Narayana Sukta Unveiled: Embracing the Eternal Essence of the Universe
Updated: Jun 23
The Narayana Sukta is a highly respected hymn derived from the ancient Vedic scriptures, notably included in the Taittiriya Aranyaka section of the Yajurveda. The text is devoted to Lord Narayana, a manifestation of Vishnu, and praises His omnipresence and supreme divine nature. The sukta is a profound manifestation of reverence and emphasizes the notion of Narayana as the supreme truth and the essence of the cosmos.
The Narayana Sukta is a profound Vedic poem that reveres Narayana, a manifestation of Vishnu, as the ultimate deity who permeates the entire universe. The hymn commences by portraying Narayana as a divine being adorned with innumerable heads, representing His omnipresence and omniscience. He is not just the sustainer of the cosmos but also its ultimate destination, symbolizing the timeless and unchanging essence of existence (sahasraśīrṣaṁ devaṁ viśvākhyaṁ viśvaśambhuvam).
The sukta highlights Narayana's transcendence, asserting that he lives beyond the confines of the physical cosmos. The being referred to possesses the qualities of eternal existence and omnipresence and is responsible for upholding the entirety of creation (viśvataḥ paraman nityaṁ viśvaṁ nārāyaṇaṁ harim). Narayana is portrayed as a timeless, propitious, and indestructible being, deserving of reverence and adoration through oblations (patiṁ viśvasyātmeśvarama śāśvataṁ śivamacyutam).
The hymn explicitly states that Narayana is the highest form of Brahman and the ultimate reality, emphasizing His tremendous significance in the cosmic hierarchy (nārāyaṇaḥ paraṁ brahma tattvaṁ nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ). He is characterized as the utmost illumination and the ultimate essence, emphasizing His function as the origin and maintainer of all existence (nārāyaṇaḥ paro jyotirātmā nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ).
Furthermore, the sukta declares that Narayana permeates everything in the world, whether it is visible or audible, both inside and externally (yacca kiñcit jagatyasmin dṛśyate śrūyate’pi vā). The extensive existence of Narayana highlights the interdependence of all entities and the inherent divinity present in everything.
The hymn then symbolically describes the heart as a lotus, symbolizing purity and wisdom, and suggests that meditating on Narayana leads to his supreme abode (padmakosh pratikasham hridayam kapi adhomukham). Through steadfast meditation and devotion, wise people constantly see this supreme abode as spread out as widely as the sky (adhastān vādandhyayena sanniṣtapāya sam hṛdi).
Finally, the Narayana Sukta concludes by acknowledging that the learned and vigilant, through their spiritual practices, illuminate the supreme abode of Vishnu with their wisdom (tadviprāso vipanyavo jāgṛvāṁsaḥ samindhate). This highlights the importance of knowledge and constant awareness in the path of spiritual enlightenment.
Bhagavad Gita also supports this:
- "I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts."
aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate।
iti matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah।। 10.8
This verse underscores the concept of Narayana as the ultimate source and sustainer of the universe.
Bhagavad Gita says--
"The supreme abode of mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire. Those who reach it never return to this material world."
na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ।
yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama।।15.6
This reflects the Narayana Sukta’s depiction of Vishnu's supreme abode, which is always perceived by the enlightened person.
Vishnu Sahasranama says--
- "He who is without beginning and end, who is the supreme lord of all worlds, who is the sustainer of the universe, and the one who is beyond all attributes."
anadinidhanam vishnum sarvaloka-maheshvaram।
lokadhyaksham stuvannityam sarva-duhkhatigo bhavet।।
- This description of Vishnu aligns with the Narayana Sukta’s portrayal of Narayana as the eternal, supreme deity.
in addition, Narayan sukta explains supremacy and omnipresence. It also discusses bhakti, chanting, meditation, and devotion as means of spiritual enlightenment and freedom.
Nabha Das also says about devotion--
- "Saints constantly meditate on the supreme Lord, who is beyond all attributes and forms, and thus attain peace and liberation."
Bhaktamal: sādhu nirantara dhyāve, jo harigun vyāpī ananta।
sadā shānti-mayi, moksha sūtra lagāve।।
This also reinforces the devotional and contemplative elements that are highlighted in the Narayana Sukta.
In summary, the Narayana Sukta intricately describes Narayana's omnipresence, eternal nature, and supreme reality. It underscores the significance of devotion, meditation, and wisdom in realizing the divine essence and attaining spiritual enlightenment.
This explanation aims to convey the profound meanings and spiritual insights of the Narayana Sukta while linking the concepts smoothly and comprehensively.
Narayana is the Supreme Being described as the source of all creation, the sustainer of the universe, and the ultimate destination of all beings.
