Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (srini@euclid.chem.washington.edu) Fri, 8 Mar 1996 14:48:31 -0800 (PST) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: Venkatesh Elayavalli/DCOM: "Re: Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - (1)" Previous message: Jaganath.Bharadwaj@nrecatao.nreca.org: "Ekadashi, Rituals etc" Next in thread: Venkatesh Elayavalli/DCOM: "Re: Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - (1)" Maybe reply: Venkatesh Elayavalli/DCOM: "Re: Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - (1)" Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - (1) Dear Bhakti Members- With your permission and encouragement, I am planning a periodic mailing of the VishNu SahasranAmam and its translation to this list. This will, hopefully, over a period of time, put this divine shloka in the electronic format. I am very aware of the monumental nature of this task and pray that I be able to complete this. This reformatting will primarily be based on translations of Sri SankarAchArya's and Sri ParAshara Bhattar's commentaries (taken from two publications - (1) from Ramakrishn Mutt (Swami Tapasyananda's translation) and (2) by Sri K.E.Parthasarathy) This will give us an oppurtunity for a side-by-side comparison of these 2 authoritative commentaries, representing, respectively, the Advaita and Vishsistadvaita schools. I will truncate the introduction given in these two books, but will reproduce in full the commentaries of the two AchAryas. If anybody has any problem with this please contact me at: sgsrini@u.washington.edu With this, I begin the reformatting. Om Sri Maha Ganapathaye Namaha- TRANSLITERATION --------------- For the transliteration we use the following notation (suggested by Sri Mani Varadarajan) For the Vowels: a A i I u U R RR e E ai o O au M [H or :] For the Consonants: k kh g kh 'n c ch j jh ~n T Th D Dh N t th d dh n p ph b bh m y r l v S sh s h L Nasals can be interchanged with 'n' somewhat freely since it is still intelligible. INTRODUCTION (Abridged Version) ------------ The name of God is everything. Its glory is as inestimable as the glory of God Himself. The VishNu SahasranAmam says that nAmas (names) are GauNa i.e. based on GuNas or attributes - yAni nAmAni GauNAni. They are not mere empty sounds. The BhAgavata PurANa says that the names of the Lord are each expressive of the fame, exploits and greatness of the Lord. As the Lord's excellences are infinite, so His names are also Infinite. In seeking God through praise and worship, there are three forms of approach; firstly to describe in varied and poetic manner the greatness and glory of God; secondly, to expatiate on His varied glory by several significant attributes in the form of manifold names and lastly to invoke His grace and succor by the repetition of only one name of His. Under the first category comes all poetic Hymns, under the second SahasranAmam, AshTottara nAmam and the nAmAvalis sung in the Bhajans; and under the last comes nAma PArAyaNa or the repetition of a single name, RAma, KrishNa, Siva etc. The SahasranAma Stotras addressed to some particular diety and invoking Him with a thousand names are found scattered in the Epics and PurANas. Several of them are about Devi (Lalitha, Lakshmi etc.), Ganesha, Shiva, but there is only one SahasranAma Stotra in praise of VishNu. VishNu SahasranAmam is a part of the ShaniI Parva of the MahAbhArata. MahAbhArata is itself considered to be a commentary on the SahasranAmam Tradition says that it was composed by Sanaka, one of the KumAras (eternally living Youths) and was transmitted to BhIshma. Although composed long ago and sung here and there by the pupils of VyAsa, the wide and formal publication of the Stotra appears to have been reserved for a formal delivery of it in the famous Dharmashetra Kurukshetra from the purest and holiest lips of BhIshma. Thus, the first SahasranAma archana was done to KrishNa by the old BhIshma in his dying moments. It is also significant that KrishNa himself induced YudhishThira to learn the great virtues and tenets at the feet of BhIshma and among these expositions of BhIshma, the VishNu SahasranAmam is set as a rare gem in a diadem. BhIshma recited it in the presence of Sri KrishNa to the PAndava brothers when he was questioned by YudhishThira, unsatisfied even after hearing all forms of Dharma capable of effecting complete purification: "Kimekam daivatam loke kim vApyekam parAyaNam, stuvantaH kamkam arcantaH prApnuyur mAnavAH Subham" [ In this universe who is the one Divinity (at whose command all beings function)? What is that one supreme Status which one should seek to attain? Who is that Divinity by praising whom and by worshipping whom a man attains the good? ] The thousand names of VishNu is the answer that BhIshma gives to this enquiry. Today of all SahasranAmas, VishNu SahasranAma is known as 'the SahasranAma'. The collections of the thousand names is believed to have a mystic power of its own. It is also considered as a MahA mantra of which Devakinandana, the son of Devaki is the Sakti or power. According to orthodox tradition, a devotee should daily chant the UpaniSad pertaining to his SAkhA, the GitA, Rudram, PuruSasUkta and VishNu SahasranAmam. It is believed that if one cannot do all this on any day, chanting VishNu SahasranAmam alone is sufficient. BhaTTar has considered that uttering even one of the holy names is as good as a thousand and is potent to grant to the devotees all benefits and that such a name is equivalent to a mantra like the twelve syllabled OM Namo Bhagavate VAsudevAya or the eight syllabled OM Namo NArAyaNAya. Apparently BhaTTar has in mind the memorable verse in the Tiruvoimozhi (Bhagavad Vishya) of NammAlvar, which states: "Our protector is the great Lord NArAyaNa whose greatness is sung by a SahasranAmam, each name of which is thousand by itself and is capable of protecting all the worlds. Further, each name of God is capable of doing good in a thousand ways". VishNu SahasranAmam can be chanted by all, without any distinction of caste, creed or sex. It can be chanted at any time and no special rituals are obligatory on one chanting it. Hopefully, these translations of the commentaries of Sri Sankara and ParAsara BhaTTar will stimulate in all of us an unquenchable thirst for the enjoyment of God-knowledge- His GuNAs and glories- and, lift us from the SAmsAric narakA and immerse us in the ocean of Ananda. -Srivilliputhur Gopalan Srinivasan -----------------------To be Continued------------------------------ Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - (2) 'srini' Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (sgsrini@u.washington.edu) Fri, 8 Mar 1996 22:07:36 -0800 (PST) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: Mani Varadarajan: "Some food for thought..." Previous message: V. Sadagopan: "Yatiraja Vimsati of MnaavLa Maamunigal" VishNu SahasranAmam consists of 142 slokas. Excepting 13 slokas at the beginning and 22 at the end, the remaining 107 slokas contain the thousand names of God. MEDITATION ON VishNu AND INTRODUCTORY VERSES -------------------------------------------- 1. Om SuklAmbara-dharam vishNum SaSivarnam catur-bhujam prasanna-vadanam dhyAyet sarva-vighnopaSAntaye. [ (For the eradication of all obstructions) One should meditate upon vishNu Who is clad in white robes, Who has a moonlike lustre, Who has four arms and Who has a beneficient face. ] 2. yasya-Dvirada-vaktrAdhAH pArishadyAh paraS-Satam vighnam nighnanti satatam vishvaksenam tam Asraye. [ gajAnan (the double-tusked elephant-faced nitya-sUri) and hundreds of such sUris, who always remove all obstacles, form the members of the corps of vishvaksena. I take resort to them. ] 3. vyAsam vasishta-naptAram Sakteh pautram akalmasham parAsarAtmajam vande Suka-tAtam tapo-nidhim. [ vyAsa is the great-grandson of vasishta and the grand-son of Sakti. He is the son of parAsara and the father of Suka. I offer my obeisance to that vyAsa who is free from all defects and is a mine of austerities. ] 4. vyAsAya vishNu-rUpAya vyAsa-rUpAya vishNave namo vai Brahma-nidhaye vAsishtAya namo namaH. [ My repeated salutations to vyAsa who is a form of vishNu and to vishNu who is a form of vyAsa- sage vyAsa, who is a descendent of vasishta and who is a treasure of brahman, (i.e. vedas). ] 5. avikArAya SuddhAya nityAya paramAtmane sadaika-rUpa-rUpAya vishNave sarva-jishnave. [ My salutations to vishNu, Who is devoid of all mutations, Who Who is by nature pure and eternal, Who is endowed with a form which is uniform at all times, and Who is the victor all. ] 6. yasya smaraNa-mAtreNa janma-samsAra-bandhanAt vimuchyate namas-tasmai vishNave prabhavishNave. Om namo vishNave prabhavishNave. [ My salutations to that superior diety vishNu, by a mere thought of Whose name all persons are freed from the bonds of samsara (birth and death). Salutations to that All-powerful vishNu, Who is signified by pranava (i.e. Omkara). ] (13 INTRODUCTORY SLOKAS now follow) ----------------------------------- 7. sri vaiSampAyana uvAca- SrutvA dharmAna-SesheNa pAvanAni ca sarvaSaH yudhishThiraH SAntanavam punar-evAbhya-bhAshata. [ sri vaiSampAyana said: "After hearing all froms of dharma capable of effecting complete purification, yudhishThira, still unsatisfied, questioned the son of Santanu as follows": ] 8-9. sri yudhishThira uvAca- kimekam daivatam loke kim vApyekam parAyaNam stuvantaH kam kam arcantaH prApnuyur mAnavAH Subham. [ sri yudhishThira asked: "In this universe who is the one Divinity (at whose command all beings function)? What is that one supreme Status which one should seek to attain? Who is that Divinity by praising whom and by worshipping whom a man attains the good? ] ko dharmaH sarva-dharmAnAm bhavataH paramo mataH kim japan mucyate jantur janma-samsAra-bandhanAt. [ Which according to you is the highest form of dharma (capable of bestowing salvation and prosperity on man)? What is that by uttering or reciting which any living being can attain freedom from the cycle of births and deaths?" ] 10-19. sri bhIshma uvAca- jagat-prabhum deva-devam anantam puruhottamam stuvan nAma-sahasreNa purushaH satatotthitaH. [ sri bhIshma replied: "He will be free from all sorrows who always praises by 'the sahasranAma' (thousand names) that All-pervading Being who is the master of the worlds, Who is supreme over all devas and who is the supreme spirit. ] tameva cArcayan nityam bhaktyA purusham avyayam dhyAyan stuvan namasyamS-ca yajamAnas-tam-eva-ca. [ That worshipper will be free from all sorrows who devoutly worships and meditates on that Undecaying Being, as also praises Him and makes prostrations to Him. ] anAdi-nidhanam vishNum sarva-loka-maheSvaram lokAdhyaksham stuvan-nityam sarva-dukhAtigo bhavet. [ He will be free from all sorrows who always sings the praise vishNu (the All-pervading Being), who is free from the six changes beginning with origin and ending with death, and who is the master and over-seer of all the worlds. ] braHmaNyam sarva-dharmaj~nam lokAnAm kIrti-vardhanam loka-nAtham mahad-bhUtam sarva-bhUta-bhavodbhavam. [ He is the protector of the brahmA and the veda. He is the knower of all Dharmas. He is the enhancer of the reputation of all beings. He is the supreme Brahman. Out of Him all beings anf the whole of samsAra have come out. ] Esha me sarva-dharmAnAm dharmo'dhikatamo mataH yad bhaktyA puNDarIkAsham stavair arcen naraH sadA. [ To adore the Lotus-eyed One always with hymns of praise recited with devotion- I consider this to be superior to all other forms of dharma. ] paramam yo mahat tejaH paramam yo mahat tapaH paramam yo mahad brahma paramam yaH parAyanam. [ He is the supreme light of consciousness. He is the supreme controller of everything. He is the supreme All-pervading Being. He is the support of everything. ] pavitrAnAm pavitam yo mangalAnAm ca mangalam daivatam daivatAnAm ca bhUtAnAm yo'vyayaH pitA. [ He is the sanctifier of even what is most sacred. He is the most auspicious among auspicious beings. He is the Lord of all divinities. He, the undecaying, is the father of all beings ] yataH sarvANi bhUtAni bhavanty'Adi yugAgame yasmimS-ca pralayam yAnti punareva yuga-kshye. [ He is the One from whom all beings come into existence at the beginning of a cycle of time, and He is also the One into whom they all dissolve at the end of the cycle. ] tasya loka-pradhAnasya jagan nAthasya bhUpate vishNor nAma-sahasram me SRNu pApa-bhay'Apaham. [ Hear from me the hymn that is constituted of a 'thousand names' of that vishNu who is the master of the universe, who is the subject of discourse of all scriptures, and who is the eraser of all sins and fear of samsAra. ] yAni nAmAni gauNAni vikhyAtAni maHAtmanaH RshibhiH pari-gItAni tAni vakshyAmi bhUtaye. [ I am giving for the benefit of all those names of His which are far-famed, which are indicative of His attributes, and which find a place in the exalted hymns of the Rshis." ] -------------------------------------------- (END OF INTRO; MEDITATION PRAYERS CONTINUES) -------------------------------------------- 20. vishNoH nAma-sahasrasya veda-vyAso mahA-muniH chandaH-anushtup tathA devo bhagavAn devakI-sutaH. [ The great vedavyAsa is the Rshi of these Thousand Names of vishNu; anushtup is its metre. The presiding diety is Lord Krishna, devakI's son. ] 21. amritAm-sUdbhavo bIjam Saktih devaki-nandanaH trisAmA hridayam tasya SAntyarthe viniyujyate. [ The seed is He who is born in the lunar race; Its power is the Name, "The son of devakI". The heart is the name "One who is sung by three important sAmA hymns". the purpose is the attainment of peace. ] 22. vishNum jishnum mahA vishNum prabhavishNum maheSvaram aneka-rUpa-daity-Antam namAmi purushottamam. [ I bow to vishNu, the victorious, the All-pervading, the Mighty, the Lord of All, the Enemy of daityas (demons) of many forms and the Best of persons. ] 22 a. asya sri vishNoH sahara-nAma-stotra-mahA-mantrasya sri