Shrishti QA

Answers By Smt.Meera Tadipatri (denoted by MT)

"yaddhitam tava bhaktAnAM asmAkaM nR^ihare hare |

tadAshu kAryaM kAryaj~na pralayArkAyutaprabhA ||"

Oh Narahari, oh Sri Hari, you are effulgent with the brilliance of 10 thousand suns (signifying an infinite number). Whatever is good for your devotees, grant that to us. You know the best, so please do right away what you deem is best [for us].

Here is an attempt to share my understanding of Chandravamsha and Surya vamsha. Most of these chakravarti-s we know belong to the 19th kaxa and above

in our hierarchy. Wise say that an attempt should be made to understand their sR^ishhTi vishaya-s.

The characters of Mahabharata are well-known to everyone. However, their original form, previous birth, and the purpose of it are not so well known. In

Mahabharata-taatparya-nirnaya, Acharya has given these details, and it helps to understand and appreciate Bharata and its purport. To understand who is who,

a brief introduction of creation itself becomes necessary.

A brief account of Creation:

Creation has been explained in exhaustive detail in Bhagavata, Upanishads, and taatparya-nirnaya-s of Acharya from various aspects. The purpose of creation is to enable all the embodied souls to fully experience their own intrinsic nature. Broadly the shaastras call the matters pertaining to SRishhTi [vishaya] as "Kalpa."

There are two broad Kalpa-s, each one covering half the life of [Chaturmukha] Brahma. During the first paraardha, evolution of subtle elements known as Tattva

SRishhTi, and its governing gods are 'created' from subtle aspects. Towards the fag end of this Kalpa, Bhagavan creates the Brahmanda and [Chaturmukha]

Brahma is born again as Chaturmukha from the Lord's navel.

The creation etc., inside the Brahmanda accounts for the next half the life time of Brahma known as dvitIya paraardha.

Tattva SRishhTi:

When Bhagavan decides to start the creation process from subtle entities, He manifests in His four forms along with the four forms of Laxmi [MBTN 1.6, 3.9.ff]

1. Vasudeva + Maya --> [chaturmukha] Brahma called Virincha/Purusha.

He lives for 100 Brahma years which is an astronomical.

2. Sankarshana + Jaya --> Mukhyavaayu called Suutra

3. Pradyumna + Kruthi --> twin daughters firt one is Pradhaana, also known as Prakruthi [Sarasvati] and the second one is Shraddha [Bharati]

Purusha + Pradhaana --> Shesha known as Jiiva

Vayu + Shraddha --> Garuda called Kaala

>From Shesha and Garuda Vishnuparshada-s/attendants are born.

The next level involves form and lordship to these tattvaabhimani-devata-s

[MBTN 3.16.ff]:

1. Aniruddha+ Shanti --> Virincha the lord of Mahat-tattva and Sarasvati, the goddess of Speech/Vak

2. Virincha + Sarasvati -->Rudra, the lord of Ahankara tattva and his better half Uma, the lord of Buddhi

3. Sutra + Shraddha --> Shesha, Rudra, Indra are born.

Rudra gets abhimaanittva of three forms:

a. from Brahma, Shiva is born as Vaikarikari Ahankara and in this form he creates other Taattvika devata-s and manas.

b. from Mukhyavayu, Shiva is born again as Taijasa Ahankara and creates budhhi, panchabhutas, dashendriya-s;

c. from Shesha he is born as Taamasa Ahankara and creates shabda, sparsha, rasa, rupa and gandha one from the preceeding one.

Thus from Shiva, all other devata-s who govern other tattva-s are born. From Indra all other abhimanidevata-s connected with yajna are born.

Note that Tattvabhimani devata-s are born more than once -- 'birth'means:

1. acquire/sviikaara the post they govern,

2. to execute their duties inside the Brahmanda

3. acquire/sviikaara of various guna-s.

Even after all these, Devata-s still find it unable to proceed with the creation, so Bhagavan, called Purusha, creates the Brahmanda from its subtle form and

pervades it. Four-faced Chaturmukha emerges from the navel of Bhagavan. Unable to proceed further, Chaturmukha does tapas for several devata years

[some say one hundres devata years whereas others claim it is one thousand devata years]and starts creating the universe with the special grace and presence

of Bhagavan.

All the tattva-s and gods governing the tattvas are all born again inside the Brahmanda.

Padma SRishhTi:

This involves the tenfold creation *inside* the created Brahmanda. Bhagavan creates through Chaturmukha 14 worlds namely BhuH, BhuvaH,SvaH, Mahar, Tapa,

Jana, Satya and the underworlds like Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasaatala, Talaatala, Mahaatala, and Paataala.

The wise tell us that karma saadhana is possible only in this Bhuloka.

The ten-hold creation includes:[Bhagavata 3.11.ff]

1. The Mahat-tattva which is the 'body of Chaturmukha Brahma.

2. Ahankara-tattva[awareness of self] from which the panchabhuta-s -- the five gross elements aakasha/space, vayu/wind, fire/teja, water/Ap and earth,

and their guna-s known as Pancha-tanmaatra-s like shabda, sparsha, rasa, rupa and gandha are born from the preceding ones in that order.

4. Pancha jnaanendriya-s and karmendriya-s -- five sense perception and five action organs.

5. Their abhimaani devata-s[are created once again inside Brahmanda]

6. Evolution of nescience.

7. Immovable life form : Those needing food from their feet/root.

a. Trees with fruits without the flowering stage [like Peepal tree] .

b. Plants that perish after giving one time yield [like Wheat/grains]

c. Creepers needing support to grow taller

d. Plants with hard bark and nothing inside [like Bamboo]

e. Creepers that spread on the ground only[like Pumpkin]

f. Trees giving flowers and then fruits.

8. 28 species of animals needing food from sideways.

9. Mankind

10. celestial beings:

a. Devata-s

b. Pitru-s

c. Demons.

d. Gandharva-s[singers] and aapsara-s [dancers]

e. Yaxa-s and Raxasa-s

f. Siddha-s, Charana-s and Vidyadhara-s

g. Bhuta, Preta and Pishacha-s

h. Kinnara-s, Kimpurushas-s

Chaturmukha Brahma alone with his Brahmanda lives for one hundred Brahma years. To give a crude idea, every day of his is governed by 14 Manu-s and each of them rule for approximately 71 turns of 4 yuga-s! Each turn of the mahayuga is 4,320,000 human years. The night time of Brahma is of the same duration.

In between the manvantara-s, there is a pralaya called Manvantara pralaya which floods the Earth but there is no total destruction. There is also another bigger pralaya at the end of each day of Chaturmukha Brahma i.e., at the end of 14 manvantara-s, known as Dina pralaaya. Narayana in the form of Sankarshana residing in Shesha destroys the earth and the two worlds above it and it gets recreated every day of Brahma.

Towards the end of Chaturmukha's life the whole created universe gets destroyed and it is known as Mahapralaya.

There is one point in the Bimba-pratibimba theory which puzzles me. Why is there a reflection at all? Isn't that a reasonable question? If the jivas are reflections of Vishnu, does that mean it's Vishnu's intrinsic nature to "reflect"? I can't seem to be able to understand this.

MT: Reflection/pratibimba concept ["AbhAsa eva.. MBTN # 1.24 cf.

BSB 2.3.amshAdhikaraNa] implies *complete* dependency / asvatantra of the pratibimba.

1. Pratibimba has no existence without the bimba.

2. It is very much *different* and *always* adhIna of the bimba.

3. Similarity doesn't mean that the pratibimba has *everything* that the bimba has -- some characteristics of similarity are j~nAna, Ananda, ichchha[desire], kriya[action] [though dependent].

