Brahmā’s praise of Nārāyaṇa to take up Hayagrīva rūpa to kill Madhu and Kaiṭabha from the Mahābhārata(Śāntiparvan)

unnamed

Hayagrīva slaying an asura(Kalighat painting)

brahmovāca।
oṃ namaste brahmahṛdaya namaste mama pūrvaja ।
lokādyabhuvanaśreṣṭha sāṅkhyayoganidhe prabho ॥
vyaktāvyaktakarācintya kṣemaṃ panthānamāsthitaḥ ।
viśvabhuksarvabhūtānāmantarātmannayonija ।
ahaṃ prasādajastubhyaṃ lokadhāma svayaṃbhuvaḥ ॥
tvatto me mānasaṃ janma prathamaṃ dvijapūjitam ।
cākṣuṣaṃ vai dvitīyaṃ me janma cāsītpurātanam ॥
tvatprasādāttu me janma tṛtīyaṃ vācikaṃ mahat ।
tvattaḥ śravaṇajaṃ cāpi caturthaṃ janma me vibho ॥
nāsatyaṃ cāpi me janma tvattaḥ pañcamamucyate ।
aṇḍajaṃ cāpi me janma tvattaḥ ṣaṣṭhaṃ vinirmitaṃ ॥
idaṃ ca saptamaṃ janma padmajanmeti vai prabho ।
sargesarge hyahaṃ putrastava triguṇavarjita ॥
prathamaḥ puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ pradhānaguṇakalpitaḥ ।
tvamīśvaraḥ svabhāvaśca bhūtānāṃ tvaṃ prabhāvana
tvayā vinirmito’haṃ vai vedacakṣurvayotiga ।
te me vedā hṛtāścakṣurandho jātosmi jāgṛhi ।
dadasva cakṣūṃṣi mama priyo’haṃ te priyosi me ॥

In Devanagari

ब्रह्मोवाच।
ॐ नमस्ते ब्रह्महृदय नमस्ते मम पूर्वज ।
लोकाद्यभुवनश्रेष्ठ साङ्ख्ययोगनिधे प्रभो ॥
व्यक्ताव्यक्तकराचिन्त्य क्षेमं पन्थानमास्थितः ।
विश्वभुक्सर्वभूतानामन्तरात्मन्नयोनिज ।
अहं प्रसादजस्तुभ्यं लोकधाम स्वयंभुवः ॥
त्वत्तो मे मानसं जन्म प्रथमं द्विजपूजितम् ।
चाक्षुषं वै द्वितीयं मे जन्म चासीत्पुरातनम् ॥
त्वत्प्रसादात्तु मे जन्म तृतीयं वाचिकं महत् ।
त्वत्तः श्रवणजं चापि चतुर्थं जन्म मे विभो ॥
नासत्यं चापि मे जन्म त्वत्तः पञ्चममुच्यते ।
अण्डजं चापि मे जन्म त्वत्तः षष्ठं विनिर्मितं ॥
इदं च सप्तमं जन्म पद्मजन्मेति वै प्रभो ।
सर्गेसर्गे ह्यहं पुत्रस्तव त्रिगुणवर्जित ॥
प्रथमः पुण्डरीकाक्षः प्रधानगुणकल्पितः ।
त्वमीश्वरः स्वभावश्च भूतानां त्वं प्रभावन
त्वया विनिर्मितोऽहं वै वेदचक्षुर्वयोतिग ।
ते मे वेदा हृताश्चक्षुरन्धो जातोस्मि जागृहि ।
ददस्व चक्षूंषि मम प्रियोऽहं ते प्रियोसि मे ॥

Copypasting Ganguli’s translation(since I’m very short on time): http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12c047.htm

“Brahma said, ‘I bow to thee, O heart of Brahman. I bow to thee that hast been born before me. Thou art the origin of the universe. Thou art the foremost of all abodes. Thou, O puissant one, art the ocean of Yoga with all its branches. Thou art the Creator of both what is Manifest and what is Unmanifest. Thou treadest along the path whose auspiciousness is of inconceivable extent. Thou art the consumer of the universe. Thou art the Antaralock (Inner Soul) of all creatures. Thou art without any origin. Thou art the refuge of the universe. Thou art self-born; for origin thou hest none that is not thyself. As regards myself, I have sprung through thy Grace. From thee have I derived my birth. My first birth from thee, which is regarded sacred by all regenerate persons, was due to a fiat of thy Mind. My second birth in days of yore was from thy eyes. Through thy Grace, my third birth was from thy speech. My fourth birth. O puissant Lord, was from thy ears. My fifth birth, excellent in all respects, was from thy nose. O Lord, My sixth birth was, through thee, from an egg. This is my seventh birth. It has occurred, O Lord, within this Lotus, and it is meant to stimulate the intellect and desires of all the beings. At each Creation I take birth from thee as thy son, O thou that art divested of the three attributes. Indeed, O lotus-eyed one, I take birth as thy eldest son, made up of Sattwa the foremost of three attributes. Thou art endued with that nature which is Supreme. Thou springest from thyself. I have been created by thee. The Vedas are my eyes. Hence, I transcend Time itself. Those Vedas, which constitute my eyes, have been taken away from me. I have, therefore, become blind. Do Thou awake from this Yoga-sleep. Give me back my eyes. I am dear to thee and thou art dear to me.

