All names and All forms in creation are of Brahman - Narada Purana

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V Subrahmanian

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Nov 20, 2023, 3:01:59 AM11/20/23
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In this chapter of the Narada purana the method of practicing the Krishna mantra is given in detail.

नारदपुराणम्- पूर्वार्धः/अध्यायः ८१


स ब्रह्मा स शिवो विप्र स हरिः सैव देवराट् ।।
स सर्वरूपः सर्वाख्यः सोऽक्षरः परमः स्वराट् ।। ८१-१०७ ।।

Annotating the famous Narayana Sukta of the Krishna Yajur Veda (Mahanarayana Upanishad), the above verse says:

He is Brahma, he is Shiva, he is Hari, he alone is Indra. All forms and all names in creation are His.  

This verse in the Purana settles the heated debate where Vaishnavas resent the word Hari along with others in the Narayana Sukta.  Their contention is: if Hari is included along with Shiva, etc., then the Sukta would cease to be a Vaishnava-friendly one since the Narayana there would be a Turiya Brahman which Smartas, Advaitins alone approve of. For Advaitins there is no issue here as it is perfectly Vedanta-friendly.  It is only for the sectarians this is a problem.  Some of them have gone to the extent of suspecting mischief by some while teaching the sukta to the students in Veda Pathashalas.  

In fact this line occurs in the Kaivalyopanishat too.  Commenting in the Vishnu Sahasra Nama Bhashya for the name: Shiva (No.27) Shankara says: निस्त्रैगुण्यतया शुद्धत्वात् शिवः , 'स ब्रह्मा स शिवः' (कैवल्य उप.8) इत्यभेदोपदेशाच्छिवादिनामभिर्हरिरेव स्तूयते |  (Devoid of the three gunas, sattva, etc. and hence Pure, Shiva.  Citing the Kaivalyopanishat 'sa brahmaa, sa shivaH..'  Shankara says: here there is the teaching of abheda (across the Trimurtis, etc.) and this is a stuti of Hari alone by the names such as Shiva.

The exact reading in the Kaivalyopanishat is:  https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_upanishhat/kaivalya.html
स ब्रह्मा स शिवः सेन्द्रः सोऽक्षरः परमः स्वराट् । 
                                स एव विष्णुः स प्राणः स कालोऽग्निः स चन्द्रमाः ॥ ८॥  

 Shankara has cited the highlighted portion above. However, in the Upanisad/Sukta, the reading is स ब्रह्म (not ब्रह्मा as cited by Shankara and found in the above Kaivalya upanishat). 

This also shows that for Shankara, who has even cited the Shiva Purana verse for the name Rudra in the VSN, this a text of names of Brahman and not a particular deity Vishnu.   

Om Tat Sat.

Bhaskar YR

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Nov 20, 2023, 4:12:26 AM11/20/23
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praNAms

Hare Krishna

 

We chant like : tasyA shikhaaya madhye paramaatmaa vyavasthitaH, then we chant sa brahma sa shivassaharissendrasOksharaH paramassvaraat… is the below pAtha bedha?? Anyway all nAma rUpa are brahman is bhAshya vAkya too…savaM cha nAma rUpAdi sadAtmanaiva satyaM vikArajAtaM svatastu anrutameva. 

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!

bhaskar

 

From: adva...@googlegroups.com <adva...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of V Subrahmanian
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2023 1:32 PM
To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta <adva...@lists.advaita-vedanta.org>; Advaitin <adva...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [advaitin] All names and All forms in creation are of Brahman - Narada Purana

 

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V Subrahmanian

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Nov 20, 2023, 4:38:19 AM11/20/23
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Yes, Bhaskar ji, our pAThA is as what you have specified. Some Vaishnavas chant without the 'sa hari' part. If they have been taught that way in any pAThashAla, the vidyarthis, smarta or otherwise, would chant as per their Acharya.  

regards
subbu

Bhaskar YR

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Nov 20, 2023, 4:50:49 AM11/20/23
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praNAms

Hare Krishna

 

I am interested to know more about this pAtha which includes vipra, sarvarUpaH, etc.  these words are not there in our pAtha and not chanted by us.   

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar

 

V Subrahmanian

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Nov 20, 2023, 5:01:50 AM11/20/23
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On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 3:20 PM 'Bhaskar YR' via advaitin <adva...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

 

praNAms

Hare Krishna

 

I am interested to know more about this pAtha which includes vipra, sarvarUpaH, etc.  these words are not there in our pAtha and not chanted by us.   


