Purana, Volume 6, Part 1 (1964)

190
पुराणम् - [purāṇam - ] PURANA
[Vol. VI., No. 1
"आपो नारा इति प्रोक्ता आपो वै नरसूनवः ।
ता यदस्यायनं पूर्वं तेन नारायणः स्मृतः || [āpo nārā iti proktā āpo vai narasūnavaḥ |
tā yadasyāyanaṃ pūrvaṃ tena nārāyaṇaḥ smṛtaḥ || ] ”
Manu, 1.10; Brahma P., 56. 12, 60. 25; Vayu, 5. 38, Santi Parva,
328.35, Udyoga Parva, 68. 10). The Bhāgavatas adopted this
as their basic creed. Here we have three terms, viz. (1) Nara,
(2) Nära and (3) Nārāyaṇa. The meaning of these three should
be clearly grasped in order to understand the nature of Nārāyaṇa
Purusha. According to the Vedic cosmologists, in the beginning
was the self-existent Svayambhu Purusha who is described as
Sahasra, the Thousand-fold or Infinite. He is beyond the catego-
ries of time and space and may be compared to the absolute
mathematical point which is non-dimensional. That Purusha
is called Nara, the Person or the Male Principle. All his Ojas
or Energy was introvert, that is turned upon Himself (vṛittaujāh)
or withdrawn into his own centre until for the sake of creation
he produced his female counterpart which became His Majesty
(mahimā).
The second stage in creation is known by many names
e.g. as the female principle it is known as Mahad Yoni, the Great
Womb in the Gītā which is the same as Universal Motherhood
or Infinite Nature or the Great Goddess (Mahi Mata). These
are known as Nārāḥ, i.e. the female counterpart of Nara
(narasunavah). What was the nature of Narah? This question
is answered in the above verse that the primeval waters (apah)
as the creation of the primeval Person were named after him as
Nära (His female energy). They are also known as salilam,
samudrah, as pointed out above. In the Rig-Veda they are also
known as Rita-Samudra, Rita-Sadana or Soma-Samudra of Para-
meshtha, that is, the Universal. This is also known as Virāṭ
as stated in the Rig Veda (tasmāt viraḍajāyata, RV. 10. 90. 5)
The Atharva identifies Virat with Parameshthi, as both denote the
Universal (asmin virat parameshthi prajapatih, AV. 13. 3. 5).
The Viraj is also known as Anda.
What has been referred to above as ekarṇava is the same
as Apah, Salilam, Rita, Samudra, etc., as stated in the Satapatha:
197 PURĀṆA-VIDYĀ
Jan., 1964]
adbhir va idam sarvam aptam (SB. 1. 1. 1. 14); since as primordial
Matter it was all-pervasive or Universal it was called Apaḥ
(yadāpnot tasmādāpaḥ, SB. 6. 1. 1.9%. We also find
reference
to the creation of apal, that is nārāḥ, in the Manu Smriti :
Apa eva sasarjadau tāsu bījamavasrijat. The creation of the waters
as the Mother-principle was essentially a Vedic doctrine under
the name of Viraj, Parameshthi, Rita, Salila, Soma-
Samudra, etc.,
and the Puranic writers accepted it in toto
The third category to be produced by the union of Nara
and Nāra is Nārāyaṇa. To repeat, Svayambhu Prajapati is Nara,
Parameshthi Prajapati is Nāra, and Hiranyagarbha Prajapati is
Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa was etymologically explained as subsisting
in Nāra or the womb of the Mother-principle or the primeval
waters of creation which was the Cosmic Egg. Somewhere within
the Egg was preserved the Germ of Life (Hiranya or Prana) from
the preceding aeon and that is termed in the Rig Veda as Vairāja
Adhipurusha (virajo adhipurushaḥ, RV. 10. 90. 5; also Bhagavata,
3. 6. 4), also as Vairaja Manu in the Purāṇas. In fact
he is given
many names; e.g. Indra, Surya, Prana, Martanda, Märkandeya,
It is the
Vivaśvān, Manu, Agni or Nārāyaṇatmaka Brahmā
energised centre of Prana or the Life-principle named Prāṇāgni
which is present in the Cosmic Egg, Brahmanda, and gives a
meaning to it, and the same is also incarnating in each individual
egg or cell: koti-koṭi-yutan yatra chandani kathitani tu (Linga P.
1. 3. 33), i. e. there are millions and billions of eggs both in the
cosmos and in the individual organism and in each egg
there is
the Pranic spark with its three fold potentialities of Mind,
Life
and Matter, which are also known as the Three
Infinities
(trisahasri). The pranic centre is called Brahmä, literally
the
principle of Growth or Creativity, and his three-fold
powers are
symbolised as Trayi Vidya, which has reference
to the basic triads
of creation. Each cell (anda) is constituted of seven
sheaths, viz.
Mind, Life and five gross elements of Matter, and in the
centre of
each is a Brahma on his Lotus (saptaṇḍāvaraṇanyahustasyātmā
kamalasanah). The Brāhmaṇas explain the Lotus as Agni and
Surya which have been thrown up as the symbols of growth out