veda-vyAso bhagavAn RishiH, anushtup Chandah, sri mahA-vishNuH paramAtmA sriman-nArAyaNo devatA amritAmSUdbhavo bhAnuriti bIjam devakInandanaH srashteti SaktiH udbhavah kshobhano deva-iti paramo mantraH Sankha-bHrt nandakI cakrIti kIlakam SArnga-dhanvA gadhA-dhara-iti astram rathAnga-pANiH akshobhyah-iti netram tri-sAmA sAmagah sAmeti kavacham Anandam para-brahmeti yoniH rituh sudarsanah kAleti dig-bandhaH sri visva-rUpa iti dhyAnam sri mahA-vishNu-prItyarthe sri-sahasranAma-jape viniyogah [ (The above angas are usually repeated in prose in the course of pArAyaNA. They are followed by some dhyana-slokas or stanzas for meditation. The holy Names are then recited). Of this grand mantra, i.e. the Thousand Names of vishNu, the venerable veda vyAsa is Rshi, the meter is anushtup; its Diety is sriman nArAyanA, the supreme soul, the All-pervader. Its seed is "amritAmSUdbhavo bhAnu". Its power is devakI's son. The essential part of the mantra is "udbhavah: kshobhano devaH". Its pin is "Sankha-bHrin nandakI cakrI". Its weapon is "SArnga-dhanvA gadhA-dharaH". Its eye is "rathAnga-pANiH: akshobhyah". Its armor is "tri-sAmA sAmagas sAma". Its womb is "Anandam para brahma". The enclosure binding the directions (east, west, south and north) is "rituh sudarsanah kAla". The contempletion is on the universal form. Its purpose and utility is in the Thousand Names being used for praising and pleasing vishNu. ] dhyanam: ------- 23. kshIrodanvat-pradese suchi-mani-vilasat-saikate mautikAnAm mAlA-kliptA-sanasthaH sphtika-mani-nibhaiH mautikaiH manditAngaH Subhrair-abhrair-adabhraiH upari virachitaiH mukta-pIyUsha-varshaih AnandI naH punIyAdari-nalina-gadA-Sankha-pAniH mukundaH. [ May mukundA, with the discuss, mace, conch and lotus in His hands, purify us- mukundA who is seated on a seat of garlands of pearls, in the region of the milky ocean with the sand shining by the light from pure gems; who is adorned by pearls transparent like crystals; and who is enjoying ecstatic bliss on account of pure white clouds overhead, raining showers of nectar. ] 24. bhUH pAdau yasya nAbhir-viyada-suranila-candra-sUryau cha netre karNa-vASaH Siro-DyauH mukhamapi dahano yasya vAsteyam abdhiH antas-stham yasya viSvam sura-nara-khaga-go-bhogi-gandharva-daityaiH chitram ramramyate tam tribhuvana-vapusham vishNum Isam namAmi. [ I bow to Lord vishNu who has the three worlds as His body. The Earth is His feet, and the sky His navel. Wind is His breath, and the Sun and the Moon are His eyes. Directions are His ears, and the Heaven is His head. Fire is His face and ocean His abdomen. In Him is situated the universe with diverse kinds of Gods, men, birds, cattle, serpents, gandharvas and daityas (demons)- all sporting in a charming way. ] 25. SantAkAram bhujaga-sayanam padmanAbham sureSam viSvAdhAram gagana-sadRSam megha-varNam SubhAngam lakshmi-kAntam kamala-nayanam yogibhir dhyAna-gamyam vande vishNum bhava-bhaya-haram sarva-lokaika-nAtham. [ I salute vishNu, the sole master of the universe, whose presence is very peaceful, who stretches Himself on a serpent-bed (Adi-Sesha), who sports a lotus in His navel, who is one lord of all the devAs, who is the support of the worlds, who is subtle and All-pervading like the sky, whose complexion is like that of the clouds, whose form is very beautiful, who is the consort of Sri, whose eyes are like lotus petals, who is meditated upon by Yogis and who eradicates the fear of samsAra. ] 26. megha-syAmam pIta-kauseya-vAsam srI-vatsAnkam kaustubhodbhAsitAngam punyopetam pundarIka-AyatAksham vishNum vande sarva-lokaika-nAtham. [ I prostrate before vishNu, the one Lord of the worlds, blue as the cloud and clothed in yellow robes. His chest is marked by the mole known as srivatsa. His body is resplendent with kaustubha gem. He is surrounded by holy persons. And he has wide eyes like lotoses. ] 27. saSamkha-cakram sakirIta-kunDalam sapIta-vastram sarasIruhekshaNam sahAra-vakshaHsthala-kaustubha-Sriyam namAmi vishNum SirasA catur-bhujam. [ I bow down my head before the four-handed vishNu who sports in His hand the Sankha and the discuss, who is adorned with a crown and ear-pendants, who wears a yellow cloth, whose eyes resemble a lotus and whose chest is beautified by many necklaces and the kaustubha mark. ] ---------------------------End of Introductory Verses--------------------------- S. G. Srinivasan email : sgsrini@u.washington.edu Graduate Student Dept. Of Mater. Sci. & Engg. University Of Washington Phone : (206)-632-1083 (H) Seattle, WA 98195 (206)-685-3851 (W) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vishNu sahasranAmam - (3) 'srini' Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (sgsrini@u.washington.edu) Tue, 12 Mar 1996 08:38:49 -0800 (PST) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: skaushik@MIT.EDU: "The "real" Ramanuja (excerpts from Sri Bhasya)" Previous message: Shashikanth Hosur: "Introduction" I'll use the abbreviation SA and PB respectively to denote SankarAcharyA's and ParAsara Bhattar's commentaries. Sundar posted the Mangala slokas from PB's version on March 11, 1996. In this posting I'll post the Mangala slokas due to SA. I'll strive to post translations to at least 10 slokas every Friday (except when I'm out of Seattle March 23-29, whole of May and some time in June) Abbreviation Key: MuU - Mundaka Upanisad; KeU - Kena; KaU - Katha; BrU - Brihadharanyaka; Mangala Slokas (SankarAcArya) ----------------------------- sankara begins his commentary with these 3 mangala slokas. (SA-1) saccidAnandarUpAya kRshNAyAklishtakAriNe namo vedAntavedyAya gurave buddhisAkshiNe [ "Obeisance to kRshNa whose nature is sat (existence/being), cit (consciousness) and Ananda (bliss), who performs his functions without any effort, who is cognized by the vedAnta, who is the guru (teacher) and who is the witness of buddhi". Sankara wants to impress us that although kRshNa, in whose praise the sloka is sung is saguNa brahmaN, he is sat cit Ananda swarUpa parabrahmaN. He is not only vishNu but also the ultimate parabrahmaN or the supreme self. ] (SA-2) kRshNAdvaipAyanam vyAsam sarvalokahite ratam vedAbjabhaskaram vande SamAdinilayam munim [ "I worship the muni kRshNAdvaipAyana vyAsa, devoted to the welfare of the world, who is to the vedas as the sun is to the lotus and who is the fountain of self-control". The words "kRshNAdvaipAyanam vyAsam" is a reminder of the famous text, "kRshNAdvaipAyanam vyAsam viddhi nArAyaNam prabhum", and show that he is an avatAra of vishNu. He is the sun causing the lotusses to blossom. The vedas were in a massy and unclassified condition and they were like closed lotuses. vedavyAsa classified and handed them to the world for our moral and spiritual welfare. In Chapter 10 of Gita (vibhUti yoga), kRshNa says "Of all sages, Iam vyAsa". ] (SA-3) sahasramUrteH purushottamasya sahasranetrAnana pAdabAhoH sahasraNamam stavanam praSastam nirucyate janmajarAdiSAtyai [ "The admirable stotra containing the thousand names of the supreme pUrusha (person) who has thousands of forms, eyes, faces, feet and arms is now being expounded to enable the creation to overcome the samsAric evils". The pUrusha sUkta, found in all the 4 vedas, describes the cosmic pUrusha divinity as having one thousand heads, eyes, and feet. Sankara suggests in this sloka that the number of names viz. one thousand is quite appropriate for a stotra of the cosmic pUrusha having one thousand eyes, faces, feet and forms. He echoes the sloka of brahmadeva, recited at the end of the stotra saluting the SaSvata ananta purusha of one thousand forms, legs, eyes, heads and hands possessing one thousand names existing for one thousand crores of years i.e. for ever. ] nAmAvali (one thousand names) ---------------------------- Before reciting the 1000 names of vishNu, bhIshma makes it clear to his listeners that all the names are are very well known names of the self of the universe, which are expressive of His attributes, which are famous and which are ever and anon sung with Ananda (joy) by Rshis. Whether they are proper or attribute names, they convey the great guNas and beneficient aspects and deeds of the AtmA of the universe. bhIshma considers the recitation of sahasranAmam as the greatest dharma. As He (vishNu) realizes, receives and enjoys the object here, He is named AtmA. He is the only AtmA who possesses unimaginamble powers. All the four purushArthas - the four objects of human aspiration, viz, dharma, artha, kAma and moksha are attainable through the chanting of the sahasranAmam. As the first name in the series 'viSwam' indicates, it is an easy and effective remedy for all samsAric ills without any restrictions whatsoever. Among the 1000 names the words 'Sun' etc. are used because they are not only His manifestations (vibhUtis) and are not distinct from Him. The vishNu purANa says: "You are the AtmA in all indriyas. You are tyhe chief AtmA. You are the jIvAtmA. You are the ultimate supreme AtmA (paramAtmA). Yopu are the one AtmA manifested in all these five ways". "Everything luminous and illuminating is vishNu. All the world systems are vishNu; all the woods are vishNu; all the mountains, all the rivers, all the oceans and in fact everything which is seen and everything that is unseen are all He alone". In Gita Lord kRshNa says: "Of all the AdityAs, Iam vishNu"; "Having pervaded this whole universe with a portition of Myself, I exist". According Mundakopanisad, "The purusha is all this- sacrifice, askesis, brahma, the highest, the immortal". These quotations provide a good background for a proper understanding of the importance of 1000 names of God. Accordinf Sankara, the words such as vishNu, though repeated, must be taken as referring to different aspects in different places. The 1000 names consist of words in masculine (qualify vishNu), feminine (qualify devatA) and neuter genders (qualify brahmaN). vishNu sahasranAmam - (4) 'srini' Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (sgsrini@u.washington.edu) Fri, 15 Mar 1996 14:32:49 -0800 (PST) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: V. Sadagopan: "Blessed is our group !" Previous message: shashi@kbssun1.tamu.edu: "Introduction" Dear bhaktAs- I promised to post the meaning of 10 slokas today. Seems like I did not understand his infinite/immeasurable (aprameyaH) nature :-) Posting the meanings comparing the outlook of the two schools is proving to be very time consuming (as I first attempt understand them). I'll try to do my best. I'm posting the meaning of the first six slokas. I've expanded the references to four books (I've included the translations of Prof.A. Srinivasa Raghavan (A Visishtadvaita Pracharini sabha Pub.) and Prof.L. Venkatarathnam Naidu (A TTD Pub.). kIrtanIya sadA hariH -Srinivasan vyAsa intends to indicate the sum and substance of the vedAnta philosophy by the first six/seven names in the sahasranAmam. The names are sUtra like, suggestive of vedAnta philosophy. The names can be viewed as an elaboration of the first name 'viSwam' (full in all respects). nAmAvali -------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-1) om viSvam vishNur vashaT-kAro bhUta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuH bhUtakRd bhUbhRd bhAvo bhUtAtmA bhUta-bhAvanaH 1 viSvam (The All/Universe) PB: viSvam refers to pUrNa (totality or complete fullness) and is appropriate beginning. He is paripUrNa- full in all respects- full in all aspects, such as rUpa, gUNas and vibhUtis. bhagavAn fills everything, and is therefore viSvam. panshasikha has commented on this word in mokshadharma, in the context of samyama (control of the mind) "O' great king, they say the worlds are identical with viSwam" (because He enters into and fills the entire cosmos). SA: He whom the Upanisads indicate by the passage 'yataH sarvANi bhUtAni' as the cause of generation, sustenation and dissolution of the universe. He is brahmaN, the Non-dual Supreme Being. The term viSvam meaning 'the all or the whole manifested universe indicates Him, both in relation to His adjunct of the universe and without it. As the effect can indicate the cause, He is called by the name 'viSvam' - the universe of manifestation having its source in Him and thus forming His effect. Alternatively, as the universe has no existence apart from him, He can be called viSvam, the Universe. 'brahma ev'edam viSvamidam varishTham (this universe is verily the supreme brahman - MuU.2-2-11), and purusha ev'edam viSvam (all this universe is purusha Himself - MuU.2-1-10) support this. Its root viSati means enter or interpenetrate. Brahman interpenetrates everything: tat sRshtvA tad ev'AnuprAviSat (having projected the universe, he entered into it- TaitreyaU.2.6) and yat prayAnty abhisamviSanti (that into which all beings enter at the time of dissolution - TaitreyaU.3.1). Thus brahman enters into its effect, the Universe, and the Universe enters or dissolves in Him. Thus, in both these senses He is viSvam. 2 vishNuH (The all-pervading) PB: vishNu derives from root viS meaning 'pervades'. As a vibhava avatAra, He pervades or enters the vibhUtis of cit and achit. The sruti declares- "O keSava, because You have made Your entry into cetanas and acetanas, You bear the name vishNu". The names 'viSwam' and 'vishNu', respectively, indicate fullness (pUrNatva) and 'all-pervasion' and are hence significant. SA: It is most appropriate that the name vishNu is mentioned after viSwam. When the question arises who is it that has become viSwam, the All, the answer is 'it is vishNu'. As He pervades everything, vevshTi, He is called vishNu. The name vishNu is derived from the root 'viS' (indicating presence everywhere) combined with the suffix nuk. vishNu purAna (3.1.45) says: "The power of that Supreme Being has entered within the universe. The root viS means 'enter into'". Rgveda (2.2.26) advocates adoration of vishNu for spiritual enlightenment: "O hymnists! Put an end to your recurring births by attaining the real knowledge of that Ancient Being who is eternal and true. Understanding these names of vishNu, repeat them always. Let other people repeat or not repeat Thys holy names; we, O vishNu, shall adore thy charming effulgence". 