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From: Ram Gopalaswamy (gopalram_at_erols.com)
Date: Sat Jul 11 1998 - 23:21:55 PDT
Mani Varadarajan <mani@be.com> replies:
> Ram Gopalaswamy <gopalram@erols.com> asks:
> >
> > - Are zriimad askTaaksharam, and zriimad dvayam eternal mantras (ie. zruti) ?
> > or are they revealed by an avataara of Bhagavan from time to time
> > as necessary (ie. smrti) ?
> >
>
> Vedanta Desika covers these topics in Srimad Rahasya Traya Saaram.
> According to Desika, the ashTaakshara mantra is a Vedic mantra,
> and is found in the nArAyaNa upanishad, among other places. It can
> become a tantric, i.e., Veda-inspired but not _from_ the Vedas, with
> slight modifications, as discussed in a separate thread earlier.
>
> The dvaya mantra is a tAntrika mantra that is alluded to in the Vedas.
> Reference to it is made in a now-lost section of the Vedas known as
> "kaTha Sruti".
>
> I do not know whether this makes it technically "smRti".
>
> > Are the rshi-s avataara of zriiman-naaraayaNa for the purpose of
> > revealing mantras or are they svayam zriiman-naaraayaNa Himself ?
>
> I don't understand the distinction between the two. Could you elaborate?
>
> Mani
>
>
Dear Sri.Mani,
Thanks for the information.
Please excuse my vague writing. I meant to ask:
Who are the naaraayaNa rshis ?
a. saakshaat vibhava avataara or
b. some kind of aaveza avataara.
Sri SM Srinivasa Chari talks about different types of vibhava avataara
in his book, "Vaishnavism" .
My understanding from the book:
- saakshaat avataara or direct descent of zriiman-naaraayaNa with
His Absolute Transcendental Form (divya-mangala-vigraha) looking outwardly
like a living entity.
[ The Supreme Lord descends with His pure internal potency (suddha satva)
and He is _unaffected_ (avyayam) by the three modes of material nature.]
Example: zrii KrshNa, zrii nrsmha, zrii varaaha, zrii Raama etc
[ My guess is that zriimad bhagavad-giita, is revered as
smrti-prasthaana (ie foremost of authored works) because
it was spoken the saakshaat avataara, zrii KrshNa. ]
- aaveza avataara or divine empowerment of devotees.
Different types of aaveza include:
a. Pervasion of spiritual divine body of the Lord into the body of
an individual (eg. Parazu-raama avataara.)
b. Infusion of divine power into an individual (zaktyaaveza)
(eg Sage Sri Vyaasadeva)
39 vibhava avataaras mentioned in the ahirbudhnya samhita include
(nara and ) naaraayaNa as avataaras.
.Ram.
PS: BTW, is the title "rshi" reserved exclusively for sages to
whom vedas were revealed ?