Synonyms of Vāsudeva used in Vāsudevavijaya

Another important point to be discussed here is the devotion of Vāsudeva towards Lord Kṛṣṇa reflected in Vāsudevavijaya It is notable that Vāsudeva employs the synonyms of Kṛṣṇa in the opening verses of each Canto.

The first Canto begins with an invocation which is already stated in the forgoing chapters. However, the first verse uses the synonym Vasudevanandana which means Vasudeva’s son.

Similarly, Vāsudeva uses the synonyms of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the beginning of all the Seven Cantos. Vāsudevanandana^[1], Kṛṣṇa^[2], Nārāyaṇa^[3], Mādhava^[4], Deva [Devaḥ]^[5], Nandana^[6] and Jiṣṇu [Jiṣṇuḥ]^[7] are the terms used in the opening verses of the Cantos one to seven respectively.

The synonyms of Viṣṇu given in Amarakośa begin with the following verse:-

sadānando rajomūrtissatyako haṃsavāhanaḥ |
viṣṇurnārāyaṇaḥ kṛṣṇo vaikuṇṭho viṣṭaraśravāḥ ||^[8]

These synonyms are described with six verses in Amarakośa.^[9] The synonyms employed by Vāsudeva in each Canto are taken to detailed study.

The first verse of the first Canto incorporates the word Vāsudevanandana, which means son of Vāsudeva. In Vācaspatya, it can be seen the reference as śrīkṛṣṇajanake yādavekṣatriyabhede amaraḥ | Then the word vasudevabhū is also explained there. vasudevāt bhavati, śrīkṛṣṇo vasudevasutādayo'pyatra |^[10]

In the second Canto the word Kṛṣṇa is used to denote the Lord. The reference for the word in Vācaspatya [Vācaspatyam] is bhagavato'vatārabhede vāsudevedevakīnandane |^[11]

The word nārāyaṇa is employed in the first verse of third Canto. The verse from Viṣṇusahasranāma is quoted in Vācaspatya to show the meaning of Nārāyaṇa. It is:-viṣṇau paramātmani jahnurnārāyaṇo naraḥ^[12] | There are too many etymologies for the word Nārāyaṇa in Vācaspatya.

The opening verse of the fourth canto holds the word mādhava. The word is described in Vācaspatyamas:—

māyādhavaḥ | nārāyaṇe |^[13]

The word means the husband of Lakṣmī.

Vāsudeva employs the word devaḥ which generally means a deity. But it holds the meaning of Viṣṇu also. It is evident from Vācaspatyam, where a verse from Viṣṇusahasranāma is quoted to give the meaning of the word Deva. udbhavaḥ kṣobhaṇo devaḥ^[14] (viṣṇuḥ) | Deva is one of the synonyms given in Viṣṇusahasranāma for the Lord.

The word Nandana, used in the sixth Canto means delightful or son. But at the same time the word also means Lord Kṛṣṇa.

A verse from Viṣṇusahasranāma is quoted in Vācaspatya [Vācaspatyam]. It gives the meaning of the word as:—

viṣṇau(pu.)-ānandonandanonandaḥ^[15] |

The last Canto i.e. the seventh holds the word jiṣṇuḥ which has several meanings.

Vācaspatya gives the first meaning as viṣṇau hemacandre and also quotes a verse from Bhāgavata.—

viṣṇurvikramaṇāddevo jayanāt jiṣṇurucyate^[16]

These are the synonyms for Lord Viṣṇu which are used in the opening verses of each Canto of Vāsudevavijaya This proves the devotion of Vāsudeva to Lord Viṣṇu. The author uses these synonyms for auspiciousness or blessing. Besides these verses, Vāsudeva uses many synonyms of Viṣṇu in his Vāsudevavijaya Among them the mostly used synonym as the name of the poem implies is Vāsudeva. Hariḥ, Śauriḥ, Śāṛṅgadhanvā, Vidhuḥare used in Vāsudevavijaya to denote the Lord. However it is obvious that the devotion of Vāsudeva to Lord Vāsudeva is boundless.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Prof. VijayapalSastri,op.cit.

[2]:

kṛṣṇāṅghribhakterupacaskare'tho bhikṣūṃśca kāṣāyapaṭānabhakta |
kartavyamātre paṭimānamāṭītsādevakī lākṣikapāṇipādā || ibid,v.2.1.

[3]:

nārāyaṇe rātrimaṭāṅganānamasātayetatra janiṣyamāṇe |
muktaṃ surairnākanagaprasūnaṃ papāta nakṣatrapathādanalpam ||ibid, v3.1

[4]:

rakṣāyai gorbhiyaśca śāntyai mūrtiṃ gṛhṇati mādhave'dhiṣayyam |
uddīpre sā jahau mahiṣṭhā nidrā pelavamadhyamāṃ yaśodām || ibid,v.4.1

[5]:

atha vraje viṃśakanaiṣkikādyaiḥ kāṃsyāyasatrāpuṣakāñcanābhaiḥ |
pātrairvṛte bhāti suvarṇajātairānnadvije'dīvyadatīvadevaḥ || ibid, v.5.1

[6]:

māsikādyāstadāvindannandanodayamicchataḥ |
nandato vasu dānīyā bhāsvaraṃ brahmacāriṇaḥ || ibid, v.6.1

[7]:

prārīpsitaṃ kṣmāpayate mahassvaṃ sampitsave'dryarcanāya ca jiṣṇuḥ |
ruroṣa nandāya sa ruṣya ruṣyetyasūnasusrāvayiṣad gavāṃ ca || ibid, v.7.1

[8]:

Amarakośa, Svargavarga,v.19,p.61

[9]:

ibid,v.19-24, pp.61-64

[10]:

Vācaspatyam, vol.VI.p.4863.

[11]:

ibid, vol.III, pp.2210-2213

[12]:

ibid, vol.V.p.4045.

[13]:

ibid, vol.VI, p.4748.

[14]:

idem.

[15]:

ibid, vol.V.p.3675.

[16]:

ibid, vol.IV.p.3120.