Vyà «ha () is a Sanskrit word that translates to 'military array', 'formation' or 'multitude'. While the term originates in a military context to describe battle formations, it is also used in Indian philosophy, most prominently in the Pancharatra tradition, to refer to the strategic manifestation of Narayana or Vishnu into multiple functional forms. This theological application is a direct extension of the military vyà «ha through a metaphor: just as a single army remains one entity while being rearranged into specific "formations" to achieve a particular objective, the Supreme Being remains singular while rearranging into a multitude of emanations to perform different divine functions. In Vaishnava theology, this is expressed through the Caturvyà «ha, where God emanates into four distinct forms to support the cyclical creation, sustenance, and destruction processes of the universe.
The earliest concept of the vyà «ha doctrine, pre-dating the PÃÂñcarÃÂtra texts, is found in a section of the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, known as the Narayania.
The Mahabharata and the Manu Samhita list by name and formation many vyà «has ('battle formations'), which could range greatly in size.
The main ÃÂgamas are the Vaiá¹£á¹Âava (worship of Vishnu), the à Âaiva (worship of Shiva) and the à ÂÃÂkta (worship of Devi or Shakti) ÃÂgamas; all ÃÂgamas are elaborate systems of Vedic knowledge. According to Vedanta Desika, the PÃÂñcarÃÂtra ÃÂgama teaches the five-fold daily religious duty consisting of â abhigamana, upÃÂdÃÂna, ijyÃÂ, svÃÂdhyÃÂya and yoga, the name of this ÃÂgama is derived on account of its description of the five-fold manifestation of the Supreme Being viz, para (supreme or the transcendental form), vyà «ha (formation or manifestation as the four vyà «ha), vibhava (reincarnation or descent to earth as avtÃÂra), arcà(visible image of God) and antaryÃÂmi (cosmic form of God). Lakshmi accompanies Vishnu in His Chatur-vyà «ha (four-fold manifestation) as VÃÂsudeva (creator), Saá¹ kará¹£aá¹Âa (sustainer), Pradyumna (destroyer), and Aniruddha (spiritual knowledge promulgator). This is the Vaiá¹£á¹Âava doctrine of Vyà «ha or the doctrine of formation.
The Chatur-vyà «ha forms of Viá¹£á¹Âu are related to four of the six causes of creation which six are God Himself as the final cause of creation and His five aspects â NarÃÂyaá¹Âa (thinking), VÃÂsudeva (feeling), Sankarà Âana (willing), Pradyumna (knowing), and Aniruddha (acting) successively. Each divinity controls its specific creative energy. The six gunas â jnana (omniscience), aishvarya (lordship), shakti (potency), bala (force), virya (virtue) and tejas (self-sufficiency), acting in pairs and in totality, are the instruments and the subtle material of pure creation. Vyà «has are the first beings created, and they represent the effective parts of a coherent whole. Here, vyà «ha means â projection; the projection of the svarà «pa ('own form') as bahurà «pa ('manifest variously').
In MahÃÂyÃÂna Buddhism, the word vyà «ha means "arrangement", the like of marvelous, supernatural, magical arrangements, or supernatural manifestations. It is also extant in the Pali language, where it means "an array" or "grouping of troops".
The term is also found among the titles of some Buddhist texts. In Pure Land Buddhism, the character of AmitÃÂbha Buddha is elaborated upon in both the Longer SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha Sà «tra and the Shorter SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha Sà «tra. The term "SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha" may translated as "description of SukhÃÂvatë". The KÃÂraá¹Âá¸Âavyà «ha Sà «tra has been translated as "The Basket's Display".