[Advaita-l] Re: purushasuktha

drganesh at vsnl.com drganesh at vsnl.com
Wed Mar 3 05:09:53 CST 2004



----- Original Message -----
From: advaita-l-request at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2004 10:30 pm
Subject: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 2
Purushasuktham
This is a ‘sthuthi’- which means ‘in praise of’. We have many slokas written in praise of various deities by many acharyas but this suktha has its origin in the Vedas itself like few other sukthas. It is basically a rik but found in other Vedas also. ‘sushtu uktham iti suktham’, hence purushasuktham is in praise of the ‘purusha’. Who is this purusha? Two popular meanings are given, ‘sarvam poorayathi iti prushah’- the one who fills up everything or the all-pervading. It can also mean ‘purah nivasathi or thishtathi’- the indweller of all beings, the one inside all- the consciousness or athma. Hence purushasuktha is in praise of Brahman or athma. We get two benefits by chanting or studying this, the commonly chanted version gives ‘punya’ hence chitha shudhi and later we get the ultimate purpose by understanding its real meaning and that is to ‘gain’ moksha. Any mantra is ‘mananath trayathe iti mantra’- it protects us by giving knowledge.

Lord’s praise is always two folded. Any praise has to be comparitive, hence a standpoint is needed. One is from his swaroopam or absolute standpoint and the other is from his mahima or greatness as Iswara. When we give great attributes to lord we actually bring him down from his absolute swaroopam and that is why it is said ‘God defined is god defiled’. Human nature is to glorify oneself but the Sastra draws our attention to the fact that all our glories are not truly ours but belongs to that one Iswara. To understand this is not easy because we always see ourself as different from god. If my glory has to be seen as that of god’s it must have a basis, without which we cannot accept this idea. Self adoration is common and is attributed to ahamkara or ego and that is why when we come to sastra, be it Bakthi or Vedanta- we bring in a principle of surrender or saranagathi. The most important surrender of all is giving up of the ego—Infact this is the true surrender, every other 
surrender is for namesake only. The ‘karta bhavam’ has to go, which happens only when we understand ‘Ekasya bhavam’ and realize the nonexistence of the ego. This knowledge has to be clear for it to transform our lives, as we have to deal with ahamkara daily. Without this understanding vedantic study will remain academic. There is no Moksha without Ahamkara nivrithy. Purushah alone is everywhere including all bodies.
Purusasuktha deals with the praise of the lord in both aspects-the relative and the absolute. The essence of advaita is packed in it and statements like ‘atyatishta dashangulam’, ‘nanya pantha ayanaye vidyate’, ‘tamasa parastat’, ‘ajayamano bahudha vijayate’ are often quoted as sruthi pramana. We shall probably discuss later about them. 
s.ganesh
 

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>   1. Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1 (nagabhushan s)
>   2. RES: [Advaita-l] Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1 (Martone)
>   3. Re: purusha sUktam & nArAyaNa sUktam (Jaldhar H. Vyas)
>   4. Re: Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1 (Jaldhar H. Vyas)
>   5. Re: RES: [Advaita-l] Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
>      (Jaldhar H. Vyas)
>   6. Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari
>      (DPDS-63) (V. Krishnamurthy)
> 
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 17:32:35 +0000 (GMT)
> From: nagabhushan s <secretbhush at yahoo.co.in>
> Subject: [Advaita-l] Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
> To: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
> Message-ID: <20040301173235.98404.qmail at web8308.mail.in.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> namste,
>            thanks for making me a part of this great group.i have 
> so many questions to ask.i want to know so manny things.i hope i 
> get to increase my knowledge of the supreme.
> 
> advaita-l-request at lists.advaita-vedanta.org wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. New member introduction: Nagabhusahan S (Jaldhar H. Vyas)
> 2. Re: New member introduction: Nagabhusahan S (latha vidya)
> 
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 13:07:30 -0500 (EST)
> From: "Jaldhar H. Vyas" 
> Subject: [Advaita-l] New member introduction: Nagabhusahan S
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> 
> Message-ID:
> 
> 
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> 
> namaste,
> 
> i am a student.i am interested in knowing more about advaitha
> philosophy.actually i like adishakthi.and shankaraacharya also is 
> a great
> devotee of jagadamba.i want to know as much as possible about 
> amba.so i
> thought i may get good information and knowledge from u people.so 
> i wish
> to join.
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 04:28:34 +0000 (GMT)
> From: latha vidya 
> Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] New member introduction: Nagabhusahan S
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> 
> Message-ID: <20040301042834.66611.qmail at web8005.mail.in.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> Hari Om, Namaste.