My confusion is, why didn't Vishnu alone exist, how did the reflected images, including his consort Laxmi, come about?

MT: Pls. see above.

They are not just "images" but are chetana vastu-s. They are beginningless and endless [anAdi and nitya]. Bhagavan preserves their nityattva and anAdittva

[cf. GT # 2.30 -- Padma Purana quote]

If something other than Vishnu is responsible for the reflection, what is that factor?

MT: Bhagavan is the bimba means that He is the controller, and Jivas are pratibimba means that they are controlled.

In addition to this, every jIva has its senior as their bimba and they in turn being bimba for their juniors. The chain of bimba-pratibimba bhAva exists in all jIva-s with Bhagavan as the *main* bimba/controller [MBTN 1.14ff] Knowing this chain of dependency is part of tAratamya j~nAna -- the controlled and the controller with Bhagavan as the ashraya/support of ALL at all times.

Also, if only jivas are reflections, where does jada fit into all this?

MT: The bimba and pratibimba should have some similarity/sAdR^ishya.

Though jada is also controlled by Bhagavan, it is not called pratibimba because it does not have j~nAna, Ananda, ichchha and kriya, karmaphala bhoktR^itva etc.

In case of Umapati Rudra:

1. First he is 'born' along with Uma from Brahma and Saraswati. This is said to be ardhanAri [manas tattva plus buddhi] form of Rudra. Thus he gets the abhimAnittva name/post for the Ahankara Tattva.

Rudra and Uma are posts given to different jivas based on yogyata. Definitely one of the yogyata must be saamsha , right?(opposite of niramhsha) So two selected jivas are brought forth from Brahma & Sarswati and endowed with gunas ,powers to discharge his duties as Rudra, and her duties as Uma .The jiva in Rudra's post here is taking on the portfolio of Ahankar Tatva while the jiva in Uma's position is reponsible for buddhi tatva.

The same jiva is again born as Shiva from Chaturmukha and Saraswati with a different set of gunas , abilities? And again from Sutra namaka MukyaVaya and Shraddha as Shiva with another set of gunas .

MT: Yes, to all.

This ahankarara tattva has three divisions -sAttvika mix, rAjasika mix and tAmasika mix. To create the devata-s and other tattva-s from these mix, Shiva is 'born' three more times. Here r u referring to the first Rudra +Uma born of Brahma and Saraswathi?

MT: Yes.

Does it mean that Rudra takes 6 forms before creation of Brahmanda ? ( 1. Rudra , 2. Shiva 3. Shiva 4.Vaikarika 5.Taijasa 6. Tamasa

MT: Yes, minimum six 'births'he takes.

Does Uma also take 6 forms ?

Nothing is mentioned but generally tattvabhimani devata-s work together as pair.

4. From the Sattvika mix, abhimAnidevata-s and manas tattva are created. This is vaikarika sR^ishhTi.

5. From the Rajasika mix buddhi and the 10 indriya-s are created.

The manas tatva, buddhi tatva mentioned in (4) , how is it different from that mentioned in (1) above.

MT: I understand the first level(1) as the stUla creation[form]of the tattvAbhimAni devata of Ahankara Tattva [MBTN 3.16] and the second one(4) as the stUla creation of jaDa tattva-s and their avAntara abhimAni devata-s [MBTN 3.17].

Does it mean that the manas and buddhi of each jiva comes into being(gets uncovered) with regard to (4) while the (1) tells about the abimani or control for these two tatvas.

MT: Tattva sR^ishhTi is not about "manas and buddhi of each jiva". It is more like a universal concept taking shape prior to Brahmanda.

Further I always thought that the Buddhi tatva is superior to the Manas tatva.(Mentioned in BG).Pl clarify.

I think in BG the reference is to the [anitya tadbhinna] manas*indriya*-- the internal organs which comprises of manas [with sankalpa, vikalpa], buddhi, chit, and chetana.

I am confused abt this because of the buddhi being born from Rajasa mix while Manas is born of Sattvika mix.

MT: Perhaps that is because you are taking this manas or buddhi here as internal organ? Also, I think the mix is more to do with their functions[?]

I. Manas Tattva:

"mano dvividhaM -tattvarUpaM tadbhinnaM cha iti"

vaikArikAhaN^kAropAdAnakaM manas tattvaM....

tatvAbhinnaM mana indriyaM taddvividaM nityamanityaM....

Broadly Manas tattva is of two kinds - tattva rUpam and the one different from it called [manas] indriya rUpaM.

1. VaikArika ahankAra is the upAdAna kAraNa for TattvarUpa manas*tattvam* Brahma Vayu, Rudra etc., plus Indra, Kama, Aniruddha and their spouses are its abhimAni devata-s.

2.Indriya rUpa manas again has two main divisions -- nitya and anitya. Nitya mana-indriya is always with the svarUpa and manifests only in moxa. Anitya mana-indriya is what you call antaHkarana whose sub divisions are manas, buddhi, chit, chetana.

a. Manas here is fickle with sankalpa and vikalpa.

b. Buddhi is nishchayarUpa yathArtha j~nAna

c. chit is the memory of the experienced padArtha.

d. Chetana is the recollection of many many things.

II. The Buddhi tattva that I mentioned in tattva sR^ishhTi[before the creation of Brahmanda] is is of two kinds - TattvarUpa and j~nAnarUpa.

"buddhirdvividaM tattvarUpA j~nAnarUpA cha iti ...

tatvarUpa mahattattvajanyA taijasAhaN^kAreNopachitA...

1. Mahattattva is the upAdAna kAraNa for tattvarUpa buddhi and it gets its upachaya/swells/expands from Taijasa AhaN^kAra. Brahma to Uma are its abhimAnidevata-s -- the degrees of abhimAnitva varies from Uma to Brahma and that is why you find so many devata-s.

2. j~nAnarUpa buddhi is of two kinds --nitya, anitya and further divided into yathArtha ayathArtha etc.

Can you please elaborate/explain as to the diff. between- tattva's governed by devatas- tattvabhimani devathas?

MT: Tattva-s are jaDa-s and their properties are regulated/governed by tattvabhimani devata-s who pervade them.

Also, why you specifically say above that 'abhimani devatas connected with yajna' are they karma centered if we take yajna literally or yajna here refers Vishnu. If it is latter, are there any abhimani devatas unconnected with yajna.

MT: I was referring to yaj~na gaNa-s[MBTN 3.18]born from Indra. These are the devata-s presiding over jyothishtoma, agnishhtoma, ashvameda, kariri, putrakameshti etc. Bhagavan has given them those duties. It is their sAdhana to stay and govern these jaDa and chetana vastu-s connected with it. Thus yaj~na-s are governed /controlled/accepted by Bhagavan through these abhimAnidevata-s and the phala also comes thr' them only.

Everyone does karma in this universe and it is impossible not to do karma -- the difference is that devata-s/aparoxins do it as a worship with the knowledge/realization that Bhagavan is the doer whereas we don't.

When Bhagavan decides to start the creation process from subtle entities, He manifests in His four forms along with the four forms of Laxmi [MBTN 1.6, 3.9.ff]

Pls explain abt the subtle entities before creation. Are these entities connote - tattvas, abhimani devathas lying dormant before creation in Damodara and then get enlivened by Him when the creation process starts.

