Narayana's depiction, at Badami cave temples

Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण IAST: Nārāyaṇa) is the Vedic^{[citation needed]} Supreme God^[1][2] (including his different avatars) in Hinduism, venerated as the Supreme Being in Vaishnavism. He is also known as Vishnu and Hari and is venerated as Purushottama or Supreme Purusha in Hindu sacred texts such as the Bhagavad Gita,^[3] the Vedas and the Puranas.

Narayana is the name of God in his infinite all pervading form. He is the Supreme Purusha of Purusha Sukta. The Puranas present a seemingly divergent, but accurate description of Narayana (as an Enlightened Supreme Being). The fifth verse of the Narayana Sukta, a hymn in Yajurveda, states that Narayana pervades whatever is seen or heard in this universe from inside and outside alike. Another important translation of Narayana is The One who rests on Water. The waters are called narah, [for] the waters are, indeed, produced by Nara-Narayana(the first Being); as they were his first residence [ayana], he is called Narayana.^[4] In Sanskrit, "Nara" can also refer to all human beings or living entities (Jivas). Therefore, another meaning of Narayana is Resting place for all living entities. The close association of Narayana with water explains the frequent depiction of Narayana in Hindu art as standing or sitting on an ocean.

In Hindu sacred texts like Vedas, Puranas etc., Narayana is described as having the divine blue colour of water-filled clouds, four-armed, holding a Padma (lotus flower), mace Kaumodaki,Panchajanya shankha (conch) and a discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra. Narayana is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as having a 'Universal Form' (Vishvarupa)Vishvarupa which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception or imagination.^[5]

Bhagavata Purana declares Narayana as Para Brahman Supreme Lord who creates unlimited universes and enters each one of them as Lord of Universe.^[6] Narayana engages in creation of 14 worlds within the universe as Brahma when he deliberately accepts rajas guna. Narayana himself sustains, maintains and preserves the universe as Vishnu when he accepts sattvaguna and annihilates the universe at the end of maha-kalpa as Shiva or Rudra when he accepts tamas guna.^[7][8][9] According to this reference, the holy Trimurti is non-different from Narayana.

Narayana is also venerated as Mukunda^[10] which means God who is giver of mukti or Moksha or liberation from cycle of births and deaths in the material world.

Narayana's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is Vaikuntha which is a realm of bliss and happiness. It is also known as Paramdhama, which means final or highest place for liberated souls, where they enjoy bliss and happiness for eternity in the company of supreme lord. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic.^[11] Sometimes, Ksheera Sagara where Narayana or Vishnu rests on Ananta Shesha is also perceived as local Vaikuntha with in the material universe.

In the Mahabharata, Krishna is often referred to as Narayana and Arjuna as Nara.^[12] The epic identifies them both in plural 'Krishnas', or as part incarnations of the earlier incarnations of Vishnu, recalling their mystical identity as ara-Narayana.^[13]

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Etymology
• 2 Variations
• 3 Religious uses
• 4 Rarity of devotees of Narayana
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Etymology[edit]

Narayana is spoken of in the scriptures as being 'parabrahman', 'paramatma' and 'parameshwar' which are all ways of saying "absolute" or "supreme" God/Lord/Soul. In the Vedas it is written that that "Narayana parabrahman tatvam Narayana paraha |", which points to the how Narayana is essentially the supreme force and/or essence of all.^{[citation needed]}

Antar Vahisca Sarvam vyapta Narayana stitaha means inside and out Narayana is pervaded throughout the universe both spiritual and material universes. He resides at the blissful Vaikuntha planet, which is situated atSwetadwipa, he is also called Vaikuntha nathan and Ksheerabdhi nathan means the lord of milk ocean, he plays his divine pastimes with his consort Lakshmi and other liberated souls.^{[citation needed]}

He never leaves milk ocean but his power works throughout the universe as it says in Upanisada "Om purna midam purnat purna muduchyate" means he is the complete whole, even though everything comes from him, he is still the complete.^{[citation needed]}

