Narayana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Learn more about citing Wikipedia •
Jump to: navigation, search
For twin avatars of Vishnu, see Nara-Narayana.
Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण; nārāyaṇa) or Narayan is an important Sanskrit name for Vishnu and is in many contemporary vernaculars, a common Indian name. The name is also associated with Brahman. He is also identified as the original man, Purusha. The Puranas present divergent views on the doctrine of Narayana. In Kumara Purana he is identified with Brahman and Krishna-Vishnu. In Brahmavaivarta Purana, Narayana is considered different to Krishna and in the same text he is considered part of Krishna. [1]
In the Mahabharata, Krishna is often referred to as Narayana and Arjuna as Nara. [2] 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.[3] Followers of Lord Swaminarayan believe that Lord Narayan manifested himself as Lord Swaminarayan.[4]
Furthermore, the name Narayana is a Sanskrit tatpurusha compound, with the members nara, which means "human, man", and ayana "eternal, without ending (a-yana)".[citation needed] Tradition associates the nara element with another meaning of "water", explaining the name as indicating the all-pervasive nature of Narayana as that of an infinite ocean in which the never-ending movement of birth, life and death of the cosmos occurs. Narayana according to this etymology is the one who moves in the infinite waters and is also the water itself. This close association of Narayana with water explains the frequent depiction of Narayana in Hindu Art as standing or sitting on an ocean. An another important translation of Narayana is "The supreme Man who is the foundation of all men".[citation needed]