MT: They are all said to be in invisible minute/sUxma form lying dormant. During the process of praLaya, the triguNa-s of prakR^iti return back to its equilibrium state --Acharya has given all these mathematical details in the BTN 3.11.14ff. JIva-s are all still imprisoned in the inactive linga-deha which has 16 aspects but except Mukhyavayu/brahma all are in 'trance'. There is no "tattva" and naturally no abhimAni devata to regulate it as a kriyarUpa. During the last one eighth of this period, 'process of creation' starts [naradiya quoted in the BTN 10.94]. .

Bhagavan in His four svarUpabhUta vyUha rUpa-s [non-different from Him] does start SsR^ishhTi and manifests as Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Sankarshana and Vasudeva.

Bhagavan stirs up this equilibrium state in a particular ratio.

He gives Laxmi parAdhInavishesha avApti -- Laxmi getting *vishesha* abhimAnittva/adipatya/rulership/rUpa-s of prakR^iti under the constant control of Bhagavan.

mishra SR^ishhTi: The jIva-s eligible to enter brahmAnda are given aniruddha deha by Aniruddha form of Bhagavan.

[Pradhyumna gives visible stUla deha thr' man-women contact inside brahmanda]

To give a crude idea, every day of his is governed by 14 Manu-s and each of them rule for approximately 71 turns of 4 yuga-s! Are these 14 manus governing Brahmanda takes care of each of the 14 lokas inside brahmanda.

MT: No not at all -- for example Manu # 1 rules for little over 71 turns of 4 yuga-s and at the end of his rule there is manvantara pralaya where the three worlds [bhUh, bhuvaH, svaH] which he owns gets submerged in water. Then comes Manu # 2 and so on.[bhA.pu 3.12]

Note that the other 11 loka-s are unaffected and stay in tact till the end of Mahapralaya as long as C. Brahma lives.

Some say that there are multiple brahmas, shivas, adityas

MT: No, in one kalpa, there is only one jIva that gets to be called as the brahma, the shiva...

etc., in His srusti. But there are dissimilar no. of entities. e.g. ekadasha rudra, dwadasha adityas, etc., and here 14 manus.

MT: but each manvantra is governed by a group of divine souls with Manu as its head, Indra as its ruler, Manu's vamsha, sapta R^ishhi-s and a manifestation of Bhagavan as Upendra. This team keeps changing every manvantara.

Before proceeding to the present Manvantara, here is a very brief account of the progeny of Svayambhuva to avoid confusion between the descendants of Daxaprajapati of Svayambhuva Manvantara and Daxaprajapati of chaxushha/ Vaivasvata Manvantara.

The sons of Svayambhuva are already mentioned. As for the progeny of his three daughters, the first one, Akuuti, marries Ruchi and begets Lord Yajna. Devahuti marries Kardama prajapati and Bhagavan Kapila, and nine daughters are born to them. The nine daughters marry the nine sons of Brahma. Details of their progeny are mentioned in the Bhagavata 4.1.1/ff

The third daughter of Svayambhuva, Prasuti, weds Daxaprajapati and they beget 16 daughters of which 13 are given in marriage to the god Dharma, one each to Agni, Pitrudevata-s, and Shiva.

1. Dharma's 13 wives and children become the abhimaani devata-s of all aspects of dharma as their very names suggest [Shraddha, Maitri, Daya, Shanti, Tushhti, Pushhti, Kriya, Unnati, Buddhi, Medha, Hri, and Murthy]. Of them, Murthy begets Bhagavan Narayana and Nara. This Nara's avesha is there in Arjuna. 4.1.49-52

2. Agni's wife Svaaha begets three sons viz., Shuchi, Paavaka, and Pavamaana, and they in turn beget 15 sons each -- all these 45+4 [4.1.60]are the abhimani deities of all 'forms' of agni.

Except the pradhana Agni, the rest are all in the 19th kaxa.

Pradhana Agni belongs to the 15th kaxa in the hierarchy.

3. Pitrudevata-s marry Svadha, Bhagvata # 4.1.63

4. Shiva marries Sati bhA.pu # 4.1.65

This Daxaprajapti is again born during chaxushha Manvantara,

[Bhagavata # 4.30.49]and his progeny are the gods of Vaivasvata Manvantara.

Here is a brief account of the progeny of Daxa [Prachetasa] of chaxushha Manvantara[Bhagavata 6.6.1/ff]

In the lineage of Dhruva and Pruthu, there ruled a king named Praachiinabarhi, who was known for his endless yajna karma. His ten sons, **Prachetas[bhA.pu 4.24.13], the realized souls, marry Marisha.

Daxaprajapati of Svayambhuva Manvantara is born to them with the same name, Daxa[Prachetasa].

He is the prajapati for this current Manvantara. At the command of Sri Hari, he starts creation and begets sixty daughters [first he begets thousands of sons who take the path of vairagya[Bhagavata 6.4].

Many of these gods take amsha/avesha avatara-s during the 'Mahabharata' period.

Among the 60 daughters: [bhA.pu # 6.6.1-3]

1. Ten of them wed the god Dharma [bhA.pu # 6.6.4]. The notable ones are Vasu, Vishva, Muhurta and Sankalpa.

a. Vasu's children are the famous eight vasu-s - Drona, [not to be confused with Dronacharya] Praana, Dhruva, Arka, Agni, Doshha, Vastu, and Vibhaavasu

[bhA.pu # 6.6.11]. Details of their spouses and their abhimaanittva are given in the Bhagavata 6.6.12/ff. The important ones are Pradhana Agni, who belongs to 15th kaxa, Vastu's son Vishvakarma, and Doshha's son Bhagavan Shimshumaara. The deities presiding over the [pancha] yaamas are born to Vibhaavasu.

b. Dharma's other wife Vishva gives 'birth' to the ten Vishvedevata-s, whom we 'worship' during all Naandi/pitru kaarya-s.

c. A group of gods presiding over 30 muhurtaa-s are all born to Muhurta, another wife of god Dharma.

Dharma belongs to 12th kaxa.

** Prachetas are not ordinary souls -- Acharya, while explaining "karmaNyevAdhikAraste... in his Gita Bhashhya # 2.47, quotes from Bhagavata the anusandana and desire [for moxa] of Prachetas:

Bhagavata 4.30.40:

yannaH sutaptaM tapa etadIsha nirandhasAM kAlamadabhramapsu |

sarvaM tadetat.h purushhasya bhUmno **vR^iNImahe te paritoshhaNAya**

Gist: [Prachetas stay in a vast lake and with Rudra-gita #4.30.1 meditate on Shri Hari with their mind under control for 'ten thousand years'- "dashavarshhasahasrani" bhA.pu # 4.24.13-15]. With each and every deed aimed at pleasing only Shri Hari -- studying, implementing, respecting teachers, duties to others, austirities, giving up food etc.,

b. Dharma's other wife Vishva gives 'birth' to the ten Vishvedevata-s, whom we 'worship' during all Naandi/pitru kaarya-s. But during pitru karyas (not sure about Naandi though) we worship only two visvedevatas - Pururava and Ardrava and their amtaryaami Aniruddha and Narayana, respectively.

Thanks for the correction. If I am not mistaken, even for Naandi karya-s, the 'worship' is done only thr' two specific visvedevatas [as a pair]-- different from those involved with 'pitru kaarya-s'.

btw, all of them belong to the 18th kaxa.

Five of these visvedevatas are born to Draupadi as upa-paandava-s and the rest are pancha kekaya-s

[HKS # 21.32].

