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vishhNumAyA
Dear Friends:
In the ChanDI, chapter 5, the Divine Mother is described by 23 names.
These are: 1. vishhNumAyA, 2. chetanA, 3. buddhi, 4. nidrA, 5. kshudhA,
6. chchhAyA, 7. shakti, 8. tR^ishhNA, 9. kshAnti, 10. jAti, 11. lajjA,
12. shAnti, 13. shraddhA, 14. kAnti, 15. lakshmi, 16. vR^itti, 17. smR^iti,
18. dayA, 19. tushhTi, 20. mAtR^i, 21. bhrAnti, 22. vyApti and 23. chiti.
The verse is:
yA devI sarvabhuteshhu vishhNumAyeti shabditA
namastasyai 14 namastasyai 15 namastasyai namo namaH. 5.16
vishhNumaya is described as:
avyaktaM vyaktarUpeNa rajaH sattvatamoguNaiH
vibhajya yArthaM kurute vishhNumAyeti sochyate. kAlikA purAna.
(One who divides the avyakta into sattva, rajaH and tamoguNas, and
appears in vyaktarUpa, she is known as vishhNumAyA.)
sR^ishhTA mAyAM purA sR^ishhTau vishhNunA paramAtmanA
mohitaM mAyayA vishvaM vishhNumAyA taduchyate. brahmavaivartta purAna.
(Before, during creation, omnipresent God created mAyA and thus made the
illusion in the creation, for that she is known as vishhNumAyA.)
I prefer omnipresent God to vishhNu paramAtmA. The word vishhNu means one
who is spread out, vyApta.
It appears to me that the equivalent word God used in the
Srimad Bhagavad Gita for vishhNumAyA is Prakriti.
sarvabhutAni kaunteya prakR^itiM yAnti mAmikAm.h
kalpakshaye punastAni kalpAdau visR^ijAmyaham.h. 9. 7
prakR^iM svAmavashhTabhya visR^ijAmi punaH punaH
bhutagrAmamimaM kR^itsnamavashaM prakritervashAt.h. 9. 8
mayAdhyaksheNa prakritiH suyate sacharAcharam.h
hetunAnena kaunteya jagadviparivartate. 9. 10
With best regards,
Dhruba.
