Vishvaksena

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Not to be confused with Vishwak Sen.
Vishvaksena
Commander of Vishnu's Armies[1]
Vishvaksena, depicted as a dvarapala (gatekeeper) at Srirangam
Other namesSenai Mudalavar, Senathipati
Venerated inVaishnavism
AbodeVaikuntha
Genealogy
SpouseSutravati[2]

Vishvaksena (

Pancaratra temple traditions, where temple festivals often begin with his worship and procession.[8]
vishwaksena is also worshipped by Nambudiri Brahman in their Vishnu temples like Padmanabhaswamy Temple, etc.

Iconography and associations

धर्मः स्वनुष्ठितः पुंसां विष्वक्सेनकथासु यः । नोत्पादयेद्यदि रतिं श्रम एव हि केवलम् ॥८॥

— Vyasa, Srimad Bhagavatam, Book I, Chapter II

Vishva is the universe or entire creation and Sena is Army. As Lord has his army in every nook and corner of the universe, he is Vishvaksena.[9]

The

gada (mace) and wearing yellow clothes like his master.[10] The Kalika Purana describes him as an attendant of Vishnu, who has four arms, and is red and brown in complexion. He seats on a white lotus, has long beard and wears matted hair. He carries a lotus, gada, shanka, and chakra in his hands.[11][12]

The

Sudarshana chakra (discus) in his upper hands and his lower hands are on thigh (Gada hasta) and in Avgana hasta.[5]

In the Madhva sect of Vaishnavism, Vishvaksena is widely believed to be the son of Vayu (Mukhyapraana). [16]

Literature

Part of a series on
Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities
Dashavatara
Other forms
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Holy scriptures
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Teachers—acharyas
Related traditions

The Brihad Bhagavatamrita describes Vishvaksena in service to Vishnu at Vaikuntha:[17]

Śeṣa, Suparṇa (Garuḍa), Viṣvaksena, and other principle attendants were standing in front of the Lord. With bowed heads and hands folded in devotion, they were glorifying the Lord with most wonderful prayers.

— Brihad Bhagavatamrita

The Garga Samhita states that Vishvaksena guards the northern gate of Vaikuntha day and night.[18]

Vishvaksena does not appear in

Agama texts.[3] Vishvaksena is believed to symbolize the sacred Agama scriptures.[12]

The twelve

guru parampara (succession of teachers and disciples) starting from Vishnu's consort Lakshmi (Sri) to Nammalvar. This indicates the influence of Pancharatra texts on Sri Vaishnavism.[20]

Legends

Shiva as Kankalamurti, who defeated Vishvaksena.

In one myth, Vishvaksena, the son of Varuna, prayed to Venkateshvara at Tirumala in order to become blessed with the title of the commander of his forces.[21]

The Kurma Purana speaks of a visit of the god Shiva in the form of a cursed mendicant or beggar (Bhikshatana, a form of Bhairava) to Vaikuntha. The Vaikuntha gate was guarded by Vishvaksena, who did not recognise Shiva and did not allow him to enter. Bhairava ordered his terrible attendant Kalavega to fight with Vishvaksena. However, Kalavega was defeated by Vishvaksena. As Vishvaksena charged towards Bhairava, Bhairava himself slew Vishvaksena with his trishula and impaled his corpse upon it. This form of Bhairava is known as Kankala or Kankalamurti ("One with the skeleton").[22][10]

Worship

Vishvaksena occupies an important place in the

Shaiva (dedicated to the god Shiva) tradition.[23]

In Sri Vaishnavism, he is described as the "dispeller of difficulties" and the bearer of a moon-like shining complexion. Ramanuja remarks that the Vaishnavas worship Vishvaksena in the place of Kartikeya and Ganesha.[24]

In the taniyan (hymn), Bhattar invokes Vishvaksena as one who facilities the life of Vishnu and Lakshmi and controls all creations by gesture of his hands to cause

chit (conscious) and achit (not conscious) to execute their duty.[3] In another hymn, Bhattar seeks happiness by appealing to Vishvaksena and his consort Sutravati.[25]

Mantra and mudra

The Lakshmi Tantra prescribe the worship of Vishvaksena and mention his mantra om rhum vaum jnanadaya namah.[26] The devotee should mediate upon Vishvaksena in the north direction.[26] Before making an offering of rice to Vishnu, Vishvaksena is prescribed to be worshipped with his mantra, portion of the rice offering and oblations.[27] Apart from invoking Vishvaksena to the rites, he is also offered by the Chief Priest by reciting the anga mantras (anga means "body" and "mantra" is hymns") with hasta mudras (hand gestures).[26] Vishvaksena anga-mantras recited at the beginning of rites is as below.[26]