> 
> Our heartiest congratulations to dear Nagabhushan S, a student who 
> is so much interested to know more about Shankaracharya and 
> Jagadamba. Nagabhushan, you are in the right 'sangha' and I am 
> sure this will benefit you. Please feel free to seek any 
> information that you may require to improve your spiritual 
> knowledge. It is Shankaracharya's Grace that has brought you here. 
> Blessed are you that at such a young age you have thirst for 
> spiritual knowledge. May your tribe increase!
> 
> Namaste,
> Latha Vidyaranya
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Jaldhar H. Vyas" wrote:
> namaste,
> 
> i am a student.i am interested in knowing more about advaitha
> philosophy.actually i like adishakthi.and shankaraacharya also is 
> a great
> devotee of jagadamba.i want to know as much as possible about 
> amba.so i
> thought i may get good information and knowledge from u people.so 
> i wish
> to join.
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> End of Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
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> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 15:51:11 -0300
> From: "Martone" <martone at terra.com.br>
> Subject: RES: [Advaita-l] Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
> To: "A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta"
> 	<advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
> Message-ID: <EMEJKMCLNOAPBOEMOLIFOEBHCHAA.martone at terra.com.br>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> Namaste
> 
> Is it so, that if we met this sangha, it is Shankaracharya´s 
> blessings who
> brought us in touch, thru this list?
> 
> If it is so, it is really touching.
> 
> Thank you..
> 
> Sister Asuman
> 
> -----Mensagem original-----
> De: advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
> [advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org]Em nome de
> nagabhushan s
> Enviada em: segunda-feira, 1 de março de 2004 14:33
> Para: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
> Assunto: [Advaita-l] Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
> 
> 
> namste,
>            thanks for making me a part of this great group.i have 
> so many
> questions to ask.i want to know so manny things.i hope i get to 
> increase my
> knowledge of the supreme.
> 
> advaita-l-request at lists.advaita-vedanta.org wrote:
> Send Advaita-l mailing list submissions to
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
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> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Advaita-l digest..."
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> 
> Today's Topics:
> 
> 1. New member introduction: Nagabhusahan S (Jaldhar H. Vyas)
> 2. Re: New member introduction: Nagabhusahan S (latha vidya)
> 
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 13:07:30 -0500 (EST)
> From: "Jaldhar H. Vyas"
> Subject: [Advaita-l] New member introduction: Nagabhusahan S
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> 
> Message-ID:
> 
> 
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> 
> namaste,
> 
> i am a student.i am interested in knowing more about advaitha
> philosophy.actually i like adishakthi.and shankaraacharya also is 
> a great
> devotee of jagadamba.i want to know as much as possible about 
> amba.so i
> thought i may get good information and knowledge from u people.so 
> i wish
> to join.
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 04:28:34 +0000 (GMT)
> From: latha vidya
> Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] New member introduction: Nagabhusahan S
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> 
> Message-ID: <20040301042834.66611.qmail at web8005.mail.in.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> Hari Om, Namaste.
> 
> Our heartiest congratulations to dear Nagabhushan S, a student who 
> is so
> much interested to know more about Shankaracharya and Jagadamba.
> Nagabhushan, you are in the right 'sangha' and I am sure this will 
> benefityou. Please feel free to seek any information that you may 
> require to
> improve your spiritual knowledge. It is Shankaracharya's Grace 
> that has
> brought you here. Blessed are you that at such a young age you 
> have thirst
> for spiritual knowledge. May your tribe increase!
> 
> Namaste,
> Latha Vidyaranya
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "Jaldhar H. Vyas" wrote:
> namaste,
> 
> i am a student.i am interested in knowing more about advaitha
> philosophy.actually i like adishakthi.and shankaraacharya also is 
> a great
> devotee of jagadamba.i want to know as much as possible about 
> amba.so i
> thought i may get good information and knowledge from u people.so 
> i wish
> to join.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> want to unsubscribe or change your options? See:
> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> Need assistance? Contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> Yahoo! India Insurance Special: Be informed on the best policies, 
> services,tools and more.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
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> 
> End of Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
> ****************************************
> 
> 
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> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 17:51:40 -0500 (EST)
> From: "Jaldhar H. Vyas" <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] purusha sUktam & nArAyaNa sUktam
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> 	<advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
> Message-ID:
> 	<Pine.LNX.4.58.0403011547370.31652 at diku.intranet.braincell.com>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> 
> On Sat, 28 Feb 2004, Raghavendra N Kalyan wrote:
> 
> >
> > 1) I intend to know more about the significance of the purusha 
> sUktam>    completely, not just a mere English translation, for I 
> am deeply
> >    interested in it.
