Vasudevavijaya of Vasudeva (Study)
by Sajitha. A | 2018 | 50,171 words
This page relates ‘concept of Bhakti in Vasudevavijaya� of the study on the Vasudevavijaya of Vasudeva from the 11th century A.D. The Vasudevavijayam is an educational poem belonging to the Shastra-Kavya category of technical Sanskrit literature. The Vasudevavijayam depicts in 657 verses the story of Lord Krishna while also elucidates the grammatical rules of the Ashtadhyayi of Panini (teaching the science of grammar). The subject-content of the poem was taken from the tenth Skandha of the Bhagavatapurana.
Go directly to: Footnotes.
The concept of Bhakti in ܻ𱹲vijaya
ܻ𱹲’s Bhakti concept can be found everywhere in ܻ𱹲vijaya The name and the theme of the poem are enough to prove the devotion of ܻ𱹲 towards Lord ṛṣṇa. the tenth skandha of 岵ٲ is the theme for the poem which describes the life and deeds of ṛṣṇa.
The employment of the synonyms of ṛṣṇa in every first verses of each canto is another matter of fact which reveals the bhakti of ܻ𱹲. Vasudevanandana, ṛṣṇa, , ⲹṇa, Deva, Nandana and ṣṇ are the synonyms used in the first verses of each canto.[1]
The ʲ岹Ի徱 commentary begins with the verse,
vighneśabhāratīvyāsaguruśābdikamūrtaye |
namo'stu patye bhūtānā� sadānandacidātmane ||[2]
The author adores Lord վԱś Goddess Saraswatī, ղ, Guru, Pāṇinī and Lord Ś in the above verse.
Then the second verse, the author ܻ𱹲 salutes the ten incarnations of Lord վṣṇ.
matsyakacchapabhūdāranṛsiṃhavaṭuvigraham |
naumi rāmatrayī-kṛṣṇa-kalkirūpamadhokṣajam ||[3]
In the next verse ܻ𱹲 praises Lord ṛṣṇa.
kundasūnamanohāri mandahāsavirājitam |
nandagopakulottaṃsamindirāramaṇa� bhaje ||[4]
Hence, there can be found instances for ܻ𱹲’s devotion.
In the same way, the verses quoted from 岵ٲ in the ʲ岹Ի commentary of ܻ𱹲vijaya, also proves his devotion towards ṛṣṇa. ܻ𱹲 quotes 岵ٲ� s verses for substantiating certain statement. For example ܻ𱹲 delineate the difference between Ҳṅg and Surasindhu, quote a hemistitch from 岵ٲ[5]. Thus the quotations from 岵ٲ can be seen in ܻ𱹲vijaya This shows ܻ𱹲’s interest towards 岵ٲ and his devotion to Lord ṛṣṇa.
Besides, the description of birth of ṛṣṇa, festivals and depictions regarding the ṛṣṇa’s birth[6], eulogy and worship done by Vasudeva to the Lord վṣṇ[7], etc. are well described. Through these descriptions it can be understood the devotion of ܻ𱹲 to ṛṣṇa.
Along with these descriptions the sixth canto is completely devoted to praise Kṛṣṛṇa. ܻ𱹲’s devotion and philosophy are well-developed in this canto.
Here, the section of ⲹԲ[8], holds too many references to the Bhakti of ܻ𱹲.
bhajetacet bhavantaṃnā''manasyamavāpnuyāt |
muktasaṃkaṭamicchāmo sa bhavān muñcatāmamum || (ܻ𱹲vijaya 6.75)
The man who worships ṛṣṇa, will not affected by the sorrows if he worship ṛṣṇa. Here ܻ𱹲 shows his devotion to ṛṣṇa and he considers the Lord ṛṣṇa as the destroyer of all kind of sorrows.
The author also states that, ṛṣṇa the ninth incarnation of վṣṇ, as the provider of all four ʳܰṣārٳ viz. Dharma, Artha, 峾 and Ѵǰṣa.
apavargacaturthānām arthānā� dātureṣa te |
avatāro'tranavamo mā na vyañjīd dayāmayi || (ܻ𱹲vijaya 6.77)
Thus it is clear that ܻ𱹲 gives prominence to the Lord ṛṣṇa among the ten incarnations of վṣṇ.ܻ𱹲 considers the Lord as the superior power of the world. and Ś execute their responsibilities according to the instructions of վṣṇ.
ܻ𱹲 comprises this concept in the verse,
īḍiṣe naiva 쾱ṃc tva� īśiṣe jagato'pi yat |
edhete tvatprasattyaiva vidhātṛgiriśāvapi | (ܻ𱹲vijaya 6.82)
The concept of supremacy of the Lord ṛṣṇa is beautifully portrays to another verse of ܻ𱹲vijaya.