3 vashaT-kAraH (He for whom vashaT is offered in yaj~nas) PB: vashaT-kAraH is derived from the root 'vaS'. Everything is 'vaS' (subject) to Him. The whole universe, movable and immovable, is under His sway. Brihadharanyaka says "He is the controller and ruler of all". "This universe is under his control". vAsudeva is all. We must surrender to Him, who fills the cosmos, as an oblation and perform Atmayaj~na - a sacrifice of one's self. The yaj~na aspect of God as a diety to whom surrender of one's own AtmA is made by the jIvas is referred to here. Gita (IV-24) stresses arpaNa of every action to Him by stating "To Him, the offering is brahmaN (God), the oblation is God; and it is God that offers it to the fire of God. Thus does he realize God in his undertakings and he reaches Him alone". SA: He in respect of whom vashaT is performed in yaj~nas. vashaT is an exclamation uttered by the hotR priest in a yaj~na at the end of a sacrificial verse, hearing which the adhvaryu priest casts the oblation for the diety in the fire. As vashaT thus invariably precedes the oblation, which is the chief rite of a yaj~na, yaj~na itself can be called vashaT-kAraH. And "yaj~na is indeed vishNu" (in Tai.Sam.1.7.4): "yajno vai vishNuH". 4 bhUta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuH (The Lord of the past, future and the present) PB: Because everything is in God's control (vaS) as indicated by previous names 'vashaT-kAraH', He is the Lord or Master(prabhu) of all. The Sastras proclaim: "(He who is) the Lord of the Universe", "The Lord of Lords" (Sweta), "Kesava, the destroyer of Kesi is the Lord of all present, past and the future". SA: His greatness consists in His having an absolute existence, unassociated with any time. As He is beyond the sway of time, He is eternal being, and thus His majesty is undecaying. He is, therefore, the real prabhu- the Lord. 5 bhUtakRt (The creator and destroyer of all existences in the universe) PB: Names 5 to 9 refer to the craetion of the Universe by the Lord and show His ownership and sovereignty. All beings are created by Him of His own accord. Sruthis say: "All these have been verily created by brahmaN (bhagavan)", "From Him all beings are born". SA: Assuming rajoguNa, He as brahmA, is the creator of all beings. kRt can also be interpreted as kRntana or destruction. The name can also mean one who, as rudra, destroys the worlds, assuming the guNa of tamas. 6 bhUbhRt (The governs/sustainer of all beings) PB: He supports and protects all beings. "He bore the earth", "The indestructable Lord Bears" (Gita), "He bears the universe and He is the navel of the earth". SA: Assuming sattva guNa, He sustains the worlds. 7 bhAvaH (The pure/absolute existence) PB: Like a peacock with its expanded feathers, He exists possessed of all the riches mentioned already and to be mentioned hereafter. Since everything is His attribute (prakAra), and He as the substratum has them all in Him, they are delineated as His riches or glories (vibhUtis). BhAgavata says: "What is that which is not made vastu by kRshNa? What is there which is vastu without kRshNa?" SA: It can also mean one who manifests Himself as the universe. It is not the question of His creating the cosmos from outside as a potter makes a pot. He makes Himself a vital part of prapa~nca. He is the real and true sat (existence) and He fills the universe with His own property of existence and reality. Without Him as the basis, nothing can have any reality. 'bhAvaH' may also be interpreted as becoming. He is not only the instrumental cause but also the material cause. 8 bhUtAtmA (The Soul/Self/essence of all beings) PB: The state of all being the possessions of bhagavan and His being the possessor is particularized by saying that they are His body and He their soul. He is the Soul of all beings. Vedas and purANAs declare: "All this is indeed the body of Hari", "This (bhagvan) is indeed the inner soul of all beings", "The entire Universe is thy body", "He who is in the AtmA". SA: He is the indweller (antaryAmin) of all objects individually and collectively. "esha ta atm'AntaryAmy amRtaH"- this Thy AtmA is the inner pervader and immortal (BrU.3.7.3.22). 9 bhUta-bhAvanaH (The generator/nourisher of all beings) PB: He is bhUta-bhAvanaH because He makes all beings grow by bestowing on them things that sustain, nourish and contibute to their enjoyment (just like parents). In GItA, arjuna addresses srI kRshNa thus: 'bhUtabhAvana bhUteSa devadeva jagatpaye' (GItA 10.15). Srutis say: "He is the sustainer of the Universe and also the Lord of the Universe", "He is the Protector of beings". Thus, His Mastery (Seshitva) has been established by the Virtue of His being the Creator, Sustainer and Protector. SA: He who originates and develops all Elements. Gives same meaning as PB. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-2) pUtAtmA paramAtmA ca muktAnAm paramA gatiH avyayaH purushaH sAkshI kshetraj~no'kshara eva ca 10 pUtAtmA (The Pure Self/Soul) PB: Though bhagavan is the Soul of all objects, unlike the individual souls He is remains Pure. He is not affected by the defects of the Sentient and non-sentient objects which are His body. Though the contact with the body is similar to both ParamAtmA and jIvAtmA, only the lower (individual) soul reaps the fruits of his actions and is subject to sufferings. Sruthi says: "Work does not bind Me nor I have any desire for work" (gItA 4.18), "nAradA! Look at the superiority and greatness of the Lord (paramAtmA), who is never tainted by actions, good or bad". (bharata sam) The analogy, 'when a guard whips a criminal, the contact with the whip is same for both of them. However, only the criminal experiences pain from whipping, not the guard', illustrates this. SA: One whose nature is purity or one who is purity and the essence of all things. Though within the body and ensouling it, He is unsullied and pure. SveU.6.11 says: "kevalo nirguNaS ca - He is non-dual being untouched by the guNAs". The ourusha only assumes a relation with the guNas of prakRti, but His essential nature is not affected by it. So He is ever pure. 11 paramAtmA (The Supreme Self/Soul) PB: Unlike all beings which have Him as their soul, He does not have any one as His AtmA. 'Param' He who has no other above Him, or He is Supreme. "There is nothing wharever greater than Myself" (gItA7.7), "There is no higher nectar than this Universal form" (vishNu purANA) SA: He who is the supreme one and the Atman. He is beyond the cause and effect relationship, and He is by nature ever free pure and absolute consciousness. 12 muktAnAm paramAgatiH (The highest goal of the liberated ones (muktAs) ) PB: Thus He is the supreme object to be attained by all beings (who are His subjects). muktAH are those who are freed freed completely and without any remanants from all the coverings caused by contact with prakRti (samsArA - birth/death cycle) such as ignorance, fruits of action etc. "Giving up name and form" (MundU.), "The knot binding the heart is cut" (MundU.), "The soul realizing brahmaN is freed from merits and sins and is finally liberated from all bonds" (SwetaU.), "They cross this samsArA" (gItA7.14) 'muktAnAm' used in plural makes it clear that freed souls are many and different from one another. This indicates the difference between the mukta and brahmaN and to point out the plurality of the AtmAs and the mukti. Srutis say: "All are freed through that great immortal Being" (MunU.), "They are individuals endowed with greatness and reach Him" "They have attained veri-similitude with me", "They reach ME" (gItA) Thus, there is difference between these souls and the Lord as the latter is the great witness and the refuge of the released souls. The use of the adjective paramA before gati points out that some of the muktAs attain another goal of a lower order (kaivalyA). This is a state in which the soul is released from old age, death etc. It is in between samsArA (lIlavibhuthi) and paramapada (nityavibhuti). SA: The highest goal of the liberated ones (muktas). For one who attains to Him, there is neither rebirth nor attaining to any thing higher, there being nothing higher than Him (gItA). 13 avyayaH PB: The 12th name 'muktAnAm paramAgatiH' is explained by the five names following it. avyayaH is derived from the sense that these muktas, having crossed the samsAric ocean and attained His lotus-feet, will not sent back from Him. Chandogya says: "Those who have been redeemed by Him do not return to this world of men", "They do not go back-they do not go back". SA: One for whom there is no decay. Sruti says: "ajaro'maro'vyayaH - unaging, undying and undecaying". This shows He is unconditioned and totally changeless. 14 purushaH PB: Derived in terms of one who gives in plenty (bahu), the root sanoti (in 'puru bahu sanotIti') means giving charity. Thus, bhagavan allows the muktAs to enjoy His kalyANa guNAs, which are innumerable and beyond the scope of complete conception and expression, and to derive Ananda in boundless measure. SA: One who abides in the body or pura. mahAbhArata (SAnti 21.37) says: "The great being resides in and pervades the mansion of the body, having all features described before and provided with nine gateways; because of this He is called purushaH"; OR by interpreting the word as purA AsIt, the word meaning 'one who existed always'; OR it can mean one who is pUrNa, perfect; OR one who makes all things pUrita, i.e. filled by pervading them. mahAbhArata (udyoga7.11) says: "pUraNAt sadanAt ca'iva tato'sau purushottamaH - He is called purushottama because He infills everything and sustains them all". 15 sAkshI PB: He who sees them all directly. Bhagavan is known as sAkshI (witness) because He directly sees the muktAs enjoy the Bliss He has bestowed and is also delighted seeing them full of joy. SA: One who witnesses everything, without any aid/instrument/ organ, by virtue of His inherent nature alone. sAkshI also suggests that although in the body along with the jIva, He is only an uninvolved onlooker. 16 kshetraj~naH PB: Knower of a kshetra (region/field), i.e. paramapada, beyond matter for the muktas to live in and enjoy Himself, unaffected by prakRti. The kshetra is so-called because of its being the field that raises the crop of His abundant enjoyment. SA: The knower of the field or body. "kshetraj~nam cA'pi mAm viddhi - know Me to be the knower of the kshetra or the field (body)" (gItA), "These bodies are the fields, in which seeds consisting of man's good and bad acts yield their fruits as enjoyments and suffereings. As the dwelling spirit is the Knower of all these, He is called kshetraj~na" (SAnti parva 351.6). 17 aksharaH PB: The undecaying. He is an undiminished and inexhaustible store of honeyed bliss. However much enjoyed by the muktas, He becomes only more and more enjoyable (never less). SA: He who is without destruction i.e. the Supreme Spirit. The word is formed by adding the suffix sara at the end of the root 'aS'. eva and ca in the text show respectively that according to the mahavAkyA "tat tvam asi", kshetraj~na and aksharaH are identical metaphysically and their difference is relevant only relatively. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-3) yogo yogavidAm netA pradhAna-purusheSvaraH nArasimha-vapuH srImAn keSavaH purushottamaH 18 yogaH PB: The union; the name suggests that He is the sole and natural upAya (means) for release/salvation. The word yoga derives from the verb 'yujyate', meaning 'with whose help the goal is attained'. He is the direct cause of release and nothing else. gItA says: "aham tvA sarvapApebhyo mokshaIshyAmi - I shall liberate you from all sins". SA: One attainable through Yoga or "The contemplation of the unity of the jivAtmA and the paramAtmA, with the organs of knowledge and the mind withheld". He Himself is the sAdhana, Yoga means sAdhana for brahmic union. It is also union. 19 yogavidAm netA PB: He who leads to fruition the efforts of even yogis who practise other means. He leads them until the fruit is acheived. "Out of compassion for them do I dwell in their hearts and dispels the darkness born of ignorance by shining the lamp of wisdom" (gItA 10.12), "When He is pleased they get immortality through Him" (SwetU) SA: He very lovingly helps Yogavids (practisioners of Yoga). gItA (9.22) says: "teshAm nityAbhiyuktAnAm yogakshemam vahAmy aham - Of those who are ever united with Me in communion, I bear their Yoga-kshema- preservation of their worldly and spiritual interests". 20 pradhAna-purusheSvaraH PB: The Lord of the primordial matter and purushas (jIvas). He is in every way the controller of prakRthi, purushas and the qualities as well. On account of His mAyA, He keeps the jIvas under samsAric fetters. Those who attain Him are freed and granted moksha. BrahmasUtra says: "Because of His sankalpa the soul's true state is clouded and He, indeed is the Cause of bondage and release therefrom". SA: Master of 'pradhAna' ( prakRti and mAyA) as well as 'purusha' (jIva). 21 nArasimha-vapuH PB: He came down as nRsimha avatAra to save one of his greatest bhaktiyogi prahlAda. Thus the name also indicates the removal of impediments to devotion to Him. This form of Him combines man and lion, assumed instantaneously and shows He dwells in everything and is all-pervading. SA: One in whom the bodies of a man and a lion are combined; refers to His avatAra as man-lion (nRsimha). 22 srImAn PB: He of a lovely form / United to Lakshmi. Though this form is unique with mismatched head and body, He is srImAn as it is very attractive and possess beauty, effulgence and other qualities. Those who had seen this would not have been attracted by appearance of only men or lions, however beautiful they might have been. SA: Goddess Sri (Lakshmi) eternally dwells on His chest. Hence He is also called LakshmInRasimha. As an aside, Sankara composed 'karAvalamba stotra ' on Lord LakshmInRasimha. 