Vyūha

For other uses, see Vyuham (disambiguation).

Vyūha (Sanskrit: व्यूह) is a Sanskrit word that translates to 'military array', 'formation' or 'multitude'.[1] While the term originates in a military context to describe battle formations, it is also used in Indian philosophy, most prominently in the Pancharatra tradition, to refer to the strategic manifestation of Narayana or Vishnu into multiple functional forms. This theological application is a direct extension of the military vyūha through a metaphor: just as a single army remains one entity while being rearranged into specific "formations" to achieve a particular objective, the Supreme Being remains singular while rearranging into a multitude of emanations to perform different divine functions.[2] In Vaishnava theology, this is expressed through the Caturvyūha, where God emanates into four distinct forms to support the cyclical creation, sustenance, and destruction processes of the universe.[3]

Vyūha in Hinduism

Vyūha in the Mahabharata

Theological doctrine

The earliest concept of the vyūha doctrine, pre-dating the Pāñcarātra texts, is found in a section of the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, known as the Narayania.[4]

Battle formations

The Mahabharata and the Manu Samhita list by name and formation many vyūhas ('battle formations'), some were small in size and others, gigantic, such as:[5]

Day No Vyūha of Pandava Vyūha of Kaurava Remarks
Day 1 Vajra (Thunderbolt). Sarvato Mukhi (All Sided) -
Day 2 Krauncha/Krauncharuna(Cranes) Garuda -
Day 3 Ardha Chandra (Half Moon) Garuda -
Day 4 Sringataka (Horn) Mandala -
Day 5 Syena vyūha (Hawk) Makara -
Day 6 Makara Krauncha -
Day 7 Vajra Mandala -
Day 8 Thrishoola Kurma -
Day 9 Nakshatra Mandala Sarvatobhadra -
Day 10 Surya Asura -
Day 11 Krauncha Shakata -
Day 12 Ardha Chandra Garuada -
Day 13 No Vyūha Chakra -
Day 14 Khaddag Sarp Chakrashatak -
Day 15 Vajra Pathma -
Day 16 Ardha Chandra Makara -
Day 17 Mahish Soorya -
Day 18 Krauncha Sarvatobhadra -
  1. Ardha-chandra-vyūha ('crescent moon formation'),
  2. Chakra-vyūha ('circular formation') a large formation was devised by the Kauravas in which Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna, was trapped never to emerge alive.
  3. Garbha-vyūha ('womb-shaped formation'),
  4. Makara-vyuha ('crocodile formation'), adopted by Bhishma in the Kurukshetra War[6]
  5. Mandala vyuha ('galaxy formation'),
  6. Oormi vyuha ('ocean formation'),
  7. Shakata-vyūha ('cart-shaped formation'),
  8. Sarvatobhadra-vyūha ('grand formation'),
  9. Suchi-vyūha ('needle-shaped formation'),
  10. Shyena-vyuha (also called Garuda Vyuh) ('eagle formation'). At the commencement of the Kurukshetra War which lasted for eighteen days, the Pandavas, being aware that Bhishma stood protected by the "makara vyuha" and was ready for battle, they had adopted the invincible "sheyna vyuha" with Bhima leading stationed at the mouth and Arjuna stationed at the neck of the bird-shaped vyuha, and Yudhishthira patrolling the rear.[6]
  11. Vajra-vyūha was large a three-fold formation of warriors.

Vyūha in the Pāñcarātra Āgama: the Vaiṣṇava doctrine of manifestation

Caturvyūha
The "Four emanations"
Front: Vāsudeva and his kinsmen emanating from him.
Back: Kadamba tree and branches showing their relationship.
The Caturvyūha, showing the four emanation of Nārāyaṇa,[7] or later Vishnu.[8] Vāsudeva is four-armed, and is fittingly in the center with his decorated heavy mace on the side and holding a conch, his elder brother Balarama to his right under a serpent hood, his son Pradyumna to his left (lost), and his grandson Aniruddha on top.[8] The back of the statue shows the trunk of a tree with branches, thus highlighting the genealogical relationship between the divinities.[9] 2nd century CE, Art of Mathura, Mathura Museum.

The main āgamas are the Vaiṣṇava (worship of Vishnu), the Śaiva (worship of Shiva) and the Śākta (worship of Devi or Shakti) āgamas; all āgamas are elaborate systems of Vedic knowledge. According to Vedanta Desika, the Pāñcarātra āgama teaches the five-fold daily religious duty consisting of – abhigamana, upādāna, ijyā, svādhyāya and yoga, the name of this āgama is derived on account of its description of the five-fold manifestation of the Supreme Being viz, para (supreme or the transcendental form), vyūha (formation or manifestation as the four vyūha), vibhava (reincarnation or descent to earth as avtāra), arcā (visible image of God) and antaryāmi (cosmic form of God). Lakshmi accompanies Vishnu in His Chatur-vyūha (four-fold manifestation) as Vāsudeva (creator), Saṅkarṣaṇa (sustainer), Pradyumna (destroyer), and Aniruddha (spiritual knowledge promulgator). This is the Vaiṣṇava doctrine of Vyūha or the doctrine of formation.[10]

