Vishvaksena ()Nayar p. 103 or Vishwaksena, is the commander-in-chief of the army of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

deity Vishnu, additionally serving as a gatekeeper and chamberlain of his celestial abode of Vaikuntha. As the embodiment of the tantras, Vishvaksena is worshipped before any ritual or function in the Vaikhanasas and

Sri Vaishnavism Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...

sects. He occupies an important place in

Vaikhanasa Vaikhanasa () or Vaikhanasagama () is a tradition of Hinduism that primarily worships Vishnu (and his associated avatars) as the Supreme God. The tradition draws its name from the philosophy propounded by its founder, Sage Vikhanasa. Vaikhan ...

and Pancaratra temple traditions, where temple festivals often begin with his worship and procession.

Iconography and associations

The '' Kurma Purana'' describes Vishvaksena to have born out of a portion of Vishnu, carrying a conch ( shankha),

Sudarshana Chakra Sudarshana Chakra (Sanskrit: सुदर्शन चक्र, lit. "disc of auspicious vision", IAST: Sudarśana Chakra) is a spinning, celestial discus with 108 serrated edges, attributed to Vishnu and Krishna in the Hindu scriptures. The Sud ...

(discus) and gada (mace) and wearing yellow clothes like his master. The '' Kalika Purana'' describes him as an attendant of Vishnu, who has four arms, and is red and brown in complexion. He seats on a white

lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

, has long beard and wears matted hair. He carries a lotus, gada, shanka, and chakra in his hands.Dalal p. 462 The

Pancharatra ''Pancharatra'' (IAST: ''Pāñcarātra'') was a religious movement in Hinduism that originated in late 3rd-century BCE around the ideas of Narayana and the various avatars of Vishnu as their central deities.Lakshmi Tantra'' mentions Vishvaksena as four-armed and holding a shankha and a lotus. In another instance, he is said to carry a sword and a club, wear yellow clothes and have tawny eyes, beard and eyebrows, and four teeth. In a hymn, the remark is that Vishvaksena carries all attributes of Vishnu, including the srivatsa mark and his weapons. The Vishvaksena icon of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple has four hands and carries a conch ( shankha)

Sudarshana chakra Sudarshana Chakra (Sanskrit: सुदर्शन चक्र, lit. "disc of auspicious vision", IAST: Sudarśana Chakra) is a spinning, celestial discus with 108 serrated edges, attributed to Vishnu and Krishna in the Hindu scriptures. The Sud ...

(discus) in his upper hands and his lower hands are on thigh (''Gada hasta'') and in ''Avgana hasta''.

Literature

The Brihad Bhagavatamrita describes Vishvaksena in service to Vishnu at Vaikuntha: The '' Garga Samhita'' states that Vishvaksena guards the northern gate of Vaikuntha day and night. In one of the

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

, it is mentioned that

Sugriva ''This character is about the vanara, in the Ramayana.'' Sugriva ( sa, सुग्रीव, , ) is a character In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kishk ...

, the chief of The

vanara In Hindu, Vanara ( sa, वानर, , forest-dwellers) are either monkeys, apes, or a race of forest-dwelling people. In the epic the ''Ramayana'', the Vanaras help Rama defeat Ravana. They are generally depicted as humanoid apes, or human-l ...

army that helped Rama (who was an incarnation of Vishnu) in Treta Yuga was the avatar of Vishvaksena. Vishvaksena does not appear in Vedas or the Dharma Shastra texts, but his worship is mentioned in Pancharatra and other Agama texts. Vishvaksena is believed to symbolize the sacred Agama scriptures. The twelve Alvar saints of

sect are considered as manifestations of Vishnu in some form, and the Alvar saint Nammalvar is considered as an avatar of Vishvaksena. The poet Bhattar, in his ''Srirangaraja Stava,'' has ''taniyans,'' or verses, praising various acharyas (teachers). Vishvaksena also has a ''taniyan'' dedicated to him in the later part of the work, incorporating him in the list of the traditional Sri Vaishnava guru parampara (succession of teachers and disciples) starting from Vishnu's consort Lakshmi (Sri) to Nammalvar. This indicates the influence of Pancharatra texts on

Legends

In one myth, Vishvaksena, the son of Varuna, prayed to Venkateshvara at Tirumala in order to become blessed with the title of the commander of his forces. The '' Kurma Purana'' speaks of a visit of the god Shiva in the form of a cursed mendicant or beggar (

Bhikshatana Bhikshatana ( sa, भिक्षाटन; ; literally, "wandering about for alms, mendicancy") or Bhikshatana-murti () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as the "Supreme mendicant" or the "Supreme Beggar". Bhikshtana is depicted as a nude f ...

, a form of Bhairava) to Vaikuntha. The Vaikuntha gate was guarded by Vishvaksena, who did not recognise Shiva and did not allow him to enter. Bhairava ordered his terrible attendant Kalavega to fight with Vishvaksena. However, Kalavega was defeated by Vishvaksena. As Vishvaksena charged towards Bhairava, Bhairava himself slew Vishvaksena with his trishula and impaled his corpse upon it. This form of Bhairava is known as ''Kankala'' or ''

Kankalamurti Kankala-murti ("One with the skeleton"), also known as Kankala ("skeleton") or Kankala-Bhairava, is an iconographical form of the Hindu god Shiva. He is often associated with a fearsome aspect of Shiva, Bhairava and thus considered the latter's as ...