ekAdashI differnces:A conversation

A:So,ekAdashI should not be observed if it is ‘viddha'(mixed with dashami/similar stuff)?
B:Difference of opinion between smArtas and vaiShNavas.vaiShNavas look for shuddha ekAdashI,smArtas do not.
A:What exactly is there to discount the other sides’ opinion?Say,a smArta discounting a vaiShNava opinion or vice versa?Basically how would a smArta view vaiShNava citations or…
B:The citations contradict,so sampradAya wins. It’s simple. IMO it’s a difference in focus.
A:Could you explain?
B:vaiShNava focus is for pAraNa on dvadashi…Making sure dvAdashi is there when fast is broken.
A:smArta focus is on fasting during majority of ekadashi.Neither is wrong per se…Personally I think thesmArta is more correct on balance,since focus should be on fast and not breaking it on subsequent tithi.

On the glorification of hari and hara,arthavAda and their nAma and mantras

This thing came to my mind after reading a commentary on the nArAyaNIyam of bhaTTathiri.

The statements such as these(that shiva is superior to hari or vice versa,or statements like hari is subordinate/stories verses claiming that vaiShNava nAmas/mantras,etc are the sole means to liberation in this yuga should be seen as arthavAda). And what is this purpose of the arthavAda?To stimulate single minded upAsanA of that deity(similar are the functions of paurANika kathAs that glorify a deity at the cost of other deities/by putting down other deities)

Now there are three types of arthavAda that are known in shAstra. They are:

  1. bhutArthavAda:Wherin the existing/real attributes are stated in an exaggerated manner. E.g:Statements like ‘this medicine’s efficacy can revive even a dead man’ are only meant to drive home the point that this medicine is really,very good.
  2. guNavAda:Narrating attributes that are not/may not be really present,but might be feasible E.g:Statements like ‘Have a salt restricted diet for prevention of heart disease
  3. viruddhavAda:To narrate imaginary attributes that are neither present by nature,and are contradictory to valid pramANas,and are illogical.Therefore statements in purANas like ‘goptA viShNu tamomUrtiH vyApAreNa tu sAttvikaH’,’tadadhIno harI sAkShAt’,(viShNu is saturated with tamoguna but sAttvika by action),(viShNu is the servant of hari),then similar statements regarding bhagavatI have been made only to evoke greater interest in devotion to shiva or bhagavatI amongst their respective literature. Or iconography showing shiva as a corpse ridden by tArA or dakShinakAlikA could also fall in that same category:As a feature of mantrashAstra meant to increase the focus on devI primarily and to emphasize her primacy in their scheme of things.

A similar analogy from mimAMsashAstra can be made regarding the statements on when to perform agnihotra:’udite juhoti’ and ‘anudite juhoti’. In the discussion on the importance of the pre-sunrise period,the post-sunrise period has been censured,and similarly during the discussion on the post-sunrise period,the pre-sunrise period has been condemned. One on the basis of this should not stop performing the ritual or perform it only once a day or vice versa,as it would result in the dosha of contrariness,let alone the dosha of not performing nityakarma. Hence,the conclusion of the shAstraj~nas has been that both have to be performed(as per the instructions received in the perceptorial line of ritualists),and it is not that one performs the sacrifice only once a day and condemns the ones who do it at other times too as inferior. Similarly by this logic the putting up of a deity(sometimes even at the cost of others) does not really mean denigration of other devatAs.

A quotation from the Brahma-saṃhitā

This text does not seem to be the popular text beloved by Gauḍīya vaiṣṇavas,but a(presumably lost) text quoted by Parāśara Bhaṭṭar,hence it is of interest to me(and looking at the Catalogue edited by Sadhu Parampurushdas,the other Brahma-saṃhitā seems to be available only in unpublished manuscript fragments featuring about matters relating to prāyaścitta and utsavas)

hṛt-padma karṇikāntasthaḥ puruṣaḥ sarvatomukhaḥ|
sarvajñaḥ sarvagaḥ sarvaḥ sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati||
tasmāt tu paramaṃ sūkṣmam ākāśam bhāti nirmalam|
śuddha-sphaṭikā-saṇkāśaṃ nirvāṇaṃ paramam padam|
tatpadam prāpya tattvajñāḥ mucyante tu śubhāśubhāt||
trasareṇu-pramāṇāste raśmikoṭi vibhuṣitāḥ|
bhūyaste naiva jāyante na līyante ca te kvacit||

