Caturviṃśati-mūrtis: The Twenty-Four Forms of Viṣṇu

The caturviṃśati-mūrtis (“twenty-four mūrtis”) are twenty-four named forms of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. A mūrti is a sacred image or form of Bhagavān Viṣṇu used in pūjā. Each of these forms is known by the particular order in which Viṣṇu holds his four weapons in his four hands. Each also has its own name, mantra and description of how it is to be shown.

Together they make up the complete set of image forms used in Vaiṣṇava Āgama pūjā (temple worship of Viṣṇu according to the Āgamas). In this system, Bhagavān Viṣṇu’s endless forms are arranged into twenty-four named forms. The Agni Purāṇa sets this out in Chapters 25, 44 and 48. The Caturviṃśati-mūrti-stotra of Chapter 48 is the devotional hymn that praises each form in turn.

Where the Twenty-Four Forms Come From

Viṣṇu’s four weapons are the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus), gadā (mace) and padma (lotus). They are held in four hands: upper right, lower right, upper left and lower left. There are 24 different ways to arrange four objects in four places (4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24). Each arrangement marks one particular named mūrti.

These twenty-four forms come from the four vyūha forms of Viṣṇu (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha). Each vyūha gives rise to six forms, making twenty-four in all:

FromThe six mūrtis
Vāsudeva (first six)Keśava, Nārāyaṇa, Mādhava, Govinda, Viṣṇu, Madhusūdana
Pradyumna (second six)Trivikrama, Vāmana, Śrīdhara, Hṛṣīkeśa, Padmanābha, Dāmodara
Saṅkarṣaṇa (third six)Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Puruṣottama, Adhokṣaja
Aniruddha (fourth six)Narasiṃha, Acyuta, Janārdana, Upendra, Hari, Kṛṣṇa

The Twenty-Four Names and Their Weapons

This table shows the weapon held in each of the four hands of each mūrti, as described in the Caturviṃśati-mūrti-stotra (Chapter 48):

MūrtiUpper rightLower rightUpper leftLower left
KeśavaCakraPadmaŚaṅkhaGadā
NārāyaṇaŚaṅkhaPadmaGadāCakra
MādhavaGadāCakraŚaṅkhaPadma
GovindaCakraGadāPadmaŚaṅkha
ViṣṇuGadāPadmaŚaṅkhaCakra
MadhusūdanaŚaṅkhaCakraPadmaGadā
TrivikramaPadmaGadāCakraŚaṅkha
VāmanaŚaṅkhaCakraGadāPadma
ŚrīdharaKamala (padma)ŚaṅkhaCakraDhanuḥ (bow)
HṛṣīkeśaGadāCakraPadmaŚaṅkha
PadmanābhaŚaṅkhaPadmaCakraGadā
DāmodaraPadmaŚaṅkhaGadāCakra
SaṅkarṣaṇaGadāŚaṅkhaCakraPadma
Vāsudeva (mūrti)GadāŚaṅkhaPadmaCakra
Pradyumna (mūrti)CakraŚaṅkhaGadāPadma
Aniruddha (mūrti)CakraGadāŚaṅkhaPadma
PuruṣottamaCakraKamalaŚaṅkhaGadā
AdhokṣajaPadmaGadāŚaṅkhaCakra
NarasiṃhaCakraPadmaGadāŚaṅkha
AcyutaGadāPadmaCakraŚaṅkha
Janārdana (Upendra)ŚaṅkhaGadāCakraPadma
Upendra (Hari)PadmaCakraŚaṅkhaGadā
HariŚaṅkhaPadmaCakraGadā
KṛṣṇaŚaṅkhaGadāPadmaCakra

The Caturviṃśati-mūrti-stotra

The stotra (hymn of praise) of Chapter 48 is told by Hayagrīva to Brahmā. It praises each of the twenty-four mūrtis in twelve main verses. It has a special feature: the first syllables of the twelve verses, read in order, spell out the twelve-syllable mantra “Oṃ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya”. For this reason the stotra is also called the Dvādaśākṣarī Stotra (“hymn of the twelve syllables”), as well as the Caturviṃśati-mūrti Stotra. Those who read or hear this stotra become pure (nirmala) and gain all they desire.

Mantras

For each of the twenty-four mūrtis, the main mantra is the name in the form “to …” followed by namaḥ (“salutation”), for example “Keśavāya Namaḥ” and “Nārāyaṇāya Namaḥ”.

Two mantras apply to all twenty-four mūrtis:

  • the aṣṭākṣarī (eight-syllable mantra): “Oṃ Namo Nārāyaṇāya”
  • the dvādaśākṣarī (twelve-syllable mantra): “Oṃ Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya”

The trailokya-mohana mantra (“the mantra that enchants the three worlds”) “Pāṃ” and the bījas (seed syllables) “Klīṃ” and “Hrīṃ” appear in connection with the Hṛṣīkeśa and Śrīdhara forms respectively.

Pūjā in the Nava-vyūha

The twenty-four mūrtis are worshipped within the nava-vyūha, the nine-fold arrangement described in Chapter 23. The main maṇḍala (sacred diagram) is made up of Vāsudeva at the centre and the eight other vyūha forms on the eight petals of a lotus. The twenty-four mūrtis are then invited as the wider family of these nine, and are worshipped in the outer positions of the pūjā-maṇḍala during the full Āgama pūjā.

Sources

  • Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 23, 25, 44 and 48