Re: amshas, gross, and subtle form as per bhAgavata purANa 1.3
Originally Posted by
philosoraptor
Pranams,
Thank you for the response. So as I understand it, the form of the Lord from whom brahmA was born, and who resides on milk ocean is the same Aniruddha. But if the form having thousands of heads, eyes, arms, etc is merely a representation of the universe as the sharIram of bhagavAn, then is it a real form? I ask this because, I am inclined to believe it is a real form, given that Arjuna needed divine eyes to see it in gItA 11th chapter. Yet, I note that gauDIYas take it as an imaginary form.
It is a real form. It consists of the infinite number of universes and all the things contained in it, as the body of Bhagavan. "Vishvarupam" - the Vishvam is his rUpam. It is the body of Bhagavan.
The Universe is real.
One can also see the various avatara-s of bhagavan in that rUpa and the indweller in the hearts of all creatures. Meditation of the vishvarUpam, thus, is a meditation on the indweller only.
That is very clear - amshas are jIvas empowered by bhagavAn. But then, what are amshas of amshas? The Sanskrit has "amshAmshena" which all three translators are taking as a genitive (ShaShThi-vibhakti) compound. For example, if brahmA is an amsha, then is an amsha of this amsha referring to his immediate progeny?
I also forgot to mention that the word 'amSha' denotes inseparability of jivA to brahman. AmSha-AmShi bhAva, as it occurs in the upanishads and gita, is the same as sharIrAtma bhAva. Because jivA and Brahman are both dravyas and also the jivA is an inseparable attribute of brahman. The latter part is a trait of amSha-amShi and the former part equates it to sharIra-sharIri.
'amshAmshena' refers to the other jivAs. Brahma, the devas, rishis and manus are declared to be amShas because they are invested with some powers. The other jivAs are declared by 'amshAmshEna'. It is only to illustrate the decreasing order.
Also, what exactly is a kala? I reviewed the link you provided. It makes it very clear about chatri-nyAya and how the "ete" in SB 1.3.28 does in fact refer to the avatAra-s mentioned previously, minus the pUrnAvatAra-s. But it does not really specify what a kala is - is it just another synonym for amsha or does it refer to a differently empowered amsha? Or something else?
regards,
There are two types of avesa avatAra-s - shaktyAvesa and svarUpavesa. The former involves Vishnu investing some shaktis in a jiva, whereas the latter involves the direct descent of Vishnu in a jivA and acting through the jivA.
In the list mentioned in the bhagavata, we have Brahma, Rishis, Manus, etc who are shaktyAvesa, and hence, denoted by 'kala-s'. They have specific gunams or shaktis of bhagavan. But the list also contains Veda Vyasa and Parashurama who are termed amshas because they are svarUpAvesa.
This is not always the standard. Here, it is only used to differentiate the two types of avEsa avataras. In some places depending on context, even shaktyAvesa are described as amshas when svarUpAvesa is not mentioned. For that matter, even pUrnAvataras are described as amshas of nArAyaNa in Vishnu Purana to illustrate his ease in taking an avatArA.
Last edited by Sri Vaishnava; 09 May 2013 at 09:18 AM.
[CENTER][COLOR="Black"][COLOR="Red"][COLOR="DarkRed"]No holiness rules over my freedom
No commands from above I obey
I seek the ruin, I shake the worlds
Behold! I am blackest ov the black
Ov khaos I am, the disobediant one
Depraved son who hath dwelt in nothingness
Upon the ninth I fell, from grace up above
To taste this life ov sin, to give birth to the "I"[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]
[B]~ "Blackest Ov the Black" - Behemoth.[/B]
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P-JdwtK1DY[/url] [/CENTER]
Bookmarks