 

An involutionary scheme(which yudhiSThira underwent according to the bhAgavata purANa)

The scheme of involution(a vaiSNavized sAGkhya scheme,it may be called) runs like this(1st skandha,15th adhyaya,shlokas 41-42)

  1. speech+other sense organs
  2. manas
  3. prANa
  4. apAna
  5. mRtyu(deity of anus)
  6. 5 bhUtas
  7. 3 guNas
  8. singular avidyA
  9. jiva
  10. brahman(identified as nArAyaNa/viShNupAda a few lines later)

Another place where sAGkhya appears in the bhAgavata purANa is in the 3rd skandha

https://bhargavabhashana.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/creation-as-per-srimad-bhagavatam-3-26/

 

 

Some nāma-s that are particularly recommended for constant smarana/japa from the Padma Purāṇa

This is from before its Viṣṇu sahasranāma begins. I’ll post only the relevant ślokas

नामोच्चारणमात्रेण महापापात् प्रमुच्यते।
राम रामेति रामेति रामेति च पुनर्जपन्॥
स चाण्डालो’पि पूतात्मा जायते नात्र संशयः।
कुरुक्षेत्रं तथा काशी गया वै द्वारका तथा॥
सर्व्वं तीर्थं कृतं तेन नामोच्चारणमात्रतः।
कृष्ण कृष्णेति कृष्णेति इति वा यो जपन् पठन्॥
इह लोकं पैर्त्यज्य मोदते विष्णुसन्निधौ।
नृसिंहेति मुदा विप्र सततं प्रजपन् पठन्॥

In IAST

nāmoccāraṇamātreṇa mahāpāpāt pramucyate।
rāma rāmeti rāmeti rāmeti ca punarjapan॥
sa cāṇḍālo’pi pūtātmā jāyate nātra saṃśayaḥ।
kurukṣetraṃ tathā kāśī gayā vai dvārakā tathā॥
sarvvaṃ tīrthaṃ kṛtaṃ tena nāmoccāraṇamātrataḥ।
kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇeti kṛṣṇeti iti vā yo japan paṭhan॥
iha lokaṃ pairtyajya modate viṣṇusannidhau।
nṛsiṃheti mudā vipra satataṃ prajapan paṭhan॥

I got this(and the sahasranāma of the Padma Purāṇa) in a book titled শ্রীশ্রীবিষ্ণুর সহস্রনাম published by অক্ষয লাইব্রেরী. The author seems to be a certain দীন ভক্তদাস. Incidentally,this same version of the sahasranāma(with a different introduction) is also found in the North Indian Kṛṣṇa centred Nārada Pāñcarātra. The links to it are below

On swacchata and śauca

(Note:This is not against the Swacch Bharat program or against technologies for public sanitation,etc)

By reducing the component of cleanliness to only just toilets,clean public,etc,one is likely to miss out the other dimensions of śuci.

Just what does this term śauca mean?

śauca means purity at not just the individual level,but at a particular environment and communal and familial level.It is not just physical purity(avoidance of bacteria),but of the surroundings,the body,the sukṣma dēha and the general atmosphere around.

And this is not really separable from our deities(that śloka apavitraḥ pavitrō vā sarvāvasthāṃ gatō’pi vā । yaḥ smarētpuṇḍarīkākṣaṃ sa bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ ॥ comes to my mind). And it does make sense. Purity and the deva,who is the very embodiment of an āgāmika(deva specific or smārta) temple,are inseparable. It is only with keeping Nārāyaṇa at the centre,as noted in that verse,does one realize the fullest import of what śuci means,and not through secularized stuff,which runs contrary to Hindu frameworks and ideologies).

 

A Pāñcarātrika macranthrophic hymn to Viṣṇu(the hymn to the Mahāpuruṣa)

. (Śrīmadbhāgavata Purāṇa 12.11-1-26)