MBTN 20.210:

Asan.h kR^ishhNAyAH paJNcha sutA guNADh.hyA

vishvedevAH paJNchagandharvamukhyaiH |

AvishhTAste chitraratha abhitAmra kishora

gopAla balaiH krameNa || 20\.210||

prativindhyaH sutasomaH shrutAkhyakIrtiH

shatAnIka uta shrutakriyaH |20\.211||

Bhagavan Shimshumaara.

Can u elaborate on this avatara I haven't seen any mention of him (or don't remember). Does he occur in Bhagvata?

Bhagavan as ShiMshumaara is 'born' to the Vasu named Dosha and his wife Sharvari [bhagavata 6.6.14].

I think this rUpa of Vasudeva is present in the constellations in the 'shape of a coiled whale' for the meditation of realized souls. There is some reference to the description of Shimshumara with the parivaradevata-s in the Bhagavata starting with:

kechanaitajjyotiranIkaM shiMshumArasaMsthAnasya

bhagavato vAsudevasya yogadhAraNAyAmanuvarNayanti || 5\.22\.23||

Also, Shri Raghavendra Tirtha and Shri Umargi Acharya, while commenting on Athatvanopanishad bhashhya # 4.11, mention that this rUpa of the Bhagavan is 'seen' in the middle of the BrahmanDa by those who have brahmaj~nAna [also check the notes section from Shri KTP's Principal Upanishad]

One of our core members, who is editing/proofing the bulk of bhAgavata e-text, points out that there is some reference to ShiMshumaararUpa in the 4th adhyaya of Bhagavata dealing with Dhruva's episode.

I checked the 4th adhyaya but couldn't find anything in the mUla bhAgavata other than one reference which reads that Dhruva marries Shimshumara's daughter Brahmi, however, Acharya's Bhagavata Tatparya on bhA.pu # 4.12.25-26 [number may differ in other editions] has mentioned about Bhagavan Shimshumara.

[Dhruva, after ruling the earth for 36,000 years [4.12.13], and reducing his [anishTa]punya-s thr' bhoga, and pApa-s thr'penance goes into deep meditation/samAdhi. Nanda and Sunanda, the vishnuparshadas, come from the [amukta]abode of Narayana with their 'vimana'. Seeing them, Dhruva does namaskara to all. They explain to him the loka that he will be going to].

"shiMshumAro dhruvashchaiva saMsthitau yatpure sadA |

tatpashyanti na yAntyanye lokaM yAnti surAnvina ||"

iti cha

Commenting on this quote cited by Acharya, Shri Yadavarya writes in his prakAshika that the loka governed jointly by Shimshumara and Dhruva cannot even be reached by j~nAni-s other than Devata-s. Other aparoxins can only see it but can't be there. This loka is surrounded by other loka-s like Chandra, Surya etc., and they all go clockwise around this loka.

Dhruva marries Brahmi, the daughter of Bhagavan ShiMshumAra.

Dhruva's other wife is ILa, the daughter of Vayu.

First son of Brahmi is the personification of vairagya, so the ministers of Dhruva choose the younger brother of his to rule the land.

Acharya quotes Brahma Purana in BTN 4.13.11

" kalpaH kalpAbhimAnI san.h shiMshumArAnugaH sthitaH |

vatsaro rAjyamakarotpitrA dattaMmahAbala"

iti Brahme

Gist: Bhagavan Shimshumara makes iLa's son Kalpa as the abhimanidevata of the Kalpa.

Shri Vadiraja seems to mention this rUpa in quite a few places in his Bhugolavarnana

Gist: [Prachetas stay in a vast lake and with Rudra-gita #4.30.1 ,What is this Rudra Gita and where can I find it?

It is a hymn taught by Rudra to Prachetaas for moxa sAdhana.

It is from Bhagavata -- starting with # 4.24.33 to the end of that adhyaya is popularly[?] known as "Rudragitam"

http://www.dvaita.net/pdf/purana/bhagavata/bh-4.pdf

With the blessing of Prachinabarhi/Shatadruti, their ten sons, the Prachetaas, travel west and see a vast lake as big as a might ocean where Lord Rudra gives darshan and gives upadesha dealing with "samyagj~nAna"/correct knowledge leading to moxa in the form of a hymn.

Manvantara-s:

A very brief description of each Manvantara relevant to the subject.

There are 14 Manvantara-s in a day of Chaturmukha Brahma. A celestial body consisting of Manu, Indra[the ruler of three worlds], a group of gods, Manu's children, a group of seven R^ishhi-s, govern the manvantara with Manu as its 'king' and protected by Bhagavan as Upendra.

Bhagavan is the Upendra in all the Manvantara-s assisting them both from inside and outside in many forms. The Indra for the first seven manvantara-s are none other than Bhagavan and the five rupa-s of 'Pandava-s' as mentioned in the Mahabharata Taatparya, MBTN 12.134. Manvantara-s are named after the Manu-s.

1. Svaayambhuva Manvantara:

He is the 'son'[maanasika putra] of Chaturmukha. Chaturmukha is also called as Svayambhu and his son is thus called as Svaayambhuva. Uttaanapaada, Priyavrata, Akuti, Prasuuti and Devahuuti are his children. The sapta rishi-s for this Manvantara are Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, and Vasishhita.

Svaayaumbhuva Manu is also the seer of Mantropanishad[aka Ishaavaasya upanishad] and one can notice the gist of Ishavasya Upanishad in the Bhagavata # 8.1.10 and this is also referenced in the Brahmanda Purana.

Yajna Bhagavan who is his putrikaa putraa [i.e., adopted his daughter Akuuti's son] is the Indra. Although there is no explicit mention in the Bhagavata as to the Upendra for this Manvantara, Sri Hari is mentioned as the Upendra in the Brahmapurana quoted by Acharya in the Bhagavata Taatparya, BTN # 4.6.24

Svaayambhuva belongs to the 10th kaxa in the hierarchy of Devata-s. As for his 'avatara', he is present in Dasaratha. During our adhyatmic/dhyanaprakriya, we worship him as the abhimAnidevata/upAsaka[of Bhagavan Aniruddha] in the mUlaadhara xetra in our gross body. In the naivedya that we offer, he is the abhimani for all side-dish/upaskaara.

In this Manvantara, Bhagavan incarnates as Yajna, Rshabha, Adivaraha and Narayana.

2. Svarochishha Manvantra:

Svarochishha is the son of Agni. Details of the sapta rishhi-s, his progeny are explicitly given in the Bhagavata # 8.1.20/ff. Bhagavan is born to sage Vedashira and Tushhita as Vibhu. MukhyaprANa called Rochana is the Indra [MBTN 12.134].

Manu belongs to the 19th kaxa. Bhagavan Vibhu showed the way of Brahmacharya to the thouands of sages.

3. Uttama Manvantara:

Manu is the grandson of Svaayambhuva Manu through Priyavrata. The names of his progeny, sapta Rishi-s, group of gods are all mentioned in the Bhagavata # 8.1.23/ff.

Uttama belongs to the 19th kaxa in the hierarchy. Dharmaraja as Satyajit is the Indra. Bhagavan is born to god Dharma and his wife suunR^ita as Satyasena and protected the Manu and his subjects by killing yaxa-s, rAxasaa-s and evil bhuuta-s.

4. Taapasa Manvantara:

Manu is the brother of Uttama. The names of his progeny, sapta Rishi-s, and the group of gods are all mentioned in the Bhagavata # 8.1.27.ff.

Tapasa manu belongs to the 19th kaxa in hierarchy. Bhagavan is born to Sage Harimedha and Harini as Sri Hari and He is the Upendra. The Ashvinidevata, Naasatya[later born as Nakula] takes the name of Trishikha and becomes the Indra.

