Thread by @DefiledGod

The shAnti parva of MB has an interesting section where vyAsa describes how Aniruddha vyUha appears before brahmA and exhorts him to undertake creation. Then, vyAsa eulogizes bhagavAn with a stuti. Briefly translating it here.

First, here is how Aniruddha appeared before brahmA+

taM devo darshayAmAsa kR^itvA hayashiro mahat sA~NgAnAvartayanvedAnkamaNDalutridaNDadhR^ik ..

[That god (Aniruddha) appeared before brahmA, with a great form having the head of a horse, reciting the Vedas with their branches, bearing a kamaNDalu and a tridaNDa]+

Aniruddha has the head of a horse & SankarShaNa has the head of a lion. As they resemble hayagrIva & narasimha, latter 2 are often equated to vyUhAs. Also, brahmA has sArUpya with aniruddha (kamandala, reciting Vedas), Rudra has sArUpya with sankarShaNa (3 eyes, jnAna pradatva)+

Next, Aniruddha tells brahmA to undertake creation. We will skip that part. vyAsa now, after telling this story, glorifies the Lord with the following stuti which describes the forms assumed by bhagavAn+

evameSha mahAbhAgaH padmanAbhaH sanAtanaH .yaj~neShvagraharaH prokto yaj~nadhArI cha nityadA

[In this manner, the God with the lotus in his navel, the eternal, obtained first share of all sacrifices & is called the sustainer of all sacrifices (by instructing Vedas to brahmA)]+

The idea is that, when Aniruddha bestowed knowledge on brahmA, the latter taught the Vedas to all beings and thus bhagavAn began to be propitiated via sacrifices+

nivR^ittiM chAsthito dharmaM gamimakShayadharmiNAm . pravR^ittidharmAnvidadhe kR^itvA lokasya chitratAm

[He is situated as the means for moxa, sought by those who seek imperishable fruits. He also prescribed fruitive actions for the world that is diverse (ruci-vAsana-karmAdi)]+

sa AdiH sa madhyaH sa chAntaH prajAnAM sa dhAtA sa dheyaM sa kartA sa kAryam

[He is the beginning, middle and end of all beings. He is the creator of all including brahmA. He is the one to be meditated upon. He is the agent who causes others to act and the means of action.]+

yugAnte prasuptaH susaMkShipya lokAn yugAdau prabuddho jagaddhyutsasarja

[He goes into slumber (as it were) at the end of the Yuga and awakening at the beginning of the next Yuga, creates all]

Next few shlokAs are going to describe the forms of the Lord, as follows+

tasmai namadhvaM devAya nirguNAya mahAtmane . ajAya vishvarUpAya dhAmne sarvadivaukasAm

[Surrender to that God (paravAsudeva), beyond prakrti guNAs, of a great nature, whose births are unique (aja), whose form is full of auspicious attributes, the abode of all the liberated]+

mahAbhUtAdhipataye rudrANAM pataye tathA . Adityapataye chaiva vasUnAM pataye tathA

[The master of the panchabhUtAs, the master of the Rudras, the master of the Adityas and the master of the Vasus]+

ashvibhyAM pataye chaiva marutAM pataye tathA . vedayaj~nAdhipataye vedA~Ngapataye.api cha

[The Master of the Ashvins, the Master of the Maruts, the Master of the Vedic sacrifices and the Master of the ancillaries to the Veda]

Next, the vyUha form is delineated+

samudrAvasine nityaM haraye mu~njakeshine . shAntAya sarvabhUtAnAM mokShadharmAnubhAShiNe

[Who resides eternally as vyUha vAsudeva in the milky ocean, who is the remover of sorrows of the devas, who is sounding out (producing) various amShAs, ie, vyUhAs that are his rays]+

“mu~njakeshin” – the keShAs are the rays or amShAs that are the vyUhAs. Root “munj” means to sound out or express. Thus it means the vyUhAs emanate from vyUha vAsudeva.+

shAntAya sarvabhUtAnAM mokShadharmAnubhAShiNe

[Who is peace for those who meditate on him during samAdhi, who imparts to all beings the Vedas of the form of speech, that are the means to mokSha]

vyUha vAsudeva has all 6 attributes and hence is often equated to paravAsudeva+

tapasAM tejasAM chaiva pataye yashasAmapi .

[The possessor of tapas, ie, knowledge to guide the jIvAs out of samsAra, of splendour that is unchanged despite creative activities, of renown as the protector of all]

These are activities as 3 vyUhAs. Next, vibhavAs are described+

vachasAM pataye nityaM saritAM pataye tathA

[Matsya who is ever the Propounder of the Knowledge of the Vedas, which are speech (vachasAM pataye nityaM), possessor of fluent words as he reveals himself thru Vedas clearly (saritAM pataye)]

"pati" can mean master or possessor+

kapardine varAhAya ekashR^i~NgAya dhImate .

[Who are rAma with the matted locks (kapardin), varAha, the single tusked one, endowed with great intelligence as you understand our sufferings and guide the chetanAs out of samsAra (ekashR^i~NgAya dhImate)]+

vivasvate.ashvashirase chaturmUrtidhR^ite sadA

[Who is the Aditya among the devAs (vivasvate), hayagrIva (ashvashirase) and who bore four forms as kriShna, balarAma, pradyumna and aniruddha (chaturmUrtidhR^ite)]

Next, the antaryAmin is described+

sUkShmAya j~nAnadR^ishyAya ajarAyAkShayAya cha

[Who is the subtle indweller of the self (sUkShma), apprehended by knowledge of the form of meditation (j~nAnadR^ishya), who is unchanging by nature (ajara) & undiminished by attributes despite such antaryAmitvaM (akShaya)]+

eSha devaH saMcharati sarvatra gatiravyayaH .

[That god in this manner, moves about in all the worlds in these forms, undecaying despite taking such births.]

The archAvatAra is often grouped under vibhava, so its’ exclusion here is not an issue+

That concludes this brief but interesting stuti. Lastly, if you thought that parts of this section has more than a passing resemblance to a rather famous section of the Yajur Veda, you are not wrong.😄 Will end with this.//