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ShAntAkAram
bhujaga sayanam padma nAbham surEsam
VishwAdhAram
gagana sadrusam megha varNam SubhAngam
Lakshmi
kAntam kamala nayanam yOgi hrudyAnagamyam
VandE vishNum
bhava bhaya haram sarva lokaika nAtham
MEgha syAmam
peeta kausEya vAsam
SrI vatsAnkam
koustubhOdbhAsitAngam
PuNyopEtam
pundarIkAyatAksham
VishNum
vande sarva lOkaika nAtham
Lord of
highest bliss and tranquility, who is resting on the thousand hooded Adi sesha, with a lotus flower sprouting from His navel,
the Lord of lords
The Lord
who is bigger than the biggest, the support of the skies, who is in black cloudish colour, the most auspicious Lord
Who is always
served by Srimati Lakshmi devi, the One with lotus like eyes, the One who is worshipped by the perfected yogis in their hearts
I bow unto
the holy feet of such Lord Vishnu, who removes all miseries from those who take His exclusive refuge; He is the Lord of all
universes.
He is Megha
syAma and adorned with Koustubha mani,
The first
Person, One who has innumerable forms,
The Lord
who is adorned with sankha(conch), chakra(discus), kirita (crown), silk cloths, the Lord with Kousthubha mani on His chest,
the Lord with four arms, the Lord in black cloudish hue, sitting on the royal
throne and who is the Lord of Rukmini and satyabhama.
This is
how the Supreme Lord, Narayana, described by sages and realized souls.
Lord Sriman
Narayana, who is also called govinda, Hari, vishnNu, krishNa, vAsudEva, …., is the the reason for every thing that is
manifested, unmanifested and yet to manifest. He is the foundation of every thing. For ignorant people, the description
of the Lord may appear symbolic or fictitious, but the infallible scriptures describe like this. The Lord of such incomparable qualities
is sometimes described in the vedic literature as nirAkAri and nirguNa only to explain that His form is beyond material
imperfections. Unfortunate souls mistake Him to have no form at all.
SrimAn nArAyaNA,
who is akhilAnda koti brahmAnda nAyaka (the Lord of infinitely many universes), has multifarious manifestations. His form
in His abode Sri Vaikuntha (the abode without any anxieties) is called para vAsudeva.
From Him comes 4 priniple incarnations called vaibhava forms, namely vaibhava vAsudeva, sankarshana, pradyumna and anirudha.
From Anirudha, many incarnations emanate as His sport and Mercy for conditioned people. As antaryAmi, He is present in every
one\s heart and everything. He is all pervading and omnipresent. To enable His devotees to have His personal darshan (appearance),
He mercifully incarnates as deities. Hence deity worship is no lesser than worshipping the Lord directly. Especially when
we are conditioned in material bondage, His archa vigraha (worshippable deity incarnation) avatAra is very easy means to serve
the Lord. When antaryAmi is like moisture in air, archa form is like water in the well, we cannot drink moisture but water
in the well can easily be used to satisfy our thirst. Hence deity worship is greatly emphasized by the acharyas. Lord Rangantha in Sri Rangam, Sri bAlAji from Tirupati,…. infinitely many available forms are
patiently waiting to pour their mercy on us. Let us take the best advantage of His most merciful form.
The following is a pictorial representation of His incarnations.
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