Nitya Suris — the Heavenly Entourage

Nitya Suris — the Heavenly Entourage

These celestial beings are differentiated from other jīvas by the fact that they have never been contaminated by material nature and are the eternal coadjutors of the Lord.

But from the view point of attributive consciousness they are the same as all other jīvas. They comprise the retinue of the Lord (pariṣada devatā).

The duties that they actually discharge are so mysterious that no attempt has ever been made at defining them. They also have one more trait that other jīvas do not have and that is the ability to incarnate at will.

The chief among the Nitya Suris is Ananta who is the principle servant of the Lord; acting as His couch, Umbrella etc. Also prominent are Garuda who is the vehicle of the Lord and Viśvaksena who as the "Lord of Hosts" is the chief minister to the Lord in all affairs Heavenly and mundane.

The other members of the Transcendental entourage are:—

(a)  the eight gatekeepers (Dvāra pālakas) who are said to embody the eight siddhis or yogic powers: Caṇḍa, Pracaṇḍa, Bhadra, Subhadra, Jaya, Vijaya, Dhātṛi and Vidhātri.

(b) The eight maid servants of the Lord who stand around Him with fly whisks known as Cāmaras: Vimalā, Utkarsi, jñāna, Kriya, Yoga, Prabhvi, Satya, and Īśāṇa.

(c) The eight Guardians of Vaikuṇṭha   who are also the generals in the army of the Lord: Kumuda, Kumudākṣa, Puṇḍarīka, Vāmana, Saṅkhu-karṇa, Sarva-netra, Sumukha, and Su-pratiṣṭhā.