The man has the eight śⲹ viz. ṇi, etc. and who served the other deities like etc. could not attain salvation (Ծṇa) unless he worships ṛṣṇa.
yukto'ṇimādyairaṣṭābhissevamāna� parānapi |
bhavantamanupāsīno na nā Ծṇamṛcchati || (ܻ𱹲vijaya 6.83)
In this way, ܻ𱹲’s concept regarding Bhakti can be seen in the poem. According to Vasudeva the path of salvation is the devotion towards վṣṇ.
He state that all kinds of deities prevalent are different forms of վṣṇ. The Lord վṣṇ 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 վṣṇ.
Besides, he killed 屹ṇa and also able to prevent the sea by building bridge across it.
havīṃṣi sarvadaivatyanādithatvamanekadhā |
岹śٰ� ԾԱٳԳٲ� Ի� Ի� śaśaktha ca || (ܻ𱹲vijaya 6.73)
Again, ܻ𱹲depicts Lord վṣṇ as the creator of world. It is he who created the whole nature which includes the principles from Mahat (Budhi) to the ʲñūٲ (ṛtī etc.).
In addition to this, he is the creator of the four Vedas, and the whole Śܳپ.
dadraṣṭha cāturvaidya� tva� sasmartha ca śܳī� puna� |
mahadādi pṛthivyanta� tattvajāta� sasarjitha || (ܻ𱹲vijaya 6.72)
From these references, it can be known that the devotion towards վṣṇ of the author is bound less. The Bhakti concept of ܻ𱹲 is generally termed as Hinduism, especially ղṣṇ. ܻ𱹲 reveals his philosophical concept through his poem. The philosophy of ղṣṇ is well explained in ܻ𱹲vijaya It satisfies the basic tenets of ղṣṇ as it ordains the devotion towards վṣṇ or one of the incarnations of վṣṇ. Here the character of ṛṣṇa, the ninth incarnation of վṣṇ is well versed and thus the author of ܻ𱹲vijaya tries to focus on his philosophy of Lord վṣṇ. ܻ𱹲’s auto-commentary on ܻ𱹲vijaya viz. ʲ岹Ի throws much light on his Bhakti philosophy to Lord վṣṇ. The important literary works regarding ղṣṇ are Vedas, 貹Ծṣa, 岵ī, 岵ٲ etc. The texts referred to in ܻ𱹲vijaya are also included in these groups such as Śܳپ, ṛt, 岵ٲ, ձṅg and Philosophical treatises like ṅkⲹ, Yoga etc.
To Sum up, ܻ𱹲’s Bhakti can be found everywhere in ܻ𱹲vijaya The poem and its commentary abundantly contributed a lot to the Philosophy of ղṣṇ and Bhakti literature.
Interestingly there are a few scattered references from the works of the scholars who considered as the followers of ղṣṇ.
ū貹Dz峾, Bopadeva etc. are some of them. For instance the verse,
첹ܳ� 貹ñԳٲ� 貹ܲṇḍ� daśamāvadhi |
첹śǰ貹ñ岹ś ⲹܱԲ� tu ٲٲ� param ||[9]
Found in ܻ𱹲vijaya can be seen referred to in the پ峾ṛtԻ of ū貹Dz峾 who is a follower of ղṣṇ philosophy.[10]
Simultaneously, the name Bopadeva is also mentioned in ܻ𱹲vijaya to explain the 23 principles of Yoga Philosophy.[11] Bopadeva is a follower of ղṣṇ.[12]
To conclude, ܻ𱹲’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 岵ٲ also. Apart from ṇiīⲹ, ܻ𱹲 is well-proficient in the non-paninian grammatical systems like Bhoja’s ī첹ṇṭṇa etc. Thus it can be said that ܻ𱹲 is a versatile scholar in the realm of Sanskrit. The Bhakti concept of ܻ𱹲 is also evident from the poem. His devotion to վṣṇ is reflected in the whole poem especially in the sixth canto. Hence it can be identified that ܻ𱹲 is a versatile scholar as well as Grammarian-Philosopher.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
It is described in the third chapter in detail.
[3]:
ibid,v.2
[4]:
Ibid, v.3
[6]:
Prof.Vijayapal Sastri.op.cit.v.3.5-24
[7]:
ibid, 2.4, 3.24-30
[8]:
Ibid,v.6.43-54
[10]:
Vide ref. پṛtԻ
[11]:
Prof.Vijayapal Sastri.op.cit.v.1.54