ow what are the teachings of the Narayaniya? It appears to contain
two accounts. In the first we have the story of king Vasu Uparichara,
who is said to have worshipped the Supreme God Hari (Vishnu) in
devotion without any animal-sacrifices, in accordance with doctrines
ascribed to the Aranyakas, i.e. the later sections of the Brahmanas,
including the older Upanishads. This fully agrees with the standpoint
of the Bhagavad-gita. The second account gives the story of a visit
paid by the divine saint Narada to a mysterious "White Island,"
Sveta-dvipa, inhabited by holy worshippers of God who are, strangely
enough, described as having heads shaped like umbrellas and feet like
lotus-leaves and as making a sound like that of thunder-clouds[23];
they are radiant like the moon, have no physical senses, eat nothing,
and concentrate their whole soul on rapturous adoration of the spirit
of God, which shines there in dazzling brightness to the eye of
perfect faith. Narayana there reveals himself to Narada, and sets
forth to him the doctrine of Vasudeva. According to this, Narayana has
four forms, called _murtis_ or _vyuhas_. The first of these is
Vasudeva, who is the highest soul and creator and inwardly controls
all individual souls. From him arose Samkarshana, who corresponds to
the individual soul; from Samkarshana issued Pradyumna, to whom
corresponds the organ of mind, and from Pradyumna came forth
Aniruddha, representing the element of self-consciousness. Observe in
passing that these are all names of heroes of legend: Samkarshana is
Vasudeva's brother Bala-rama, Pradyumna was the son and Aniruddha the
grandson of Vasudeva. Narayana then goes on to speak of the creation
of all things from himself and their dissolution into himself, and of
his incarnations in the form of the Boar who lifted up on his tusk the
earth when submerged under the ocean, Narasimha the Man-lion who
destroyed the tyrant Hiranya-kasipu, the Dwarf who overthrew Bali,
Rama Bhargava who destroyed the Kshatriyas, Rama Dasarathi, of whom we
shall have something to say later. Krishna Vasudeva the slayer of
Kamsa of Mathura, the Tortoise, the Fish, and Kalki. Then follow some
further details, among them a statement that this doctrine was
revealed to Arjuna at the beginning of the Great War--a clear
reference to the Bhagavad-gita--that at the beginning of every age it
was promulgated by Narayana, that it requires activity in pious works,
that at the commencement o