Thread by @DefiledGod

There is a beautiful Rg Veda mantra (6.50.14) that describes the greatness of the weapons of bhagavAn in the course of describing his vAmana/Trivikrama avatAra, as below+

उत नो अहिर्बुध्न्यः शर्णोत्वज एकपात पर्थिवी समुद्रः | (~Rg Veda 6.50.14)

[May he hear us, present in coils of Shesha (in the milky ocean), of a unique birth, displaying only a part of himself, who as vAmana is the Earth in patience, who as Trivikrama, the producer of desires]+

अहिर्बुध्न्य – He who is present in depth or ground (बुध्न) of the serpent. The depth means depth of the coils. Or, as the coils of a snake are its’ support or base, it directly refers to these coils.

It means, he is sunk deeply in the coils of Adi Shesha, in the milky ocean+

This is Aniruddha. "bhujagottamaH” in sahasranAma is a cognate.

अज – He who has a birth unlike others as it is not due to karma but by his will. He is एक॑पात् as in this birth, the guNAs he displays, no matter how many, are still only one part of his infinite, endless guNAs+

“पर्थिवी” – This is a reference to vAmana. “पृथ्वी” means one who is like the Earth in forbearance. rAmAyaNa says “क्षमया पृथिवीसमः” – “He has forbearance like the Earth”.

He tolerated the ego of mahAbali and begged for alms from him, begged for his own wealth+

स॑मु॒द्रः – That vAmana became trivikrama, the producer of desirable objects.

“स॑मु॒द्रः” - सम्यक् उत्पद्यते – He from whom all objects of desires arise – he gave Indra his Kingdom, enabled gods to partake of sacrificial offerings and also gave Bali a position equal to Indra+

Having praised bhagavAn taking births to aid his devotees in the context of Trivikrama, the next line of the mantra explains that this Trivikrama was bearing all weapons in his form

विश्वे देवा रताव्र्धो हुवाना सतुता मन्त्राः कविशस्ता अवन्तु  (~ Rig Veda 6.50.14)

[May the weapons protect us, they who augment the joy of bhagavAn who is always true (ऋतावृध्), who are invoked by bhagavAn (हुवा॒नाः), praised by devotees (स्तुता), who protect devotees by rememberance (मन्त्रा॑) and who are praised by seers upon perception]+

“विश्वे देवा” – The term देवा means shining ones. This refers to the effulgent ornaments and weapons on his divine body – all of them (विश्वे). The chakra, sha~Nkha, shArnga, gada, nandaka, kaustubha etc. They are forms of nitya sUrIs who assist him+

“ऋतावृधा” – They are the augmenters of the joy of Trivikrama who is “ऋत” – Who is always true towards his devotees. It means, he always fulfils their desires without expecting anything in return. And these weapons and ornaments aid him in that task+

“हुवाना” – They are summoned or invoked by bhagavAn ie, they act immediately by his will. It means, they are ever at the disposal of his will to help his devotees.  Thus it is said in the mahAbhArata+

चक्रम् तद्-वासुदेवस्य मायया वर्तते विभोह् । सापह्नुवम् पाण्दवेशु चेश्टते राहसत्तमह्    ॥     (udyoga parva 6.7.2, MB)

[That discus of the omnipresent vAsudeva acts by his will for the benefit of the pANdavas being invisible (to the eyes of others), Great King!]+

“स्तुता” – These weapons are praised by bhaktAs as they eliminate their enemies.

periyAzhwar said, “sudarAzhiyum pallANdu; pAnchasanniyamum pallANdu” – “Praise the discus, praise the Conch”, AmbarISha said, “सुदर्शन नमस्तुभ्यं” – “Salutations to SudarshaNa” (~bhAgavataM 9.5.4)+

“मन्त्राः” - मननात् त्रायते – These weapons do not just kill enemies. They are called “mantrAs” since they protect by rememberance of them.

Meditating on them means, meditating on his body itself which has them. Protection for a devotee is having his vision at all times+

“कविशस्ता” – The yogIs who see beyond ordinary perception (कवि) see that form of his replete with his weapons signifying various tattvAs at the apex of Yoga.

Thus, they are praised by yogIs in that state of Yoga signifying their perception in that state+

Thus, the shvetAsvatAra says,

यदात्मतत्त्वेन तु ब्रह्मतत्त्वं दीपोपमेनेह युक्तः प्रपश्येत् । अजं ध्रुवं सर्वतत्त्वैर्विशुद्धं ज्ञात्वा देवं मुच्यते सर्वपापैः+

[When the Yogi, as if by a lamp, sees Brahman, the one denoted by the praNava, unchanging, the pure, characterized by weapons and ornaments as tattvAs through the nature of the jIvAtman (as the innerself), he is freed from all sins by knowing him]+

Where "सर्वतत्त्व” refers to the various weapons on his form signifying different tattvAs as per vishNu purANa’s astra bhUShaNa adhyAya.

Now, there is a parallel to the above rk in the mUnRAm thiruvandhAdhi of peyAzhwar, as follows+

kaiya kanalAzhi kArkkadalvAy veNsangam veyyagadhai sArngam venjudar vAL seyya
padai paravai pAzhi pani nIr ulagam
adiyaLandha mAyar avarkku

Meaning for this below+

[bhagavAn who measured the three worlds, whose mattress is the milky ocean, whose activities are amazing, has in his hands, the praiseworthy weapons - the radiant discus, the white colored conch which appeared in the Ocean, the valorous mace and bow, the radiant sword]+

In this pAsuram, the term “paravai pAzhi” – One who has the Milky Ocean as his mattress - corresponds to “अहिर्बुध्न्य” in the Rk – Who reclines in the coils of the snake (in the Ocean)+

The term “mAyar avarkku” – who is of astonishing deeds, corresponds to “अज एक॑पात्” – whose birth is extraordinary and the guNAs manifested in that birth is only a part of his mahima+

The words “pani nIr ulagam adiyaLandha“ – He who measured the worlds as Trivikrama, corresponds to – “पर्थिवी समुद्रः” in the Rk  - as mentioned earlier, it means, vAmana who tolerated mahAbali’s transgressions and later blessed both him and Indra as Trivikrama+

The weapons denoted by “kaiya kanalAzhi kArkkadalvAy veNsangam
veyyagadhai sArngam venjudar vAL” are a direct parallel to विश्वे देवा – all the shining weapons which are nitya sUrIs+

“seyya padai kaiyA” – Weapons in his hands are praiseworthy by themselves. There is no need to even praise bhagavAn, one can praise these weapons. “seyya” has 2 meanings – appropriate to kill enemies of his devotees, or radiant as ornaments for meditation by his devotees+

Thus, “seyya padai kaiyA” corresponds to qualities of weapons denoted in the Rk as “हुवाना सतुता मन्त्राः कविशस्ता अवन्तु “ – in that they destroy the enemies of his devotees and are also the object of meditation and praise for yogIs.

This pAsuram is thus a parallel to the rk//