23 keSavaH PB: This substantiates His possession of such singular qualities as overlordship, beauty etc., that are all His own. He is known as keSavaH because of his enchantingly lovely, dark and curly locks of hair. This aspect has been widely referred to by sri satakopa and other Alwars. SA: Three interpretations. One whose keSa or locks are beautiful. OR one who is himself three- kaH (BrahmA), aH (vishNu) and ISA (Siva). OR one who destroyed asura keSi in kRshNAvatAra. 24 purushottamaH PB: The Supreme amongst purushas (individual souls); Higher than all. gIta (15.18) says: "As I surpass the perishable and as I am higher than even the imperishable, I am celebrated in the world and in the vedas as the Supreme Being (purushottama)". SA: The Greatest among all puruSAs (spirits) vide gIta (15.18). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-4) sarvaH SarvaH SivaH sthANur bhutAdir nidhir avyayaH sambhavo bhAvano bhartA prabhavaH prabhur ISvaraH 25 sarvaH PB: He who is all. According to Niruktha derivation, "As He is the cause of creation and dissolution of prakRti (achethana) purusha (chethana) and as He simultaneously and always understands everything, He is known as sarva (All)". Vedas say: "All things are connected to Him as gems in a thread" and declares: "He is verily all this", "You pervade all; therefor you are sarva". arjuna addresses bhagavan in gItA (11.40), seeing viSwarUpa: "Thou dost pervade all and therefore Thou art All". Also cites the mahAbhArata verse cited by SA. SA: The omniscient source of all existence. Mahabharata(Ud.70.11) says: "As He is the source of all things gross and subtle, and as He knows all things at all times He is called sarva". 26 SarvaH PB: The remover; He removes/destroys the aSubham or evils (sins, miseries etc.) of all objects that are His body. SA: Destroyer (of the whole Universe at the time of pralaya or cosmic dissolution) 27 SivaH PB: He who confers Subham (auspiciousness)/The Pure. Etymologically it means: "The eternal, auspiciousness and never failing". This is a quality name of vishNu. Srutis say: "mangalAnAm hariH - Hari is the seat of auspiciousness", "mangalyam mangalam vishNuH - vishNu is auspiciousness (mangalam) embodied", SA: The Pure one. For He is not affected by the three guNAs of prakRti. The kaivalyaU (1.8) says: "sa brahmA sa SivaH - He is both brahmA and Siva". This shows the non-difference between Siva and vishNu. In fact it is vishNu Himself that is exhalted by praise and worship of Siva. 28 sthANuH PB: He who is steady/firm (in blessing others). The fruit of contact with Bhagavan does not stop with the mere destruction of some specific sin as ordinary acts of expiation does (like in the case of sacrifices or from worshiping minor dieties). It not only completely destroy the inauspiciousness in a devotee, but also fulfills all His desires in many ways. In fact, it does not stop with this (but is ready to grant more). "MadhusUdhana, when meditated upon , bestows on the devotee unasked, that which is diffcult to realize, indeed impossible to obtain (by his own exertion) and which is incomprehensible to the mind". SA: One who is steady, immovable and changeless. 29 bhutAdiH PB: He Who is eagerly sought after by all all beings (bhUtAs) (because He is most desirable). The word has got the affix Ki, like sarvAdhi, nidhi etc. Vide- "What have we got to do with progeny, if we do not have Him as our Master". SA: The Source of all elements or existing things. 30 nidhiravyayaH PB: The inexhaustable/indestructable treasure. avyaya is an adjective qualifying nidhi and not an independent name of vishNu. avyaya signifies that He, the Treasure (nidhi) does not diminish, even to the minutest extent, however much/often used. "He is like a treasure of gold hidden in the bowels of the earth (i.e. gold mine)" (Chandogya). SA: The changeless and indestructable Being in whom the whole Universe becomes merged and remains in seminal condition at the time of pralaya. 31 sambhavaH PB: He who manifests Himself. Though ordinarily hidden like a treasure, He shows Himself (by His own free will) to His devotees (who long for Him). This is exemplified by his all round appearance, everywhere and at all times as in His rAmA, kRshNa and other avatArAs. Vide- "I appeared in many births before", "When ever dharma declines, I appear in the world (yuga after yuga)" (gItA 4.8). SA: One born out of His own will as incarnation, vide (gItA 4.8). 32 bhAvanaH PB: Savior. He is so called because, having shown Himself to His devotees, He regenerates the universe by eradicating evils. "For the protection of the good (do I take birth)" SA: One who generates the fruits of karmas of all jIvAs for them to enjoy. brahma sUtra (3.2.28) says: "phalamataH upatteH - Lord bestows the fruits of all actions of the jIvas" 33 bhartA PB: Supporter / He nourishes and develops all by giving Himself up to His devotees as though doing like that is His nature. SA: One who supports the universe as its substratum. 34 prabhavaH PB: He is of Exhalted/Glorious birth. His descent is not like that of jIvAs.Every descent taken by Him of His own will is of paramount importance. He takes forms that are divine and not material. Vide- "He is unborn", "The great and the wise know His birth well", "Whoever understands correctly My birth and action as Divine knows no rebirth" (gItA) SA: One from whom all the great elements are born. Or one who has exhalted births as incarnations 35 prabhuH PB: He who is all powerful(though born in the guise of a man etc.) He has the ability to grant mokshas and other fruits to mortals (ex: kRshNa received SiSupAlA's soul after slaying him) SA: One who is all powerful and is adept in all rites. 36 ISvaraH PB: The supreme ruler. In avatArAs, He retains fully His cosmic supremacy. He is even greater in His incarnations. Vide gItA: "The are ignorant of my Supreme power which persists even when I have taken a human body", "Even when I take birth I am born keeping the power of overlordship" SA: One who has unlimited lordiness or power over all things. "eSa sarveSvaraH - He is the Lord of All" (MandukyaU 6). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-5) swayambhUH Sambhur AdityaH pushkarAksho mahA-svanaH anAdi-nidhano dhAtA vidhAtA dhAtur uttamaH 37 swayambhUH PB: What is the source of all this greatness? He is swayambhUH; One who manifests Himself, of His own free will, for the purpose of His sport (lIlA). Although He may have the exterior of a deva or a man, but inwardly retains His prakRti (His essential nature) which is exclusively His own and is of pure satwa. His birth is not due to karma nor dictated by some other God like brahms. Vide gItA- "swayambu is the highest brahman to the ever released", "Keeping my own prakRti Iam born through my sankalpa (will)". SA: One who exists by Himself, uncaused by any other. Says manu (1.7): "He manifested Himself". He is so called because He existed before everything, and over everything. He is the Supreme. 38 SambhuH PB: The Source of Happiness. He is 'Sambhu' because He gives 'Sam' (Happiness) to all by manifesting His own beauty, easy availability and other qualities. Vide - "visvAksham visvasambhuvam - He visualizes all things directly, He is the cause of Bliss for all", "He ravished the eyes and mind of men by His comeliness, magnanimity and other virtues" (rAmAyaNa) "srI rAma had a countenance lovely as a moon and was pleasing to the sight". SA: One who bestows good (on devotees). 39 AdityaH PB: The person residing in the Sun (sUryamaNDala). Vide- "He, is only the same (Diety) who is seen in the heart of a human being and who is seen in the Sun". SA: The golden-hued purusha in the suryamaNDala. gItA (10.21): "Among the Adityas I am vishNu"; (there are 12 Adityas). Or it may imply the meaning that just as one sun reflects as many water receptacles, it is the One Soul that is reflected in various bodies and appears as many. Hence the comparison. 40 pushkarAkshaH PB: The lotus-eyed. exclusively signifies His possession of all riches in the Universe (i.e. its sole ruler). SA: Lotus-eyed. 41 mahAsvanaH PB: He of mahAn (sacred/venerable) svanaH (sound). "His name and form have sound as the basis. He is verily, vedas. He is the brilliant purusha in the middle of the Sun". Or He is the Supreme object of worship since He is signified by the sAvitri (gAyatri mantra). SA: From whom comes the great sound- the vedas. Vide- "the Rg-veda and the yajur-veda are the breath of that great being" (BRU.2.4.10). 42 anAdi-nidhanH PB: One without beginning or end. The form of this purusha is not made up of matter but is wholly divine. There is no birth or death for any of His avatAr forms. There is only an entry and an exit of that form (like an actor on the stage). His form always shines with splendor and beauty. SA: The one existence that has neither birth nor death. 43 dhAtaH PB: The creator. This suggests vishNu is the prime cause and is distinguishable from brahma. gItaA (14.3) says: "He puts the seed into the womb of prakRti (mahat brahman), from which the cosmos sprouts"; aniruddha sows the seed. SA: One who is the support of the universe. 44 vidhAtA PB: The producer/dispenser. He develops the seed in the womb of prakRti and makes it appear (as hiraNyagarbha). Vide- "He saw brahma being born", "He who creates brahma at first", "From Him, virAt (brahma) was born". SA: He who generates karmas and their fruits. 45 dhAturuttamaH PB: Best of Creators/Far Superior to brahma. Vide- "nArAyaNa is the Supreme tattva (reality)", A discussion between brahma and rudra clearly states: "nArAyaNa is the highest divinity and the four-faced brahma was born of Him". SA: The ultimate support of everything. Or He being caitanya or Pure Consciousness, is superior to all other dhAtus (substances). Or it can be taken as two different names: He is 'dhAtu' because He bears everything, and He is also uttama, the greatest of all beings. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-6) aprameyo hRshIkeSaH padma-nAbho'mara-prabhuH viSva-karmA manustvashTA sthavishThaH sthaviro dhruvaH 46 aprameyaH PB: The immeasurable. He is beyond the reach of all the pramANas including SAstra and Sabda. He is even beyond the sense- organs of brahma and other Gods. Vide- "This bhagavan brahma does not know the supreme purusha", Brahma himself declares, "We do not verilt know the beginning, middle and end of the birthless Supreme Creator (vishNu) whose forms all things are. We neither know the essential nature of the Supreme Ruler, nor His sublime Greatness, nor His power". SA: One who is not measurable or understandable by any of the accepted means of knowledge like sense perception, inference etc. Even the scriptures cannot reveal Him DIRECTLY. scriptures only eliminate the appearance of the Universe (which stands in the way of intuiting Him). Or not being an object but only the ultimate witness or knower, He is beyond the purview of all means of knowledge, which can reveal only things in the objective world. 47 hRshIkeSaH PB: He is hRshIkeSa because He is the Cotroller of the indriyas (the sense and sense organs). Vide Harivamsa: "They say that hRshIkas are sense-organs. Since you are their controller, you are known as hRshIkeSaH. Among the Gods, vishNu is known as keSava". "He is hRshIkeSa because of joy (harsha), happiness(saukhya) and effortless rulership (sukha-aisvarya)". i.e. (hRshI + ka + isa). SA: The Master of senses (hRshIkas); or He under whose control the senses subsist. Another interpretation is He whose keSa (hair) consisting of the rays of the Sun and the Moon, gives joy (harsha) to the world. Vide- "the rays of the Sun, which is harikeSaH (the hair of Hari)" 48 padmanAbhaH PB and SA: He who has a lotus in the navel. This substantiates what has been said before: He is the cause of brahma (the lotus-born). "The whole Universe is placed in the navel of that unborn". 49 Amara-prabhuH PB: Lord of all Gods. He effects creation etc. by bestowing on the Gods authority (and directs them) for carrying them out. In srI rAmAyaNa brahma says to rAmA: "Lying on the waters of the great ocean You created me long ago". SA: The Master of the devas or the amaras (the deathless ones). 50 viSvakarmA PB: He who is the agent of all actions(in regard to the Universe) The entire work (visvam karma) related to the Universe, both before and after the creation of brahma is His alone. Vide- "He does all the work relating to the Universe", "Him the ourusha, the Creator of the Universe, the Supreme God, the Unborn, All-pervading". SA: He whose karma (work) has resulted in all that exists (viSvam). Or He whose power of creation is unique and wonderful. 51 manuH PB: He who wills. By means of sankalpa (thinking/willing), He Creates everything. Vide- "That Supreme desired that He should create a world which was not in existence before". "Creation is based on the infallible wish of the Supreme, and requires no analogy for support". SA: He who thinks. The BrU.(3.7-23): "nAnyo'tosti mantA- There is no thinker other than He". Or He is called manu, because He manifests in form of mantra and of manu (the Patriach). 52 tvashTA PB: The Divine Chiseller/Carpenter who constructed the Universe. He fashioned the Universe by giving names and forms. Vide- "sarvANi rUpANi vicitya dhIraH" SA: He who makes all beings shrunken (tanUkaraNa) at the time of pralaya (cosmic dissolution). 53 sthavishThaH PB: He who is exceedingly immense. Vide- "There is no limit to my expansiveness" (gItA), "All Universe is the expansion of vishNu Who is All". SA: He who excels in everything in bulk or substantiality. 