Religion (1986) 16, 101-114

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VISNU RECLINING ON THE SERPENT

Arvind Sharma

The principal types of Visnu images are grouped under three broad heads, viz., sth~naka (standing)i dsana (seated) and ~ayana (recumbent). 1 In the Jayana or recumbent category the principal type is represented by ~es.aJayana. 2 'The Ses~sayana or Anantagayana depicts the adult god recumbent on the folds of Adi or Ananta N~ga, the hoods of the latter serving as a canopy over his head; there are several other figures shown round him, the chief among whom is Laksmi who is shampooing his legs'.3 Figure 1 conveys a fair impression of this type of representation, although it depicts Visnu with two wives rather than one. 4

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The ~esa~yin representation of Visnu is both ancient and popular. 5 It certainly goes as far back as the 5th century AD, when it is found depicted in terracotta relief from the brick temple at Bhitargaon. 6 The ghanadv~ra representation at the stone temple at Deogarh 7 of 6th century AD has won acclaim from several art critics, a The representation is also found in the

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102 Arvind Sharrna

ceiling panel Of the hall of Haccappya-gu.di (Temple No. 9) at Aihole which belongs to the 7th tO 8th century AD. 9 Earlier, it is found rock-cut at M~mal lapuram about the middle of the 7th century.l° Although the earliest examples of this type of representation are found in North India, it is in South India that it gained pre-eminence, and this ' type of Visnu image is one of the commonest images enshrined in the main sanctum of the South Indian Vaisnava shrines of some antiquity and importance; there it is specially

- - , 1 1 designated as Rangan~tha or Rafigasvaml. 'This setting, Vishnu reclining on the coils of Sesa, is one of the great Vaishnavite images, often referred to in Vaishnavite stories and portrayed in Vaishnavite art ' . 12

What is the significance of this representation? Several explanations have been suggested. Sometimes the same author can

be seen as offering distinct, if connected, explanations. These various expla- nations may be presented numerically for the sake of convenience. I t is perhaps best to begin with explanations which pOssess a Vedic orientation.

(1) J i tendra Nath Banerjea suggests that 'the ~esaJayana-m~rti of Visnu- NRrfiyana' which 'is used in one of the three niches in the Deogarh temple' and is ' t he chief icon in the main sanctum' 'in most of the South Indian Vaisnava

• •

shrines', is 'a mythological elaboration of R. gVeda X.82, 5 and 6'. t3 .RgVeda X82.5-6 runs as follows:

Paro di?a para efia prthivy~ paro devebhirasurairyadasti / Kam svidgarbham prathamam dadhra 5~po yatra devfth, samapa@anta vi~ve / Ajasya nfibh~adhyekamarpitam yasmin vigvgmi bhuvanfini) tasthuh

That which is beyond the sky, beyond the earth, beyond gods and spirits. What earliest embryo did the waters contain, in which all the gods were beheld? The water contained that earliest embryo in which all the gods were collected. One (receptacle) rested upon the navel of the unborn, wherein all beings stood. 14

j . N. Banerjea notes that it is ' the original principle known as Vigvakarman' who 'is described in this manner ' . He, however, seems to overlook the fact that Vigvakarman is identified closely 15 with PrajfipatP 6 and therefore through him with Brahmfd 7 rather than with Visnu of the Hindu trimarti. 18

(2) Another Vedic connection could also be suggested. This would rest on the identification of the Vedic Visnu with the sun. In the .RgVeda, Visnu is referred to as taking three strides 19 'about a dozen times'. His epithets urugdya 'wide-going" and urukrama 'wide-striding', which also occur about a dozen times, allude to the same action. 2° A. A. Macdonneil remarks:

The opinion that Visnu's three steps refer to the course of the sun is almost unanimous. But what did they originally represent? The purely naturalistic interpretation favoured by most European scholars and by Y~tska's predecessor

The Significance of Visn. u Reclining on the Serpent 103

AurnnavS.bha (Nir. 12, 19) takes the three steps to mean the rising, culminating, and setting of the sun. The alternative view, which prevails throughout the younger Vedas, the B~ahmanas, as well as post-Vedic literature, and was supported by Yfiska's predecessor SS~kapfini and is favoured by Bergaigne and the present writer, interprets the three steps as the course of the solar deity through the three divisions of the universe. With the former, interpretation is at variance with the fact that the third step of Visnu shows no trace of being connected with sunset, but on the contrary is identical with the highest step. The alternative view does not conflict with what evidence the RV. itself supplies, and is supported by the practically unvarying tradition in India beginning with the later Vedas. m

IfVi.snu is the sun, then the obscuration of the sun by the dark clouds during the monsoon season could easily suggest the image of Visnu slumbering on a couch of dark clouds, resembling a serpent.