Narayana Suktam—
ॐ स॒ह ना॑ववतु । स॒ह नौ॑ भुनक्तु । स॒ह वी॒र्यं॑ करवावहै ।
ते॒ज॒स्विना॒वधी॑तमस्तु॒ मा वि॑द्विषा॒वहै᳚ ॥
ॐ शान्तिः॒ शान्तिः॒ शान्तिः॑ ॥
ओम् ॥ स॒ह॒स्र॒शीर्॑षं दे॒वं॒ वि॒श्वाक्षं॑-विँ॒श्वश॑म्भुवम् ।
विश्वं॑ ना॒राय॑णं दे॒व॒म॒क्षरं॑ पर॒मं पदम् ।।
वि॒श्वतः॒ पर॑मान्नि॒त्यं॒-विँ॒श्वं ना॑राय॒णग्ं ह॑रिम् ।
विश्व॑मे॒वेदं पुरु॑ष॒-स्तद्विश्व-मुप॑जीवति ॥
पतिं॒-विँश्व॑स्या॒त्मेश्व॑र॒ग्ं॒ शाश्व॑तग्ं शि॒व-म॑च्युतम् ।
ना॒राय॒णं म॑हाज्ञे॒यं॒-विँ॒श्वात्मा॑नं प॒राय॑णम् ॥
ना॒राय॒णप॑रो ज्यो॒ति॒रा॒त्मा ना॑राय॒णः प॑रः ।
ना॒राय॒णपरं॑ ब्र॒ह्म॒ तत्त्वं ना॑राय॒णः प॑रः ॥
ना॒राय॒णप॑रो ध्या॒ता॒ ध्या॒नं ना॑राय॒णः प॑रः ।
यच्च॑ कि॒ञ्चिज्जगत्स॒र्वं॒ दृ॒श्यते᳚ श्रूय॒तेऽपि॑ वा ॥
अन्त॑र्ब॒हिश्च॑ तत्स॒र्वं॒-व्याँ॒प्य ना॑राय॒णः स्थि॑तः ।
अनन्त॒मव्ययं॑ क॒विग्ं स॑मु॒द्रेंऽतं॑-विँ॒श्वश॑म्भुवम्॥
प॒द्म॒को॒श-प्र॑तीका॒श॒ग्ं॒ हृ॒दयं॑ चाप्य॒धोमु॑खम् ।
अधो॑ नि॒ष्ट्या वि॑तस्या॒न्ते॒ ना॒भ्यामु॑परि॒ तिष्ठ॑ति ।।
ज्वा॒ल॒मा॒लाकु॑लं भा॒ती॒ वि॒श्वस्या॑यत॒नं म॑हत् ।
सन्त॑तग्ं शि॒लाभि॑स्तु॒ लम्ब॑त्याकोश॒सन्नि॑भम् ।।
तस्यान्ते॑ सुषि॒रग्ं सू॒क्ष्मं तस्मिन्᳚ स॒र्वं प्रति॑ष्ठितम् ।
तस्य॒ मध्ये॑ म॒हान॑ग्नि-र्वि॒श्वार्चि॑-र्वि॒श्वतो॑मुखः ।।
सोऽग्र॑भु॒ग्विभ॑जन्ति॒ष्ठ॒-न्नाहा॑रमज॒रः क॒विः ।
ति॒र्य॒गू॒र्ध्वम॑धश्शा॒यी॒ र॒श्मय॑स्तस्य॒ सन्त॑ता ।।
स॒न्ता॒पय॑ति स्वं दे॒हमापा॑दतल॒मस्त॑कः ।
तस्य॒ मध्ये॒ वह्नि॑शिखा अ॒णीयो᳚र्ध्वा व्य॒वस्थि॑तः ।।
नी॒लतो॑-यद॑मध्य॒स्था॒-द्वि॒ध्युल्ले॑खेव॒ भास्व॑रा ।
नी॒वार॒शूक॑वत्त॒न्वी॒ पी॒ता भा᳚स्वत्य॒णूप॑मा ।।
तस्याः᳚ शिखा॒या म॑ध्ये प॒रमा᳚त्मा व्य॒वस्थि॑तः ।
स ब्रह्म॒ स शिवः॒ स हरिः॒ सेन्द्रः॒ सोऽक्ष॑रः पर॒मः स्व॒राट् ॥
ऋतग्ं स॒त्यं प॑रं ब्र॒ह्म॒ पु॒रुषं॑ कृष्ण॒पिङ्ग॑लम् ।
ऊ॒र्ध्वरे॑तं-विँ॑रूपा॒क्षं॒-विँ॒श्वरू॑पाय॒ वै नमो॒ नमः॑ ॥
ॐ ना॒रा॒य॒णाय॑ वि॒द्महे॑ वासुदे॒वाय॑ धीमहि ।
तन्नो॑ विष्णुः प्रचो॒दया᳚त् ॥
ॐ शान्तिः॒ शान्तिः॒ शान्तिः॑ ॥