Vishvarupa (mythology)
The Vishvarupa ( Sanskrit विश्वरूप Viśvarūpa ) is an iconographic representation of the Hindu deity Vishnu or his avatar Krishna .
etymology
The Sanskrit word Vishvarupa is composed of Vishva ( विश्व - viśva, in turn derived from the root विश् (viś) - penetrate, enter into ; Vishva thus means all, totality, universe, everyone (all), omnipresent, all-pervading ), as well as rupa ( रूप - rūpa) form, shape, appearance . The Vishvarupa is therefore the universal form of God. Popular names for the Vishvarupa are Vishvarupa Darshan , Vishwaroopa and Virata rupa .
description
The one without a second, the Lord of the Universe, manifests this mystical appearance to his devotees. The most famous of these theophania is undoubtedly found in the Bhagavad Gita , the song of God that Krishna Arjuna , the prince of the Pandus, recites on the battlefield of Kurukshetra - part of the epic war between Pandus and Kurus described in the Mahabharata . In chapters X and XI of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna reveals himself as the Supreme Being and shows Arjuna his Vishvarupa. Since Arjuna was provided with divine vision by Krishna, he can even recognize this mystical vision and then describes it with the following words:
" अनेकबाहूदरवक्त्रनेत्रं
पश्यामि त्वां सर्वतोऽनन्तरूपम्
नान्तं न मध्यं न पुनस्तवादिं
पश्यामि विश्वेश्वर विश्वरूप "
"Aneka-bāhūdara-vaktra-netraṁ
paśyāmi tvām sarvato 'nanta-rūpam
nāntaṁna madhyam na punas tavādiṁ
paśyāmi viśveśvara viśva-rūpa"
“O Lord of the Universe, O universal form, I see in your body many, many arms, bellies, mouths and eyes that are spread everywhere and without borders.
I see no end, no middle and no beginning in you. "
Or a little further in verse 19:
" अनादिमध्यान्तमनन्तवीर्य
-मनन्तबाहुं शशिसूर्यनेत्रम्
पश्यामि त्वां दीप्तहुताशवक्त्रं
स्वतेजसा विश्वमिदं तपन्तम् "
"Anādi-madhyāntam ananta-vīryam
ananta-bāhuṁ śaśi-sūrya-netram
paśyāmi tvām dīpta-hutāśa-vaktram
sva-tejasā viśvam idaṁ tapantam"
“You have no beginning, no middle and no end. Your glory is unlimited. You have innumerable arms, and the sun and moon are your eyes.
I see you with blazing fire coming out of your mouth; you heat the entire universe through your radiation. "
The Vishvarupa is considered the highest form of Vishnu or Krishna, but a Vishvarupa of Shiva is also known. The entire universe is contained in it, and although the central deity manifests itself in different deities in it, it is in reality one and indivisible.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sharma, Chakravarthi, Sharma, Rajani and Sharma, Mrs. Rajani: Self Offerings . 2004, ISBN 978-1-4184-7502-4 , pp. 18-19 .