The suggestion is ingenious and if hard to disprove is also hard to prove! Moreover, the naturalistic explanation of the Vedas is less popular now than it used to be 22 and more evidence will have to be adduced to make the suggestion hold water than seems to be forthcoming, especially as the three steps are connected in classical Hindu mythology with the V~mafiavatg~ra of Visnu rather than his gesa~ayana. 23

One may now turn to the kind of evidence available from the Smrti rather than Sruti.

(3)J. N. Banerjea again provides a clue here when he comments: ' In the epic and Purfinic age Visnu is regarded as the most influential member of the later Brahmanical triad, Brahmfi, Visnu and Siva-- the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer. But this Visnu, round whom one of the major Brahmanical cults grew up, was really a result of the syncretism of three god-concepts, the man-god Vfisudeva-Krsna, the Vedic sun-god Visnu and the cosmic god Nfirgyana of the Brfihmanas'.24 Elsewhere he remarks, while commenting on the JesaJayanamarti that 'this type is nothing but an elaborate plastic represen- tation of the cosmic god NS~r~yana who is one of the constituent elements comprising the developed cult picture of Bh~gavatism or Vaisnavism, the others being V~sudeva and Vi.snu. The Manusam. hitd (I, 10) and the Mahflb- hdrata (XII , 341) record that the waters were called NgLras because they were the sons of the Nara, and since they were the first resting place of Prajgtpati, he came to be known as N~rgLyana'. 25

This line of reasoning, however, though promising to begin with, seems to run into difficulties. For one thing, on such an approach even the relationship between Visnu and the waters remains rather tentative as in the concerned

. .

passages it is Prajfipati who is identified with Nfirgtyana and not Visnu. 26 For another, even if the relationship is accepted as valid in view of the trans- ference of Prajfipati's exploits to Visnu in the development of Hindu theism 27 this explanation only accounts for the connection of Visnu with the

104 Arvind Sharma

waters, the association with the serpent remains to be established. This too could be done as Sukumari Bhattacharji indicates below, but only at the risk of making the argument even more tentative, as becomes clear from what she h a s to say:

Strangely enough all through later literature, especially in the Purdn.as, the word NS~rS.yana is derived from water. The Mbh. account does not mention N~r~iyana in connection with water; at least not when he is mentioned with Nara, for then they are invariably described as undergoing penance in the hermitage of Badarikfi. N~r~yana derived from the water may be an afterthought suggested by the description of the god lying under water. 29

On this view it is the relationship between Nara and Nfir~yana which is crucial and the waters are just a side-splash.

The explanations considered till now may be regarded as essentially historical in nature. To these a more explicitly historical explanation may now be added.

(4) I t has been observed that ' the two principal types of fully recumbent images belonging to the Brahmanical and Buddhist pantheon are those of Sesa~ayana of Vis.nu and the Mah~tparinirvgmamfirti of Buddha' . 3° This could lead one to suggest that the JesaJayana representation of Visnu was the Hindu response to the mah?tparinirv~n.a representation of the Buddha. Some considerations would tend to support such a view. The acceptance of the Buddha as an avat{tra of Vi.snu 31 could be one such consideration; the fact that the Jesa~ayana is popular in South India, where the deVotional poets are said to have sung Buddhism out of the country, 32 could be another. 33

This explanation also runs into difficulties. I t seems that Buddha came to be regarded as an avat~ra from 'about the 7th century AD '34 and even then perhaps with reservationsY The ~esaJayanam~rtis are already in evidence in the fifth century AD. 36 Moreover, the mah@arinivdn.a depictions of the Buddha can hardly be said to predate the #esaianayamartis in the Indian context 37 with certainty.

(5) It has been suggested that the Kfiliyadamana episode in the life of Krsna probably points 'to the victory of Bhfigavatism over the tribal cult of the Nfigas who ruled in the Mathur~ region before the Guptas'.38 Could not then the fact of Visnu reclining over Sesa, the serpent, possess a similar significance?

The suggestion is useful. V. M. Apte, who made the above suggest in relation to Kfdiya, does make a similar association in relation to Sesa, and remarks, ' In epic and Puranic traditions, which sometimes represent Sankarshana in the form of Anantanfiga and point to his identification with some tribal god of the Ngtgas, he (Balarfima) figures as a great helper of his step-brother Krishna in the latter's exploits, especially in the struggle with Kamsa ' . 39 But before this view could be accepted a few difficulties need to be

The Significance of Visn. u Reclining on the Serpent 105

resolved. In the case of the serpent K~liya, the account clearly refers to the defeat and banishment of the snake. No such triumph seems to be associated in Visnu's relation to Sesa. On the contrary, Balarfima (= Sesa) is Krsna's helper rather than rival. But how firmly can one equate Balar~ma with Sesa? J. N. Banerjea regards this identification as a result of mythical confusion attributable to iconographic association. 4°

Now that the major historical explanations have been discussed, one may next consider some of the phenomenological explanations of the significance of the Jesa~ayana representation of Visnu.

