Narayana

For twin avatars of Vishnu, see Nara-Narayana.

Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण; nārāyaṇa) or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu, and in many contemporary vernaculars a common Indian name. Narayana is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on Narayana. In the Kurma Purana he is identified with Brahman and Krishna-Vishnu, but in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana Narayana is considered different from Krishna and also considered part of Krishna.

In the Mahabharata Krishna is often referred to as Narayana and Arjuna as Nara. The epic identifies them both in plural 'Krishnas', or as part incarnations of the earlier incarnations of Vishnu, recalling their mystical identity as Nara-Narayana. Followers of Lord Swaminarayan believe that Narayan manifested himself as Swaminarayan.

Etymology

A painting of Vishnu seated on lotus

In Sanskrit, another name for water is ‘Naara’. The Supreme Lord Vishnu whose resting place ('Ayana') is ‘Naara’ is therefore called Naarayana. "Naara" also means the living entities (Jivas). Therefore, another meaning of Naarayana is 'resting place for all living entities. The close association of Narayana with water explains the frequent depiction of Narayana in Hindu art as standing or sitting on an ocean. Another important translation of Narayana is "The supreme Man who is the foundation of all men".

Another interpretation of the word Narayana sees Nara meaning "human" and Ayana as "direction/goal". Hence Narayana refers to the "direction of a human" (or the one that helps a human to his/her goal, i.e. towards moksha). Nara is related to moksha as both are rooted to the Water element (Ap), one of the Great Elements (Mahābhūta). (See also Tattva).

According to the Vaishnav Philosophy, the Narayana is the Purnapurrushttom Purush lord Keshav. In Gita, lord Krishna admits that he is the Keshav.

Variations

• Narayanasamy
• Narayanaswamy
• Narayan
• Narayanan
• Narine
• Narayanaswami
• Narain

Religious uses

• Narayana is another name for Vishnu and appears as the 245th name in the Vishnu sahasranama. (See Vaishnava Theology.)
• The book, Sri Ramanuja, His Life, Religion, and Philosophy, states that the name "Narayana" means, "He who is the dwelling place, i.e., the source, support and dissolving ground of all Jivas or souls, including inert matter."
• Om Namo NārāyaNāya is one of the most famous mantras chanted by Hindus. This mantra, along with Om Namah Shivāya, and the Gayatri mantra are the most sacred prayers by Hindus.
• When doing a puja, people say the 108 names of Narayana.

A verse that confers the Devas' subordinate status comes from the Vishnu sahasranama, whose concluding verses state: "The Rishis (great sages), ancestors, the Devas, the great elements, in fact, all things moving and unmoving constituting this universe have originated from Narayana." This verse indicates that the Devas are subordinate to Vishnu, but Vishnu is often named a Deva. (Vasudeva, Narasimhadeva, etc.)

Description of Narayanas

There is a Vedic texts called Siddhārtha-saḿhitā, which describes Narayana/Vishnu according to four attributes in their hands. Description of Vishnu-murti is done in the following order: 1) lower right hand 2) upper right hand 3) upper left hand 4) lower left hand Another Vedic text, called Hayaśīrṣa-pañcarātra tells us that there are 16 transcendental forms of Vishnu/Narayana in Vaikuntha/spiritual sky (paravyoma).

Tranascendental forms of four-handed Vishnu/Narayana

Four principal four-handed forms: Vāsudeva - mace, conch shell, disc and lotus flower. Sańkarṣaṇa - mace, conch shell, lotus flower and disc. Pradyumna - disc, conch shell, mace and lotus flower. Aniruddha - disc, mace, conch shell and lotus flower.

Description of 20 Nārāyaṇas and their attributes, starting lower-right hand upwards: 1 Śrī Keśava - flower, conch shell, disc, mace, 2 Nārāyaṇa - conch, flower, mace and disc, 3 Śrī Mādhava - mace, disc, conch and flower, 4 Śrī Govinda - disc, mace, flower and conch, 5 Viṣṇu-mūrti - mace, flower, conch and disc, 6 Madhusūdana - disc, conch, flower and mace, 7 Trivikrama - flower, mace, disc and shell, 8 Śrī Vāmana - conch, disc, mace and flower, 9 Śrīdhara - flower, disc, mace and shell, 10 Hṛṣīkeśa - mace, disc, flower and conch, 11 Padmanābha - shell, flower, disc and mace, 12 Dāmodara - flower, disc, mace and shell, 13 Puruṣottama - disc, flower, shell and mace, 14 Acyuta - mace, flower, disc and shell, 15 Nṛsiḿha - disc, flower, mace and shell, 16 Janārdana - flower, disc, shell and mace, 17 Śrī Hari - shell, disc, flower and mace, 18 Śrī Kṛṣṇa - shell, mace, flower and disc, 19 Adhokṣaja - flower, mace, shell and disc, 20 Upendra - shell, mace, disc and flower. One should carefully notice that this four-handed Krishna is different from two-handed Krishna on Goloka-Vrindavana.

Secular uses

• Among the many people with the name Narayan are the novelist R.K. Narayan, the 10th President of India K. R. Narayanan, Infosys founder and Non-Executive Chairman of the board N. R. Narayana Murthy, the political activist Jayaprakash Narayan, the singer Udit Narayan and the Indo-Fijian stateswoman Irene Jai Narayan. Prithvi Narayan Shah founded the kingdom of Nepal

• There is also song "Narayan" by The Prodigy on their The Fat of the Land album, with the lyrical line "Om Namah Narayana". The song is co-composed and sung by Crispian Mills, singer and frontman of the English psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker. Kula Shaker covers the song in a version named "Song of Love/Narayana" in their Strangefolk album.

• In the video game Grand Theft Auto 2 from the Grand Theft Auto series, Narayana is the name of a neighbourhood occupied by the Hare Krishna street gang.

• In the video game Myst III: Exile, the final age to which the player travels is called Narayan. It consists of an ocean extending to the horizon, beneath a clouded sky in which float trees, suspended by bubbly "pearls" released periodically by the ocean.

• The name of the Siamese king Narai (r. 1656-1688) is a Thai pronunciation of Narayana.

External links

• Name of Narayana even at the time of death can save a great sinner, Ajamila.
• http://www.srivaishnavan.com/ans_secrets.html (See Answer #14.)