The famous
Nārāyaṇa-kavaca
is one of the most impressive invocations of all the
avatāras
of Viṣṇu: it points out the functions of the various
avatāras
with regard to the salvation of the individual -changing over from the cosmic-historical to the devotional-personal aspect of Viṣṇu worship.
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Even here, in a fully developed Vaiṣṇava theology, the distinction between an aspect of Viṣṇu, an
avatāra
, a
vyūha
, a saint, a hypostatized deed of Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa, the attributes and instruments of Viṣṇu, and so forth, are constantly blurred.
Rāma:
Rāma was worshiped locally as a hero and divine king probably long before he came to be considered an
avatāra
of Viṣṇu. Rāma is certainly older than the Vālmīki
Rāmāyaṇa
. But his worship as
avatāra
of Viṣṇu is comparatively late, later than that of Vāsudeva-Kṛṣṇa. Even now the human features of Rāma (and Sītā) seem to be more in the foreground of popular religious consciousness than his divinity. The attempt to systematically interpret the epic Rāma as a manifestation of the Supreme in its various aspects, the
Adhyātma-rāmayāṇa
, is ascribed to the sixteenth century.
Kṛṣṇa:
The most important among the Viṣṇu
avatāras
is doubtless Kṛṣṇa.
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Many of his worshipers regard him not as an
avatāra
in the usual sense – Viṣṇu accepting a fictitious form and visibly appearing in it
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– but Viṣṇu as revealing himself in his own proper and eternal form, the Lord himself,
svayam bhagavān
. An extensive literature has grown up around the so-called Kṛṣṇa problem.
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Kṛṣṇaitic literature does not tire of repeating that Kṛṣṇa is
the
savior, the ultimate and definite salvific manifestation of Viṣṇu for the benefit of all who are becoming his devotees.
Testimony exists that already around 150 B.C.E. there was Kṛṣṇa-Vāsudeva worship in and near Mathurā.
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The identification of Kṛṣṇa-Vāsudeva and Viṣṇu must be later. A second important element is the cult of a Kṛṣṇa-Govinda. R. G. Bhandarkar thinks that this Govinda was the tribal deity of the Ahīra-Abhīras of the Kṛṣṇa tradition.
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Though in one of the Vedic hymns Viṣṇu is already called
gopālā
, the Kṛṣṇa-Gopāla or Govinda seems to be a later, non-Vedic element in Vaiṣṇavism. Still later is the worship of the Divine Child Kṛṣṇa, a quite prominent feature of modern Kṛṣṇaism.
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The last element can be seen in Kṛṣṇa the lover of the Gopīs – considered to have originated under Tantric influence.
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Possibly it represents the transfer of the features of the old god of love and fertility to Kṛṣṇa.
69
According to A. D. Pusalker the original Kṛṣṇa who stands at the beginning of Kṛṣṇaism was a real man; the mythology is later growth and embellishment.
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Kṛṣṇa’s miraculous birth and escape from Kamsa, his childhood and youth, his teaching of the
Bhagavadgītā
and the manifestation of his “true form,” have been celebrated by Vaiṣṇavas for many centuries. So were the various adventures where he killed a number of demons.
The demoness Pūtanā attempts to suckle him with her poisoned breasts but he sucks the life out of her. The demon Śakaṭāsura crushes a heavy cart under which Kṛṣṇa was lying in a cradle, but with a kick Kṛṣṇa topples it and kills Śakaṭāsura. Kṛṣṇa subdues the Kalīya-nāga and gives good water and fresh air to the people of Braja. He introduces a new cult, the worship of Govardhāna hill and the cows instead of Indra-worship, and he protects the
gopas
against Indra’s fury. He resuscitates dead people and is helpful in many ways through his miraculous powers. He is the object of passionate love, a love which is liberating and salvific. He is the teacher of the way of salvation through
bhakti
.
Not only was Kṛṣṇaism influenced by the identification of Kṛṣṇa with Viṣṇu, but Vaiṣṇavism was transformed and reinterpreted in the light of the Kṛṣṇa mythology and the religion associated with Kṛṣṇa. Bhagava-tism may have brought into Kṛṣṇa worship an element of cosmic religion.
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But certainly Kṛṣṇa mythology has brought into Bhāgavatism a strongly human element: Kṛṣṇa is not a god enthroned in majesty, difficult to approach for a mortal; he is a sweet child, a naughty boy, a comrade in youthful adventures, an ardent lover of girls and young women.