VaidRti-s preserved vedas. The famous Gajendra moxa occurs in this Manvantara.

5. Raivata Manvantara:

Manu is also the brother of Uttama and grandson of Svaayambhuva. The names of his progeny, sapta Rishi-s, group of gods are all mentioned in Bhagavata # 8.5.1.ff.

Raivata Manu belongs to the 19th kaxa in the hierarchy. Bhagavan is born to Sage Shubhra and VikunTha as VaikunTha and He is the Upendra. The Ashvinidevata, Dasrau is born as Vibhu and he is the Indra.

6.Chaaxusha Manvantara:

Manu is the son of Chaxusha. The names of his progeny, sapta Rishi-s, group of gods are all mentioned in the Bhagavata # 8.5.7.ff.

Chaaxusha Manu belongs to the 19th kaxa in the hierarchy. Bhagavan is born to Vairaja and Sambhuti as Ajita and He is the Upendra. Sachipati Indra [the popular one] born as Mandradruma is the Indra.

Kurmavatara takes place in this Manvantara.

Reference:

Bhagavata Tatparya, edited by Shri V. Prabhanjanachar

Madhvasiddhanta Sarasangraha

Harikathamruthasara

-------------------------------------------------

1. I heard that Sriman Narayanaa created Brahma and Rudra. Sriman Narayana did the job of delegation of works also to those two. In that event, where from their consorts come?

sR^ishhTi has been explained in great detail in Bhagavata, MBTN, [skanda #1, 2, 3, and 11], and upanishads from various angles.

Re *sthUla* sR^ishhTi of the above gods, Acharya says:

MBTN 3.16:

tato mahattattvatanurviriJNchaH sthUlAtmanaivAjani vAk.h cha devI |

tasyAmahaN^kAratanuM sa rudraM sasarja buddhiM cha tadarddhadehAm.h || 3.16||

Gist: From [Bhagavan, in His Aniruddha rUpa and] Laxmi known as Shanti Brahma[viriJNcha] and Sarasvati are 'born'. This mahat tattvAbhimAni Brahma with vAN^mAnini Sarasvati give 'birth' to AhaN^kAra tattvAbhimAnini Rudra and budhhi tattvAbhimAnini Uma.

Note that the 'birth'/'creation' of these devata-s are quite different from what we understand as birth etc.

In case of tattvAbhimAni devata-s, their mUlarUpa 'birth' happens several times and thr' several superior gods. In general, each 'birth' represents the 'acceptance' [svIkAra] of special guNa-s. Shri Vadiraja explains that their 'birth' is first to 'acquire' the qualities needed for tattvAbhimAnittva. Secondly it is for their 'entry' into the 'created world'.

How their roles are made supplemental to the main goal of their respective spouses?

It is a very exhaustive topic! In fact, Chandogya first adhyAya,6th khaNDa deals their role as pair as a upAsana.

All the devata-s are amukta-s and from beginningless time have done their sAdhana as 'pair'.

For example, shaTprashna mentions how Bhagavan gives strength to mukhyaprANa who pervades air, space and bhAratidevi pervades earth, water, fire and together they make these 5 bhUta-s as material cause to create the world. To protect it, Vayu pervades sun and protects life force on earth and his companion bhAratidevi pervades moon and helps the plant/herbal kingdom to provide food to the life on earth. They pervade all the abhimAnidevata-s of dik, who along with their companions[sabhAryAH] discharge their divine responsibilities.

When Sriman Narayana is the root of all His counterparts,

I don't understand what you mean by "counterparts" -- are you referring to his other manifestations/rUpa-s?

how does Goddess Durga, supposedly His sister,

Bhagavan is above all such 'prAkR^ita relationship' -- He is never born to anyone. I guess you are referring to His avatAra-s and LilA-s.

There is a beautiful dasarapada[KanakadAsa?] which says how:

1. He is a son-in-law to His daughter -- Ganga being His 'daughter' and marrying her husband Samudra's daughter Laxmi].

2. Husband to His daughter -- His wife bhUdevi's daughter is Sitadevi.

3. Brother-in-law to His son -- bhUdevi's son Narakasura and daughter is Sitadevi.

4. Sister's husband: Both daxiNAdevi and Yaj~na are born to AkUti.

become His consort when He Himself is the Rudhra?

He is not Umapati Rudra -- He is *IN* Rudra with that name. Also note that durga is different from Durgalaxmi [maha Durga].

Among various laxmis (asta laxmis etc.,) Durga Laxmi is not there. Pls let me know whether she is different from asta laxmis. Is she the mulatattva from whom durga and the rest two gunabhimani devathas born.

I've heard about that stotra where Laxmi is worshipped as the giver of vidya, wealth, progeny etc., but as far as I know, in our sampradaya no specific "ashhTa Laxmi" is mentioned.

There is no bheda among the rUpa-s of Laxmi. Durga[Laxmi] rUpa is ever present. During the process of tattva sR^ishhTi, to give respective lordship to superior devata-s, Laxmi manifests in Her three rUpa-s -- Shri, Bhu and Durga. Bhagavan in His Vasudeva form manifests again thro' this Durgalaxmi as "sarva"[saMhAraka rUpa of the Bhagavan] to give saMharaka shakti/lordship to Rudra [MBTN # 3.19].

As a abhimAni for tamoguNa, Durgalaxmi controls the tamogUNa in us thr' Rudra. In our sampradAya, we worship all the three forms of Laxmi -- ShrI, bhU and Durga during navaratri [mahalaxmi, maha sarasvati, mahadurga along with Vedavyasa].

At the time praLaya, all the 'created' entities take 'laya' [enter] in this mUla prakR^iti. When every

tattvAbhimAni devata-s "sleep"[except Brahma/Vayu], Laxmi takes several forms and in Her Durga form she manifests the entire space.

During Krishnavatara, all three forms of Laxmi take avatAra:

MBTN 12.67:

tadaiva jAtA cha hareranuj~nayA durgAbhidhA shrIranu nandapatnyAm.h |

By the command of Hari, Laxmi known as Durga is born in the house of Nanda's wife[Yashoda].

Shri Vadiraja, in his sarasa bhArati vilAsa has devoted an entire Canto to Laxmi[Shripriya vilAsa]. Addressing Her as Durga [Shripriya vilAsa #33], slayer of two daitya-s Shumbha and Nishumbha with her DurgarUpa. In the next shloka, he gives the meaning of the word "Durga"

"durgamyaM yadbalAdanyaistaddhi durgaM vidurbudhAH"

j~nAni-s say that none[except Hari] can control Her with force.[?]

==

MBTN 11.220-222:

Listening to Aditi and Surabhi, their husband, Kashyapa abducts the special cow that Chaturmukha gave to Varuna and for that 'sin', they are all born as...

shUrAt.h sa jAto bahugodhanADh.hyo

bhUmau yamAhurvasudeva ityapi |

tasyaiva bhAryA tvaditishcha devakI

babhUva chAnyA surabhishcha rohiNI || 11\.219||

Kashyapa was born to ShUra-rAja as Vasudeva and his wife Aditi was born as Devaki and Surabhi is born as Rohini.

tat.h tvaM bhavasvA.ashu cha devakIsuta

stathaiva yo droNanAmA vasuH saH |

svabhAryayA dharayA tvatpitR^itvaM prAptuM

tapastepa udAramAnasaH || 11\.220||

tasmai varaH sa mayA sannisR^ishhTaH

sa chA.asa nandAkhya utAsya bhAryA |

namnA yashodA sa cha shUratAtasutasya

vaishyAprabhavo.atha gopaH || 11\.221||

The first vasu droNa[not to be confused with dronacharya who is much higher in kaxa] and his wife dhara did penance to Chaturmukha to have Bhagavan as their child. Chaturmukha prays Bhagavan to bless them.