The Chatur-vyūha forms of Viṣṇu are related to four of the six causes of creation which six are God Himself as the final cause of creation and His five aspects – Narāyaṇa (thinking), Vāsudeva (feeling), Sankarśana (willing), Pradyumna (knowing), and Aniruddha (acting) successively. Each divinity controls its specific creative energy.[11] The six gunas – jnana (omniscience), aishvarya (lordship), shakti (potency), bala (force), virya (virtue) and tejas (self-sufficiency), acting in pairs and in totality, are the instruments and the subtle material of pure creation. Vyūhas are the first beings created, and they represent the effective parts of a coherent whole.[12] Here, vyūha means – projection; the projection of the svarūpa ('own form') as bahurūpa ('manifest variously').[13]

Vyūha in Buddhism

In Mahāyāna Buddhism, the word vyūha means "arrangement", the like of marvelous, supernatural, magical arrangements, or supernatural manifestations.[14] It is also extant in the Pali language, where it means "an array" or "grouping of troops".[15]

The term is also found among the titles of some Buddhist texts. In Pure Land Buddhism, the character of Amitābha Buddha is elaborated upon in both the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra and the Shorter Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra. The term "Sukhāvatīvyūha" may translated as "description of Sukhāvatī".[16] The Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra has been translated as "The Basket's Display".[17]

See also

Pāñcarātra system[18][19][20]
Vyūhas Image Attributes Symbol[21][22] Direction Face Concept
Narayana
Vishnu 		Vāsudeva Chakra Wheel
Gadā Mace
Shankha Conch 		Garuda Eagle East Saumya
(Placid/ benevolent) 		Jṅāna Knowledge
Samkarsana Lāṅgala Plough
Musala Pestle
Wine glass 		Tala Fan palm South Simha Lion Bala Strength
Pradyumna Cāpa Bow
Bāṇa Arrow 		Makara Crocodile West Raudra Kapila Aiśvaryā Sovereignty
Aniruddha Carma Shield
Khaḍga Sword 		Ṛṣya (ऋष्य) White-footed antelope North Varaha Boar Śakti Power

References

  1. ^ V. S. Apte. the Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Digital Dictionaries of South Asia. pp. 157, 1522.
  2. ^ Hudson 2008, p. 56
  3. ^ Hudson 2008, p. 56
  4. ^ Srinivasan, Doris (1979). "Early Vaiṣṇava Imagery: Caturvyūha and Variant Forms". Archives of Asian Art. 32: 48. ISSN 0066-6637.
  5. ^ Science, Technology, Imperialism and War. Pearson publication. 2007. pp. 295–296. ISBN 9788131708514.
  6. ^ a b Mahabharata Vol.5. Penguin U.K. June 2015. p. 288. ISBN 9788184756814.
  7. ^ Srinivasan, Doris (1997). Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art. BRILL. pp. 209–210. ISBN 978-90-04-10758-8.
  8. ^ a b Paul, Pran Gopal; Paul, Debjani (1989). "Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations". East and West. 39 (1/4): 132–136, for the photograph p.138. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29756891.
  9. ^ Paul, Pran Gopal; Paul, Debjani (1989). "Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations". East and West. 39 (1/4): 136 [26]. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29756891.
  10. ^ S. M. Srinivasa Chari (1994). Vaisnavism: Its Philosophy, Theology and Religious Discipline. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 15, 163, 213. ISBN 9788120810983.
  11. ^ Ashish Dalela (December 2008). Vedic Creationism. iUniverse. p. 327. ISBN 9780595525737.
  12. ^ A History of Indian Literature Vol.2 Part 1. Otto Harrassaowitz. 1977. p. 60. ISBN 9783447017435.
  13. ^ Julius Lipner (2 October 2012). Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Routledge. pp. 349–350. ISBN 9781135240608.
  14. ^ Julian F. Pas (January 1995). Visions of Sukhavati. SUNY Press. p. 369. ISBN 9780791425190.
  15. ^ Buddhadatta Mahathera, A. P. (2002) [1949]. Concise Pali English Dictionary. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 8120806042.
  16. ^ Bowker, John (2000). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192800947.
  17. ^ Roberts, Peter Alan; Tulku Yeshi (2013). "The Basket's Display". 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  18. ^ Atherton, Cynthia Packert (1997). The Sculpture of Early Medieval Rajasthan. Brill. p. 78. ISBN 978-90-04-10789-2.
  19. ^ A Comprehensive History of India: pt. 1-2. A.D. 300-985. Orient Longmans. 1982. p. 866.
  20. ^ Parlier-Renault, Edith (2007). Temples de l'Inde méridionale: VIe-VIIIe siècles. La mise en scène des mythes. Presses Paris Sorbonne. pp. 38–42. ISBN 978-2-84050-464-1.
  21. ^ "A shrine of Aniruddha, the fourth of the 'vyuhas', which had within its precincts a 'rsyadhvaja', i. e. a column bearing on its top the figure of a 'rsya' or a white antelope which was his characteristic 'lanchana'." in Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art. Indian Society of Oriental Art. 1937. p. 16.
  22. ^ Gupta, Vinay K. "Vrishnis in Ancient Literature and Art". Indology's Pulse Arts in Context, Doris Meth Srinivasan Festschrift Volume, Eds. Corinna Wessels Mevissen and Gerd Mevissen with Assistance of Vinay Kumar Gupta: 80–81.
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