opening of eyes. Closing and opening of eyes correspond to the end of the world and the beginning of the world.

When Vishnu is in Yoganidra, a lotus sprouts from His navel and Brahma the creator was sitting inside the lotus. He looks around and finds two demons threatening to kill him. They originated from the earwax of Vishnu and emerged from His ear canal. Brahma was in a state of acute panic and begs Yoganidra to leave Vishnu, so that Vishnu would wake up, kill the demons (Madhu and Kaitabha), and let him start his work of creation. Vishnu wakes up as the sleep-goddess leaves, kills the demons and bids Brahma to create the world.

 At microcosmic human level of Yoganidra, the Yogi retains the full power of mental faculties while simultaneously withdraws from the stimuli of the outer world.

    Elemental dissolution entails the breakdown of Mahat and its distal products by the Will of Krishna; scarcity and fire consuming the worlds including the netherworld marks its beginning. According to the theory of Tanmatras, earth has the property of smell; water absorbs the smell of the earth meaning that the earth loses its integrity and becomes one with water like dissolved minerals (slurry-liquefaction--water-saturated soil as in earthquakes).  The waters of the worlds swell from the load of "smell," overruns and submerges everything in its path. Water has the function of taste; water loses its essential rudiment of flavor and becomes one with fire. (Simply put, water evaporates, is no more and disappears into fire, when there is fire.) There is raging fire everywhere all over the world on all its sides. The rudiments of fire being the light and form are robbed by air; simply put in modern thought, fire dies when the air runs out of oxygen and air itself extinguishes the fire. Air accompanied by sound pervades the ten regions of space. Air subsides in Ether whose rudimentary property is sound. Ether fills all spaces, nooks and crannies. The radical element Ego absorbs the sound. The sequence of events are retrograde involution of elements; earth into water; water into fire, fire into air, air into ether, ether into ego on account of loss of their intrinsic properties. Ego is swallowed up by Mahat whose property is intelligence. In evolution, which is called Pravrrti, Mahat cascades down from Ego to earth. This is a descent from Consciousness to the last substance earth. In this descent the substrate becomes substance, which again serves as the substrate for the next distal substance; thus there are seven forms of nature (Prakrti) cascading from and including Mahat: Mahat, Ego, Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. From Mahat, the outer boundary of the universe proceeds through intermediaries to earth, the inner boundary. Brahmānda (Brahma's egg or the physical world) involutes in a manner described above. All above elements reach equilibrium when it comes to Sattva, Rajas and Tamas and thus a state of inertia is induced. Both Prakrti and spirit subside in the Supreme Spirit. This Supreme Spirit is Vishnu, the maintainer of all things, the master controller of all things and eulogized in Vedas and Vedanta. This is the end of elemental dissolution.        

When Naimittika Pralaya (See table below) takes place in Bhur, Bhuva and Svarlokas, the fire emitted by Sankarshana is so great it is felt in Janarloka, so that Bhrugu Muni and his cohorts move from Maharloka to Janarloka. Eventually they all end up in Satyaloka. During Prakrtic pralaya or dissolution, Brahma dies. With him Devas, Asuras, all beings, the mobile and immobile die. 

Table:  AUM is a space-filler.  The body parts of Vishnu and the various stations. His body is the universe.

   Brahma was the first worshipper at the beginning of Padma Kalpa. In Varaha Kalpa, childless Sutapas and Prsni worshipped on the recommendation of Brahma and became parents of Vishnu Himself in the form of Prsnigarbha.

        Pracinabarhi, son of Svaymbhuva Manu and Satarupa, had ten sons, collectively called Pracetas, who upon attaining majority declined married life and entered the ocean to perform penance for ten thousand years after receiving instructions from Siva. Before such an act, Pracetas came upon a tranquil lake with aquatic animals, lotus flowers