Śrī:
Though there is not even a mention of Śrī, the companion of Viṣṇu, in the early sources, in later Vaiṣṇavism Śrī becomes an integral part of Viṣṇu cult. The cult of Śrī or Laksmī is considerably older than her association with Viṣṇu. It seems probable that the association of Śrī with Viṣṇu followed the same pattern as the association of Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, and Rama with Viṣṇu. As a matter of fact, about the same time all Brahmanic gods were given wives, whereas earlier there were only unmarried gods and goddesses.
The inseparability of Śrī and Viṣṇu is emphasized throughout: Viṣṇu has on his body a mark called
śrīvatsa
, which represents the presence of Śrī. In his heaven he is enthroned together with Śrī. Śrī also remains within him in
pralaya
, when the whole of creation is absorbed. Śrī is identified with Rādhā
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in later Vaiṣṇavism, and Caitanya is considered by his followers to be an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā, Viṣṇu and Śrī in one. Some Vaiṣṇava sects believe that all grace of Viṣṇu comes only through Śrī and thus they worship Śrī directly.
Rādhā and Sītā worship are comparatively late – but later still is their identification with Śrī. The main source of the worship of Śrī together with Viṣṇu is the Pāñcarātra tradition, and more directly South Indian Śrī Vaiṣṇavism.
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Śrī Vaiṣṇavism draws heavily on the popular
bhakti
religion of the Āḷvārs so that ultimately we can consider Śrī worship as an element of popular religion combined with Brahmanic Vaiṣṇavism.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF VAIṢṆAVA PHILOSOPHY
Vaiṣṇavism is connected not only with an extensive mythology but also with schools that systematize and philosophically develop the teaching of Vaiṣṇavism. The origins of systematic Vaiṣṇava thought can be seen in the Vedas and Upaniṣads: Viṣṇu’s omnipresence and omnipotence is expressed in the
trivikrama
myth. His connection with the “seed” and the “womb” is the basis for his immanence. The
puruṣa-sūkta
is the source for the Vaiṣṇava tenet of God being not only the efficient but also the material cause of the universe. It may even be the origin of the concept of
Viṣṇu-virāt
. The transformation of the creator into various beings, the idea of the creator entering his creation after creating it which is found in some
Upaniṣads
, have an underlying philosophy that could be called Vaiṣṇava.
Kaṭha
and
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad
contain the doctrine of grace as means to salvation, one of the most basic elements of Vaiṣṇava soteriology. The so-called
Vaiṣṇava Upaniṣads
are early compendia of Vaiṣṇavism. They are quoted by the Vaiṣṇava
Ācāryas
to prove that their doctrine is based on
śruti
. In these Viṣṇu appears as the only saviour. They teach that the
jīvas are
part of
Brahman
and that release means communion. The way to
mukti
is
bhakti
.
According to Rāmānuja all those parts of the Veda which speak of “power,” “part,” “splendour,” “form,” “body,” and so forth, mean Viṣṇu and Viṣṇu is meant in the Upaniṣads when they mention “the soul of all,” the “Highest Brahman,” “Highest Light,” “Highest Reality,” “Highest Self and Being.”
Early Sā
ṁ
khya Vai
ṣṇ
avism
Rāmānuja mentions Kapila and Patañjali as exponents of extra-Vedic schools that should be shunned. The
Bhāgavatam
, however, considers Kapila one of the prominent
avatāras
of Viṣṇu and insists upon Yoga as a means for attaining final release.
Mahābhārata
and
Vaiṣṇava Purāṇas
accept Sāṁkhya-Yoga as a system for obtaining salvation. Over against the classical Sāṁkhya, this Vaiṣṇava-Sāṁkhya, however, insists that Viṣṇu is creator of
prakṛti
and giver of
mokṣa
.
The
Śāntiparvan
of the
Mahābhārata
explains the Sāṁkhya-Yoga way of salvation when dealing with
mokṣa
. It does not explicitly refer in this context to Viṣṇu. The
Bhagavadgītā
describes Sāṁkhya-Yoga as a revelation by Kṛṣṇa and as a way to attain to Kṛṣṇa. With remarkable consistency the basic tenets of Sāṁkhya are inculcated as the basis for true Viṣṇu religions.
