Meaning and elaboration
Meaning: Salutations To The one who is the primordial, cosmic man or the eternal spirit.
Elaboration
The name Narāya (Nārāya) refers to Purusha, the primordial cosmic man, or the eternal spirit from which all creation emanates. As a name for Kalabhairava, it underscores his identity as the ultimate source and cosmic substratum of existence.
Primordial Being and Cosmic Man (Purusha) In Vedic and Puranic traditions, Narayana is often identified with Vishnu, but in the context of Shiva and particularly Kalabhairava, Narāya points to the ultimate unmanifest, primeval Purusha. Kalabhairava, as time itself, is identical to this Purusha, the cosmic man whose dismemberment in certain myths symbolizes the creation of the universe. He is the original consciousness that existed before all creation, the very fabric of being.
Eternal Spirit (Ātman) Narāya also signifies the eternal spirit or the universal Self (Ātman) that pervades and dwells within all beings. This aligns Kalabhairava with the highest philosophical tenets of Advaita Vedanta, where the individual soul (Jivatman) is ultimately one with the Supreme Soul (Paramātman). Kalabhairava, as Narāya, is the undying, immutable essence of existence, the spirit that transcends all temporal and spatial limitations.
The Source of All Creation By embodying Narāya, Kalabhairava is depicted as the sole originator from whom all aspects of the universe, sentient and insentient, material and spiritual, arise. He is the ultimate ground of being, the silent witness and the active creator, sustainer, and dissolver of worlds, all encompassed within his infinite form. This aspect emphasizes his role as the master of time and creation (Kāla), implying that the entire cosmic play unfolds within and through him, the primordial spirit.
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