The cited shloka is of the Narada Purana.  It is only an annotation of the Narayana Sukta.  It is being addressed to a brahmana. So vipra is sambodhana in the shloka.  We can recall 'yaccha kinchid jagat sarvam drushyate rUpa)  shruyate'pi (nAma) cha. antar bahishcha tatsarvam vyapya narayanaH sthitah of the suktam.  This is rephrased in the Purana in the second like: sarvarupah, sarva nAmaH...

regards
subbu 

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar

 

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Bhaskar YR

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Nov 20, 2023, 5:10:07 AM11/20/23
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praNAms

Hare Krishna

 

Oh!! OK understood, it is shloka found in nArada purANa not mantra in mahAnArAyaNa Upanishad.  This remembers me some shloka-s in BG are from Katha shruti.    

Kalyan

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Nov 20, 2023, 10:01:25 AM11/20/23
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Dear Sir, 

The sAyaNa bhAshya on the TaittirIya AraNyaka also does not seem to contain "sa hariH".

In the below link, this can be seen. Even though the editor included "sa hariH" in the moola, the bhAshya itself does not have this.


Best Regards

Kalyan

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Nov 20, 2023, 10:16:04 AM11/20/23
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That sAyaNa bhAshya does not include "sa hariH" can be seen even better here. 


(Here, the editor does not include "sa hariH" in the moola, as it is also absent in the bhAshya).

Best Regards

V Subrahmanian

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Nov 20, 2023, 11:19:40 AM11/20/23
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On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 8:46 PM Kalyan <kalyanchakr...@gmail.com> wrote:
That sAyaNa bhAshya does not include "sa hariH" can be seen even better here. 


(Here, the editor does not include "sa hariH" in the moola, as it is also absent in the bhAshya).

In the main text there is a notation for footnote and in the footnote the editor includes 'sa harih'.

Sayana, in the Bhashya for Taittiriya Aranyaka 1.1. p.690 of Part 2 printed by Anandashram press, says that there are many pAThabhedas, versions across many regions.  He says he follows 'mainly' the Dakshina pATha.  Here too the editor, in the footnote says that some editions contain the reading '80 pAthas' while this edition says '64 pAtha-s'. The editor must have had a very tough time comparing texts/editions.  In any case, in the Tamil, Kannada and Telugu regions the extremely popular reading of the mantra has 'sri harih'.  In Sringeri also it is so.   

image.png
Regards
subbu     


Kalyan

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Nov 20, 2023, 11:39:03 AM11/20/23
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In my view, it would be worth exploring if anyone before sAyaNa commented or quoted this portion and what reading was adopted? Or when was the alternate reading with "sa hariH" first quoted and by whom?

Best Regards

V Subrahmanian

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Nov 20, 2023, 11:55:43 AM11/20/23
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On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 10:09 PM Kalyan <kalyanchakr...@gmail.com> wrote:
In my view, it would be worth exploring if anyone before sAyaNa commented or quoted this portion and what reading was adopted? Or when was the alternate reading with "sa hariH" first quoted and by whom?

The Kaivalyopanishat has this mantra:


स ब्रह्मा स शिवः सेन्द्रः सोऽक्षरः परमः स्वराट् । 
                                स एव विष्णुः स प्राणः स कालोऽग्निः स चन्द्रमाः ॥ ८॥ 

This Upanishad has two published commentaries: together, of Sri Narayanashrama and Sri Shankarananda (who is believed to be Vidyaranya's Guru).  This is pre-Sayana.  The Upanishadic text has the line corresponding to the Narayana Sukta under discussion.  It does not have sa harih.  In the second line, however, sa vishnu is there. I think this is the earliest we can go.  Before that in the 7th CE Shrauta sutras were there, which Sayana very widely cites in his Veda Bhashyam,  but it is unlikely that this sukta was commented upon/cited by those authors.   

regards
subbu

Best Regards

On Monday, 20 November, 2023 at 9:49:40 pm UTC+5:30 v.subrahmanian wrote:
On Mon, Nov 20, 2023 at 8:46 PM Kalyan <kalyanchakr...@gmail.com> wrote:
That sAyaNa bhAshya does not include "sa hariH" can be seen even better here. 


(Here, the editor does not include "sa hariH" in the moola, as it is also absent in the bhAshya).

In the main text there is a notation for footnote and in the footnote the editor includes 'sa harih'.

Sayana, in the Bhashya for Taittiriya Aranyaka 1.1. p.690 of Part 2 printed by Anandashram press, says that there are many pAThabhedas, versions across many regions.  He says he follows 'mainly' the Dakshina pATha.  Here too the editor, in the footnote says that some editions contain the reading '80 pAthas' while this edition says '64 pAtha-s'. The editor must have had a very tough time comparing texts/editions.  In any case, in the Tamil, Kannada and Telugu regions the extremely popular reading of the mantra has 'sri harih'.  In Sringeri also it is so.   

image.png
Regards
subbu     


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Bhaskar YR

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Nov 20, 2023, 12:26:00 PM11/20/23
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praNAms

Hare Krishna

 

I am interested to know more about this pAtha which includes vipra, sarvarUpaH, etc.  these words are not there and not chanted by us.   

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

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