Viṣṇu-tattva as stated by Śrī Madhvācārya

“Śrī Madhvācārya taught two theories that formed the foundation of his philosophy. These are the principles of (1) independence (svatantra) and (2) dependence (paratantra).

“Lord Viṣṇu is the absolute independent tattva.^[1]

स्वतन्त्रं परतन्त्रं च प्रमेयं द्विविधं मतम्
स्वतन्त्रो भगवान् विष्णोर्-निर्द्दोष-अखिल-सद्गुणः

svatantraṃ paratantraṃ ca prameyaṃ dvividhaṃ matam
svatantro bhagavān viṣṇor-nirddoṣa-akhila-sadguṇaḥ

Tattva-viveka (1)

The two theories of independence and dependence are the basis of his hypothesis. Only Lord Viṣṇu is the Absolute independent tattva. He is the endless, immaculate, virtuous person and He is the abode of limitless, flawless and beneficent qualities. He is omnipotent, fully independent (svarāṭa), controller of the conscious and unconscious world, sinless, full of eternity, knowledge and bliss (sac-cid-ānanda) and free from difference between the different aspects of Himself (svagata). This means that there is no difference between His body and soul. They are one unlike our body and soul in the material world. His body, excellences, pastimes, and constitutional position (svarūpa) are non-different.

Being eternal and the controller of all the controllers (īśvara), He is the master of Brahmā, Maheśa, Lakṣmī-devī and so forth.

सर्वत्र-अखिल-सत्-सक्तिः स्वतन्त्रोहशेषदर्श्नः
नित्यः-ता-दृग्-अचित्-चित्-नियन्ता-इष्टो नो रमापतिः

sarvatra-akhila-sat-saktiḥ svatantrohaśeṣadarśnaḥ
nityaḥ-tā-dṛg-acit-cit-niyantā-iṣṭo no ramāpatiḥ

Tattva-udyata (1)

He is the embodiment of universal pure potency in all space and time. Fully independent (svarāṭa), omniscient, having all auspicious qualities, the controller of everything conscious and unconscious, husband of the goddess of fortune, ramā-devī, He is our only worshipable deity.

मत्स्य-कूर्म-आदि-रूपाणां गुणानां कर्मणाम् अपि
तथैवावयवानाञ् च भेदं पश्यति यः क्वचित्
भेदाभेदौ च यः पश्येत् स याति तम एव तु
पश्येद्-अभेदं-एवैषां बुभूषुः पुरुषस्-ततः

matsya-kūrma-ādi-rūpāṇāṃ guṇānāṃ karmaṇām api
tathaivāvayavānāñ ca bhedaṃ paśyati yaḥ kvacit
bhedābhedau ca yaḥ paśyet sa yāti tama eva tu
paśyed-abhedaṃ-evaiṣāṃ bubhūṣuḥ puruṣas-tataḥ

Gītā-tātparya (2.25)

Those who try to find difference, or difference-with-nondifference (bheda or bheda-abheda) in the forms, qualities, pastimes and bodies of the incarnations such as the fish incarnation, the tortoise incarnation and so on, will enter into the hellish planets. Therefore, well-situated persons always try to visualise oneness in the name, form, qualities, pastimes and body-soul (deha-dehī) of Lord Viṣṇu; such learned persons never see the bheda or bheda-abheda.

“Śrī Madhvācārya explains in his purport to verse 1.11 of Mahābhārata-tātparya-nirṇaya:

निर्दोषपूर्ण गुण विग्रह आत्मतन्त्रनिश्चेतनात्मकशरीर-गुणैश्च हीनः
आनन्दमात्रकरपादमुखोदरादिः सर्वत्र च स्वगतभेद विवर्जितात्मा

nirdoṣapūrṇa guṇa vigraha ātmatantraniścetanātmakaśarīra-guṇaiśca hīnaḥ
ānandamātrakarapādamukhodarādiḥ sarvatra ca svagatabheda vivarjitātmā

Bhagavān Śrī Hari is free from all faults; full of all full-fledged qualities; and absolutely independent. His body and qualities are entirely transcendental and there is not even the slightest trace of unconsciousness in Him. He is the deity-form with hands, legs, mouth, and stomach–the embodiment of all pleasure. He is always the real object freed from svagata-bheda, and He is fully omnipotent, which means that He can perform any activity by any of His senses; for example, He can eat just by seeing.