Nanda was born to ShUrarAja [thr' vysya women]and dharadevi is born as yashoda.

tau devakIvasudevau cha tepatu

stapastvadIyaM sutamichchhamAnau |

tvAmeva tasmAt.h prathamaM pradarshya

tatra svarUpaM hi tato vrajaM vraja || 11\.222||

Vasudeva and Devaki also did tapas to have Bhagavan as their son, so pls. bless them first and then go to bR^ihad vana.

Ahankara & Mahat Tattva :

Can anyone explain what the ahamkAra and mahat tattva-s are?

MT: These achetanA-s come under anitya vastu.

Acharya in his Tattva-saN^khyAna mentions:

asaMsR^ishhTaM cha saMsR^ishhTamasaMsR^ihhTaM mahAnaham.h |

buddhirmanaH khAni dasha mAtrA bhUtAni paJHcha cha || 9||

Gist:

[Achetana-s are divided into nitya, nityAnitya, and anitya] Anitya is divided into AsamsR^ishhTa and samsR^ishhTa. The asamsR^ishhTa-s are Mahat, AhaN^kAra, Buddhi, Manas, the ten Indriya-s, the PaJNcha tanmAtra-s [Shabda/Sound, sparsha/touch, rUpa/sight, rasa/taste, and gandha/smell], and the paJNcha bhUtA-s [Btw, Akhila BrahmAnDa comes under samsR^ishhTa].

There is a brief description in MahabhArata TAtparya-nirNaya:

tato mahattattvatanurviriJNchaH sthUlAtmanaivAjani vAk.h cha devI |

tasyAmahaN^kAratanuM sa rudraM sasarja buddhiM cha tadarddhadehAm.h

|| 3\.16||

buddh.hyAmumAyAM sa shivastrirUpo manashcha vaikArikadevasaN^ghAn.h |

dashendriyANyeva cha taijasAni krameNa khAdIn.h vishhayaishcha sArddham.h

|| 3\.17|

"Thereafter Mahattattva abhimAni Virincha (Brahma) and vAgabhimAni Saraswati were born with sthUladeha. Brahma created AhaN^kAra tattva abhimAni, Rudra and Rudra's half-form Buddhi abhimAni, Uma in vAgdevi.

Shiva has three forms (vaikArika AhaN^kAra, taijasa AhaN^kAra and tAmasa AhaN^kAra). He created in Buddhi AbhimAni Uma - abhimAni devatas of mind and ten indriyas (vaikArika devatas) with VaikArika AhaN^kAra, ten indriyas with Taijasa AhaN^kAra, PaJNcha bhUtas and PaJNcha tanmAtras with TAmasa AhaN^kAra."

I guess the jagat sR^ishhTi is mentioned in the second chapter of the BhAgavata [2\10\??]as well.

From what I understand, there are two types of 'creation':

MT: tatva sR^ishhTi and BrahmAnDa sR^ishhTi. During tatva-sR^ishhTi, Sri Narayana, after creating Brahma, takes the form of Aniruddha [and Laxmi as ShAnti] and gives some kind of gross body to Brahma, which is made of mostly satva matter [light and intelligence] known as Mahat-tattva. Vishnu in Brahma is the presiding deity of this tattva. Out of Mahat-tattva, AhaN^kAra-tattva is created with varying measures of Satva, Rajo, and Tamo matter. The presiding deity is Lord Rudra.

AhaN^kAra-tattva is again divided into VaikArika, Taijasa, and Tamasa. The presiding deities of all tattva-s emerge from VaikArika AhaN^kAra, the functioning of sense and motor organs come from Taijasa AhaN^kAra, and the PaJNcha-tanmAtra-s is a product of TAmasa AhaN^kAra.

I've come across these terms in reading about Dvaita philosophy, but it was never clear to me whether they are part of the soul or not,

MT: The soul is chetana [sat, chit and Ananda] and anAdi, whereas these tattva-s are achetana-s and anitya-s.

whether there are many of them or just one, or even what these tattvas do.

MT: I think it is 24 [ five j~nAnenriya-s, five karmendriya-s, paJNcha-tanmAtra-s, paJNcha bhUta-s, buddhi, manas, Mahat and AhaN^kAra = 24].

And I guess I would like to ask the same question with respect to the 3 guna-s. Are they part of our very nature?

MT: I think the guNa-s are intrinsic qualities of the jIva. Due to the bondage/influence of prakR^iti, they are concealed to us. Only the right j~nAna and the grace of God can destroy this bondage/influence just like the rays of sun destroys darkness.

If so, how can they be created?

MT: They are not.

If not, then how can I be held responsible for sattvic/raajasic/tamasic actions that I might perform(or alternatively, how does it get associated with me)?

MT: As long as one thinks that he is the 'doer', he has to go through the merits and demerits associated with it.

And just as I asked above, are there many sattva/rajo/tamo guna-s or one per soul?

MT: Every jIva has a mixture of all three in varying degree. In HarikathAmR^itasAra guNatAratamya sandhi 20\18-19 [in ITRANS]:

Satva satvaru satva rAjasa satva tAmasa mUvaru raja |

ssatvaradhikArigaLu bhagavad.h bhaktarenisuvaru ||

nityabaddharu rajorajaru patti bhusvargdoLu narakadi |

pR^ithviyoLu saJNcharisutipparu rajastAmasaru || 18||

Gist: [Based on Odayaru-s comm.]

1. Satva jIvA-s are divided into 3 categories:

Note there is no pure satva, it only means that it has predominantly satva nature.

I. Satva-satva:

From Brahma upto and including Pushkara [#30 in tAratamya ?] come under this category.

MT: II. Satva-raja

From AjAnaja devata-s to Deva gandharva-s.

MT: III. Satva-tama

From Manushotama-s to tiny jIva-s.

MT: These jIva-s are all mukti-yogya jIva-s.

2. RAjas jIva-s are divided into:

I. Rajo-satva

Those who are bhagavat bhakta-s get moxa.

II. Rajo-rAja

This category is sub-divided into Rajo Rajo Satva, Rajo Rajo Rajo, Rajo Rajo Tama.

a. RRS : They have yaj~nAdhikAra and go to Swarga/Heaven to enjoy their punya.

b. RRR: These bhUprachurA-s [stay mostly in bhUloka ?] do not go to Swarga, but go to loka-s just below Swarga loka and enjoy Swarga type of joy for their good deeds and go to Naraka for their sins.

c. RRT: These niraya prachurA-s never go to Swarga and get wealth/aishvarya in this world for their punya and naraka for their sins.

III. RAjo-tama:

They go to Naraka for their sins and spend their time in Earth and Naraka.

This category and RR category at liberation go to SAntAnika and SAN^keta loka and enjoy a mixture of joy/sorrow.

3. The tAmasa jIva-s are divided into TS, TR and TT.

TamassAtvikarenisikombaru amitanAkhyAtyasuraguNavide |

tamorAjasarenisikombaru daitya samudAya ||

tamastAmasa kali purandhriyu amita durguNpurNa sarvA

dhamaroLadhamAdhama durAtmanu kaliyenisikomba || 19||

Gist:

Daitya-s are all tAmasa jIva-s. They also have gradation. Kali is the worst among them, and he goes to Andha-tamas; his wife Purandhri is also like him. Their servants all go to different naraka-s.