> 
> The purushasukta is notable in that it occurs in all four Vedas. 
> There is
> also a Pauranik purushasukta for those ineligible to recite the Vedas.
> In the shrauta rituals, the Purushasukta is recited in the 
> purushamedha.This is a 5 day soma yajna in which 184 people 
> representing various
> concepts are sacrificed.  This is not a literal human sacrifice.  The
> victims are tied to the yupas (sacrificial posts,) the 
> purushasukta is
> recited over them and fire is carried around them and then they are
> released.  Was there ever literal human sacrifice?  There is no 
> evidencefor it in the Vedic texts.
> 
> >
> > 2) Further, I intend to know if the nArAyaNa sUktam is related to
> >    purusha sUktam in any way. Are these two generally chanted 
> together?>    And the significance of nArAyaNa sutam?
> >
> 
> Yes.  In the Shuklayajurveda which is the shakha I am familiar 
> with, the
> Purushasukta and uttaranarayanasukta form the 31st adhyaya of the
> Vajasaneyisamhita.
> 
> In the purushamedha, the yajamana should give as dakshina his entire
> property including his household fire.  (Only a nitya agnihotri is
> eligible to perform it like other soma yajnas.)  He takes the fire 
> intohimself (i.e. inhales the smoke) and recites the 
> Uttaranarayanasukta.  If
> he desires to take sannyasa then that's it but if he wishes to 
> remain a
> grhastha, he recites it again and exhales on the aranis (kindling 
> sticks)and relights the fire.
> 
> > 3) Is it a mere coincidence that the Rishi for the purusha 
> sUktam also
> >    carries the name nArAyaNa? What is the name of the Rishi for 
> nArAyaNa>    sUktam?
> >
> 
> Narayana is the Rshi for both. The Shatapathabrahmana (13.6.1-2) 
> says that
> it is "Purushanarayana" who saw the Purushamedha (and presumably its'
> mantras) so already there is a blending going on between the 
> sacrificerand sacrificee.  The Purushasukta says that from the 
> Purusha Viraja was
> born and then the Purusha was born from viraja.  Viraja is Brahma. 
> In
> the Puranas, Brahma is born from a lotus growing in the navel of 
> VishnuBhagavan (Padmanabha.) Brahma is called Grandfather 
> (Pitamaha) and
> Lord of Progeny (Prajapati) because through his sons (also called
> Prajapatis) he is responsible for creating all beings.  One of 
> those sons
> Kashyapa Prajapati with his wife Aditi is the father of the Gods 
> calledAdityas of which the youngest is Vishnu.  Vishnu Bhagavan 
> pervades all Man
> (= nara ayana) just as the Purusha "pervades this earth and ten 
> fingersbeyond."
> 
> 
> > 4) As far as my knowledge goes, the purusha sUktam is chanted in 
> temples>    of Lord viSNu. Is there any reason for that?
> 
> Obviously because of the connection with Vishnu Bhagavan.  However
> Advaitins also consider the name Narayana to refer to Brahman and 
> not just
> the God Vishnu.  In contemporary usage the Purushasukta is used in 
> puja.(Perhaps due to the fact that it has 16 verses while the 
> typical puja has
> 16 upacharas.)  This is as true in Smarta traditions as Vaishnava 
> ones.
> >
> > 5) And finally, from the point of view of advaita vedAnta, in 
> what way
> >    can I contemplate while chanting/listening to the purusha and
> >    nArAyaNa sUktam-s.  Can we say that this purusha is brahman? 
> How do
> >    these sUktam-s fit in the frame work of advaita-vedAnta? (Please
> >    answer from the point of view of contemplating on them.)
> >
> 
> The Purushasukta is part of the karmakanda and not relevant to Advaita
> Vedanta per se.  Purusha as the creator is at best Brahman in the
> saguna aspect.  Advaita Vedanta asks us to move beyond the duality of
> creation and destruction.  But you can see that it already
> anticipates some of the central themes of later Indian philosophy. 
> Such
> as the equation of the cosmos with the human body, self-sacrifice 
> in the
> form of material renunciation as the highest form of sacrifice, 
> and the
> circular nature of creator and created.
> 
> -- 
> Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 17:54:20 -0500 (EST)
> From: "Jaldhar H. Vyas" <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> 	<advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
> Message-ID:
> 	<Pine.LNX.4.58.0403011752060.31652 at diku.intranet.braincell.com>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
> 
> On Mon, 1 Mar 2004, nagabhushan s wrote:
> 
> > namste,
> >             thanks for making me a part of this great group.i 
> have so
> >             many questions to ask.i want to know so manny 
> things.i hope
> >             i get to increase my knowledge of the supreme.