(6) The association of Visnu with Sesa, the serpent, may be understood in terms of comparative mythology. Several aspects of the situation become significant here. First, Vi.snu, in all probability, was a solar god as indicated earlier. 'Thus Vi.snu, a solar god, is naturally connected with celestial serpents. In Indian mythology he is connected with aquatic, especially marine serpents. The association of the solar god, with serpents is a common theme in all mythologies. "The sun and the serpent appear to have been everywhere connected with the sea, rivers, lakes and in fact with the waters generally" (C. F. Oldham, The Sun and Serpent, p. 52) ' . 41 Secondly, while on the one hand Visnu is associated with the serpent Sesa, he is also associated with the bird Garuda. 42 This aspect has been remarked upon by Heinrich Zimmer, who observes that 'The twofold symbol of an eagle and serpent is possessed of a vitality that outlasts the ages. In the West it reappears in modern literature in Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra, where the eagle and the serpent are the two animal companions of the philosopher's 'Solitary Sage'.43 Zimmer goes on to point out that 'Whereas in Western tradition the spiritual antagonism of bird and serpent is commonly understood and stressed, the opposition as symbolised in India, is strictly that of the natural elements: sun force against the liquid energy of the earthly waters'. 44 Thirdly, according to Sukumari Chatterjee, 'in the sun-bird's victory over the serpent we have the victory of the solar god over the lunar hierophany for the serpent is an inseparable associa- tion of the Chthonic and lunar group of gods: giva, Durg~i, Yama, Ni.rrti and Varuna'. 45 Finally, although on the one hand 'Visnu kills the serpent', on the other he is described 'as sleeping on Vfisuki's head. Thus we read in the Ram. of Visnu rising from the serpent-bed used in a simile'. 46 This ambivalence is also found in the stories associated with Krsna. On the one hand he is protected by the serpent Ananta while being taken across the swollen Yamun~ at his birth; on the other hand, 47 he overcomes the snake K~liya who inhabited the Yamun~ river 48 so much so that Krsna is 'very often represented as a boy dancing on the hood of K~liya'. 49

These interpretations, however, raise some historical difficulties. First, some of them rely on a naturalistic interpretation which may be traced to Vedic times. The JesaJayana representation, however, is closely connected

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with the Bhgtgavata cult which is post-Vedic, 5° notwithstanding Vedic or solar connections. 51 Moreover, in the Bhfigavata cult, Ananta possesses not so much naturalistic as a familial aspect when he represents Kr.sna's brother BalarO.ma. 52 An awareness of the close relationship between Krsna and the Balarfima, interestingly, is shown in the NS~gapatnistuti in the KS.liya episode in the BhS.gavata Purfina. 53 Secondly, and perhaps more pointedly, the Jesa~(aya representation appears in the Gupta times, while the doctrine of the Vyfihas had already made its appearance in Sunga times. 54 This seems to imply that the cultic rather than naturalistic elements may have played a more important role in the emergence of the .(esaJayana motif.

(7) Another symbolism which may help in unders tanding the gesagayana motif could be that of water rather than the serpent, a l though the two may be seen as connected. 55 Ult imately the whole depiction can be unified if one follows Heinrich Zimmer 's comments on a gesaiayana representation:

Here Visnu is seen as the source, the transcendent lord, of the created worlds and of their manifold creatures. The waters of life, which feed creation, are his elementary material aspect: they are the first tangible emanation of his divine essence, which, though beyond form, yet evolves and comprehends all forms. Here they are symbolized in the coils of the huge serpent whose dwelling is the cosmic abyss and whose name is 'Endless' (ananta). Upon this immeasureable body the god reclines. Ananta, it is said, supports on his expanded hood the whole weight of both the earth and the celestial spheres; for he is the ever-living cosmic ocean out of which the world and the forms of its beings--both terrestrial and divine--evolve as temporal existences. Known also as 'The Remainder, The Rest' (iesa), he is the abyssal water that has not become transformed into creatures but remains at the bottom of the universe as its primary life-force, energy, and substance, feeding all. Ultimately, Ananta is identical with Visnu himself, who in human form is seen recumbent on his coils. The animal and human aspects, that is to say, are dual manifestations of a single divine presence, which, by and in itself, is beyond the forms it assumes at will when bringing the world-process into play. The anthropomorphic apparition through which it is made manifest to human devotees is an essence identical with the reptile, and this, in turn, with the timeless element of the cosmic sea. 56