'' ("One with the skeleton").

Worship

Vishvaksena occupies an important place in the

sect of Vaishnavism, a sect dedicated to Vishnu. Any ritual or function begins with the worship of Vishvaksena. As the commander-in-chief of Vishnu's army, he is believed to protect the ritual or function from obstacles and evil. This role is similar to that of Ganesha, who generally is the first worshipped god in Hinduism, especially the Shaiva (dedicated to the god Shiva) tradition. In

, he is described as the "dispeller of difficulties" and the bearer of a moon-like shining complexion. Ramanuja remarks that the Vaishnavas worship Vishvaksena in the place of Kartikeya and Ganesha. In the ''taniyan'' (hymn), Bhattar invokes Vishvaksena as one who facilities the life of Vishnu and Lakshmi and controls all creations by gesture of his hands to cause '' chit'' (conscious) and ''achit'' (not conscious) to execute their duty. In another hymn, Bhattar seeks happiness by appealing to Vishvaksena and his consort Sutravati.

Mantra and mudra

The '' Lakshmi Tantra'' prescribe the worship of Vishvaksena and mention his mantra ''om rhum vaum jnanadaya namah''.Gupta p. 187 The devotee should mediate upon Vishvaksena in the north direction. Before making an offering of rice to Vishnu, Vishvaksena is prescribed to be worshipped with his mantra, portion of the rice offering and oblations. Apart from invoking Vishvaksena to the rites, he is also offered by the Chief Priest by reciting the ''anga mantras'' (''anga'' means "body" and "mantra" is hymns") with ''hasta mudras'' (hand gestures). Vishvaksena anga-mantras recited at the beginning of rites is as below. "''Om rhyram hrdayaya namaha (we salute your heart)
Om rhyrim sirasa svaha (salutation to the head)
Om rhrum sikhayai vausat (decorate the hairstyle)
Om rhraim havekcaya hum (decorate the hairstyle)
Om rhraum netraya vausat (decorate the eyes)
Om hrah astray phat.(decorate with armaments)''" The

mudra A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As wel ...

for Vishvaksena mantra, which will enable a person to be free of all human bondage, is the following form. Three fingers of the left hand including the little finger are folded into the left palm itself, the index finger is held backwards away from the thumb. On the right hand three fingers, as in the case of the left hand, are folded into the palm. Then the hand is placed on the side of the nostril. The index finger is then doubled and placed on top of the thumb. The right hand is then raised up to show the mudra of throwing a disc. With this

, it is stated that a person can achieve freedom from the human bondage.

Temple rituals

At Tirumala Venkateswara Temple (which follows Vaikhanasa tradition), Vishvaksena is worshipped before any temple ritual. The temple for Vishvaksena is located at the northern side of the main temple, in the ''Mukkoti Pradakshinam'' ('Pradakshinam' means: clockwise circumambulation). Offerings of flowers and garlands (''nirmalya'') to the central icon of Venkateswara (an aspect of Vishnu) are removed from it and then offered to the Vishvaksena icon. The temple festival

Brahmotsavam Sri Venkateswara Swami vari Brahmotsavam or Srivari Brahmotsavam is the most significant annual fête celebrated at the Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala-Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The feast ...

commences with the worship of Vishvaksena and his bronze icon is taken in procession around the temple precincts. Vishvaksena is believed to arrange for the festival and ensure that it goes on smoothly. The ritual of offering of remnants of puja offerings to the central or festival icon of Vishnu to Vishvaksena, before closing of the temple doors, is embedded in Pancharatra tradition. The poet Kuresha remarks that Vishvaksena sustains on the remnants of his master's food, which is a sign of approval of his master.Nayar p. 145 The Srirangam temple, dedicated to Ranganatha (an aspect of Vishnu), also celebrates similar festivals where Vishvaksena plays a role in the temple festivals. On the first day of the festival, images of Vishvaksena and Hanuman are paraded to the shrine of Ranganayaki, the presiding consort goddess of the temple. Soil from a holy

bael Bael may refer to: *''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as the Bael tree *Bael (demon) * Bael (wrestler) See also * Baal (disambiguation) * Bail (disambiguation) Bail is the conditional release of an arrested person prior to their trial, or the mo ...

tree and from the banks of the Kaveri river are brought by priests, as though collected by the deities and seeds are sown in this soil as part of the ''Ankurarpanam'' (sprouting the seeds) ritual. Then as part of the ''Nagarasodani'', Vishvaksena is paraded again as though inspecting the streets before the commencement of the main procession of the central deity of the temple. The temple festival Brahmotsavam of Varadharaja Perumal Temple,

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

also begins with worship and procession of the god on the day before the main days of Brahmostavam, which is known as ''Sena Mudaliar''.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{HinduMythology Hindu gods Tutelary deities Forms of Vishnu