> >
> 
> Feel free to ask what's on your mind.  You don't have to wait for 
> someoneto bring a topic up.
> 
> But please when you reply to someone, trim down the quoted 
> material to
> only the part you are actually responding to.  Like I'm doing here.
> 
> -- 
> Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 5
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 17:58:01 -0500 (EST)
> From: "Jaldhar H. Vyas" <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> Subject: Re: RES: [Advaita-l] Re: Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 1
> To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
> 	<advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>
> Message-ID:
> 	<Pine.LNX.4.58.0403011755240.31652 at diku.intranet.braincell.com>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=iso-8859-1
> 
> On Mon, 1 Mar 2004, Martone wrote:
> 
> > Namaste
> >
> > Is it so, that if we met this sangha, it is Shankaracharya´s 
> blessings who
> > brought us in touch, thru this list?
> >
> > If it is so, it is really touching.
> >
> 
> More accurately it is the blessing of your own good deeds in this 
> life and
> previous ones which leads to interest in and success in Advaita 
> Vedanta.
> -- 
> Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> It's a girl! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/shailaja/
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 6
> Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 16:55:26 -0800 (PST)
> From: "V. Krishnamurthy" <profvk at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [Advaita-l] Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on
> 	Soundaryalahari	(DPDS-63)
> To: advaita - L <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org>,	advaitinlist
> 	<advaitin at yahoogroups.com>,	ambaa-list <ambaa-l at yahoogroups.com>
> Message-ID: <20040302005526.63805.qmail at web40913.mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> 
> Namaste.
> Recall the Note about the organization of the ?Digest?, 
> from DPDS ? 26 or the earlier ones.
> V. Krishnamurthy
> A Digest of Paramacharya?s Discourses on Soundaryalahari - 
> 63
> (Digest of pp.1159 - 1163   of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume,
> 4th imprn.)
> 
> Here is a shloka which combines, by a poetic artifice of
> metaphorical  meanings,  the divine glance of ambaaL with
> several (actually, eight) meritorious locations (kshetras)
> in the land of Bharat.
> 
> vishAlA kalyANI spuTa-rucir-ayodhyA kuvalayaiH
> kRpAdhArA?dhArA kimapi madhurA??bhogavatikA /
> avantI dRshhTis-te bahu-nagara-vistAra-vijayA 
> dhruvaM tat-tan-nAma-vyavaharaNa-yogyA vijayate // 49 //
> 
> te dRshhTiH : Your eye-glance
> vijayate : excels in glory (with qualities of being ---)
> vishAla :  broad,  
> kalyANI : auspicious,
> ayodhyA kuvalayaiH : invincible (even) by the blue lilies
> spuTa-ruciH : (in) brilliant clarity,
> AdhArA kRpAdhArA :the basis for the flood of compassion,
> kimapi madhurA: indescribably sweet,
> bhogavatikA: pleasurable,
> avantI : protective, and
> bahunagara-vistAra-vijayA : with victories spread over
> several cities,
> tat-tan-nAma-vyavaharaNa-yogyA : well befitting the names
> of cities indicated by those qualities,
> dhruvaM : certainly.
> 
> Of these, the four names ?ayodhyA?, ?dhArA? (Bhoja?s
> capital), ?madhurA?, ?avantI? (Ujjain) are well known as
> the names of cities. 
> ?VishAlA?  (coming at the beginning of the verse) is also
> one such; it is the other name of Badrinath. Recall the
> slogan-cry of devotees: ?Jai bhadri-vishAl?!  In the
> Valmiki Ramayana when Rama and Lakshmana are taken by
> Vishvamitra to Mithila, on the way they pass through the
> city of ?VishAlA?. 
> In the Kannada region, there is a ?KalyANi? in  the
> district of Bidar. In the days of the Acharya that region
> was called ?Kuntala?, with its capital at Kalyani. In later
> days when the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi came to an end,
> but again emerged as a powerful influence, it came to be
> known as the ?Kalyani Chalukya dynasty?.
> 
> BogavatI is another city. This is known as ?kambath? in
> Gujarat. The Englishmen called it Cambay. That is why the
> name of ?Gulf of Cambay? came up. 
