Narayana Sukta — Opening Verse

The Narayana Sukta opens with the same image as the Purusha Sukta — the thousand-headed cosmic being — but here the name is Narayana. He is all-eyed (seeing everything), beneficent to all (Vishva Shambhu), and he is the very universe itself.

The name Narayana comes from 'nara' (beings / waters) and 'ayana' (abode / refuge). He is the one in whom all beings abide, and who abides in all beings. He is not above the world looking down — he is the innermost substance of all that exists.

The verse ends with a statement: Narayana is the akshar — the indestructible — and the paramam padam, the supreme state. Beyond all change, beyond all dissolution, that is where Narayana is.

The Narayana Sukta is from the Taittiriya Aranyaka (10.13) of the Krishna Yajurveda. It is recited during Vishnu puja and is especially prominent in South Indian Vaishnava traditions, where it forms part of the daily sandhya vandanam.

The Narayana Sukta also contains the famous verse 'Antarbahischa tatsarvam vyapya Narayanah sthitah' — 'Narayana pervades everything, within and without.' This is often cited as the clearest Vedic statement of Vishnu's omnipresence.