Vishṇu Śarmā and Vishṇuhari

This is the account of Vishṇu Śarmā, a devout brāhmaṇa who did three years of fierce tapas (austerity) at Ayodhyā. Bhagavān Vishṇu showed himself to him. Then Vishṇu Śarmā set up the main mūrti (sacred image) of Ayodhyā, known as Vishṇuhari, beside the holy Cakratīrtha. It is the first story of the Ayodhyā Māhātmya, and it tells the origin of the chief tīrtha and the chief mūrti of the holy city.

The pilgrim’s belief

Vishṇu Śarmā knew the Vedas and Vedāṅgas well, and his whole life was given to Vaishṇava bhakti (devotion). On his tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) he came to Ayodhyā. The holy air of the city, the banks of the Sarayū and the old streets of the Ikshvāku kings made him sure that Bhagavān Vishṇu was truly present there. He decided to do tapas until Bhagavān Vishṇu showed himself.

Three years of tapas

His tapas went through the seasons.

• In summer he sat among five blazing fires (pañcāgni tapas): the sun burning above and four fires on all sides.
• In the rainy season he sat in the rain with no shelter.
• In early winter he bathed in the cold lake and worshipped Bhagavān Vishṇu by the rules of the Śāstras.

He ate green roots and fruits. His senses were fully ruled and his mind was kept free of every impurity. He did prāṇāyāma (control of the breath). He chanted Oṃkāra again and again, and the lotus of his heart opened. Inside that lotus he saw the circles of the Sun, the Moon and Agni. Within them he meditated on Bhagavān Hari in his four-armed form, dressed in yellow and holding the conch, the discus and the gadā (club). He worshipped this Hari in his heart with flowers and mantras and fixed his mind on the twelve-syllable mantra. Three years passed in this way.

The stotra

After three years his mind was at its purest and his whole being was on Hari. Vishṇu Śarmā then offered a stotra (hymn of praise). He called Bhagavān Vishṇu by many names that show his endless nature: Vishṇu, Purushottama, lord of all the Suras, the lotus-eyed one, Kṛshṇa, the unchanging, lord of all yajñas, the all-powerful, the endless one, the remover of pāpa (sin), the healer of the sickness of birth, the lotus-navelled one, the slayer of Kaiṭabha, lord of the three worlds, Nārāyaṇa, Rāma and the bearer of the discus.

He said: “You are the mother of all the worlds. You alone are the father of the universe… You are Havis. You are Vashaṭkāra. You alone are the greatest lord.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu appears

Praised with such one-pointed devotion for three years, Bhagavān Acyuta showed himself before Vishṇu Śarmā. He sat on Garuḍa, held the conch, the discus and the gadā, and wore yellow clothes, just as the brāhmaṇa had pictured him in his heart. Bhagavān Vishṇu was delighted. He said:

“O dear one, I am pleased with your great *tapas now. All your pāpa has perished on account of this prayer. Choose your vara, O eminent Brāhmaṇa. I cannot be seen by anyone who has not done tapas.”*

The vara

Vishṇu Śarmā asked for one thing only: “O Bhagavān Vishṇu, grant me unshakeable bhakti to you.” He asked for no wealth, no power and not even moksha. He asked only for perfect love.

Bhagavān Vishṇu gave it, and then, of his own wish, gave more:

“May your steadfast devotion to me be the giver of *moksha. May your Vaishṇava devotion to me be firm. Let the river Jāhnavī, the giver of moksha, be present here itself. O highly fortunate one, this holy spot will become renowned with your name.”*

The making of Cakratīrtha

To bring the Gaṅgā to Ayodhyā, Bhagavān Vishṇu took his Sudarśana Cakra and dug into the earth at that spot. From the lower worlds, through the hole made by this divine weapon, the holy waters of the Gaṅgā rushed up and filled the place. Bhagavān Vishṇu, the storehouse of mercy, made the whole ground free of pāpa with those waters. This place became the Cakratīrtha, the tīrtha of the Discus. It is famous in all three worlds as the destroyer of heaps of pāpa.

The setting up of Vishṇuhari

Bhagavān Vishṇu then said to Vishṇu Śarmā:

“Let my *mūrti stay here, O Brāhmaṇa, with your name put first. It shall be well known as Vishṇuhari. It shall be the giver of moksha.”*

Vishṇu Śarmā followed this command and set up a mūrti of Bhagavān Vishṇu at that place. From that moment Bhagavān Hari has lived at Ayodhyā under the name Vishṇuhari. The name honours both the devotee and Bhagavān Vishṇu and joins them in remembrance for ever. The mūrti holds the conch, the discus and the gadā, and wears yellow clothes.

The yearly festival of Vishṇuhari begins on the tenth day of the bright half of Kārttika and ends on Pūrṇimā. Pilgrims who visit Vishṇuhari and bathe at Cakratīrtha are freed from all pāpa and honoured in svarga (heaven) for many thousands of years.

What this account shows

The holiness of Ayodhyā is not only a matter of the past, because Rāma was born there. It is also living and unbroken, because Bhagavān Vishṇu chose to stay there at the request of a devoted brāhmaṇa. The name Vishṇuhari carries this truth: the Hari who is there is the Hari who answered Vishṇu Śarmā’s three years of devotion. Every pilgrimage to Ayodhyā begins with a visit to Vishṇuhari.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Ayodhyā Māhātmya, Chapter 1