Nara-Narayana
Nara-Narayana | |
---|---|
Dharma (father), Ahimsa (mother) |
Naranarayana (
The Hindu scripture Mahabharata identifies the prince Arjuna with Nara, and the deity Krishna with Narayana.[4] The legend of Nara-Narayana is also told in the scripture Bhagavata Purana. Hindus believe that the pair dwells at Badrinath, where their most important temple stands.
Etymology
The name "Nara-Narayana" can be broken into two
Iconography
Nara-Narayana are depicted jointly or separately in images. When depicted separately, Nara is portrayed with two hands and wearing deer skin, while Narayana is shown on the right in the usual form of Vishnu. Nara is supposed to be depicted as fair-complexioned, while Narayana is to be portrayed as dark-complexioned.[7]
Legend
Part of a series on |
Vaishnavism |
---|
Birth
The duo were born as the sages Nara-Narayana to the god Dharma. They helped the defeat the demons in the Churning of the Milky Ocean and Nara was given the elixir for safeguarding by Indra.[8]
According to the Vamana Purana, the twins were sons of dharma, the son of Brahma and his wife Murti (daughter of Daksha), or Ahimsa.[9] They lived in Badrinath for a thousand years.[5]
Birth of Urvashi
The
Conflict with Shiva
According to the Mahabharata, Shiva's trishula, after laying waste to Daksha's yajna, travelled to the Badarikāśrama, where it pierced the breast of Narayana, who had been engaged in a penance. By the force of the utterance of the sound 'Hum', produced by Narayana, the trident was subsequently ejected from his breast and returned to Shiva, who was then determined to slay the sages. Nara is stated to have plucked a blade of grass from the earth, which became an axe, and discharged it towards the destroyer deity. Shiva is described to have broken this axe.[14] In Shaiva tradition, the sage Narayana performed great penances at the holy spot of Badarikāśrama, propitiating Shiva, and becoming invincible.[15]
Badrinath
According to the Bhagavata Purana, "There in Badrikashram (Badrinath) the Personality of Godhead (Vishnu), in his incarnation as the sages Nara and Narayana, had been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all living entities." (3.4.22).[citation needed] It is mentioned in the Mahabharata and Puranas that Nara-Narayana performed austerities on Mount Gandhamadana, in Badrinath.[16]
In Badrinath Temple's sanctorum, Nara and Narayana are next to Badri-Narayana.[16]
Duel against Prahlada
Arjuna-Krishna
Arjuna and Krishna are often referred to as Nara-Narayana in the Mahabharata,[18] and are also considered reincarnations of Nara and Narayana respectively, according to the Devi Bhagavata Purana.[19]
According to Bhandarkar, the deities of Nara-Narayana must have been very popular at the time of the composition of the Mahabharata, since in the opening stanzas of various parvas (constituent books) of the epic, obeisance is made to these two devas. In Vana Parva (12. 46, 47), Krishna says to Arjuna, "O invincible one, you are Nara and I am Hari Narayana, and we, the sages Nara-Narayana, have come to this world at the proper time.." In the same Parva, chapter 40 (verse 1); Shiva says to Arjuna — "In former birth you were Nara and with Narayana as your companion, performed austerities for thousands of years at Badari".[20]
The Mahabharata suggests that by saluting Krishna (the omniscient Narayana), his friend and the highest of all male beings Arjuna, Saraswati, and Vyasa, the orator, and destroying demonic possessions, and conquering the conscience, one should recite the epic Mahabharata.[21]
Veneration
In the
Members of this group interpret the events that took place at Badarikashram, the abode of Nara-Narayana, that led to the incarnation of Swaminarayan. They believe that Narayana took birth as Swaminarayan due to a curse of sage Durvasa which he accepted at his own will. The curse led to Narayana taking the form of an avatar on Earth to destroy evil and establish ekantik-dharma, religion based on morality, knowledge, detachment, and devotion.[22]
See also
Notes
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (15 May 2013). "On the dialogues of Nara Nārāyaṇa [Chapter 5]". www.wisdomlib.org. The two Risis named Nara and Nārāyaṇa, born of Hari’s Aṃśa. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Books, Kausiki (12 July 2021). Garuda Purana: Achara Khanda Part 1 : English Translation only without Slokas. Kausiki Books. p. 13.
- ISBN 978-81-7505-923-8.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-341517-6.
- ^ [1][2]
- ISBN 978-81-7505-923-8.
- ISBN 978-0-19-533261-2.
- ^ According to Vamana Purana, Chapter 6 - Bhandarkar p.46
- ISBN 0-89281-807-7p.66
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Nārāyaṇa". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ISBN 81-288-1040-5
- ^ Vijnanananda 2004, pp. 267–272
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Nara". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Dineschandra Sircar (1971). Studies In The Religious Life Of Ancient and Medieval India by Dineschandra Sircar (1971). pp. 23–24.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-385-53191-7.
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Prahlāda". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Section I". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Vijnanananda 2004, p. 250
- ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Kairata Parva: Section XL". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ "Sankshipt Mahabharat Vol 1 Gita Press Gorakhpur".
- ^ "History of Incarnation of Lord Shree Swaminarayan". Archived from the original on 10 September 2009.
References
Further reading
- Biardeau, Madeleine (1991). "NARA ET NĀRĀYAṆA". Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens [Vienna Journal of South Asian Studies] (in French). 35: 75–108. JSTOR 24006726.
External links
- Media related to Nara Narayana at Wikimedia Commons
- Nara Narayana