कालाच्च देशगुणतोऽस्य न चादिरन्तो वृधिक्षयोउ न तु परस्य सनातनस्य
नैतादृशः क्व च बभूव न चैव भाव्यो नास्त्यत्तरः किमु परात्परमस्य विष्णोः

kālācca deśaguṇato'sya na cādiranto vṛdhikṣayou na tu parasya sanātanasya
naitādṛśaḥ kva ca babhūva na caiva bhāvyo nāstyattaraḥ kimu parātparamasya viṣṇoḥ

Mahābhārata-tātparya-nirṇaya (1.12)

Bhagavān Śrī Hari is greater than the greatest (parātpara) and the eternal object. No aspect of material space, time, or matter cause birth, destruction, growth or dwindling in Him. None but Lord Viṣṇu is the Absolute Truth, and this is so not only in the present, but also in the past, and will also be so in the future. As only He exists in three aspects of time–past, present and future–there is no existence except that of Lord Viṣṇu; so who can be greater than Him?

“Countless sac-cid-ānanda living entities are eternally present in the transcendental kingdom. everything here in this world is but a perverted reflection of what exists in the spiritual world in its pure state. All living entities, from Lord Brahmā to a small insect, can be liberated and in their pure state, they become qualified to enter the spiritual realm. These pure sac-cid-ānanda living entities having different forms are the image of Lord Viṣṇu without designation (nirupādhika).

“The purport is that all these diversities only emanate from Lord Viṣṇu, for He is the root source of all diversites. There are unlimited forms of Lord Viṣṇu which are eternally manifest. If Lord Viṣṇu did not Himself possess each of the eternal sac-cid-ānanda manifestations, there would be no possibility of existence for these different forms of life. The trees, deer and animals who are present in the Vaikuṇṭha planets are pure transcendental souls.”

Śrī Gaura Nārayaṇa continued, “Here another topic should be considered. At present, the gross material body that the living entities have received due to their previous karma is not nirupādhika. A person may presently have the human form, but his eternal constitutional form (svarūpa-deha) may be that of an animal or bird in the spiritual world. A living entity may presently be in a material fish body, but his eternal constitutional body may be a human form in the spiritual world.

“These are some of the fundamental teachings of Śrī Madhvācārya:

“The eternal constitutional body or form of the soul cannot be assumed just by seeing the gross material body. The gross body and the subtle body are only the coverings of the eternal soul. The constitutional body is nirupādhika, unconditioned, without limitations, and eternal. They may be of different sizes, shapes and colors. They are called nirupādhika images–different parts and parcels of Bhagavān; they are pure souls–independent, but inseparably united with the Lord. The original form of the nirupādhika image–with endless potencies, unlimited forms which are eternal, full of knowledge and bliss–is Lord Viṣṇu.

“Lord Viṣṇu, who pervades everything, has two parts: (1) image portion and (2) constitutional (svarūpa) portion. The unlimited jīvas are His image portions, while His svarūpa portions are His different incarnations such as, Matsya (fish), Varāha (boar) and so forth. The image portion (jīva) has many similarities with Lord Śrī Hari, but His incarnations such as Matsya, Varāha and so forth, are His own portions. Images are of two types: (1) sopādhika (with designation), and (2) nirupādhika (without designation).