In Sanskrit, another name for water is Nara. The Supreme Lord Vishnu whose resting place ('Ayana') is ‘Nara’ is therefore called Narayana. "Nara" also means the living entities (Jivas). Therefore, another meaning of Narayana is 'resting place for all living entities'. The close association of Narayana with water explains the frequent depiction of Narayana in Hindu art as standing or sitting on an ocean.^{[citation needed]}

Another important translation of Narayana is "The Supreme Being who is the foundation of all men".^[14]

Harivansh ^[15] explicitly define Narayan as: Naaraa Aapah
samaakyaataastaasaamayanamaaditah, yatastavan bhootabhavyesha tat-Naarayanashabditah. Naaarah
Aapah samaakhyaat means naarah known as aapah (Water), Naaraanaam aaditah ayanan yasya sah (from the beginning (aditah) you are resting in (ayanam) that is why (yasya sah), oh lord of past and future (bhoot-bhavuesha, you are called (shabditah) Narayan.^{[citation needed]}

In Mahabharata ^[16] Naar means water in human (Nar) body, is residence (Aayan) of God (Narayan).^{[citation needed]}

Another interpretation of the word Narayana sees Nara meaning "human" and Ayana as "direction/goal". Some view Narayana as meaning "son of man." Hence Narayana refers to the "direction of a human" (or the one that helps a human to his/her goal, i.e. towards moksha). Nara is related to moksha as both are rooted to the Water element (Ap), one of the Great Elements (Mahābhūta). (See also Tattva).

Nara means humans and Ayana means shelter so Narayana means the shelter of all human beings. The Narayana Upanishad reads: Om Namo Narayanayeti mantra upasaka Vaikuntha bhuvanam gamishyati,^[17] or "Whosoever chants the 'Om Namo Narayana' mantra reaches the ultimate goal Vaikuntha planet where one attains eternal blissful life." Vaikuntha is the supreme spiritual abode; there is nothing that exists beyond Vaikuntha, Vaikuntha means 'no desires'.

Actually, Lord Narayan is the supreme almighty, everything emnates from Him. In the Yajurveda it says, Om adha nitya Narayan ha, brahma narayanaha, shivasca narayana ha, shankarsca narayanaha and kalacha narayanaha, sarva bhutasca mekam via narayana Karan purusha makarana parabramahan' and ultimately it says 'Savo deve eko Narayana na dwitiyacha kaschit ("There is only one God Narayana and no second"). He Himself expands as Brahma the creator (Generator), Vishnu the maintainer (Operator) and Shiva as the annihilator (Destroyer)-GOD. Whether you read Rig Veda or any other Vedas and Puranas it has said Lord Narayan is the supreme and there is absolutely nothing beyond Him, it says in Srimad Bhagavatam Yesha tu Narayanam devam adevam isham ('Narayan is the lord of the lords beyond him there is nothing exists'). Whoever worships with love and devotion achieves the highest destination Vaikuntha. (G as Generator, O as Operator and D as Destroyer hence GOD)

Narayana's sculpture at Badami resembles Bodhisatva Avalokitishwara or Dakshinamurthy.

Adam Kadmon is a phrase in the religious writings of Kabbalah meaning "original man". The oldest mainstream rabbinicsource for the term Adam ha-Ḳadmoni is Numbers Rabbah x., where Biblical Adam is styled, not as usually Ha-Rishon ("the first"), but "Ha-Kadmoni" ("the original"). In Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon ("above") is the first of the comprehensive Five spiritual Worlds in creation, distinguished from Biblical Adam Ha-Rishon ("below"), who included within himself all future human souls before the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. The spiritual realm of Adam Kadmon represents the sephirah (divine attribute) ofKeter ("crown"), the specific divine will and plan for subsequent creation.