How precisely the water symbolism may have influenced the iesaiayana representation is explained thus by Sukumari Bhattacharjee: 'Once Visnu 's association became an established fact, the serpent image became a natural corollary, especially as the rolling waves rushing towards the shore actually look like a myriad-hooded serpent ' . 57

Typically, however, Visnu is depicted as lying upon the waters rather than in them. Sukumari Bhattacharjee almost always implies that Visnu sleeps 'on Vaskuki 's head under the ocean' . 5a Moreover, al though Visnu is always depicted as lying on Ananta , Anan ta does not seem to be always depicted as lying on the waters. And is Visnu ever depicted as lying directly on the waters,

The Significance of Visnu Reclining on the Serpent 107

without his serpentine couch? 5aa He hardly ever floats on the waters; rather he reclines on Ananta, who may or may not be depicted as floating on the waters.

(8) Another explanation of the representation which has been suggested is that it stands for the unity of all existence: vegetable, animal and human. 'There is a perfect unification of vegetative force (the same force that is issuing from the God's body in the form of the lotus) with the human form, and simultaneously with the serpent, the wavelike coils and the crest of the shield of cobra-hoods. The life-force manifest in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, and in the human organism, flows through all with a single melody. The nS.ga and the lotus themes have been united in their fullest meaning'. 59 The statement could be extended: the jesaJayana representation could be said to cover animate as well as inanimate existence (water); man and animal as well as the human and the divine-- thus pointing to the unity, perhaps the primeval unity, of all existence, of all that exists.

Such a broad sweep could only be justified if the iesaJayana depiction always involved the lotus emerging from Visnu's navel. This, however , happens 0nly at the beginning of creation, when the period of laya draws to a close. All Jesaiayana depictions do not include the lotus motif and for a good reason. The JesaJayana representation is meant to depict the state of Visnu during the phase of cosmic quiescence when Visnu reposes on the body of the serpent 'during the intervals of creation and is sheltered by his hoods which stretch out above him like a canopy'. 6° Thus the above-mentioned explanation, though imaginative, has its limitations.

(9) another interpretation is offered by E. B. Havell who connects the coils of the serpent's body with the symbolism of the spiral. In writing about the Dance of Siva he remarks:

The symbolism of the spiral is universal in primitive art. It occurs frequently in Indian art and mythology in the form of the cosmic Serpent, Ananta, the Endless One, who is the couch and canopy of Vishnu, the Lord of Life. Also in the myth of the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean by the Devas and Asuras in order to obtain possession of the nectar of immortality. In this case Ananta, or Sesha, is used as the rope by which the churning stick is turned. The convolutions of the SS.l~grfim stone and of the conch-shell, two of Vishnu's emblems, are other instances. In Vedic times Siva, under the name of Rudra, 'The Roarer', was the god of the whirlwind. But in this Natfirftja image he is conceived mystically and metaphysically as the Divine Spirit, the Supreme Intelligence, dancing in the human soil, removing sin and the effects of Karma. 'They never see rebirths who behold this mystic Dance'. 61

He goes on to say that the 'spiral is thus a symbol pregnant with meaning for Indian artists, as it represents the progress of the soul towards Nirvana, and the whole scheme of cosmic evolution'. 62

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Without denying that such an interpretation enriches the significance of the Jesa~ayana representation, it is probably fair to say that the above-mentioned explanation is of too general an order to specifically explain the ~esaYayana depiction per se. It enriches, but does it explain?

Now that historical and phenomenological explanations have been re- viewed, one may turn to the philosophical explanations which have been offered to explain the significance of the ~esa~ayana representation.

(10) The simplest suggestion here has been made by Vincent A. Smith, who in describing the representation on the ghanadv~ra at the Deogarh temple remarks that the 'subject is Visnu as the Eternal, reclining on the serpent Ananta, the symbol of eternity, with the other gods watching from above'.63

The suggestion is useful, but requires elaboration. Unlike Western thought, which seems to incline towards mono-eternalism, Hindu systems of philo- sophy often admit of co-eternals. 64 Thus in SS~flkhya both purusa and prakrti are eternal, though the former possesses katastha or transcendental eternity and the latter parin.~min or phenomenal eternity.

