The concept of Bhakti in Vāsudevavijaya

Vāsudeva’s Bhakti concept can be found everywhere in Vāsudevavijaya The name and the theme of the poem are enough to prove the devotion of Vāsudeva towards Lord Kṛṣṇa. the tenth skandha of Bhāgavata is the theme for the poem which describes the life and deeds of Kṛṣṇa.

The employment of the synonyms of Kṛṣṇa in every first verses of each canto is another matter of fact which reveals the bhakti of Vāsudeva. Vasudevanandana, Kṛṣṇa, Mādhava, Nārāyaṇa, Deva, Nandana and Jiṣṇu are the synonyms used in the first verses of each canto.^[1]

The Padacandikā commentary begins with the verse,

vighneśabhāratīvyāsaguruśābdikamūrtaye |
namo'stu patye bhūtānāṃ sadānandacidātmane ||^[2]

The author adores Lord Vighneśa Goddess Saraswatī, Vyāsa, Guru, Pāṇinī and Lord Śiva in the above verse.

Then the second verse, the author Vāsudeva salutes the ten incarnations of Lord Viṣṇu.

matsyakacchapabhūdāranṛsiṃhavaṭuvigraham |
naumi rāmatrayī-kṛṣṇa-kalkirūpamadhokṣajam ||^[3]

In the next verse Vāsudeva praises Lord Kṛṣṇa.

kundasūnamanohāri mandahāsavirājitam |
nandagopakulottaṃsamindirāramaṇaṃ bhaje ||^[4]

Hence, there can be found instances for Vāsudeva’s devotion.

In the same way, the verses quoted from Bhāgavata in the Padacandrikā commentary of Vāsudevavijaya, also proves his devotion towards Kṛṣṇa. Vāsudeva quotes Bhāgavata’ s verses for substantiating certain statement. For example Vāsudeva delineate the difference between Gaṅgā and Surasindhu, quote a hemistitch from Bhāgavata^[5]. Thus the quotations from Bhāgavata can be seen in Vāsudevavijaya This shows Vāsudeva’s interest towards Bhāgavata and his devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Besides, the description of birth of Kṛṣṇa, festivals and depictions regarding the Kṛṣṇa’s birth^[6], eulogy and worship done by Vasudeva to the Lord Viṣṇu^[7], etc. are well described. Through these descriptions it can be understood the devotion of Vāsudeva to Kṛṣṇa.

Along with these descriptions the sixth canto is completely devoted to praise Kṛṣṛṇa. Vāsudeva’s devotion and philosophy are well-developed in this canto.

Here, the section of Kāliyamarddhana^[8], holds too many references to the Bhakti of Vāsudeva.

bhajetacet bhavantaṃnā''manasyamavāpnuyāt |
muktasaṃkaṭamicchāmo sa bhavān muñcatāmamum || (Vāsudevavijaya 6.75)

The man who worships Kṛṣṇa, will not affected by the sorrows if he worship Kṛṣṇa. Here Vāsudeva shows his devotion to Kṛṣṇa and he considers the Lord Kṛṣṇa as the destroyer of all kind of sorrows.

The author also states that, Kṛṣṇa the ninth incarnation of Viṣṇu, as the provider of all four Puruṣārthas viz. Dharma, Artha, Kāma and Mokṣa.

apavargacaturthānām arthānāṃ dātureṣa te |
avatāro'tranavamo mā na vyañjīd dayāmayi || (Vāsudevavijaya 6.77)

Thus it is clear that Vāsudeva gives prominence to the Lord Kṛṣṇa among the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu.Vāsudeva considers the Lord as the superior power of the world. Brahmā and Śiva execute their responsibilities according to the instructions of Viṣṇu.

Vāsudeva comprises this concept in the verse,

īḍiṣe naiva kiṃcit tvaṃ īśiṣe jagato'pi yat |
edhete tvatprasattyaiva vidhātṛgiriśāvapi | (Vāsudevavijaya 6.82)

The concept of supremacy of the Lord Kṛṣṇa is beautifully portrays to another verse of Vāsudevavijaya.

The man has the eight Aiśvaryas viz. Aṇimā, Laghimā etc. and who served the other deities like Brahmā etc. could not attain salvation (nirvāṇa) unless he worships Kṛṣṇa.

yukto'ṇimādyairaṣṭābhissevamānaḥ parānapi |
bhavantamanupāsīno na nā nirvāṇamṛcchati || (Vāsudevavijaya 6.83)

In this way, Vāsudeva’s concept regarding Bhakti can be seen in the poem. According to Vasudeva the path of salvation is the devotion towards Viṣṇu.

He state that all kinds of deities prevalent are different forms of Viṣṇu. The Lord Viṣṇu consumes numerous postures and ate the sacrificial offerings which are subject to other deities. It means all other deities are the one and same i.e Viṣṇu.