At the beginning of Brahma-kalpa (the first kalpa), Lord Viṣṇu manifested into four forms for creation: Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha. In His Vāsudeva form, He provides movement to the living entities; the consort of Vāsudeva is ramā, or Māyā. As Saṅkarṣaṇa, He annihilates the world; His consort is Jayā. As Pradyumna, He creates the universe; His consort is Kṛti.

As Aniruddha, He maintains the jīva; His consort is Śānti.

इत्थं विचिन्त्य परमः स तु वासुदेवनामा वभूव निजमुक्तिपद-प्रदाता
तस्याज्ञयैव नियताथ रमापि रूपं वभ्रे द्वितीयम्-अपि यत् प्रवदन्ति मायाम्

itthaṃ vicintya paramaḥ sa tu vāsudevanāmā vabhūva nijamuktipada-pradātā
tasyājñayaiva niyatātha ramāpi rūpaṃ vabhre dvitīyam-api yat pravadanti māyām

सङ्कर्षणः च स वभूव पुनः सुनित्यः संहारकारणवपुस्-तदनुज्ञैव
देवी जयेत्यनुवभूव स सृष्टिहेतोः प्रद्युम्नतामुपगतः कृतिताञ्च देवी

saṅkarṣaṇaḥ ca sa vabhūva punaḥ sunityaḥ saṃhārakāraṇavapus-tadanujñaiva
devī jayetyanuvabhūva sa sṛṣṭihetoḥ pradyumnatāmupagataḥ kṛtitāñca devī

स्थित्यै पुनः स भगवान् अनिरुद्ध नामा देवी च शान्तिरभवच्चरदां सहस्रम्
स्थित्वा स्वमूर्तिभिरमूभिर-अचिन्त्य शक्तिः प्रद्युम्नः रूपक् इमञ्चरम् आत्मनेह्दात्

sthityai punaḥ sa bhagavān aniruddha nāmā devī ca śāntirabhavaccaradāṃ sahasram
sthitvā svamūrtibhiramūbhira-acintya śaktiḥ pradyumnaḥ rūpak imañcaram ātmanehdāt

Mahābhārata-tātparya-nirṇaya (1.6–8)

“I will manifest all conscious living entities in order to reveal their svarūpas situated in My body”–taking this vow, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Hari, manifests Himself as Vāsudeva to provide the liberation to His own devotees. Taking His order, ramā-devī has also taken a second form. The learned scholars have termed the wife of Vāsudeva with another name, Māyā.

“Again, this Supreme eternal Bhagavān appears as Saṅkarṣaṇa, causing the universal inundation. Taking His order, Lakṣmī-devī manifests Herself as Jayā. When the Lord appears as Pradyumna for the creation, Lakṣmī-devī manifests as Kṛti. When that Supreme Lord Viṣṇu appears as Aniruddha for the maintenance of the world, Lakṣmī-devī manifests as Śānti. When the Supreme Lord remained for one thousand solar years as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha; then Pradyumna, having inconceivable potency, handed over all the living entities to Aniruddha for their maintenance.

“Lord Viṣṇu accepts the rightful demigods, or great living entities, as His representatives and lets them perform the two functions of creation and destruction. As Pradyumna, Lord Viṣṇu infuses the creative potency into Lord Brahmā; and as Saṅkarṣaṇa, He imparts the destructive potency into Rudra. As Aniruddha, He Himself maintains the universe; and as Vāsudeva, He Himself liberates the jīvas. These four forms–Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha–appear again and again; and in one day of Brahmā, They manifest as incarnations such as Matsya and Varāha, which thereafter enter into their unmanifest (aprakaṭa) pastimes.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

According to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava siddhānta, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.28) states, “ete cāṃśa kalāḥ puṃsaḥ kṛṣṇastu bhagavān svayam–Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead.” Brahma Saṃhita (5.1) states, “īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam–Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, is the embodiment of eternity, knowledge and bliss. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the controller of all lesser controllers, and the source of all incarnations. He has no beginning or origin, though He is the source of everything and the cause of all causes.”