(11) Heinrich Zimmer, again while commenting on the representation of gesa~yf Visnu at Deogarh remarks:

The anthropomorphic figure, the serpent coils that form his bed, and the water on which this serpent floats, are triune manifestations of the single divine, imperish- able cosmic substance, the energy underlying and inhabiting all the forms of life. 66

The insight is useful, but from the point of view of the philosophical system associated with the cult in which the ~esaJayana representation appears the statement by Zimmer is over-aggregative. I t is too Advaitic in spirit to be consistent with Vigisfftdvaita, according to which 'God as qualified (viBsta) by the world of souls and matter is non-dual (advaita)'. 67 Moreover, Zimmer refers to life rather than existence and thus seems to overlook matter.

Indeed it appears that the most satisfying explanations of the #esaJayana m(trti are probably to be obtained along cultic and philosophic lines. Even here full satisfaction may not be forthcoming but this doe~ seem to be an area which might be most rewarding in this respect. The representation shows Visnu in the state ofyoganidr~ in the interval between the dissolution of the world and its new creation. 68 The relevant question to ask then is: what remains after the universe is dissolved? 69

The answer according to Vi~is.t~tdvaita Ved~tnta is that three entities survive the dissolution of the world, 'there are three ultimate realities (tattvatraya): God (i~vara), soul (cit) and matter (acit). Of these, God alone is independent reality; the other two are dependent on h i m ' ] ° Tha t is to say, souls and matters are subservient to God. So,if a depiction of the universe in a state of dissolution is to conform to this view, then it must (a) represent all the three realities and (b) depict matter and souls as subservient to God.

The Significance of Vis.n.u Reclining on the Serpent 109

The desadayana representation seems to conform to this fairly closely. The recumbent Vis.nu, of course, represents God, but how are souls and mat ter represented?

The role of Jesa (the Remainder) here contains a certain ambigui ty for what is left after dissolution once God is accounted for, is both cit (souls) and acit (matter). I t could be argued that Sesa can stand for both or either depending on the representation. I f the depiction includes Laksmi then she can be taken as representing the souls by 'virtue of her motherhood in relation to the souls'. 71 I f such be the case Sesa can stand for matter. If, however, Sesa is visualized as floating on the waters, the waters of creation, then the waters would represent acit or matter and the Sesa the souls. Indeed the souls are referred to as ~esa in l~ariaanuja's system, though in a special sense. 72

If, however, only the hard core of the ~esaJayana representation is con- sidered, and both Laksmi and the waters are considered extraneous then Sesa can stand for both cit and acit, for they are what remain after the dissolution of the universe and the fact of Visnu 's reclining over Sesa will then represent the subordination of souls and matter to God.

Thus there is a certain ambigui ty in interpreting the motif but it is the kind of uncertainty which one might expect as the cultic expression preceded the philosophical elaboration. And fundamental to the cult is the distinction between God and soul or God and matter, as without such a distinction little room is left for bhakti. Thus even in the state of universal dissolution such a distinction must be allowed for. The distinction is patent when the universe is manifested but must be recognized as latent even when the universe has undergone dissolution. Such seems to be the significance of the ~esagayana- mfirti of Visnu. 73

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N O T E S 1 J . N . Banerjea, The Development of Hindu Iconography (Delhi: Munishiram

Manoharlal, 1974), p. 264. 2 Ibid., p. 275. 'Reclining images of Visnu are almost always of Vis.nu on the

serpent-couch formed by the coiled body of Sesa, or Ananta, resting on the cosmic waters during the "night of Brahma", an indication of the influence of Pu~anic mythology on the form of images. This image, however, is usually reserved for the main image in temples; it is a cosmic image, the Vaishnavite equivalent of the lingam of Siva as an expression of cosmic creative power in its potential form, the icongraphic equivalent.of the creative cosmic sound syllable om' (Thomas J. Hopkins, The Hindu Religious Tradition [Belmont, California: Dickenson Publishing Company, Inc., 1971], p. 114).

3 J . N . Banerjea, op cir., p. 275. Sometimes Laksmi may not be shown, see P. Thomas, Hindu Religion Customs and Manners (Bombay: D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Ct)., 1956), p. xxi, 48.

4 Ibid., p. xxiii, 54.

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5 Curiously, no such representation is noted in Marguerite-Marie Dereck, Indian Art (London: Paul Hamlyn, 1967). John Garrett thus attests to the popularity of the motif. 'The subject is a favourite one with the Vaishnavas. Sir C. Wilkins thus describes one in the north of India, the rock of Ichangiri in the province of Behar. Among the images carved in relief in the surface of the rock, is one ofHari (a title of Visnu) of gigantic dimensions, recumbent upon a coiled serpent, whose heads, which are numerous the artist has contrived to spread into a kind of canopy over the sleeping god; and from each of its mouths issues a forked tongue, seeming to threaten instant death to any whom rashness might prompt to disturb him. The whole lies almost clear of the block on which it is hewn. It is finely imagined and is executed with great skill'. (A Classical Dictionary of India [Delhi: Oriental Publishers, 1971 (first published 1871)], p. 581).

