Narayana

Narayana is the name of the Supreme God in his infinite all pervading form. He is the Purusha of Purusha Suktam. Narayana is another name for Vishnu, as Vishnu is a finite form of infinite Narayan. He is also known as Hari. Understand that God is both infinite and finite. The Puranas present a seemingly divergent, but accurate (for an enlightened being) description of Narayana. The fifth verse of the Narayana Sukta, a hymn in Yajurveda, states that Narayana pervades whatever is seen or heard in this universe from inside and outside alike. Another important translation of Narayana is "The First Being", according to the Manu Smriti. The waters are called narah, the waters are, indeed, produced by Nara ; as they were his first residence, he is called Narayana. In Sanskrit, "Nara" can also refer to all human beings or living entities (Jivas). Therefore, another meaning of Narayana is 'resting place for all living entities'. The close association of Narayana with water explains the frequent depiction of Narayana in Hindu art as standing or sitting on an ocean. In the Kurma Purana he is identified with Brahman and Krishna-Vishnu. He is considered to be the 1st Acharya of the Advaita school of thought as Adi Shankaracharya mentions in his text & works.

In the Mahabharata, Krishna is often referred to as Narayana and Arjuna as Nara. The epic identifies them both in plural 'Krishnas', or as part incarnations of the earlier incarnations of Vishnu, recalling their mystical identity as Nara-Narayana.