Besides, he killed Rāvaṇa and also able to prevent the sea by building bridge across it.

havīṃṣi sarvadaivatyanādithatvamanekadhā |
daśavaktraṃ ninethāntaṃ sindhuṃ bandhuṃ śaśaktha ca || (Vāsudevavijaya 6.73)

Again, Vāsudevadepicts Lord Viṣṇu as the creator of world. It is he who created the whole nature which includes the principles from Mahat (Budhi) to the Pañcabhūtas (Pṛthvī etc.).

In addition to this, he is the creator of the four Vedas, and the whole Śruti.

dadraṣṭha cāturvaidyaṃ tvaṃ sasmartha ca śrutīḥ punaḥ |
mahadādi pṛthivyantaṃ tattvajātaṃ sasarjitha || (Vāsudevavijaya 6.72)

From these references, it can be known that the devotion towards Viṣṇu of the author is bound less. The Bhakti concept of Vāsudeva is generally termed as Hinduism, especially Vaiṣṇavism. Vāsudeva reveals his philosophical concept through his poem. The philosophy of Vaiṣṇavism is well explained in Vāsudevavijaya It satisfies the basic tenets of Vaiṣṇavism as it ordains the devotion towards Viṣṇu or one of the incarnations of Viṣṇu. Here the character of Kṛṣṇa, the ninth incarnation of Viṣṇu is well versed and thus the author of Vāsudevavijaya tries to focus on his philosophy of Lord Viṣṇu. Vāsudeva’s auto-commentary on Vāsudevavijaya viz. Padacandrikā throws much light on his Bhakti philosophy to Lord Viṣṇu. The important literary works regarding Vaiṣṇavism are Vedas, Upaniṣads, Bhagavadgītā, Bhāgavata etc. The texts referred to in Vāsudevavijaya are also included in these groups such as Śruti, Smṛti, Bhāgavata, Vedāṅgas and Philosophical treatises like Sāṅkhya, Yoga etc.

To Sum up, Vāsudeva’s Bhakti can be found everywhere in Vāsudevavijaya The poem and its commentary abundantly contributed a lot to the Philosophy of Vaiṣṇavism and Bhakti literature.

Interestingly there are a few scattered references from the works of the scholars who considered as the followers of Vaiṣṇavism.

Rūpagosvāmin, Bopadeva etc. are some of them. For instance the verse,

kaumāraṃ pañcamābdāntaṃ paugaṇḍaṃ daśamāvadhi |
kaiśoramāpañcadaśād yauvanaṃ tu tataḥ param ||^[9]

Found in Vāsudevavijaya can be seen referred to in the Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu of Rūpagosvāmin who is a follower of Vaiṣṇava philosophy.^[10]

Simultaneously, the name Bopadeva is also mentioned in Vāsudevavijaya to explain the 23 principles of Yoga Philosophy.^[11] Bopadeva is a follower of Vaiṣṇavism.^[12]

To conclude, Vāsudeva’s proficiency is not limited in the Paninian grammar only. He holds well knowledge in all other disciplines such as Vedic and philosophical works. He possesses his skill in Bhāgavata also. Apart from Pāṇinīya, Vāsudeva is well-proficient in the non-paninian grammatical systems like Bhoja’s Sarasvatīkaṇṭhābharaṇa etc. Thus it can be said that Vāsudeva is a versatile scholar in the realm of Sanskrit. The Bhakti concept of Vāsudeva is also evident from the poem. His devotion to Viṣṇu is reflected in the whole poem especially in the sixth canto. Hence it can be identified that Vāsudeva is a versatile scholar as well as Grammarian-Philosopher.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

It is described in the third chapter in detail.

[2]:

Prof.Vijayapal Sastri.op.cit.v.1

[3]:

ibid,v.2

[4]:

Ibid, v.3

[5]:

mandākinīti ca divi ca bhogavatīti
cādho gaṃgoti ceha caraṇāmbū punāti viśvam | Bhāgavata-10/70/44

[6]:

Prof.Vijayapal Sastri.op.cit.v.3.5-24

[7]:

ibid, 2.4, 3.24-30

[8]:

Ibid,v.6.43-54

[9]:

The verse is seen in Padmapurāṇa, Uttarakhaṇḍa, ch.245. v.164. Also seen in the Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu, II.1.120

[10]:

Vide ref. Bhaktirasāṛtasindhu

[11]:

Prof.Vijayapal Sastri.op.cit.v.1.54

[12]:

Dayanandasaraswati considered Bopadeva as the author of Bhāgavatapurāṇa, where as some scholars like BaladevaUpadhyaya suggest that Bhāgavata was already popular before the period of Bopadeva of 13^th century. (www.kamakotimandali.com)