6 J .N . Banerjea, op. cir., pp. 275, 406. 7 See Stella Kramrisch, The Art of India (London: Phaidon Press Ltd., 1965),

plates 51,52. 8 J .N . Banerjea, op. cit., p. 407; Joseph Campbell, ed,, Heinrich Zimmer, The Art of

Indian Asia Vol. I (New York: Pantheon Books, 1955), pp; 167-168; Vincent A. Smith, A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 191 t) p. 164; Hermann Goetz, India Five Hundred Years of Indian Art (London: Methuen, 1959), p. 101; Benjamin Rowland, The Art and Architecture of India (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1967), pp. 135-136; e tc .

9 Stella Kramrisch, op. cit., plate 62; K. Bharatha Iyer, Indian Art (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1958), plate XXV; Francesco Abbate, ed., Indian Art (London: Octopus Books, 1972), plate 48.

10 Stella Kramrisch, op. cit., plate 84. 11 J .N . Banerjea, op. cir., p. 275. 12 Thomas J. Hopkins, op. cir., p. 100. Somewhat surprisingly it seems to go

virtually unnoticed in J. Gonda, Visnuism and ~ivaism, A Comparison (University of London: The Athlone Press, 1970).

13 J .N . Banerjea, op. cit., p. 235. 14 Ibid., p. 276; also see Karl Friedrich Geldner, Der Rig-Veda. Dritter Teil

(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1951), p. 265. 15 The identification is expressly made in Satapatha Brgthmana 8.2.1.10; see Julius

Eggeling, tr., The ~atapatha Br~zhmana Part IV (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1972 [first published 1897 by Oxford University Press], p. 28).

16 For more on the nature of the identification see Sukumari Bhattacharji, The Indian Theogony (Cambridge University Press, 1970), p. 321.

17 Ibid., Chapter 17; also see A. L. Basham, The Wonder That. Was India (Fontana, 1971), p. 242; Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, Hindu Myths (Penguin Books, 1975), pp. 38-39.

18 See Benjamin Walker, Hindu World Vol I (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1968), p. 395; Sukumari Bhattacharji, op. cit., Chapter 18.

19 R. gVeda 1.154.1; etc. 20 A.A. Macdonnell, The Vedic Mythology (Delhi: Indological Book House, 1971

[first published 1897]), p. 38. 21 Ibid., 22 See Alf Hiltebeitel, Dum~zil and Indian Studies, The Journal of Asian Studies

34(1) (November, 1974), pp. 129-137. On naturalistic explanation being only one of the many possibilities see Frederic Spiegelberg, Living Religions of the World (Englewood Cliffs, NJ. : Prentice Hall, Inc., 1962), pp. 86-98.

The Significance of Visnu Reclining on the Serpent 111

23 J . N . Banerjea, op. cir., p. 385; A. A. Macdonnell, op. cit., p. 39. 24 J . N . Banerjea, op. cit., p. 386. 25 Ibid., pp. 275-276. 26 See, for instance, Manusmrti 1.6-10; G. Buhler, tr., The Laws of Manu (Delhi:

Motilal Banarsidass, 1964 [first published in 1886 by Oxford University Press]), pp. 3-5.

27 A . A . Macdonnell, op. cit., p. 41; W. J. Wilkins, Hindu Mythology (London: Curzon Press, 1973 [first published 1882]), p. 134; etc.

28 But seeJ. N. Banerjea, op. cit., p. 276, fn. 1. 29 Sukumari Bhattacharji, op. cit., p. 294. What precedes and follow this passage is