"Om rhyram hrdayaya namaha (we salute your heart)
Om rhyrim sirasa svaha (salutation to the head)
Om rhrum sikhayai vausat (decorate the hairstyle)
Om rhraim havekcaya hum (decorate the hairstyle)
Om rhraum netraya vausat (decorate the eyes)
Om hrah astray phat.(decorate with armaments)"

The mudra for Vishvaksena mantra, which will enable a person to be free of all human bondage, is the following form. Three fingers of the left hand including the little finger are folded into the left palm itself, the index finger is held backwards away from the thumb. On the right hand three fingers, as in the case of the left hand, are folded into the palm. Then the hand is placed on the side of the nostril. The index finger is then doubled and placed on top of the thumb. The right hand is then raised up to show the mudra of throwing a disc. With this mudra, it is stated that a person can achieve freedom from the human bondage.[28]

Temple rituals

At

Brahmotsavam commences with the worship of Vishvaksena and his bronze icon is taken in procession around the temple precincts. Vishvaksena is believed to arrange for the festival and ensure that it goes on smoothly.[5]

The ritual of offering of remnants of puja offerings to the central or festival icon of Vishnu to Vishvaksena, before closing of the temple doors, is embedded in Pancharatra tradition. The poet Kuresha remarks that Vishvaksena sustains on the remnants of his master's food, which is a sign of approval of his master.[29]

The

Srirangam temple, dedicated to Ranganatha (an aspect of Vishnu), also celebrates similar festivals where Vishvaksena plays a role in the temple festivals. On the first day of the festival, images of Vishvaksena and Hanuman are paraded to the shrine of Ranganayaki, the presiding consort goddess of the temple. Soil from a holy bael tree and from the banks of the Kaveri river are brought by priests, as though collected by the deities and seeds are sown in this soil as part of the Ankurarpanam (sprouting the seeds) ritual. Then as part of the Nagarasodani, Vishvaksena is paraded again as though inspecting the streets before the commencement of the main procession of the central deity of the temple.[30]

The temple festival Brahmotsavam of Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram also begins with worship and procession of the god on the day before the main days of Brahmostavam, which is known as Sena Mudaliar.[31]

References

  1. ^ Life of Sri Ramanuja. Sri Ramakrishna Math. 7 April 2022.
  2. ^ Sri Vishnu Sahasranama: With the Bhashya of Sri Parasara Bhattar : With Translation in English. Sri Visishtadvaita Pracharini Sabha. 1983.
  3. ^ a b c Nayar p. 103
  4. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2015-08-27). "Vishvaksena, Viṣvaksenā, Visvaksena, Viṣvaksena, Vishvac-sena, Vishvakshena: 17 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  5. ^ a b c d "Sri Vishwaksena Temple". Official website of Turumala Tirupati Devastahanams. Org. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  6. ^ Nayar p. 96
  7. ISBN 978-93-5305-380-2
    .
  8. ISBN 978-81-8495-152-3
    .
  9. ^ A Prose English Translation of Srimadbhagavatam. M.N. Dutt. 1896.
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87722-122-7
    .
  11. ISBN 978-81-208-1124-9
    .
  12. ^ a b Dalal p. 462
  13. ^ Gupta p. 246
  14. ^ Gupta pp. 263
  15. ^ Gupta p. 90
  16. ^ Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya. MahaBharata Tatparya Nirnaya, Chapter 3 (PDF). p. 2.
  17. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2020-11-05). "Verse 2.4.73 [Brihad-bhagavatamrita]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  18. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2022-07-16). "Verse 6.21.7 [Garga Samhita]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  19. ^ Dalal p. 20, 270
  20. ^ Nayar pp. 95–96
  21. ISBN 978-81-87111-46-7
    .
  22. ISBN 978-0-691-01930-7
    .
  23. ISBN 978-81-88569-04-5
    .
  24. ^ Ramakrishnananda, Swami (2022-04-07). Life of Sri Ramanuja. Sri Ramakrishna Math.
  25. ^ Nayar p. 104
  26. ^ a b c d Gupta p. 187
  27. ^ Gupta pp. 263–4
  28. ^ Gupta p. 195
  29. ^ Nayar p. 145
  30. ISBN 978-0-7141-2424-7
    . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  31. ISBN 978-81-7017-026-6
    . Retrieved 1 January 2013.

Bibliography
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