54 sthaviraH-dhruvaH PB: Takes it as two names: 'sthaviraH' and 'dhruvaH' sthaviraH means He who is existent at all times. Though the original cause of all, He is different from worldly causes like clay etc. Though for His lIla (creation of world etc.) he accepts help of time, He is not bound by it. This shows that His nature is entirelly different from that of milk which depends on Time to get transformed into curd. "He (bhagavan) makes there (srI vaikunta) Time and the latter has no power over Him". He is dhruvaH, because his essential nature is changeless. Though there are infinite transformations, He is immutable. Vide- "ajayya (invincible), Saswatha (eternal) and dhruva (unchanging)". SA: Eternal one, being the most ancient. The name and qualification is taken as a single phrase. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- S. G. Srinivasan email : sgsrini@u.washington.edu Graduate Student Dept. Of Mater. Sci. & Engg. University Of Washington Phone : (206)-632-1083 (H) Seattle, WA 98195 (206)-685-3851 (W) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vishNu sahasranAmam (5) 'srini' Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (sgsrini@u.washington.edu) Tue, 19 Mar 1996 17:38:31 -0800 (PST) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: V. Sadagopan: "Sri Varadhan"s posting on Siriya Thirumadal" Previous message: Thirumalai Anandanpillai: "question on ninda stuti" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PB = Translation of srI parAsara bhattar's commentary. SA = Translation of srI sankarAchArya's commentary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-7) agrAhyaH SASvataH kRshNo lohitAkshaH pratardanaH prabhUtas-trikakubdhAma pavitram mangalam param 55 agrAhyaH PB: One who is beyond the grasp (of others). He cannot be handled like mud (by a potter) or thread (by a weaver). He is not controlled by anyone- agrAhya. Vide- "One could grasp Him neither at the top, nor across, nor in the middle", "He alone controls creation". SA: One who cannot be grasped by the organs of knowledge or concieved by mind. TaiU. (2.9): "yato vAco nivartante aprApya manasA saha- He is beyond speech and thought". 56 SASvataH PB: The eternal. He is so called because of the continuous flow of His action pertaining to the Universe. Vide- "His actions (creation, sustenance and destruction) are going on constantly". SA: One who exists at all times (SASvat). nArU. (13.1): "SAsvatam Sivam acyutam- He is eternal, auspicious and undecaying". 57 kRshNaH PB: He who is exceedingly delighted (by such creation, sustenance etc.). i.e. He is the embodiment of Ananda due to His rAsa-lIlA. SA: The Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. MahabhArata, udyoga-parva (70.5): "The syllable 'kR' denotes existence and 'na' denotes bliss. vishNu is both these. So He is always kRshNa". Because of His Dark color He is called 'kRshNa'. 58 lohitAkshaH PB: The Red-eyed (due to the Ananda described in 'kRshNa') SA: The Red-eyed. 59 pratardanaH PB and SA: Destroyer of all (during pralaya). Vide- "He who has for food the brahmins and the kshattriyas (i.e. all beings)" "He is a great consumer by drawing to Himself the Universe, both moving and unmoving". 60 prabhUtaH PB : He who is affluent / possessed of plenty (though He destroys all Universe during pralaya). He ever shines in paramapada possessing and giving endless joy to all. SA: Great because of unique qualities like omnipotence etc. 61 trikakubdhAmaH PB: He who has a three fold world as His abode. Vide- "All the world comprised in this Universe from a forth part. His Divine abode is three times as large". Another explanation is: trikakuth indicates three pairs of qualities, j~nana (Omniscience), bala (Strength), aiSwarya (Sovereignty), vIrya (Constancy), Sakti (Power), tejaH (Lustre). Or, trikakubdhAmaH may also represent the varAha avatAra. SA: He who is the support (dhAma) of the three regions above, below and in the middle. 62 pavitram PB: Embodiment/Incarnate of Purity. The earlier names descriptive of His guNAs (qualities), aiSwarya (riches) and rUpA (form) lead by stages to to the description of His Personality, which is Purity embodied. SA: He who purifies everything. 63 mangalam param PB: The Embodiment of Supreme Auspiciousness (opposed to all that is mean and inauspicious). 'param' indicates the unlimited nature of 'mangalam' (Auspiciousness). Vide- "He is immersed fully in incomparable/immeasurable bliss", "satyam, j~nanam, anantam brahma - That Supreme is Truth, Knowledge and Eternal", "Anando brahma- That Supreme is Bliss". SA: Supremely Auspicious. vishNu purANa says: "That whose very remembrance removes the inauspicious and bestows the auspicious in abundance- the brahman is called 'mangalam' by the wise". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-8) ISAnaH prANadaH prANo jyeshThaH SreshThaH prajApatiH hiraNyagarbho bhUgarbho mAdhavo madhu-sUdanaH 64 ISAnaH PB: The Controller (of all at all times). This clearly distinguishes Him from the bound/released/ever-free souls whose qualities are shrouded or manifested. The affix 'chAnas' is added to a verb to denote the sense of being one's nature. i.e. Naturally, He regulates all in the Universe at all times. Vide- "Him, the greatest Lord, greater than all the greats", "Knowledge, Power and Action are His innate nature", "The Supreme Soul is the Support of all, He is parameSwara" SA: Hw who controls/regulates all. 65 prANadaH PB: The life-giver (the foremost of his aiSwaryas). He gives life and spiritual strength to the ever-free souls(niyasUris) to enable them visualize Him always, enjoy Him, and do service to Him. Vide- "Who offers His own self and strength", "That Lord enters as life (into the beings of the Universe)". SA: One who activates/bestows prANa, the vital energy. TaitU. (2.7): "ko hy'evAnyAt, kaH prANyAt - if there were not the Lord, who is then to activate the prANa?" Or, one who destroys (dyati) the prANas. 66 prANaH PB: Life(of niyasUris) and the cause of living of all. Vide- "Thereafter He remained as the life of all Gods", "Who else can be life, excepting Him", "Therefore this indestructible Supreme is the life, speech and mind", SA: The Supreme being. BrU. (4.4.18) says: "prANasya prANaH- the life force behind life force". The second life force is the jIva (living soul of individual). The Supreme Being is the life force even behind it. Thus, He is the mukya prANa. 67 jyeshThaH PB: Highly praise-worthy (because of His possessing riches of unlimited and unimaginable extent, though they are being enjoyed ever and in all possible ways by Him and niyasUris). Vide- "The glory of Bhagavan vasudeva is most praise worthy", "Brahman alone is most praise worthy". Another meaning is "the Oldest of all beings" as He existed before all. SA: He is the eldest/oldest. 68 SreshThaH PB: The Pre-eminent. He is always adored by stotras by the niyasUris due to the Ananda enjoyed by them permanently in moksha. "tasmai devA upAsate - Pious souls who are subordinate to Him do service to Him". SA: Most praise-worthy (as He is replete with all excellences). ChU. (5.1.1) says: "prANo vAva jyeshthaS ca SreshthaS ca - prANa alone is the eldest and the greatest". The reference is to the concept of mukya prANa. Or being the first cause and thus elder to all, He is jyeshThaH, and being the highest Being excelling others, He is SreshThaH. 69 prajApatiH PB: Who are they and how are they related to Him? The answer is 'prajApatiH'. niyasUris are called 'prajaH' as they are vastly superior to bound/freed souls. Vide- "The niyasUris reside in Him who is far superior to Universe". SA: The Master of all living beings, because He is ISvara. 70 hiraNya-garbhaH PB: He who is in a lovely abode (where only sattwa/purity abounds forever). This is similar to hiraNya or Gold. Or 'hita and ramaNIya', i.e. agreeable and lovely. It is said to be pregnant with Him as He is always there. Vide- "In that supreme golden world, that Supreme brahman lives free from qualities of activity and darkness, a luminary superior to all luminaries. This, the niyasUris know. There the Sun does not shine". SA: One who is the Atman of even brahma (the creator). brahma is called hiraNya-garbhaH- the luminous globe containing the whole universe in the seminal form (brahmANda). Rg veda (10-121.1)- "hiraNya-garbhaH samavartat'Agre - at first hiraNya-garbha alone existed". 71 bhUgarbhaH PB: He for whom Earth is the object of protection. This denotes that He has bhoomi (Earth) as His consort. She is being rejuvenated by Him by constant enjoyment and herein she is like the garbha (womb or child). Vide- "Goddess bhoomi is the spouse of vishNu and ever young". SA: Having the bhUmi (earth) within (womb) Himself. 72 mAdhavaH PB: The consort of mA (lakshmi/srI). Vide- "srI, the consort of vishNu, rules the Universe". srI sUkta and other texts show that lakshmi is all sakti and pervades the universe. The Lord is inseparable from Her and enjoys His aiSwarya etc. along with Her. rAmAyaNa says, "The entire rAmAyaNa is a great narrative od sItA". SA: The consort of mA (lakshmi/srI). Or one who is fit to be known through madhu-vidhyA. MahAbharata Udyo. (70.4): "O bhArata! know mAdhava through mauna (slience), dyAna (meditation) and Yoga". 73 madhusUdanaH PB: The slayer of demon madhu. He is called madhusUdana as He is the controller of all and bestows undisputed prosperity by slaying the asurAs. Or, 'madhu' means sense-organs. Since He helps His devotees to restrain indriyAs He is madhusUdana. SA: The slayer of demon madhu. vishNu sahasranAmam (6) 'srini' Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (sgsrini@u.washington.edu) Thu, 21 Mar 1996 11:40:56 -0800 (PST) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: Vijay Srinivasan: "Points to Ponder" Previous message: Sampath Rengarajan: "Sri Vaikundam - Final Destination Part 5 - "Periya Perumaal meyp pathankaLE naduvOm"" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PB = Translation of srI parAsara bhattar's commentary. SA = Translation of srI sankarAchArya's commentary. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-9) ISvaro vikramI dhanvI medhAvi vikramaH kramaH anuttamo durAdharshaH kRtaj~naH kRtir AtmavAn 74 ISvaraH PB: The Ruler. He is ISvara because He can exercise His Will unimpeded, even though His Supreme abode is boundless. Vide- "His desires are true and His will also is true", "He moves as He likes". SA: The Omnipotent Being. 75 vikramI PB: The most powerful. His very nature dispels even the remotest possibility of anything going against His will. SA: The Courageous One (He has unrestrained power). 76 dhanvI PB: He always has his celestial bow (SArNga), appropriate to His unrivalled prowess and Glory. This also suggest His possessing all the other Celestial Weapons. SA: One armed with a bow. gItA (10.31) says: "I am rAmA among who bear weapons". 77 medhAvi PB: The Omniscient. This Omniscience is eternal, natural, boundless and appropriate. SA: He who has great intelligence capable of grasping all texts. 78 vikramaH PB: He who moves about on the bird (garuda). Garuda is the embodiment of the vedas. He is carried to us by the vedas. Vide- "May I attain and bow to that servant of the Lord with golden feathers. May that garuda inspire us". SA: He who crosses kramaNa (i.e. transcends samsAra). Or, one who has 'viH', bird (i.e. garuda) as His mount. 79 kramaH PB: He is kramaH because He is full to the brim with the eternal riches described above. The root 'kRm' in Atmanepada means 'to widely expand' and hence the name refers to the expanded moksha sphere, which is an Ananda form of the Lord". SA: vishNu is called 'kramaH', because He is the cause of 'kramaNa' or crossing of the ocean of samsAra by the devotees. Or, because from Him all 'krama' or the manifestation of the Universe, has occured. 80 anuttamaH PB: The unsurpassed as "There is none higher than He". gItA(7.7)- "There is nothing greater than Myself, O dhananjaya!". SA: He than whom nothing is greater. nArU.(12.3) says: "yasmAt param nAparam asti ki~ncid - He whom there is none to excel", gItA (11.4) says: "there is none equal to Thee. Where can there be any one greater?" 81 durAdharshaH PB: Who is unassailable. As He is firmly and eternally established in the paramapada, He is not liable to be affected by time or any other factors. Vide- "Like the deep ocean, bhagavan is ever inperturbable", "He resembles the Ocean by virtue of His profound nature". SA: One whom none (asurAs) can overcome. 82 kRtaj~naH PB: He who is grateful/appreciative (of even the little attention paid to Him by humans in the world). Bhagavan says in gItA: "Even if one were of wicked ways, if he but worships Me exclusively, he must be regarded as righteous. For he is rightly resolved". SA: He who know about everything that has been done (kRta) by jIvAs. Also one who is pleased with token/simple offerings like leaves, flowers, water and fruits, as said in gItA. 83 kRtiH PB: He is Himself that Act. That virtuous act of the jIvAs owes its origin to Him who is pleased. Vide- "He makes that person do virtuous acts whom He wants to lift up fro the material world". SA: He is effort or act of everyone. As the Supreme, He is the root cause of every act. 84 AtmavAn PB: The possessor of souls. The souls that do such (virtuous) acts are His own property since their essential nature and actions are dependent on Him. SA: One established in His own greatness, i.e. requiring no other support than Himself. ChU. (7.24.1) says: "What is that in which, O bhagavan, That is established? In His own greatness itself". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-10) sureSaH SaraNam Sarma viSva-retAH prajA-bhavaH ahaH samvatsaro vyAlaH pratyayaH sarva-darSanaH 85 sureSaH PB: The Lord of all the Gods (brahma and other devAs); He directs and controls them in their functions. Brahma says: "By the Grace of bhagavan acyuta, I have become the creator; and by His wrath, rudra became the destroyer. That acyuta is the cause of the sustenance(of this Universe)". SA: The Lord of suras or devas. Or, it can also mean the the greatest of those who bestow good (suraH can be split as suH=good and rA=bestow gift). 