Nava Yogīśvaras

The Nava Yogīśvaras are the nine royal sons of Ṛshabhadeva, the avatāra (descent) of Bhagavān Vishṇu told of in the 5th Skanda of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa. The name means the Nine Masters of Yoga. They were born as princes, but they gave up their kingdoms while young. They became wandering avadhūtas: fully freed ṛshis with no fixed home, who wore bark or nothing at all. They moved freely through the world and always kept the knowledge of Brahman.

In the 11th Skanda these nine appear at the yajña (fire ritual) of King Nimi of Videha. They answer his nine questions about bhakti, the avatāras, the yuga-dharmas (the dharma of each age) and the nature of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Their answers together are the opening of the Uddhava Gītā.

The nine

The Nava Yogīśvaras were sons of Ṛshabhadeva, and so brothers of Bharata, the emperor after whom the land is named Bhārata. Their names are:

  1. Kavi answered Nimi’s questions about the nine marks of bhakti and the signs of a true devotee.
  2. Hari taught the path to bhakti through satsaṅga (company of the holy), śravaṇa (hearing) and kīrtana (singing the names of Bhagavān Vishṇu).
  3. Antarīksha spoke on the nature of moksha (liberation).
  4. Prabuddha told of the dharma for Kali Yuga and the glory of the names of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
  5. Pippalāyana described how Bhagavān Vishṇu fills everything.
  6. Āvirhotra taught the philosophy of the supreme through yajña and action.
  7. Drumila told the list of the chief avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
  8. Camasa described the signs of Kali Yuga and the decay of the varṇāśrama (the order of varṇas and stages of life).
  9. Karabhājana described the dharmas of the four yugas. He told of the great glory of Kali Yuga: an age when singing the names of Bhagavān Vishṇu alone is enough for moksha.

The teaching on three levels of devotee

Among the answers, Karabhājana’s teaching on the three levels of devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu (bhāgavata) is especially praised.

  • The kanishṭha-bhāgavata worships the mūrti of Bhagavān Vishṇu with sincere faith but does not yet see Bhagavān Vishṇu clearly in all beings.
  • The madhyama-bhāgavata sees Bhagavān Vishṇu clearly in consecrated forms, loves devotees as his dearest friends, feels kindness toward those who do not care, and keeps away from the hostile.
  • The uttama-bhāgavata sees Bhagavān Vishṇu in everything and everyone without difference. This is sahaja bhakti (natural devotion), the most natural and complete form of devotion.

This teaching is in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 11th Skanda, Chapter 2.

The glory of Kali Yuga

Karabhājana’s answer on the yuga-dharmas holds a well-known declaration. Kali Yuga is full of faults, but it has one great virtue that none of the other three ages has. In Kali Yuga, moksha can be reached simply by kīrtana of the names of Bhagavān Vishṇu, without a long yajña, without long tapas and without deep meditation. What the ṛshis of Kṛta Yuga won by decades of meditation, the devotee of Kali Yuga wins by singing.

“Whatever benefit a person in Kṛta Yuga attained by meditating for a full life, a person in Kali Yuga attains by kīrtana alone. This is the unmatched power of Kali Yuga.”

This is in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 11th Skanda, Chapter 5.

Sources

  • Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 11th Skanda, Chapters 2–5
  • Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 5th Skanda (on Ṛshabhadeva)