śrī-śaunaka uvāca
athemam arthaṁ pṛcchāmo
bhavantaṁ bahu-vittamam
samasta-tantra-rāddhānte
bhavān bhāgavata tattva-vit
tāntrikāḥ paricaryāyāṁ
kevalasya śriyaḥ pateḥ
aṅgopāṅgāyudhākalpaṁ
kalpayanti yathā ca yaiḥ
tan no varṇaya bhadraṁ te
kriyā-yogaṁ bubhutsatām
yena kriyā-naipuṇena
martyo yāyād amartyatām
sūta uvāca
namaskṛtya gurūn vakṣye
vibhūtīr vaiṣṇavīr api
yāḥ proktā veda-tantrābhyām
ācāryaiḥ padmajādibhiḥ
māyādyair navabhis tattvaiḥ
sa vikāra-mayo virāṭ
nirmito dṛśyate yatra
sa-citke bhuvana-trayam
etad vai pauruṣaṁ rūpaṁ
bhūḥ pādau dyauḥ śiro nabhaḥ
nābhiḥ sūryo ’kṣiṇī nāse
vāyuḥ karṇau diśaḥ prabhoḥ
prajāpatiḥ prajananam
apāno mṛtyur īśituḥ
tad-bāhavo loka-pālā
manaś candro bhruvau yamaḥ
lajjottaro ’dharo lobho
dantā jyotsnā smayo bhramaḥ
romāṇi bhūruhā bhūmno
meghāḥ puruṣa-mūrdhajāḥ
yāvān ayaṁ vai puruṣo
yāvatyā saṁsthayā mitaḥ
tāvān asāv api mahā-
puruṣo loka-saṁsthayā
kaustubha-vyapadeśena
svātma-jyotir bibharty ajaḥ
tat-prabhā vyāpinī sākṣāt
śrīvatsam urasā vibhuḥ
sva-māyāṁ vana-mālākhyāṁ
nānā-guṇa-mayīṁ dadhat
vāsaś chando-mayaṁ pītaṁ
brahma-sūtraṁ tri-vṛt svaram
bibharti sāṅkhyaṁ yogaṁ ca
devo makara-kuṇḍale
mauliṁ padaṁ pārameṣṭhyaṁ
sarva-lokābhayaṅ-karam
avyākṛtam anantākhyam
āsanaṁ yad-adhiṣṭhitaḥ
dharma-jñānādibhir yuktaṁ
sattvaṁ padmam ihocyate
ojaḥ-saho-bala-yutaṁ
mukhya-tattvaṁ gadāṁ dadhat
apāṁ tattvaṁ dara-varaṁ
tejas-tattvaṁ sudarśanam
nabho-nibhaṁ nabhas-tattvam
asiṁ carma tamo-mayam
kāla-rūpaṁ dhanuḥ śārṅgaṁ
tathā karma-mayeṣudhim
indriyāṇi śarān āhur
ākūtīr asya syandanam
tan-mātrāṇy asyābhivyaktiṁ
mudrayārtha-kriyātmatām
maṇḍalaṁ deva-yajanaṁ
dīkṣā saṁskāra ātmanaḥ
paricaryā bhagavata
ātmano durita-kṣayaḥ
bhagavān bhaga-śabdārthaṁ
līlā-kamalam udvahan
dharmaṁ yaśaś ca bhagavāṁś
cāmara-vyajane ’bhajat
vāsudevaḥ saṅkarṣaṇaḥ
pradyumnaḥ puruṣaḥ svayam
aniruddha iti brahman
mūrti-vyūho ’bhidhīyate
sa viśvas taijasaḥ prājñas
turīya iti vṛttibhiḥ
arthendriyāśaya-jñānair
bhagavān paribhāvyate
aṅgopāṅgāyudhākalpair
bhagavāṁs tac catuṣṭayam
bibharti sma catur-mūrtir
bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
dvija-ṛṣabha sa eṣa brahma-yoniḥ svayaṁ-dṛk
sva-mahima-paripūrṇo māyayā ca svayaitat
sṛjati harati pātīty ākhyayānāvṛtākṣo
vivṛta iva niruktas tat-parair ātma-labhyaḥ
The Phalaśruti comes in the next śloka
ya idaṁ kalya utthāya
mahā-puruṣa-lakṣaṇam
tac-cittaḥ prayato japtvā
brahma veda guhāśayam

Free will (I don’t care if I’m branded superstitious)

There is no free will. Even in the attainment of good things or bad.

 

Iti horaśāstre(referring here to Bṛhat Parāśara hora śāstra,Chap 2,śloka 3)-

 

avatārāṇyanekāni hyajasya paramātmanaḥ/jīvānāṃ karmaphalado graharūpī janārdanaḥ//

अवताराण्यनेकानि ह्यजस्य परमात्मनः|
जीवानां कर्मफलदो ग्रहरूपी जनार्दनः||

[Indeed,the unborn paramātmā has had many avatāras. Janārdana in the form of grahas(graharūpī) grants the karmaphala of living beings.]

Basically,whatever little will you have is also coloured by your past karmas. Your svābhāva which influences how you respond to whatever situations you get and the impressions your receive in your formative phases –they too are a result of your prārabdha karma. What can possibly be changed to make this better in long run is your attitude towards what you receive and how you manage with the cards you have been dealt with.