86 SaraNam PB: The Refuge (for all). People who take refuge in Him could dwell in Him for ever. Vide- "nivAsaH SaraNam suhRt. gatinArAyaNaH - nArAyNa is the abode, the refuge, friend and the goal of attainment". SA: He who removes the sorrows of those in distress (ArthAH). 87 Sarma PB: Supreme Bliss/Highest Object to be realized. The suffix 'manin' denote the sense of happiness. Vide- "sarvagandhaH sarvarasaH - He is all taste, all smell", "ka brahman kham brahman - brahman is (Supreme) Happiness, brahman is the ether", "Anando brahman - brahman is Bliss". SA: He is Supreme Bliss. 88 viSva-retAH PB: He who is the cause and creator (of all). This explains how He is SaraNa and Sarma. viSvam is due to His action. All karmendriyas and j~nanendriyas are given by Him for doing service (kainkarya) at His feet. Vide- "All the seven praNas come out of Him". SA: The Seed/Cause of the Universe 89 prajA-bhavaH PB: He is the repository of all beings who are endowed with all sAdanas by Him for being near Him and doing service. SA: The Source of all beings. 90 ahaH PB: He who does not abandon anyone. gItA (6.4) says- "No one who does what is good, dear friend, ever meets a sad fate". SA: The Luminous One (there is absolutely no darkness in Him). 91 samvatsaraH PB: He lives for the uplift (of awakened souls). gItA (10.10)- "I extend that gnanayoga to them by which they reach Me", "I lift them up". SA: As He is kAla-swarUpa vushNu (Time is a form of vishNu), He is samvatsara or year. 92 vyAlaH PB: He who accepts (the devotees) with out stretched arms. rAmA says: "AnayaInam harisreshTh dattamasyAbhayam maya - O! chief of monkeys, bring him (vibhIshaNa) here, for I have extended protection to Him". SA: He is vyAla because He is ungraspable like a snake. 93 pratyayaH PB: He is pratyayaH since one places confidence in Him. For He makes all have confidence in him. Vide- "That Diety who reveals knowledge about Himself". kRshNa tells yudhiStira in sabha parva of mahAbhArata: "If you have confidence (pratyaya) in Me, entrust bhIma and arjuna to me to be taken to jarAsandha's place". SA: One who is of the nature of consciousness (praj~na or pratIti) "praj~nAnam brahma- brahman is pure consciousness"(AitU 3.5.3) 94 sarva-darSanaH PB: He who displays all (His glory) to them (who have faith in Him). Vide- "To him alone the Supreme shows His Self". SA: One with eyes everywhere. As the Lord has assumed all forms, the eye-sight of all beings are His. "viSvataS cakshuH- One with eyes everywhere" (SvetU. 3.3), "viSvAksham- One endowed with all senses" (nArU. 13.1). vishNu sahasranAmam (7) 'srini' Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (sgsrini@u.washington.edu) Mon, 15 Apr 1996 13:47:38 -0700 (PDT) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: Sampath Rengarajan: "Mani - Who is Uncomparable and was churned out of Ocean already" Previous message: Mani Varadarajan: "Guidelines for posting to the Bhakti list" ----- Message Text ----- Dear All- I was unable to post the translations of vishNu sahasranAmam for the past three weeks because I was out of town and got very busy on my return. I apologize on this account. I've transcribed some more Slokas and will post them regularly until the end of this month. Then I'll be gone for six weeks (from May 1 to June 15) to Denmark and India. namo nArAyaNA -Srinivasan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PB = Translation of srI parAsara bhattar's commentary. SA = Translation of srI sankarAchArya's commentary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-11) ajaH sarveSvaraH siddhaH siddhiH sarvAdir acyutaH vRshAkapir ameyAtmA sarva-yoga-viniHsRtaH 95 ajaH PB: Remover (of all obstacles). The root 'aja' means 'to push away and remove'. Thus, He Himself removes all obstacles to their (jIvAs) reaching Him. Vide gItA: "Out of sheer pity for them I remain in their mind and remove the darkness born of ignorance by the lamp of knowledge", "I shall free you from all sins". SA: One who has no birth. Sruti says: "na jAto, na janishyate- One who is unborn and would never be born". 96 sarveSvaraH PB: He who reaches all (those who seek refuge in Him, whether they are qualified or not in order to avoid delay in dispelling their uneasiness). Vide rAmAyaNa sloka- "vibhIshaNenASu jagAma sangamam- Without any delay rAma met vibhIshaNa". SA: The Lord of Lords; the Supreme Master. Vide- "eSa sarveSvaraH - He is the Lord of all" (mAn.U. 6) 97 siddhaH PB: He is by His very nature the ultimate goal of His devotees. He cannot be reached by any means (sAdhanas). Vide- "Wise say that brahman itself is means and the goal". SA: Eternally perfect/established in His own nature. 98 siddhiH PB: Goal (to be reached). He is Himself the fruit to be enjoyed. SA: He who is of the nature of Consciousness in all. Or, He whose form excels that of all others, Or, He who is the fruit of all endeavors. 99 sarvAdiH PB: The Source of all (goals, high or low, of His devotees". Vide- "Those who worship you, the Supreme Purusha, deva, ancient and unchanging, attain always their desires in this world and in the next". SA: The Primary cause of all elements (The Cause of all causes). 100 acyutaH PB: He who is never separated (from those who have surrendered unto Him). Vide- "I have never abandoned (my devotees) and because of this I am called achyuta". "I do not disappear from Him", "Never will I abandon him". SA: He who has never lost and will never lose his inherent nature and powers. "SAsvatam Sivam acyutam- He is eternal, auspicious and undecaying" (nAr.U. 13.1), Again it is said: "yasmAn na cyuta-pUrvo'ham acyutas tena karmaNA- as I never had a fall (cyuti) I'm acyuta". 101 vRshAkapiH PB and SA: One who showers all the desirable things. Another meaning is: 'vRshAH' means dharma; and 'kam' means water. 'apAt signifies uplifting. In the varAhAvatAra (Boar incarnation) vishNu uplifted the earth from pralaya waters. Thus, He is of the nature of dharma (vRshAH) and kapi (Boar). Vide- "kapi is the sublime varAha and vRsha is dharma; thefore, kAsyapa, the sub-creator called dharma varAha". 102 ameyAtmA PB: One with immeasurable compassion for his bhaktas. Vide- "Therefore the Supreme is great", "janArdana is, therefore, Great". SA: One whose Greatness is immeasurable. 103 sarvayoga-viniHsRtaH PB: One who is easily attained through the means (yogas) outlined in the Sastras and through sAdhanas created by one's intelligence. Vide- "paramAtmA, the Lord of the Universe, is ever with the person who realizes Him my means of comprehension through his mind alone, becoming pleased with the enjoyment of His glory". SA: One who stands aside completely from all bondage. Vide- "asango hi ayam purushaH - this purusha is without any attachment" (Br.U. 4.3.15). Or, it can mean one who is known through all the Yogas or spiritual disciplines taught in the scriptures. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-12) vasur vasumanAH satyaH samAtmA sammitaH samaH amoghaH puNDrIkAksho vRsha-karmA vRshAkRtiH 104 vasuH PB: He who dwells in them with great pleasure (however little they are devoted towards Him). SA: One in whom all beings dwell and one who dwells in all beings. gItA (10.23) says: "vasUnAm pAvakaS c'Asmi - Among vasus I am fire (pAvaka)". 105 vasumanAH PB: He who has a heart which thinks of His devotees as a treasure Vide- "Such a great soul is very rare" SA: 'Vasu' means riches/wealth and indicates greatness. So it means one possessed with a great mind (devoid of vanity, anger, ill-will and other blemishes). 106 satyaH PB: He who is well-disposed to his devotees. SA: One whose nature is Truth. Vide- "satyam j~nAnam anantam brahma - brahman is Truth, Knowledge and Infinite" (Tait.U. 2.1.1), "sac ca tyac ca - sat means manifest as effect and tyac, unmanifested causal condition. Thus as He is all that exists in the manifest and unmanifest conditions He is called satyaH, the True" (Tait.U. 2.6.1). 107 samAtmA PB: He who is equally disposed towards all, without thinking if they are high or low by virtue of their qualities. Vide gItA: "samoham sarvabhUteshu - I am same to all beings". SA: One whose mind is sama, without partiality or anger (and thus same towards all). Vide- "He is present alike in all beings". 108 sammitaH PB: He who has been well defined to His devotees as to be claimed (by devotees like dasaratha,vasudeva etc.) as their own. Vide- "UnashoDaSavarsho me rAmorAjIvalocanaH - My lotus-eyed rAmA is only fifteen years of age". "mamAyam tanayo nihaH - He (kRshNA) is my son". SA: This name and the previous one (samAtmA) can be split in two ways: 'samAtmA + sammitaH' meaning 'determined by all existing entities' or as 'samAtmA + asammitaH' meaning 'unlimited by any entity'. 109 samaH PB: He who treats all His devotees equally (irrespective of old and new, high and low etc.). SA: One free from any change. Or, 'samaH' = 'sa + mA' = 'with' + 'lakshmI' (always united with mahAlakshmI) 110 amoghaH PB: He who never fails His devotees prayers. Vide- "rAmA, Your darSana is always beneficial; praising You never fails. Your devotees are certain of Your grace". SA: One whose worship is never futile. Vide Br.U.8.7.1- "That one who is satya-samkalpaH, i.e., whose resolution always becomes true" 111 puNDrIkAkshaH PB: He is the eye of all the liberated souls in the paramapada called the puNDarIka. Vide- "Thou art like the broad eye in the Heaven". SA: One who has pervaded (is realized in) the lotus of the heart. Or, one who is lotus-eyed. 112 vRsha-karmA PB: One whose action is always righteous in spite of His Supreme nature (vRsha = righteous). SA: He whose actions are according to vRsha (dharma). 113 vRshAkRtiH PB: He of dhArmic form. Or He is vRsha-karmA and vRshAkRti because He possesses a beautiful form and also does acts that are cool and refreshing like a shower of ambrosia (that removes sAmsAric ills). Vide- "The Supreme refreshes the Universe with His lustre equal to that of ten thousand moons". SA: He who takes form for the sake of dharma (vRsha). gItA (4.8) says- "dharma-samsthApanArthAya sambhavAmi yuge yuge - I body Myself forth from age to age in order to preserve dharma". vishNu sahasranAmam - (8) 'srini' Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (sgsrini@u.washington.edu) Mon, 22 Apr 1996 20:15:36 -0700 (PDT) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: Parthasarati Dileepan: "kaRRavar kaamuRu seelan" Previous message: Jagannathan Shrikanth: "Intoduction.." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PB = Translation of srI parAsara bhattar's commentary. SA = Translation of srI sankarAchArya's commentary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-13) rudro bahuSirA babhrur viSva-yoniH SuchiSravAH amRtaH SASvata-sthAnur varAroho mahA-tapAH 114 rudraH PB: He is rudra because His actions and enchanting beauty makes His devotees shed tears of joy. The root 'rod' means to shed tears. Vide vishNuthathwa- "That devout person, whose eyes are brimming with cool tears of joy, whose body is covered with hairs on their ends (due to joy) and whose heart is ever filled with thoughts about the Supreme, must be seen by all embodied souls". SA: One who makes all beings cry at the time of cosmic dissolution. Or, One who gives 'rud' or speech. Or, One who drives away 'ru' or sorrows. Siva purANa (6.9-14) says: "ru means sorrow. As the Lord removes all sorrows and their causes, Siva, the ultimate cause is called rudra". 115 bahuSirAH PB: Multi-headed.(As Ananta) He has many heads and over thousand hoods. SA: He has thousand (innumerable) heads. purusha sUkta says- "sahasra-SIrshA purushaH - the purusha is with innumerable heads". 116 babhruH PB: The Supporter. As Ananta He supports the worlds. Vide- "That Ananta bears the earth on His head". SA: One who Supports the worlds. 117 viSva-yoniH PB: He who associates Himself with all devotees. The root 'yu' means to join/unite. SA: One who is the cause of the world. 118 SuchiSravAH PB: He who listens to the pure words of His devotees. Vide- "O! dhananjaya, I listen to all that is pure and agreeable. I do not heed to what is sinful. Therefore I am called SuchiSravAH". 'Suchi' is that which is offered with devotion. Vide- "I ate the good food that was offered by vidhura with devotion", "The night passed away for krishNa unnoticed as He listened to the sweet and varied words of the great vidhura - words that were filled with dharma, charming and bristling with good forms and fine content". SA: One whose names and glories are very holy and purifying to be heard. 119 amRtaH PB: The ambrosia. He is amRtaH because He is sweet to His devotees, Or, because He wards off old age and confers immortality, Or, because no satiety occurs, however much they serve Him. "When the sages saw janardana, they never got satiated as with ambrosia". SA: One who is Immortal. Br.U. (4.4.25) says- "ajaro'maraH - unaging and deathless". 120 SASvata-sthAnuH PB: He who is eternal and steady. bhagavan is far superior to ambrosia. Being Himself eternal. He cannot be taken away by those who enjoy Him. He is the object of enjoyment to those who never think of returning to material world for rebirth. On the other hand, the 'amRta' distilled from the ocean can be used only once". SA: One who is both eternal and firmly established. 121 varArohaH PB: He is the Greatest to be reached. For this reason, 'varam'- Supreme, 'Arohanam'- 'is the attainment of bhagavan' That of all elase is inferior. Vide- "Compared with that world of the Supreme being, these lower worlds (of brahma and Indra) are like Hell". There are five different forms of bhagavan known as: 1. para, 2. vyUha, 3. vibhava, 4. antaryAmi and 5. archA. para is the highest (vAsudeva) to be ascended to. SA: He whose Aroham (lap) gives the highest blessing. Or, He attaining whom is the greatest good. A jIva so blessed has no more birth in the lower worlds. Vide- "na ca punarAvartate - they do not return" ChU. (8.15.1), "yad gatvA nivartante tad dhAma paramam mama - My Supreme status is that by attaining which one will never return" (gItA 15.6). 