equally significant. Earlier on she refers to the Nara-NS, rS, yana relationship as follows: 'Brahman told the gods that Krsna and Arjuna are none other than Nara and N~rS~yana of old (Mbh. V: 48). They had undertaken hard penance in the hermitage at Badarika, where they lived in a pretty eight-wheeled golden cart. Emaciated, with knotted veins standing out, they meditated there, and only those whom they favoured could see them for they were invisible. (Mbh. XII: 321: 10-12). The mention of the "golden" cart brings out the solar character of Nara and N~tr~yana. King Vasu Uparicara was NS.r~yana's friend. NS, r~yana accepted an oblation in his horse-sacrifice (Mbh. XII: 322). Of Nara and NS, rS, yana we hear that Rudra chased them with his ~fila (spike); Nara hurled an arrow sanctified with a charm, it became an axe, but when it hit Rudra it broke (Mbh. XII: 330). This last part of the myth is clearly a late Saiva gloss aimed at glorifying Rudra. Nfirada had a glimpse of Nara and N~rfiyana at Badarikfig rama and there Nfirfyana congratulated him (Mbh. XII: 332) (op. cir., p. 293). Thus subsequently she gives a very different orientation to the whole discussion, with N~rfiyana's association With water appearing to look like a false start. 'Nara- Nfirfiyana linked as a divine human being is an important phenomenon, because it holds the germ of the incarnation theory. From the Gilgamesh-Enkidu pair or the Dioscouri, with one immortal and one mortal brother, the idea is there. Of this pair, the divine personality does nothing, kills no demons, performs no feats without the help of the mortal; together they are credited with superhuman achievements. In the HVK Krsna and BalarS.ma or Mbh. Krsna and Arjuna we have a replica of this group, in RS, ma and Laksmana of the Ram. perhaps another, but the best, poetically most impressive and mythologically most gripping is the Krsna and Arjuna pair. Of them we are told that they are none but Nara and Nfirfiyana of old. Hence Nara-N~rS, yana is the archetypal pattern behind these concepts. The principle of an active and a passive agent has been introduced in the Sfimkhya system--Krsna does not fight but leads the warrior, supplies the motive, the urge and the impelling force..In other words, he discharges the functions of the sun, the awakener. This image of Krsna and Arjuna was so effective aesthetically, and so satisfying philosophically that the hazy concept of the god-man was transmuted into a concrete archetype in Nara- Nfirfiyana which explains the power of the Krsna-Arjuna image' (op. cit., p. 294).

30 J . N . Banerjea, op. cit., p. 275. 31 J . N . Banerjea, op. cit., p. 424. 32 R.C. Zaehner, Hinduism (Oxford University Press, 1966), p. 129. 33 For another possible reason see Joseph Campbell, ed., Heinrich Zimmer, The Art

of Indian Asia, p. 175. 34 P . V . Kane, History of Dharma~g~stra Vol. V, (Part II) (Poona: Bhandarkar

Oriental Research Institute, 1962), p. 1025.

112 Arvind Sharma

35 J . N . Banerjea, op. cit., pp. 424-425; but also see A. L. Basham, op. cit., p. 309. 36 J . N . Banerjea, op. cit., pp. 406-407. 37 This issue is a complicated one. Firstly, it seems that depictions of mahfipar-

inirv~na are found outside rather than within India, where the tendency was to use symbols rather than portray the scene (see Joseph Campbell, ed., op. cit., pp. 162, 172, 203--4), Secondly, it might be difficult to decide whether the Buddhist representations preceded the Hindu one or co-originated with it, given the tentative nature of artistic chronology. Thirdly, if ~esa~ayanam~rtis in the 5th century AD represent a high stage of artistic evolution, as they seem to, then is it not logical to posit greater antiquity for this type of representation?

38 R . C . Majumdar, ed., The Age of Imperial Unity (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1953), p. 449, fn. 2.

39 Ibid., p. 449. 40 J . N . Banerjea, op. cir., p. 103. 41 Sukumari Bhattacharji, op. cit., p. 299. 42 The solar aspect may be present here too as 'The sun is easily conceived as a bird

which flies across the sky' (ibid., p. 298). 43 Joseph Campbell, ed., Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization (New

York: Bollingen Series VI, 1963), p. 74. 44 Ibid., p. 75; later, Zimmer also offers a spiritual interpretation of the symbolism.

'Thus Vishnu is linked (like Nietzsche's Zarathustra) with both of the eternal antagonists. Sesha, the serpent Endless, representative of the cosmic waters, who is the source of all water whatsoever, is his animal representative; but then so too is Garuda, the conquering principle, the snake's opponent. This is a paradox with reason; for Visnu is the Absolute, the all-containing Divine Essence. He comprises all dichotomies. The Absolute becomes differentiated in polarized n~anifestations, and through these the vital tensions of the world-process are brought into existence and maintained' (ibid., p. 76).

45 Sukumari Bhattacharji, op. cit., p. 299. 46 Ibid., p. 299. 47 BMgavata Purgna X.I I I . 46-50. 48 BhS, gavata Purfina X.XVI. 49 P. Thomas, op. cir., p. 133. 50 Haridas Bhattacharyya, ed., The Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV (Calcutta:

The Ramakrishan Mission Institute of Culture, 1956), Chapter 6. 51 R.C. Majumdar, ed., op. cir., pp. 431--432. 52 Joseph Campbell, ed., Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and

Civilization, p. 89; J. N. Banerjea explains this development iconographically thus: 'Vogel has also rightly observed that "modern idols of Baladeva manufac- tured here are exact copies of the ancient NS~ga figures." It may be added that in ancient and mediaeval times also, images of Baladeva (Samkarsana, the elder brother of Vfisudeva) were directly copied from the hybrid NSga figures and this iconographic association has led to the creation of the confused myth that he was an incarnation of the world-snake Ananta Ngga or Sesa Nfiga' (op. cit., p. 103).

