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Sushena

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Raja Ravi Varma Painting – 'Rama Conquers Varuna'

Sushen (IAST: Suṣhēn; lit.'sacred army') is an epithet of Vishnu, cited in the epic Hindu hymn Vishnu Sahasranama (The thousand names of Vishnu). Several characters described in the Hindu texts also have the name Sushena.[1]

Literature

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Stanza 58 of the Vishnu Sahasranama contains the name suṣhēnah:[2][3]

mahāvarāho govindạh suṣhēnah kanakāngade
guhyo gabhēro gahanọ guptaśchakragadādharah

The Advaita philosopher Adi Shankaracharya wrote a definitive Sanskrit commentary on the Sahasranama in the eighth century CE, which has been particularly influential for many schools of Hinduism.[4] His commentary on Stanza 58 included: "Suṣhēnah – He who has a charming army. The army of Vishnu is called as His Ganā. They are mainly constituted of great sages and seers and hence, their compelling enchantment."[5][6]

In the 13th century CE, Parasara Bhattar wrote a commentary in Tamil on Vishnu Sahasranama from a Vaishnavite viewpoint, giving the opinion that Bhagavan (Vishnu) has a body that is pure suddha-sattva, and the constituents of this pure body are like an army that can win over the jivas (nitya-muktas and baddha-muktas) and make them join him in mutual enjoyment of bliss.[7][8]

Other uses

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  • Sushena was a son of Karna, one of the central characters of the Mahābhārata. He was a great car-warrior who fought in the Kurukshetra war, and defeated many warriors, but was finally killed by Nakula, one of the Pandava brothers, on the final day of the war.[9]
  • Sushena (सुषेन) was a vanara chief at the siege of Lanka, when Rama formed an alliance with the vanara king Sugriva, who placed an army of vanaras at Rama's disposal.[10]
  • Another Sushena mentioned in the Mahābhārata was the able brother of Emperor Janamejaya, son of Maharaja Parikshit, of the Kuru Kingdom.
  • The Raja Vaidya (Royal Doctor) of Ravana's Kingdom was named Sushena, with the 'na' – the ending na of 'ta-kara' in the varnamala of the Devanagari script.

References

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  1. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (29 June 2012). "Sushena, Suṣeṇā, Suṣeṇa, Susenā: 23 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  2. ^ Sankaranarayan, P. (1996). "Śrī Viṣṇu Sahasranāma Stotram" (Document). Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
  3. ^ "Ramayana CANTO XXII.: BÁLI DEAD". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  4. ^ "Adi Shankaracharya". S.P.Tata. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  5. ^ Tapasyananda, Swami (2002). Sankara-Dig-Vijaya.
  6. ^ "VISHNU SAHASRANAAM". mypurohit.com. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  7. ^ Francis Xavier Clooney (1996), Seeing through texts: doing theology among the Śrīvaiṣṇavas of South India, SUNY Press, ISBN 0791429954
  8. ^ Swami B. B. Visnu. "A Short Presentation on Jiva-tattva". Gosai Publishing Company.
  9. ^ "Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Book 8 Section 48". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  10. ^ "Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Section CCLXXXVII". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 5 April 2009.