Vaikuntha

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Vishnu- Narayana stretched out on the cushion-shaped, coiled world serpent Shesha , together with Lakshmi and other accompanying figures at the Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh , Uttar Pradesh (around 500 AD)
three-headed Vaikuntha statue in the cella ( garbhagriha ) of the Lakshmana temple in the temple district of Khajuraho (around 950 AD)

Vaikuntha ( Sanskrit वैकुण्ठ Vaikuṇṭha m. ) Is one of the epithets of the god Vishnu in Hinduism . It denotes the place where he and his wife Lakshmi live, resting on the serpent Shesha . Sometimes the place is also called vaibhra . From this place of eternal bliss (paradise) he descends as an avatar .

etymology

The name Vaikuntha is probably derived from the Sanskrit words vi and kuntha and roughly means 'without break' in the sense of holistic or complete.

presentation

The most common representation of Vaikunthas is that of the god Vishnu- Narayana (cf. Dashavatara temple ) resting - meditating or dreaming - on the world serpent Ananta or Shesha .

Inside the sanctum of Lakshmana Temple in the temple district of Khajuraho there is the figure of a standing, three-headed Vishnu, identified as 'Vaikuntha' both by its iconography and by an inscription plaque found during the excavation and restoration work in the 19th century becomes. However, this type of representation is extremely rare and probably originally came from Kashmir .

meaning

For many followers of Vishnu ( vaishnavas ), Vaikuntha is the destination and place after attaining salvation ( moksha ), i.e. H. after liberation from the endless cycle of rebirths ( samsara ). This place - roughly equated with paradise - is located on the slopes of the world mountain Meru and consists only of gold and precious stones; the river Ganga (Ganges) flows right through it.

See also

literature

  • Vaikuntha . In: John Dowson : A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. Trübner & co., London 1879, p. 331 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  • Andreas Bock-Raming: Investigations into the concept of God in the older anonymous literature of Pancharatra. Harrassowitz-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2002, ISBN 3-447-04589-2 , p. 210 ff. (Contributions to Indology 34).

Web links

Commons : Narayana Images  - collection of images, videos, and audio files
Commons : three-headed Vaikuntha portraits  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. vaikuṇṭha . In: Monier Monier-Williams : Sanskrit-English Dictionary . Clarendon Press, Oxford 1899, p. 1020, col. 2 .
  2. Bansi Lal Malla: Vaishnava Art and Iconography of Kashmir. Abhinav Publications, Delhi 2003, ISBN 81-7017-305-1 , pp. 42f.
  3. Veronica Ions: Indian Mythology. Hamlyn Publishing, Rushden 1988, ISBN 0-600-34285-9 , p. 46.