svarūpa-vigraha kṛṣṇera kevala dvi-bhuja
nÄrÄyaṇa-rÅ«pe sei tanu catur-bhuja
Å›aá¹…kha-cakra-gadÄ-padma, mahaiÅ›varya-maya
Å›rÄ«-bhÅ«-nÄ«lÄ-Å›akti yÄá¹…ra caraṇa sevaya
svarÅ«pa-vigraha - personal form; kṛṣṇera - of Lord Kṛṣṇa; kevala - only; dvi-bhuja - two hands; nÄrÄyaṇa-rÅ«pe - in the form of Lord NÄrÄyaṇa; sei - that; tanu - body; catuḥ-bhuja - four-handed; Å›aá¹…kha-cakra - conchshell and disc; gadÄ - club; padma - lotus flower; mahÄ - very great; aiÅ›varya-maya - full of opulence; Å›rÄ« - named Å›rÄ«; bhÅ« - named bhÅ«; nÄ«lÄ - named nÄ«lÄ; Å›akti - energies; yÄá¹…ra - whose; caraṇa sevaya - serve the lotus feet.
Kṛṣṇa’s own form has only two hands, but in the form of Lord NÄrÄyaṇa He has four hands. Lord NÄrÄyaṇa holds a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower, and He is full of great opulence. The Å›rÄ«, bhÅ« and nÄ«lÄ energies serve at His lotus feet.
In the RÄmÄnuja and Madhva sects of Vaiṣṇavism there are extensive descriptions of the Å›rÄ«, bhÅ« and nÄ«lÄ energies. In Bengal the nÄ«lÄ energy is sometimes called the lÄ«lÄ energy. These three energies are employed in the service of four-handed NÄrÄyaṇa in Vaikuṇá¹ha. Relating how three of the Ä€lvÄrs, namely BhÅ«ta-yogÄ«, Sara-yogÄ« and BhrÄnta-yogÄ«, saw NÄrÄyaṇa in person when they took shelter at the house of a brÄhmaṇa in the village of GehalÄ«, the PrapannÄmá¹›ta of the ÅšrÄ«-sampradÄya describes NÄrÄyaṇa as follows:
tÄrká¹£yÄdhirÅ«á¸haá¹ taá¸id-ambudÄbhaá¹
laká¹£mÄ«-dharaá¹ vaká¹£asi paá¹…kajÄká¹£am
hasta-dvaye Å›obhita-Å›aá¹…kha-cakraá¹
viṣṇuá¹ dadṛśur bhagavantam Ädyam
Ä-jÄnu-bÄhuá¹ kamanÄ«ya-gÄtraá¹
pÄrÅ›va-dvaye Å›obhita-bhÅ«mi-nÄ«lam
pÄ«tÄmbaraá¹ bhÅ«á¹£aṇa-bhÅ«á¹£itÄá¹…gaá¹
catur-bhujaá¹ candana-ruá¹£itÄá¹…gam
“They saw the lotus-eyed Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, mounted on Garuá¸a and holding Laká¹£mÄ«, the goddess of fortune, to His chest. He resembled a bluish rain cloud with flashing lightning, and in two of His four hands He held a conchshell and disc. His arms stretched down to His knees, and all His beautiful limbs were smeared with sandalwood and decorated with glittering ornaments. He wore yellow clothes, and by either side stood His energies BhÅ«mi and NÄ«lÄ.â€
There is the following reference to the Å›rÄ«, bhÅ« and nÄ«lÄ energies in the SÄ«topaniá¹£ad: mahÄ-laká¹£mÄ«r deveÅ›asya bhinnÄbhinna-rÅ«pÄ cetanÄcetanÄtmikÄ. sÄ devÄ« tri-vidhÄ bhavati, Å›akty-ÄtmanÄ icchÄ-Å›aktiḥ kriyÄ-Å›aktiḥ sÄká¹£Äc-chaktir iti. icchÄ-Å›aktis tri-vidhÄ bhavati, Å›rÄ«-bhÅ«minÄ«lÄtmikÄ. “MahÄ-Laká¹£mÄ«, the supreme energy of the Lord, is experienced in different ways. She is divided into material and spiritual potencies, and in both features she acts as the willing energy, creative energy and the internal energy. The willing energy is again divided into three, namely Å›rÄ«, bhÅ« and nÄ«lÄ.â€
Quoting from the revealed scriptures in his commentary on the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (4.6), MadhvÄcÄrya has stated that mother material nature, which is conceived of as the illusory energy, DurgÄ, has three divisions, namely Å›rÄ«, bhÅ« and nÄ«lÄ. She is the illusory energy for those who are weak in spiritual strength because such energies are created energies of Lord Viṣṇu. Although each energy has no direct relationship with the unlimited, they are subordinate to the Lord because the Lord is the master of all energies.
In his Bhagavat-sandarbha (text 23), ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ« Prabhu states, “The Padma PurÄṇa refers to the eternally auspicious abode of Godhead, which is full in all opulences, including the energies Å›rÄ«, bhÅ« and nÄ«lÄ. The MahÄ-saá¹hitÄ, which discusses the transcendental name and form of Godhead, also mentions DurgÄ as the potency of the Supersoul in relationship with the living entities. The internal potency acts in relation with His personal affairs, and the material potency manifests the three modes.†Quoting elsewhere from the revealed scriptures, he states that Å›rÄ« is the energy of Godhead that maintains the cosmic manifestation, bhÅ« is the energy that creates the cosmic manifestation, and nÄ«lÄ, DurgÄ, is the energy that destroys the creation. All these energies act in relation with the living beings, and thus they are together called jÄ«va-mÄyÄ.