> VijayA is another city. It is not the Vijayanagar of Hampi
> in Bellary District of Karnataka. Nor is it the
> Vijayanagaram of Srikakulam District of Andhra, where the
> famous Gajapati kings ruled.  In order to distinguish these
> two Vijayanagara?s, the Hampi Vijayanagara was called
> ?Vijaya? and the Andhra Vijayanagara was called ?Viziya? by
> later English Historians. It was the Hampi Vijayanagara
> that became the seat of the famous Vijayanagara Empire in
> later days; because the city was named ?VidyA-nagara? by
> Bhukkaraya. But that was in the 14th century. Neither this
> nor the Andhra Viziya was there at the time of the Acharya.
> So the ?Vijaya? that he has immortalised in this verse must
> be something else, probably the Kurukshetra of the
> Mahabharata. The last shloka of the Gita says: ?Where there
> are Krishna and Arjuna, there rules Vijaya also?!. It may
> be this Vijaya is referring to Kurukshetra. It is
> interesting to note that Arjuna was himself also known as
> ?Vijaya?.
> 
> These eight cities are not ordinary places. The
> relationship of ambaaL to them all is because of the fact
> that Her  eye-glance  (dRshhTi) while falling on  the
> entire universe  fell in addition with an extra force on
> these eight places. And, to boot, the meanings embedded in
> the names of these eight cities, also fit as a
> characteristic of the dRshhTi of ambaaL. This is shown by
> the extra meaning imbedded in these words in addition to
> them being simple proper names of cities. 
> 
> The Commentators wax eloquent on  the precise meanings of
> ?vishAlA dRshhTi?, kalyANI dRshhTi? and so on for all the
> eight epithets for the glance of ambaaL. I do not remember
> them all. But let me now tell you generally what all this
> means.
> 
> At this point,  Ra. Ganapathy, the writer of these records,
> 
> supplies the following footnote. 
> ?Lakshmidhara?s bhashya on Soundaryalahari 
> describes these eight kinds of eye-glances thus. 
> ?vishAlA dRshhTi? shows an inner satisfaction. 
> ?kalyANI? shows the miraculous nature of the dRshhTi. 
> ?ayodhyA? is the smile shown by the very eyeballs. 
> ?dhArA? is that enchanting glance of the lover. 
> ?madhurA? is what is shown by contracted eyes. 
> ?bhogavatI? is the glance shown by friendly affection. 
> ?avantI? is the innocent look. 
> ?vijayA? is the side glance emanating from the position of 
> the eyeball moving to the extreme corner of the eye?.
> 
> The breadth of coverage of the glance of ambaal is vast and
> so it is vishAlA. It also generates auspiciousness for the
> whole world; so it is kalyANI. 
> Now let us come to ?ayodhyA?. This name could have come to
> the capital of the state ruled by the Ikshvaku kings by one
> of two reasons. Their headquarters must have been so well
> protected by moats and fortresses that they were
> invincible. Or perhaps, they were considered so
> invulnerable that nobody came to fight with them. On both
> contacts their place is ?ayodhyA?! But the point here is,
> in what way  the name fits ambaal?s eye-glance?  First of
> all,  dRshhTi itself is a word for ?eyes?. Poetic liberty
> with ?eyes? compares it with blue lilies.  Going one step
> higher, poetic licence even  plays havoc with the roles of
> ?upamAna? (example) and ?upameya? (that which is
> exemplified); thus they interchange the roles of ?upamAna?
> and ?upameya?.  In the current context, it is not uncommon
> to say ?the eyes which belittle the blue lilies?. And then
> one gets to be more aggressive and says ? in the war of
> comparison, the eyes are the winners over the blue lilies?.
> It is in this strain the Acharya says ?eyes which are
> invincible by the blue lilies?. And this invincibility is
> what is built into the word ?ayodhyA?!
> 
> It is ambaal?s eye-glance that bestows the rain of
> compassion, that is, it is the basis (?AdhAra?) for the
> rain  (?dhArA?) of compassion (?kRpA?). Therefore it is
> ?kRpA-dhArA AdhArA?, thereby doubling the use of the sound
> ?dhArA? which is the name of the famous capital of Bhoja.
> And does it not indicate also the generosity of King Bhoja
> whose awards  always  excelled in their profusion because
> they were always given with both hands rather than a single
> hand, thus doubling the size of the benefaction?
> To be Continued 
> 
> Thus spake the Paramacharya.
> 
> PraNAms to all advaitins and devotees of Mother Goddess.
> profvk
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> =====
> Prof. V. Krishnamurthy
> My website on Science and Spirituality is 
> http://www.geocities.com/profvk/You can  access my book on Gems 
> from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and Practice,  and my 
> father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.
> Also see the webpages on Paramacharya's Soundaryalahari :
> http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS.html
> 
> 
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> End of Advaita-l Digest, Vol 11, Issue 2
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