In the Lurianic systemisation of preceding Kabbalah, the anthropomorphic designation for Adam Kadmon describes its arrangement of the latent future sephirot in the harmonised configuration of man. However, Adam Kadmon itself is divine lightwithout vessels, including all subsequent creation only in potential. This exalted anthropomorphism denotes that man is both the theocentric purpose of future creation, and the anthropocentric embodiment of the divine manifestations on high. This mythopoetic cosmogenesis and anthropogenesis enables the "Adam soul" to embody all human souls: the collective Yechidah("singular") soul essence in Adam Kadmon, and the collective Neshamah ("soul") revealed soul in the Biblical Adam Ha-Rishon in the Garden of Eden.

In Judaism[edit]

Adam Ḳadmon—Diagram illustrating the Sefirot (Divine Attributes). (From Ginsburg, The Kabbalah.)

Kabbalah[edit]

Main articles: Five Worlds and Seder Hishtalshelut

General Worlds in Kabbalah
A"K Atziluth Beri'ah Yetzirah Assiah

In Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon ("primordial man") and Adam HaRishon (the Biblical "first man," Adam) are separate, though inter-related, concepts.

Adam Kadmon (abbreviated as A"K) is a pristine spiritual realm in creation, the first of the comprehensive Five Worlds. It represents Keter ("crown"), the specific divine will for subsequent creation. From Adam Kadmon emerge the following Four Worlds of Atziluth ("emanation"-Chokhmah divine wisdom), Beriah ("creation"-Binahdivine understanding), Yetzirah ("formation"-Tiferet divine emotions) and Assiah ("action"-Malkuth divine kingdom). Due to the transcendence of Adam Kadmon, it is sometimes listed apart from the Four Worlds, each represented by a letter of the Tetragrammaton name of God; Adam Kadmon is represented only by the thorn of the first letter Yodh.

The anthropomorphic name of Adam Kadmon denotes that man below is both the ultimate divine purpose for creation, as well as an embodiment of the Sephirot divine attributes. Adam HaRishon before the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis was the supreme essence of contemporary man, his soul including all subsequent souls within it. Adam Kadmon is paradoxically both created ("Adam") and divine ("Kadmon-Primary"), a feature it shares with physical Adam as interpreted in mainstream rabbinic Midrashim. Adam Kadmon is a realm of infinite divine light without vessels, bounded by its future potential to create Existence.

The two versions of Kabbalistic theosophy, the "medieval/classic/Zoharic" (systemised by Moshe Cordovero) and the more comprehensive Lurianic, describe the process of descending worlds differently. For Cordovero, the sephirot and Five Worlds evolve sequentially from the Ein Sof (divine infinity). For Luria, creation is a dynamic process of divine exile-rectification enclothement, where Adam Kadmon is preceded by the Tzimtzum (Divine "withdrawal") and followed by the Shevira ("shattering" of the sephirot).

Zohar[edit]

Closely related to the Philonic doctrine of the heavenly Adam is the Adam Ḳadmon (called also Adam 'Ilaya, the "high man," the "heavenly man") of the Zohar, whose conception of the original man can be deduced from the following passages: "The form of man is the image of everything that is above [in heaven] and below [upon earth]; therefore did the Holy Ancient [God] select it for His own form."^[1]

As with Philo the Logos is the original image of man, or the original man, so in the Zohar the heavenly man is the embodiment of all divine manifestations: the ten Sefirot, the original image of man. The heavenly Adam, stepping forth out of the highest original darkness, created the earthly Adam.^[2] In other words, the activity of the original essence manifested itself in the creation of man, who at the same time is the image of the heavenly man and of the universe,^[3] just as with Plato and Philo the idea of man, as microcosm, embraces the idea of the universe or macrocosm.

Luria[edit]

The conception of Adam Ḳadmon becomes an important factor in the later Kabbalah of Isaac Luria. Adam Ḳadmon is with him no longer the concentrated manifestation of the Sefirot, but a mediator between the En-Sof ("infinite") and the Sefirot. The En-Sof, according to Luria, is so utterly incomprehensible that the older Kabbalistic doctrine of the manifestation of the En-Sof in the Sefirot must be abandoned. Hence he teaches that only the Adam Ḳadmon, who arose in the way of self-limitation by the En-Sof, can be said to manifest himself in the Sefirot. This theory of Luria is treated by Ḥayyim Vital in "'Eẓ Ḥayyim; Derush 'Agulim we-Yosher" (Treatise on Circles and the Straight Line).

