Vishvaksena: Difference between revisions

| deity_of = Commander of [[Vishnu]]'s Armies<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FmdoEAAAQBAJ&dq=vishvaksena+commander&pg=PT41 | title=Life of Sri Ramanuja | date=7 April 2022 | publisher=Sri Ramakrishna Math }}</ref>

| spouse = Sutravati<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ge5ZAAAAIAAJ&q=vishvaksena+commander | title=Sri Vishnu Sahasranama: With the Bhashya of Sri Parasara Bhattar : With Translation in English | year=1983 | publisher=Sri Visishtadvaita Pracharini Sabha }}</ref>

'''Vishvaksena''' ({{Lang-sa|विष्वक्सेन|lit=all-conqueror|translit=Viṣvaksēna}})<ref name="Nayar p. 103">Nayar p. 103</ref> or '''Vishwaksena''', is the commander-in-chief of the army of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] deity [[Vishnu]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2015-08-27 |title=Vishvaksena, Viṣvaksenā, Visvaksena, Viṣvaksena, Vishvac-sena, Vishvakshena: 17 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vishvaksena |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> additionally serving as a gatekeeper and chamberlain of his celestial abode of [[Vaikuntha]].<ref name="tirumala" /><ref>Nayar p. 96</ref> As the embodiment of the [[Tantras (Hinduism)|tantras]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HUSCDwAAQBAJ&dq=vishvaksena+purana&pg=PT499 |title=The Bhagavata Purana 3 |date=2019-01-21 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-93-5305-380-2 |language=en}}</ref> Vishvaksena is worshipped before any ritual or function in the [[Vaikhanasas]] and [[Sri Vaishnavism]] sects. He occupies an important place in [[Vaikhanasa]] and [[Pancaratra]] temple traditions, where temple festivals often begin with his worship and procession.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pattanaik |first=Devdutt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wh22qvzQuowC&dq=vishvaksena+doorkeeper&pg=RA1-PA67-IA4 |title=99 Thoughts on Ganesha |date=2015-01-27 |publisher=Jaico Publishing House |isbn=978-81-8495-152-3 |pages=67 |language=en}}</ref>

नोत्पादयेद्यदि रतिं श्रम एव हि केवलम् ॥८॥|author=[[Vyasa]]|title=Srimad Bhagavatam|source=Book I, Chapter II}}{{Blockquote|text=Vishva is the universe or entire creation and Sena is Army. As Lord has his army in every nook and corner of the universe, he is Vishvaksena.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RQQ-AQAAMAAJ&dq=srimad+bhagavatam+vishvaksena&pg=PA48 | title=A Prose English Translation of Srimadbhagavatam | year=1896 | publisher=M.N. Dutt }}</ref>}}

The ''[[Kurma Purana]]'' describes Vishvaksena to have born out of a portion of Vishnu, carrying a conch ([[shankha]]), [[Sudarshana chakra|Sudarshana Chakra]] (discus) and [[gada (weapon)|gada]] (mace) and wearing [[Pītāmbara|yellow clothes]] like his master.<ref name="Dimmitt1978">{{cite book|author=Cornelia Dimmitt|title=Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas|date=15 June 1978|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-0-87722-122-7|page=208}}</ref> The ''[[Kalika Purana]]'' describes him as an attendant of Vishnu, who has four arms, and is red and brown in complexion. He seats on a white [[Nelumbo nucifera|lotus]], has long beard and wears matted hair. He carries a lotus, gada, shanka, and chakra in his hands.<ref name="ShastriArts1994">{{cite book|author1=Biswanarayan Shastri|author2=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|title=Kālikāpurāṇe Mūrtivinirdeśaḥ7|date=1 January 1994|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1124-9|page=107}}</ref><ref name="Dalal p. 462">Dalal p. 462</ref>