Coming back to the two heaps "SATVA" and "TAMASA" gunas, Narayana took four ladle is full of Satva guna and 1 ladel full of Tamasa guna and mixed them

with 2 ladel full of Raja water (VIRAJA river) just as we mix the flour for preparation of Chapati in our kitchens. Now, these 4 x SAT + 2 x RAJ water + 1 x TAM -

A TOTAL OF 7 PART MIX OF ALL 3 GUNAS later came to be known as Moola Prakruthi for further use by Lord Narayana. Lakshmi is the presiding deity of

this MoolaPrakruti.

KT: It is to be noted that mUlaprakR^iti is eternal (nitya).

In gItAbhAshhya, Acharya says (for verse 16 of chapter 2):

astaH kAraNasya sato brahmaNashcha abhAvo na vidyate | 'prakR^itiH purushhashchaiva nityau kAlashchasattama' iti vachanAt.h vishhNupurANe |

kAraNa (or prakR^iti) known as "asat.h" and Brahman known as "sat.h" never have non-existence.

prAkR^iti, purushha and kAla (time) are anAdi nitya entities - as mentioned in Vishnupurana.

This mUlaprakR^iti is upAdAna kAraNa (material cause) of the universe. There is no prAgabhAva (prior non-existence) or pradhvAMsAbhAva (subsequent non-existence) for mUlaprakR^iti.

Questions about tattvAbhimAni devatas:

I found the following quotation from your discussions to be very interesting : tattvabhimAni devata-s are present in our nAdi-s, and they make us do all karya-s as per the command of Hari/Vayu based on our anadi karma etc., and major phala for our action goes to them, and we get a tiny amount of phala.

Please can You do more elaboration on it: What tattvabhimanis in which nadis are present?

MT: Shri Jagannatha dasaru in his HarikathAmR^ita-sAra has devoted an entire sandhi for this one. In a nutshell it says [12.10-14]:

The tattvAbhimAni devata-s [in one form]'reside' in these 72,000 nAdi-s. Brahma, Vayu, Sarasvati 'reside' in the nAdi-s that are on the right side of the body, and Shesha, Garuda, UmApati Rudra, Shanmahishi-s of Krishna, SauparNi, VaruNi, Indra, Kama, reside on the left side.

Apart from this, Brahma, Vayu reside in the brahma nADi - the main nAdi that starts from the mUlAdhara and pervades all the way up to the head and above. This has predominantly 11 shAka-s; sUrya, chandra, VaruNa, Ashvini etc., [abhimAni devata-s of dik/directions/Indriya-s plus manas, totally 11] 'reside' here.

How many are them?

MT: 72,000 - some say 72,101.

piN^gaLa nADi branches into 50 nADi-s called mAtR^ikA nADi-s, and each one again branches into 100 nADi-s [thus 5050 nADi-s]. These are further sub divided into:

1. 50x10

2. 50x9

3. 150x8

4. 4800x6

Thus 5050 plus [the sum of #1-4]30,950 makes 36,000 nADi-s .Similarly, iDA nADi has 36,000 nADi-s. Broadly they are referred as shrI nADi[left] and purushha nADi[right side] governing the day and night time in a person's 'life' span.

The main nADi/pradhAna nAdi-s emanating from shushumna nAdi are 100 in number[HKS 8.19]:

pradhAna sushumNa/ brahmanAdi: 1

Shoulder - 10

Throat: 10

eye: 2

ear: 2

tongue: 1

lower parts: 1 +1

hR^idaya: 32

siras: 39

back: 2

Among these 101, there are 12 nADi-s which pervade our avayava-s/organs[?]. In these:

Ganga is present in iDA nADi,

Yamuna in piN^galA nADi,

Sindhu in hastini,

TAmraparNi in lambu nADi,

GomatI in madhya nADi,

GaNDaki in sarasvatI nADi,

KrishnavenI in nandA nADi,

Kaveri in gAndharI nADi,

SomanandinI in kuhu nADi,

TapatI in ShaN^kinI nADi,

GodAvari in vAruNI nADi,

PayasvinI in pUrNA nADi

In these, KeshavAdi 12 rUpa-s of the Lord pervade [HKS 8.19] - the very understanding of this is tIrtha snAna [HKS 12.9].

How in the systematic way we shall relate to them?

MT: Anyway, hope the following is of some help:

bhR^ihatI sahasra [aitareya upa] mentions that the Lord 'remains' in our body for 100 'years' and He is known as ShatArchin[aitareya 2.2.1]- bhR^ihatI sahasra consists of 36,000 consonants and equal number of vowels representing that many nights and days in our life governed by tattvAbhimAni devata-s.[aitareya bhAshhya 2.2.3-5].

Chanting Vishnu SahasranAma, which is a condensed form of bhR^ihatI sahasra, with the anusandhAna that the Lord is present in His anantAnanta rUpa-s in these nAdi-s and gives preraNe to us thr' the 24 tattvAbhimAni devata-s helps one in her adhyatmic sAdhana.

May be You can give some direct quotations about this from scriptures in Sanskrit or English?

MT: Re taratamya, the pramANa is based on taitiriya[2.17-20], bhR^ihadaranya[shAkalya brAhmaNa III.IX.28], shaTprashhNa

In our sampradaya [for the above ones from HKS], scholars quote shANDilya tattva[kalpasUtra of SV??], tAratamya kaustubha, nADI-kalpalata, tantrasAra, nADiprakaraNa suLadi of Shri Purandaradasa.

Reference:

Shri Odayaru's comm. on HKS

Adyam Bhagavata Ranganatachar's Madhva Mitran[vol.16 and 14]

Is the phala which goes to tattvabhimani devatas is due to our good karma alone?

MT: tattvAbhimAni devata-s get 'phala' in many ways- being inside our body and outside assuming many forms.

If so, what happens to bad karma. Do they don't partake it leaving the jeeva to suffer?

MT: Major share goes to the _daitya_ abhimAni-s[HKS 30.24].

Along with tattvAbhimAni devata-s, tattvAbhimAni daitya-s co-exist and prompt us to do bad things [HKS 30.20].

There are several instances in Upanishads about tattvAbhimAni-daitya-s controlling our sense organs.

cf chAndogya upa.1.2.1-7; bhR^ihadAranyaka, udgItA brAhmaNa 1.3.

1. shrI viShNu sarvottama

Acharya, in his bR^ihadAranyakopanishhad.h bhAshhya, avyAkR^ita brAhmaNa, mantra# 17, gives the list of the prAdurbhAvA [incarnations] of the Lord and also the 'avatAra-s' of all devata-s.

"matsyakUrmakroDasiMhabaTubhArgavarAghavAH | kR^ishhNabuddhau kalkidattahayashIrshhautareyakAH pArAsharyashcha kapilau vaikUNTho vR^ishhabhastathA |

yaj~nau dhanvantrishchaiva strIrUpastApaso manu | nArAyaNau hariH kR^ishhNa upendraH sarva eva cha | evamAdhyA hariH sAxAtprAdurbhAvAH prakIrtitAH |

The direct prAdurbhAvA of the Lord are: matsya, kUrma, varAha, nR^isiMha, vAmana, parasurAma, rAma, kR^ishhNa, buddha, kalki, dattAtreya, hayagrIva, aitatreya, vyAsa, kapila,vaikuNTha, R^ishhabha, yaj~na, dhanvantri, mohini, tApasa manu, nArAyaNa, hari, kR^ishhNa and upendra. In numerous dvaita works this tAratamya has been explained.