Philo[edit]

The first to use the expression "original man," or "heavenly man," was Philo, in whose view the γενικός, or οὐράνιος ἄνθρωπος, "as being born in the image of God, has no participation in any corruptible or earthlike essence; whereas the earthly man is made of loose material, called a lump of clay."^[4] The heavenly man, as the perfect image of the Logos, is neither man nor woman, but an incorporeal intelligence purely an idea; while the earthly man, who was created by God later, is perceptible to the senses and partakes of earthly qualities.^[5] Philo is evidently combining philosophy and Midrash, Plato and the rabbis. Setting out from the duplicate Biblical account of Adam, who was formed in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and of the first man, whose body God formed from the earth (Genesis 2:7), he combines with it the Platonic doctrine of ideas; taking the primordial Adam as the idea, and the created man of flesh and blood as the "image." That Philo's philosophic views are grounded on the Midrash, and not vice versa, is evident from his seemingly senseless statement that the "heavenly man," the οὐράνιος ἄνθρωπος (who is merely an idea), is "neither man nor woman." This doctrine, however, becomes quite intelligible in view of the following ancient Midrash.

Midrash[edit]

The remarkable contradiction between the two above-quoted passages of Genesis could not escape the attention of the Pharisees, for whom the Bible was a subject of close study. In explaining the various views concerning Eve's creation, they taught^[6] that Adam was created as a man-woman (androgynous), explaining זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה (Genesis 1:27) as "male and female" instead of "man and woman," and that the separation of the sexes arose from the subsequent operation upon Adam's body, as related in the Scripture. This explains Philo's statement that the original man was neither man nor woman.

This doctrine concerning the Logos, as also that of man made "in the likeness,"^[7] though tinged with true Philonic coloring, is also based on the theology of the Pharisees. For in an old Midrash^[8] it is remarked:

'Thou hast formed me behind and before' (Psalms 139:5) is to be explained 'before the first and after the last day of Creation.' For it is said, 'And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,' meaning the spirit of the Messiah ["the spirit of Adam" in the parallel passage, Midr. Teh. to cxxxix. 5; both readings are essentially the same], of whom it is said (Isaiah 11:2), 'And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.'

This contains the kernel of Philo's philosophical doctrine of the creation of the original man. He calls him the idea of the earthly Adam, while with the rabbis the spirit (רוח) of Adam not only existed before the creation of the earthly Adam, but was preexistent to the whole of creation. From the preexisting Adam, or Messiah, to the Logos is merely a step.

Talmud[edit]

There is a fundamental theosophical statement by Akiba in the Talmud relative to this topic. He says, in Abot, iii. 14, "How favored is man, seeing that he was created in the image! as it is said, 'For in the image, אֱלֹהִ֔ים made man'" (Genesis 9:6). That "in the image" does not mean "in the image of God" needs no proof; for in no language can "image" be substituted for "image of God." The verse quoted is not that of Genesis 1:27, wherein the creation of man in the image of God is primarily stated. Genesis 9:6 treats only secondarily of man's creation. In fact Akiba does not speak only of the image (צֶ֣לֶם) according to which man was created, but also of the likeness.^[9] בְּצֶ֣לֶם really has no other signification than "after the image." Akiba, who denies any resemblance between God and other beings, teaches that man was created after an image, an archetype or an ideal, and interprets Genesis 9:6, "after an image God created man," an interpretation impossible in Genesis 1:27. In the benediction in Ket. 8a, בצלמו בצלם דמות תבניתו, wherein God is blessed because "He made man in His image [בצלמו], in the image of a form created by Him," the concluding explanatory words state, in Akiba's style, that Adam was created after the image of a God-created type (תבנית).