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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
The Systems of Rāmānuja
Acharya Shri Kailashsagarsuri Gyanmandir
543
which they seek to shield themselves under the kind hand of God. Rāmānuja's God thus seeks to satisfy the metaphysical, affectional, religious, intellectual and moral demands of man.
For Private And Personal
Such a Supreme God appears in five different modes for the purposes of the devotion of God by the devotees and the creation of the world, etc. Bhandarkar describes these following forms in detail (i) The Para () or the highest, in which mode Nārāyana (), called also Parabrahman (परब्रह्म) and परवासुदेव, lives in a city called Vaikuntha (a), which is guarded by certain persons and which has doorkeepers; seated in a pavilion of gems on a coach in the form of the serpent s'esa (), placed on a throne having the eight legs, Dharma and others; attended by Sree, Bhu, Līlā; holding the celestial weapons conch-shell, discus and others; adorned with celestial ornaments, such as tiara and others, possessed of numberless auspicious attributes, knowledge, power and others; and His presence being enjoyed by the eternal spirits such as Ananta, Garuda, Visvaksena and others, and by delivered souls. (ii) Vyuha (), in which the Para himself has assumed four forms, Vasudeva, Sankarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha for convenience of worship and for purposes such as creation, etc. Of these, Vasudeva is possessed of the six qualities (jñāna, bala, ais'varya, virya, sakti and tejas). Samkarṣana has two, viz., Omniscience and sustaining power; Pradyumna, two, viz., controlling power and unchangeableness, and Aniruddha creative power and