Sri Jagannathadasaru has explained this in his HKS, and Kalyani devi has composed a stotra on tAratamya, see our pre-release section at: http://www.dvaita.net/pdf/stotra/kalyani/taratamya.pdf Acharya, in BUB 1.4.17, expalins the final destination of jIva-s who propound and [intrinsically]believe in jagat mithya, abheda between the Lord and dependent entities.

Also, in *chAndogya # 6.16, there is conversation between Shvetaketu and his father. Acharya gives the real purport behind this: The ruler punishes the thief who steals petty things and for those who steal the very identity of the ruler, what punishment is too big? Surely, the one who robs the identity of the 'creator', deserves andantamas only.

In another place, Chan.7.14, Acharya beautifully explains the anology of a ruler who feeds all his subjects irrespective of their awareness of his lordship but gives special rewards through his ministers to those who serve him and none to those who are unaware of his benevolence. Similarly, devata-s acting on the behalf of the Lord, give only visible [grain]results to such ppl. whereas to those who serve the ruler with devotion, visible and invisible boons are given.

* Reference: Chhandogya Upanishad with the comm. of Shri Madhvacharya. vol.III, Part-II by Sri Shrisha Chandra Vasu.

shrI lakShmI - nityamuktaLu

bR^ihadAranyakopanishhad.h bhAshhya, avyAkR^ita brAhmaNa, mantra# 17 [3.4.4]

Acharya has quoted the paiN^gi shruti regarding tArataMya section that starts with

"brahmanas tadguNAnAM" to "..sarve sadA vishhNuparAyaNAH ityAdi paiN^gishrutiH"

"shrIrbhUrdurgA.ambhriNI hrIshcha mahAlaxmIshcha daxiNA

sItA jayantI satyA cha rugmiNItyAdibheditA ||

prakR^itistena chAvishhTA tadvashA na hariH svayaM |

tato.anantAMshahInA cha balaj~naptisukhAdibhiH |

gunaiH sarvaistathA.apyasya prasAdAddoshhavarjitA |

sarvadA sukharUpA cha sarvadA j~nanarUpiNI ||"

Gist:

shrI, bhU, durgA, ambhraNI [ambhriNI], hrI, mahAlaxmI, daxiNA, sItA, jayantI, sathyA, rugmiNI, et al

are her different forms. She is pervaded by the Lord, Who is not in her control. She is infinitely lower than Him in all the gUNa-s like bala, j~nAna etc.

By His grace, she has all guNA-s and without flaws. She is always sukharUpA and j~nAnarUpiNi.

Shri Jagannatha dasa in his HKS sandhi 21.3 describes Laxmi, the mother of Chaturmukha Brahma, as having all guNA-s due to the grace of Shri Hari, and is ever present in all kAla-s including praLaya. She is superior to Chaturmukha Brahma etc., and there is none [other than Shri Hari] who is equal to Laxmi, the abhimanini of the entire prakR^iti, among mukta-s and amukta-s.

HKS sandhi 21.4:

She is the abhimAnini of sattva, raja, tamo guNA-s.

She manifested as

1. "shrI", in the form of 'waters' of praLaya.

2. Kumbhini in the form of vaTapatra (Banyan leaf)

3. Mahadurga in the form of darkness of praLaya

4. Vedabhimanini AmbhraNi during shR^ishhTi

5. Rugmini and SatyabhAma - consort of Krishna

6. Shanti, consort of Aniruddha rUpa Hari

7. Kriti, consort of Praddhyumna rUpa Hari

8. Jaya, consort of SaN^karshana rUpa Hari

9. Maya, consort of Vasudeva rUpa Hari

10. Mahalaxmi, consort of Narayana rUpa Hari

11. Sita, consort of Shri Rama

12. Kamalalaya, consort of Ajita rUpa Hari

13. DaxiNa, consort of yaj~narUpa Hari [of Adi manvantara]

14. Padma, incarnated as daughter of Bhrigu.

She never had saMsAra bandha and never had liN^ga deha and thus known as nitya mukta.

There is no difference between her mUla rUpa-s and avatAra rUpa-s [sarasa bhArati vilAsa, shrIpriyavilasa].

Shri Vadiraja in his sarasa bhArati vilAsa [# 3 shrIpriya vilAsa], brings out the glories of Laxmi tattva who is a nityamukta --ever released soul and explains how absurd it is to see dosha in her avatara rUpa-s.

To support the above concept of nityamukta, Acharya quotes gaupavana shruti in his sUtra bhAshhya,

3.3.41:

"anAdikAle bhagavatsambandhitvAdyujyate cha

nityamuktatvaM tasyAH dvAvetAvanAdinityA-

vanAdiyuktau nityamuktAvanAdikR^itau

nityakR^itau yo.ayaM paramo yA cha prakR^itI

ramate hyAsyAM paramo ramate hyasmin prakR^itiH

svasminhi ramate paramo na svasminprakR^itirata

enamAhuH parama iti"

-- iti gaupavanashrutivachanAt.h

In essence the above shruti says that ShrI, due to her association with the Lord from anAdikAla (beginningless time), is ever liberated(nityamuktau) and both of them are ever present(anAdinityau) and ever together(nitya yuktau).

In the "Madhvasiddhanta sAra saN^graha", [based on padArtha saN^graha of Shri Vedagarbha

Padmanabhacharya] 1922 edition further explains this concept under "laxmIprakaranam.h"

Mukta is one who is liberated from its saMsAra bondage and nitya muktA is one who never had bondage from eternity meaning never had saMsAra bandha. She eternally has 'contact'/sambandha with the Lord in all places and time so she is ever liberated and thus higher than other jIva-s like mukhya prANa and other tattvabhimAni-s who at some point of time had saMsAra bandha/aj~nAna /fear etc. She never had 'jaDa deha' like the Lord. Her deha is j~nAnanandAtma deha. Both in desha and kAla she has complete vyApti but not in guNa-s. VyApti has three aspects like desha, kAla and guNa. and the word vyApti means completely pervading.

What are the names of the consorts (obviously Laxmi devi in different rupas) of the Kesavadi rupas? Is it found in HKAS or MBTN?

1. shri, laxI, kamalA, padmA, padmini, kamalAlayA

7. ramA, vR^ishhAkapI, Dhanya, vR^idhi, yajna, indira

13. hiranyA, harini, sathyA, nityA, Ananda, trayI

19. sudhA, sugandhA, sundarI, vidyA, sushIla, and

24. sulaxaNa

I. It is mentioned in the [bruhat] hAritA smrutiH, and quoted in the GurvarthadIdhiti, comm. on Tantra Saara

Sangraha verse # 1.60

"shrirlaxIH kamalA padmA padminI kamalAlayA |

ramA vR^ishhAkapI dhanyA vR^idhiryajna tathendirA ||

shaktayaH keshavAdInAM samproktAH paramepade

hiranyA harinI sathyA nityA nandA trayI sudhA

sugandhA sundarI vidyA sushIlA cha sulaxaNA

sankarshaNAdimUrtInAM shaktyaH samprakIrtitAH"

II. Sri Sumatindra Tirtharu has also quoted these in his "KeshavAdi-chaturvimshati-murti" stotram.

III. Sri Vijaya Dasaru mentions these names in the Durga SuLadi:

shri laxI kamalA padmA padmini kamalAlayA |

ramA vR^ishhAkapI dhanyA vR^idhi vishAlAyajna

indire hiranyA harini vAlayasathyA nityA nanda

trayI sudhA shIlesugandhA sundarI vidyA sushIle

sulaxaNadevi nAnA rUpagalinda mereva mR^ityunAshe..