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Re: ARTICLE : Just say no to "Hinduism" etc
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To: ghen@netcom.com
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Subject: Re: ARTICLE : Just say no to "Hinduism" etc
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From: Mani Varadarajan <mani@be.com>
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Date: Thu, 26 Sep 1996 11:57:19 -0700
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In-Reply-To: <ghenDyCLzv.2FM@netcom.com>
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Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
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Organization: Be Inc.
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References: <ghenDyAurt.Lqn@netcom.com>
In article <ghenDyCLzv.2FM@netcom.com> Gopal writes:
>Mani wrote:
>>
>> viSvam nArAyaNam devam aksharam paramam prabhum ...
>> sa brahma sa Siva: sendra so'kshara: paramasvarAt
>>
>> [Taittiriya Aranyaka of the Yajur Veda.]
>>
>>Everything is the highest God Narayana ...
>
>is the entire mantra pushpam --of which the above
>seem to be two excerpts -- from the above quoted source?
This is from the nArAyaNa anuvAka, also known as
nArAyaNa sukta, which occurs in the concluding portion
of the taittirIya AraNyaka of the kRshna yajur veda.
It can be found in the ``mantra pushpam'' book published
by the R.K. Mutt, which, however has many mistakes,
as I will comment on below. It can also be found in
the Mahanarayana Upanishad publication, which contains
both variants.
>and i *think* the first line should end with 'padam'
>[not prabhum]
This is an acceptable variant that does not change
the meaning much.
>and the second line probably should read:
> sa brahmA sa Siva ssa hari ssEndra ssO 2 ksharaha paramaswarAt
> ^^^^^
This is a later interpolation, which, thankfully,
does not really affect the meaning. It is an
interpolation because it destroys the meter of the
verse. In addition, if you look at the sUkta as quoted
by the ancient commentators, this phrase is not
there.
The R.K. Mutt editions have many mistakes, including
svara errors. However, their editions are generally
valuable.
>in this context, how does the word nArAyaNam get
>translated literally?
What do you mean exactly? nArAyaNa literally means
the resting place or abode of all creatures. nArAyaNa
is further stated as being identical with the purusha
of the purusha sUkta. This is evident from the first
sentence itself (sahasra SIrsham devam -- n. sukta,
sahasra SIrshA purusha: -- p. sukta). And the purusha
of the Purusha Sukta is unquestionably Vishnu --
all Vaidikas are agreed on this -- because of the
statement at the end that Lakshmi (the embodiment
of the Lord's compassion) is His eternal consort.
namo sriyah pataye,
Mani