The
Pāñcarātra Āgamas
, the doctrinal basis for classical Vaiṣṇavism, build their system of salvation upon a Sāṁkhya-Yoga foundation. The
Jayākhya Saṃhitā
, one of the oldest and most important, explains the “second creation” in terms of theistic Sāṁkhya. The
Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitā
, which presents the most detailed account of Pāñcarātra theology, connects the doctrine of Viṣṇu’s
vyūhas
and
śaktis
with the Sāṁkhya system of evolution from
puruṣa-prakṛti
to which
Kāla
(time) accedes as the inner (third) principle. The spiritual activity of Viṣṇu is the ultimate force of evolution. Though in details the doctrine of the
Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitā
differs significantly from the Sāṁkhya doctrine as explained in Nyāya Kṛṣṇa’s
Kārikā
, the tenor is definitely Sāṁkhya: though bondage of the
jiva
is ascribed to Viṣṇu’s
krīḍa
, it is also conceived as beginningless -as in Sāṁkhya. And though
mokṣa
is in its ultimate cause again traced back to the mercy and grace of Viṣṇu, who takes pity on the suffering
jīva
, the grace of God moves the seeker for liberation on to the way of Sāṁkhya-Yoga, which is the instrument of
mokṣa
.
The longest and clearest account of Sāṁkhya Vaiṣṇava soteriology is found in the most important Vaiṣṇava scripture: the
Bhāgavata Purāṇa.
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“The
puruṣa
is no other than the
ātman
, who is beginningless, devoid of attributes, existing beyond
prakṛti
, consisting of the three
guṇas
that thought him in her playful mood. Abiding in
prakṛti
, the
puruṣa
fell a prey to her charms, which obscure knowledge.” The
puruṣa
is the all-pervading spirit Viṣṇu, and it is out of his own free will that he accepts
prakṛti
. Apart from this basic difference the following account of the evolution of the universe follows strictly classical Sāṁkhya.
Kāla
, by some considered to be an independent third principle, is Viṣṇu; “In this way the Lord himself, who by His own
māyā
abides unaffected within all living beings as the
puruṣa
and outside them as
Kāla
[is the twenty-fifth category].” The
Bhāgavatam
combines the evolution of the various principles with the
vyūha
doctrine. The
sākti
element, too, is integrated into the Sāṁkhya evolution.
The whole explanation of Sāṁkhya in the
Bhāgavatam
has as its only purpose to teach liberation, to provide the bound soul with knowledge and insight into reality and thus to enable it to differentiate matter and spirit and attain to its own nature. The
sādhana
described is a curious mixture of everything: Yoga rules, sometimes literally quoted from the
Yogasūtras
, listening to the stories of Viṣṇu and other typical practices of later Vaiṣṇavism, even theistic Vedānta of the type recommended in the
Bhagavadgītā
. The “eightfold yoga” is in fact a detailed explanation of the meditation on the form of the Lord. The description of the form of the Lord occurs often in the
Bhāgavatam
and is the accepted one in Vaiṣṇavism. The yoga consists in the contemplation of every limb and attribute of the Lord, which are allegorized and spiritualized and associated with various aspects of salvation from various evils. The
samādhi
in this
yoga
of contemplation of the Lord’s form consists in “the realization of the true being of the devotee” by “conquering the divine
māyā
of the Lord which veils the true character and brings about the bondage of the
jīva
, a part of the Lord.”
In the
Bhāgavatam
Kapila is a teacher of the
bhaktimārga –
he distinguishes the
bhaktas
according to their predominant
guṇas
and differentiates five kinds of
mukti
. Kapila himself considers the “Yoga of devotion” and the “Yoga with eight limbs” as two different ways to
mokṣa
, but he emphasizes that “by following either of these two Yogas a man can attain to the supreme person.” Kapila identifies the Bhagavān of
bhakti
with the Brahman and Paramātman of Vedānta, the
para
of Yoga and the
pradhāna-puruṣa
of Sāṁkhya with Fate and with Time: all is Viṣṇu.
Kapila is also the exponent of an eschatology: he describes the happenings at the death of people attached to worldly objects, the messengers of death who pull out their
sūksma śarīra
and torture them in various hells, and the process of rebirth in animals and men. In this connection Kapila teaches biology: the process of growth of the embryo, the “suffering of the embryo,” and the sorrows of each stage of life – all in order to turn the listener away from matter and toward the Lord. Kapila finally teaches the “two ways” of the soul after death which we have already found in the
Upaniṣads
. At this point Kapila proves that Viṣṇu worship is superior to worship of
pitṛs
and
devas –
only those who worship Viṣṇu are emancipated from rebirth. But
bhakti
liberalism breaks through in the final conclusion of Kapila’s teaching: all the traditional ways of
karma
, good works,
yoga
, penances,
bhakti
, Veda study,
jñāna
are means “to attain to the same self-effulgent Lord, who is both with attributes and without attributes.” Devahutī, the mother of the
Kapila-avatāra
, reaches
mukti
through the way taught by her son: she practices
tapasya
, fixes her thoughts on her son Kapila, who was no other than Śrī Hari; she loses her body consciousness (her body is transformed into a river) and merges her mind into Vāsudeva.