53 X.16.5.45. 54 J . N . Banerjea, op. cir., pp. 387-388. 55 Joseph Campbell, ed., Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and

Civilization, pp. 74-76. 56 Joseph Campbell, ed., Heinrich Zimmer, The Art of Indian Asia, Vol. I, pp. 12-13. 57 Sukumari Bhattacharjee, op. cit., pp. 299-300.

The Significance of Visnu Reclining on the Serpent 113

58 Ibid., p. 299; emphasis added. Also see p. 300. 58a But see S. P. Tewari, Hindu Iconography (New Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan,

1979), p. 65. 59 Joseph Campbell, ed., Heinrich Zimmer, The Art of Indian Asia, Vol. I, pp. 167-

168. 60 John Garrett, op. cir., p. 31. 61 Pramoda Chandra, ed., The Art Heritage of India by E. B. Havell (Bombay: D. B.

Taraporevala Sons & Co., 1964) p. 27. 62 Ibid., p. 28. 63 Vincent A. Smith, op. cir., pp. 163-164. 64 K. Satchidananda Murty, Revelation and Reason in Advaita Veddnta (Columbia

University Press, 1959), p. 40. 65 See Satischandra Chatterjee & Dhirendramohan Datta, An Introduction to

Indian Philosophy (University of Calcutta, 1968), pp. 258-264. 66 Joseph Campbell, Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civili-

zation, p. 61. Elsewhere he remarks: ' . . . "Lord of MS.yS.", and the cosmic ocean on which he is recumbent, are dual manifestations of a single essence, for the ocean, as well as the human form, is Visnu. Furthermore, since Hindu mythology the symbol for water is the serpent (ngzgd), Visnu is represented, normally, as reposing on the coils of a prodigious snake, his favourite symbolic animal, the serpent Ananta, "Endless". So that, not only the gigantic anthropomorphic form and the boundless elemental, but the reptile too is Visnu. It is on a serpent ocean of his own immortal substance that the cosmic Man passes the universal night' (ibid., pp. 37-38).

67 T . M . P . Mahadevan, Outlines of Hinduism (Bombay: Chetana Ltd., 1960), p. 151.

68 Stella Kramrisch, op. cit., p. 202; ThomasJ . Hopkins, op. cit., pp. 99-102. 69 Another question follows upon this one: why represent what remains by means of

a serpent? Though it is difficult to answer the question with historical precision one may momentarily pause to reflect on the symbolic appositeness of the representation. The snake, paradoxically, can symbolize both death and immor- tality. It symbolizes death because its bite can be deadly. It symbolizes immortality by virtue of the periodic moulting of its skin. From this point of view, what could better represent that 'which remains'--which is 'destroyed' at the end of the kalpa in one form and yet persists beyond it in another?

70 T . M . P . Mahadevan, op. cil., p. 151. 71 T . M . P . Mahadevan, op. cit., p. 195. Or because she 'supervises all finite spirits

in their service to the Lord' (J. B. Carman, The Theology of Rarhanuja [Yale University Press, 1974] p. 241). Both these arguments, however, suffer from certain limitations.

72 Ibid., p. 147 ft. 73 One purely cultic explanation may be tried but, as will be shown, is likely to be

found wanting. Although the case for identifying Sesa with Balar~ma is not very strong (J. N. Banerjea, op. cit., p. 103), inasmuch as such an identification has been made (Benjamin Walker, op. cit., p. 115), it could be argued that the key to deciphering the Jesa~ayanam~rti may be provided by the vy~ha doctrine (J. N. Banerjea, op. cit., pp. 386-388). However, as the vy(~ha or emanation concept deals with the beginning of the process of cosmic evolution and the ~esoJayanamarti is to be associated with the state of cosmic involution, the connection between gesa and Samkarsana is not very helpful (also seeJ. N. Banerjea op. cir., pp. 408- 410).

114 Arvind Sharma

ARVIND SHARMA (B.A. Allahabad, 1956; M.A. Syracuse, 1970; M.T.S. Harvard Divinity School, 1974; Ph.D. Harvard University, 1978) lectures in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, where he is currently organising a Gitfi symposium for the forthcoming I.A.H.R. Congress. His forthcoming books include: The Hindu Gft& The Bhagavadgftd and its Ancient and Classical Interpretations; The Philosophy of Religion: A Hindu Perspective; and Spokes oft& Wheel: Essays in Buddhist Studies.

Department of Religious Studies, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.