Miscellaneous - Religion   

Devotional work

CHENNAI: The composition of some of the scriptural texts reveals that there is divine sanction to them. The Vedas are the primary scriptural authority and were revealed by the Lord Himself. The other scriptural works were written by sages to expound the Vedic teachings which are cryptic. Thus came into being the several Puranas, Dharmasastras and the Itihasas.

In his discourse, Damal Sri Ramakrishnan said the Narayaneeyam, a condensation of the Bhagavata Purana, was composed by Bhattatiri at the instance of an oracle to cure an ailment which he had taken upon himself from his preceptor who was afflicted with it. According to tradition he composed the work before the deity, Lord Krishna, in Guruvayur. The foyer in the precincts of the shrine is preserved to this day as a testament to the creation of this devotional masterpiece. Bhattatiri had submitted to Him before undertaking the work that He should approve every verse he composed. He wished that his work should be endorsed by the Lord just as the Ramayana was by Rama Himself when His sons Lava and Kusa sang the epic before Him as Valmiki taught it to them. So the Narayaneeyam is revered in devotional tradition as a work sanctioned by the Lord. Krishna is believed to have acknowledged His divine deeds described in the Bhagavata Purana when Bhattatiri described them and also granted him the vision to behold some of them.

Veda Vyasa composed the Bhagavata Purana to dilate on the Lord’s descent to this world as Krishna because he was not satisfied even after composing the encyclopaedic Mahabharata. Though on the lines of the other Puranas, the Bhagavata describes all His manifestations, its high point is the elaboration of Lord Krishna’s incarnation, divine deeds and His glory. It at once highlights Krishna as the Supreme Being and His easy accessibility thereby portraying the two contrary aspects of His personality, which are very important from the standpoint of humanity in the context of redemption from bondage. In this incarnation the celestials took the form each one desired in the cowherd community of Gokul and awaited His advent to serve Him.

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