122 mahA-tapAH PB: YudishThira's question at the start "kimekam daivatam loke kim-vApyekam parAyaNam" has been answered upto the name of 'varArohaH'. vAsudeva is the highest (para) goal to be reached. sankarshaNa is now referred to. mahAtapAH, means He who is endowed with great knowledge/wisdom. wisdom and strength are two qualities of sankarshaNa. SA: He exercises great great tapas(j~nanam) before creation. Vide- "yasya j~nanamayam tapaH - whose tapas is of nature of knowledge" (Mu.U 1.1.9). Or, His tapas is great and sublime. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-14) sarvagaH sarva-vid-bhAnur vishvakseno janArdanaH vedo vedavid avyango vedAngo vedavit kaviH 123 sarvagaH PB: He who pervades all and supports them (by His strength). SA: One who pervades everything (because He is their material cause). Or, He who goes everywhere. 124 sarva-vid-bhAnuH PB: These are two names. (1) sarvavit - He who obtains all. bhagavan (as pradyumna) engages Himself in re-creating the beings destroyed at the time of pralaya (cosmic-dissolution). The two qualities of pradyumna are aiSwarya and vIrya. (2) bhAnuH - He who shines. Though He has created the Universe, He is unchanged and shines as ever. This unchanging form is vIrya. Vide- "He, the Supreme, shines by Himself". SA: One who is Omniscient and effulgent. Vide - "tam eva bhAntam anubhAti sarvam - all others shine because It shines" (Kath.U. 2.2.15), "yas Aditya-gatam tejo jagat bhAsayate'khilam - that lustre which has entered into Aditya (Sun) illumines the whole world" (gItA 15.12). 125 vishvaksenaH PB: He (as aniruddha) is the sustainer of the Universe. Here, Sakti is the indicated guNa and He has an army in all directions. SA: He before whom all demon (vishvaka) armies (senAH) run away. 126 janArdanaH PB: He is the exterminator of the obstructions of the good to His devotees. Here, tejas (lustre) is the indicated guNa. Vide - "janArdana is He who protects (people) demons". The qualities of each form (samkarshana, pradhyumna and aniruddha) have been mentioned above, only to the extent they are made use of in such manifestations. But in all avatArAs, His qualities (knowledge, riches and strength) are full, complete and never concealed. He is the Omniscient and Omnipotent Lord of all, and is full of His riches. He has no karma (bondage), is above all wants, has his senses under control, is friend of all, depends only on Himself, has no beginning or end, has no misfortunes, is free from fear, anger, sleep, lust, ignorance, fatigue, disease and other blemishes. Only those who know bhagavan vAsudeva as such understand Him. SA: He who inflicts suffering on evil men. Or He to whom devotees pray for success and liberation. 127 vedaH PB: He who is the propounder of SAstras/vedas in His manifestation as samkarshana. Vide - "Who taught the vedas to him (brahma)". Hence, samkarshana is the Means (of realizing the Supreme), SAstra, Path, Leader, brAhmana and Preceptor. SA: He who is the form of veda. Or, one who bestows j~nana on the jIvAs. Vide gItA (10.11) - "Out of compassion for them, I as the innermost Spirit, destroy the darkness of ignorance by the light of knowledge". 128 vedavit PB: The knower of vedas (without any doubts or error). Vide gItA: "I am indeed the knower of vedas". SA: He who knows truly the vedas (and their meaning). Vide- "vedAntakRt vedavid eva cA'ham - i am the author of the vedAnta knower of the veda" (gItA 15.15), "All the vedas are kRshNA. Those who know Him in reality have performed all the sacrifices". 129 avyangaH PB: He is not disassociated from the limbs of the vedas, such as chandas and kalpa, created by Him. SA: One who is self-fulfilled by knowledge and other great attributes, and who is free from any defect whatsoever. Or, one who is not manifest to the senses. Vide - "avyakto'yam - He is not manifest to the senses or the mind" (gItA 2.25). 130 vedAngaH PB: Vedas which have innumerable branches are His body, and they disclose the innermost secrets of the Supreme. Vide - "He shakes His body composed of the vedas". Or, vedAngaH is derived in the sense that vedas and their angas are His ordinances. Vide - "Sruti and smRthi are my ordinances", "This is His ordinance". SA: The vedas are His organs. 131 vedavit PB: This name is repeated. Here, 'veda' means dharma revealed by the vedas. Thus, He (pradyumna) who makes people practise the dharma revealed by the vedas. Hence, He is known as dharma, the illuminator and the Instigator (of dharma). SA: This name is repeated. The previous name means He knows the meaning of vedas. This name is interpreted as spreading the knowledge of vedas. 132 kaviH PB and SA: He is 'kaviH' since He cognises all that is beyond ordinary perception. Vide - "nAnyo'to'sti drashTA -there is no seer other than Him" (Br.U 3.7.23), "kavir manIshI - He is all knowing and intelligent" (ISa.U.8). vishNu sahasranAmam (9) 'srini' Srinivasan Srivilliputhur (sgsrini@u.washington.edu) Mon, 29 Apr 1996 15:46:38 -0700 (PDT) Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: Sampath Rengarajan: "(Fwd) Re: Biographies of Sri Ramanuja" Previous message: Vasudha Narayanan: "Biographies of Sri Ramanuja" Dear All- Since I'll be travelling, there will be no vishNu sahasranAmam postings for the next 6-weeks. I'll resume the same when I return to Seattle on June 15. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PB = Translation of srI parAsara bhattar's commentary. SA = Translation of srI sankarAchArya's commentary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-15) lokA'dhyakshaH surA'dhyaksho dharmA'dhyakshaH kRtA'kRtaH catur'AtmA catur-vyUhas catur-damshTras catur-bhujaH 133 lokA'dhyakshaH PB: 'A'dhyakshaH' means 'the presiding overlord'. He who controls the world is the 'lokA'dhyakshaH' SA: He who directly witnesses everything (in pradhAna/prakRti/ nature) 134 surA'dhyakshaH PB: He who controls the Gods (surAs) SA: He exercises overlordship over gods. 135 dharmA'dhyakshaH PB: He who controls dharma. SA: He directly sees the dharma (merits) and adharma (demerits) of all and confers due rewards. PB: In names (133-135), lokAH : those eligible to practice dharma; surAH : the dieties worshipped by those eligible; and dharmaH : the instrument of such worship ordained by SAstras. He (anuruddha) controls all these. He alone dispenses fruits with knowledge (of the dharma performed by each person). He is therefore called the Knower of dharma, Knower of Methods, Presiding Diety, Highly Truthful. 136 kRtA'kRtaH PB: dharma is of two kinds, one that prolongs samsAra and the other liberates us from samsAra. He is called 'krutha' because He gives temporary fruits (in this world) to those who are worldly. He is also 'akrutha' as He gives the eternal fruit of moksha to those who seek it. Hence He is 'kRtA'kRtaH'. SA: He is both the cause and effect of the Universe. 137 catur'AtmA PB: He of four-forms (vAsudeva, samkarshana, pradhyumna and aniruddha). These four vyUhas have the Supreme para vAsudeva as their AtmA. SA: One who assumes forms for the creation, suatenation and dissolution. Vide VishNu pUrANA (I 22-31-33) - "brahmA, prajApatis like daksha, kAla (time) and jIvAs - these are powers of vishNu for the purpose of creation. vishNu, the manus, kAla (time) and living beings - these are powers of vishNu for the purpose of sustenation. rudra, Time, Death (mRtyu) and living beings - these are powers of vishNu for the purpose of dissolution". 138 catur-vyUhaH PB: This name explains how He is catur'AtmA. For the purposes already mentioned, The Supreme Being suitably distributes His six qualities in four forms of Himself. These four forms are expressive of His special qualities,color,status,actions, ornaments, weapons etc. SA: He has four manifestations. vyAsa says - "The all famed janArdana manifests Himself in four forms (vAsudeva, samkarshana, pradhyumna and aniruddha), to perform the work creation etc. (with these forms)". 139 catur-damshTraH PB: He of four teeth in His transcendental form (from which the four vyuhas emerge). The possession of four large teeth is an indication of a mahApurusha (Great Person). SA: One with four fangs in His nRsimha avatArA. 140 catur-bhujaH PB: Four-Armed. They say that such is the para-rUpa (the transcendental form). Vide - "endowed with four arms", "He who is in a place beyond darkness (the material world) and who wields the conch, discuss, mace and bow". SA: Four-armed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (sl-16) bhrAjishNur-bhojanam bhoktA sahishNur jaga-AdijaH anagho vijayo jetA viSva-yoniH punar-vasuH 141 bhrAjishNuH PB: The effulgent. As vyUha avatArs, He manifests Himself to His worshippers. SA: He is the essence of light (and shines everywhere). 142 bhojanam PB: He is enjoyed by his bhaktAs. SA: prakRti or mAyA is called bhojanam (or what is enjoyed by the Lord). But as He Himself is prakRti, He is also called bhojanam (the object of enjoyment). 143 bhoktA PB: He is bhoktA since He Himself enjoys the offerings made to Him lovingly (by his bhaktAs). Vide - "I enjoy the offering made by the pure-minded", "I am the enjoyer of all sacrifices and austerities". SA: As purusha He enjoys prakRti. So He is bhoktA (enjoyer). 144 sahishNuH PB: (Due to His generous nature) He forgives all the faults of His devotees. If it is asked how His patience is immeasurable, the answer is given by the use of 'ishNu' suffix. This signifies a quality which is natural to Him like coolness th Transfer interrupted! A: He is sahishNuH as He supresses asuras like hiraNyAksha. 145 jaga-AdijaH PB: Until now His vyuha avatArs were referred to. Now on, His vibhava avatArs will be dealt with. jaga-AdijaH means He who is the first born in the Universe and is one of the trinity (trimUrtis). SA: He who manifested as hiraNyagarba (by Himself) at the beginning of creation. 146 anaghaH PB: Though born, as vishNu, in the midst of samsArA (the material world), He is Sinless (and so anaghaH). He Himself is the destroyer of all sins. SA: The sinless one. Vide - "apahata pApmA - He is without sin" (Cha.U. 8.7.1). 147 vijayaH PB: Victory Incarnate. The creation and destruction of the world are done by brahma and rudra is possible because of His help. Vide - "The Creator and the Destroyer follow the paths indicated by Him". SA: He is Lord of the Universe by virtue of His bhagas (j~nana, vairAgya and other qualities). 148 jetA PB: The Conqueror. He makes even brahma and rudra yield to His wishes. SA: One who naturally excels all beings. 149 viSva-yoniH PB: Through the other mUrtis, He is the cause of the Universe. SA: He is all and the Cause of all. 150 punar-vasuH PB: He is punarvasuH as He resides in other gods, beginning with brahma and rudra, as their antarAtmA (Inner Soul). Vide - "He is the relation of Gods kept in caves (hearts)", Brahma says (to Rudra) "He is the Inner Soul of yourself and myself and all the embodied beings". This and the succeeding names of upedra, vAmana and prAmSu indicate that the Unborn Eternal Supreme Being, out of His grace, passes through the states of birth and life on the earth for the redemption/protection of humanity. SA: One who dwells again and again in the bodies (as kshetraj~na). %% From: krish@ihgp.ih.lucent.com (N Krishnamachari) %% Subject: Sri Vishnu Sahasra NAmam. %% Date: Wed, 7 May 1997 22:06:40 -0500 %% %% %% Some time back, a few friends including Sri M. Srinivasan and me from our %% group joined forces to write an article giving the background behind the %% origin of Sri VishNu Sahasra NAmam. I am taking the liberty of submitting %% this article in two or three parts to the learned audience. The material is %% mostly from the book "Sri Vishnu Sahasranama with the Bhashya of Sri Parasara %% Bhattar, with Translation in English" by A. Srinivasa Raghavan, published by %% Sri Visishtadvaita Pracharnini Sabha, Madras, in 1983. Any misinterpretation %% is completely mine. I seek your forgiveness if I am misrepresenting the %% accepted and traditional concepts, and I look forward to any thoughts that %% any of you have in correcting me or adding additional comments. %% %%% Dasan Krishnamachari Sri VishNu Sahasra NAmam - Part I. It is interesting to contemplate on the circumstances under which Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram came into existence. Yudhishthira, the eldest of the five Pandavas, was mentally depleted because of the war with the Kauravas and the misery of death and suffering that was created by the war in which he had been a major player. Bhishma, his dear grandfather, was lying on his deathbed. With his passing away, his irreplaceable wisdom, based on the experiences of his long life of virtue, righteousness and devotion, was about to be lost to the world. Sage Vyasa and Sri Krishna advised Yudhishthira, who himself was an epitome of righteousness and virtue, to seek the advice of Bhishma on any and all aspects of life on which he had any doubts. Yudhishthira did as advised, and a series of dialogs ensued between the two, witnessed by Lord Krishna Himself, and by other great sages including Vedavyasa. In one of these sessions, Yudhishthira sought Bhishma's advice on the easiest and best means by which mankind can attain lasting happiness, peace of mind, and relief from all bondage and sorrows. This was the setting in which Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram was imparted, with the welfare of future generations also in mind, by Bhishma to Yudhishthira, as part of the advice given by Bhishma in response to the above question. The Composition The following sloka in the prolog to Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram identifies some important aspects pertaining to the composition of the stotram: vishnor nama sahasrasya vedavyaso mahamunih | chandonustup tatha devo bhagavan devaki sutah || Sri Vedavyasa is the rishi of Sri Vishnu's one thousand names, i.e. the sage who strung together the thousand names as they were revealed by Bhishma to Yudhishthira. Anushtup (eight syllables per quarter) is its meter. Lord Krishna, the son of Devaki, is the Lord being worshiped. There are over forty commentaries on Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram. Sri Adi Sankara's commentary is the earliest of them. Sri Parasara Bhatta, a disciple of a disciple of Sri Ramanuja, has written a detailed commentary. Sri Satyasandha Yatiswara from the Dvaita school is another prominant commentator. Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, along with the Bhagavad Gita, is an integral part of the epic Mahabharata composed by Sage Vedavyasa (Vyasa is also the one who organized the vedas into the classifications as we know them today). Of all the commentaries written by Sri Sankara for our religious scriptures (the Bhagavad Gita, the Brahma Sutras, etc.), that on Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram was the very first one. Sri Sankara emphasizes the importance of reciting the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram in his Bhaja Govindam (geyam gita nama sahasram...). Six reasons are generally identified for the greatness of the Stotram. These are: * It is the essence of the Mahabharata. * Sages such as Narada, the Alwars, and composers including Saint Tyagaraja have made repeated references to the "Thousand Names of Vishnu" in their devotional works. * The person who strung together the thousand names as part of the Mahabharata and preserved it for the world was none other than Sage Vedavyasa, the foremost knower of the vedas, and considered an incarnation of Vishnu (vyasaya vishnu rupaya vyasa rupaya vishnave namo...). * It is the considered opinion of Bhishma that it is the best and easiest of all dharmas, or the means to attain relief from all bondage. * It is widely accepted that the chanting of this Stotram gives relief from all sorrows and leads to happiness and peace of mind. * It is in conformity with the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, Narayaneeya, etc. The above reasons given to illustrate the importance of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram become all the more obvious when we recount the personalities involved in the events that resulted in the stotram. It was no ordinary person's advice that was sought. No ordinary person was seeking the advice, and at no ordinary person's urging was the advice being sought. Bhishma was the son of the Mother Ganga and a person sanctified by his unswerving devotion to Lord Krishna, and one who had controlled and conquered all his senses. Yudhishthira was the son of Dharma, and himself a practitioner of justice, righteousness, truth, honesty and integrity. Vyasa was the knower of all vedas. Lord Krishna was a witness to the whole event involving the advice and revelation of the easiest and best means to achieve happiness and peace of mind, given by Bhishma to Yudhishthira. As we know, the advice is in the form of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram. No other justification is needed to recognize the greatness of the education that is imparted to the human race through the medium of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram by Vyasa and Bhishma. Part 2 of the Overview of Sri Vishnu Sahasra Namam follows: The Organization Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram as printed for chanting purposes consists of three sections: - A prolog, which gives the background on why the Stotram was imparted to the great and just Yudhishthira by Bhishma. - The thousand names of Vishnu, organized in a poetic format in 107 stanzas, in the anushtup chandas, (a meter with 8 syllables in a quarter), with two quarters per line, and two lines per stanza. - The phala sruti, or a recounting of the benefits that can accrue by chanting the Stotram. The above is the typical organization of many stotrams, for example, the Lakshmi Ashtottara Satanama Stotram with which many of us are familiar. The Prolog In the introductory part of the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, Yudhishthira asks Bhishma six questions, related to how mankind can attain happiness. These are contained in two stanzas starting with "kim ekam daivatam loke" in the Stotram. These questions are: * Who is the One (Supreme) Deity? * What is the highest goal of life? * By praising which Deity's auspicious qualities will human beings attain prosperity in this world as well as bliss in the next? * By meditating on which Deity will human beings attain prosperity in this world as well as bliss in the next? * By reciting which mantra will man be released from the bondage of the cycle of birth and death? * Of the three means referred to above (i.e., recitation, praise or archana, and meditation), which is the best means for attaining the grace of the Supreme Deity based on your vast experience and knowledge? Bhishma's response to the above questions follows in the next ten stanzas. In his considered opinion, a person tides over all the sorrows in this world by reciting with undiluted devotion the Thousand Names of the Eternal Person, worshiping Him always with devotion, meditating upon Him, glorifying Him, saluting Him by prostrating before Him, and adoring Him (dhyayan, stuvan, namasyamsca, yajamanas tameva ca). Bhishma adds that of all the dharmas, the dharma or practice involving service done to the Lotus-eyed Lord Krishna, without any desire for benefit, through worship (archana) and hymnal praise (stava), is the best dharma. Note that praising is easy, involving only speech, and does not involve any material sacrifice or bodily exertion. It is open to all, and does not need help from, or dependence on, others. Other kinds of worship might require money or other resources to perform the worship, or the need to impose on other people for their involvement (e.g., a priest to give instructions on the method of worship etc.). For the purpose of chanting the name of God, there is also no constraint on the asrama (i.e., brahmacharya, grihasta, etc.) to which a person belongs, unlike, for example, the constraints that the vedas place in performing the ceremonial rites with sacrificial fire. There is also no requirement regarding time, place, status of purity, etc., for the chanting of the stotram. The key element of the act of chanting as a means to attain the Lord's grace is the sincerity and purity of mind, and there is no other constraint or consideration. In summary, Yudhishthira asks Bhishma: "Given my despair and sorrowful state of mind, I want to expend the least effort and get the most benefit out of it, viz. relief from my despair. Please tell me the means for this." And Bhishma's response is "Chant the thousand names of Lord Krishna WITH DEVOTION. This does not require any effort other than the willingness to chant. This is the best way to get relief from all miseries, sorrows, and sins". Sri Vishnu Sahasra NAma Stotram - Part 3. The Thousand Names The word sahasra in the title of the Stotram means "one thousand". The main body of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram consists of 107 stanzas which contain the thousand names of Sri Maha Vishnu. Every one of the Thousand Names in Vishnu Sahasranamam is full of significance in that it refers to one particular quality, guna, characteristic or attribute of Paramatma. (yani namani gaunani, where the emphasis is that each name is indicative of a guna of Vishnu). One could legitimately ask the question: Why were these 1000 names chosen? Does the Parama Purusha get absolutely defined by these thousand names? The obvious answer is that God is Infinite and Indescribable, and can only be experienced, but cannot be translated into words and communicated from one to another. The vedas conclude that God is neither accessible to words nor to mind (yato vacho nivartante aprapya manasa saha - Taittiriya Upanishad). In Isavasya Upanishad, it is said that you cannot reach (understand) the Paramatma with the human mind (reasoning) alone even if you spend all your life. This holds true even though mind can travel (think) faster than anything known to us, including the speed of light (anejadekam manaso javiyo.... ). Given this Infinite nature of the Paramatma who is not governed or constrained by any of the physical laws as we know them, the choice of a thousand names of Vishnu by Bhishma should be recognized as a representation of some of the better-known qualities of Sriman Narayana that are repeatedly described in our great epics, vedas, puranas, etc., and sung by the devout sages repeatedly. As was indicated earlier, the thousand names are strung together in a poetic form by Sri Vedavyasa. While identifying the thousand names of Narayana from this poetic composition describing the qualities of the Infinite Paramatma, the different revered acharyas have come up with slightly differing sets of thousand names. This is partly because of the ability of these great acharyas to be able to enjoy the indescribable Parama Purusha in their own ways, based on the unique philosophies which they have propounded. Of the thousand names, some are repeated: For example, in Sri Parasara Bhattar's choice of the thousand names, two names occur four times, 12 names occur three times, and 82 names occur twice. When a name occurs more than once, the revered commentators have interpreted the meaning of the name differently in each instance depending on the context in which the name occurs. They have also quoted extensive evidence from ancient scriptures in support of their interpretation. The commentators have emphasized that the recurrence is not the result of a dosha (deficiency of being repetitive) in the composition. Sri Vishnu Sahasra NAmam - Part 4. The Benefits As was pointed out earlier, traditionally our prayers end with a phala sruti - a section on the benefits of reciting the prayer. The Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram is no exception. The necessity of cleansing our body regularly to maintain our physical hygiene and good health is recognized by every one. But perhaps because we do not "see" our mind the same way as we see our body (i.e., as an externally visible entity), the necessity of keeping our minds clean is not as clearly recognized. However, those who do not "cleanse" their mind on a regular basis become "mentally" sick over a period of time, just as they become physically sick if they do not cleanse their body on a regular basis. Prayers are a means to mental cleansing when they are chanted with sincerity and devotion. This aspect of the usefulness of prayers in everyone's life is common to all prayers. The importance of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram is that the deity being worshiped is none other than Vasudeva (sri maha vishnuh paramatma sriman narayano devata; saktir devaki nandanah; itidam kirtaniyasya kesavasya mahatmanah namnam sahasram divyanam aseshena prakirtitam; sahasram vasudevasya namnam etat prakirtayet, etc.). Sri Vyasa points out that it is by the power and command of Vasudeva that the sun, the moon, the stars, the world, and the oceans are controlled (sa chandrarka nakshatra kham diso bhur mahodadhih vasudevasya viryena vidhrtani mahatmanah). The whole universe of the Gods, Asuras, Gandharvas, etc., is under the sway of Lord Krishna (sasurasura gandharvam ....). In Bhishma's expert judgment, chanting Vasudeva's name with devotion and sincerity will ensure relief from sorrows and bondage. This in a nutshell is the phala sruti or the benefit of chanting Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam. Some have held the view that the phala sruti need not be, or even should not be chanted, because they somehow feel that it smacks of selfish desires. This is not consistent with the age-old practices of our ancestors. It is true that the phala sruti says that anything that is desired can be obtained if the prayer is sincere and offered with devotion. However, it is up to those who seek benefits through prayers that they should seek things that elevate them in life rather than lower them. An example of the latter type is the case of the evil king Ravana, who had prayed and obtained enormous powers through his prayers to Lord Siva. In the end, he lost all he had including himself by the misuse of his powers. The phala sruti in Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram was not just an add-on by someone trying to popularize the Stotram, but is an integral part of the Mahabharata text. Both Sri Sankara and Sri Parasara Bhatta have written commentaries to the phala sruti slokas. Thus, what is stated in the phala sruti has its authority from those who are worthy of great respect from us, and who have found it fit to comment and elaborate on the advice and information given to us through the phala sruti. Perhaps the most important of the benefits attained by one who chants the Stotram with devotion and sincerity is the cleansing of one's mind from all evil thoughts, and this is a very important and desirable benefit since this is the first step towards achieving pure happiness and absolute bliss. Firmness of mind, good memory, happiness of the self (inner happiness), and freedom from anger, jealousy, and greed, are some of the benefits that accrue to one who recites the stotram with devotion and eagerness. The key is the sincerity of purpose and devotion. The person who chants or recites is not the only one who benefits. Those who for whatever reason are unable to chant, benefit by just hearing the chanting (ya idam srunuyan nityam ....). Importance of Chanting Some might say that they do not understand the meaning of the Sanskrit words in the stotram and therefore do not feel comfortable chanting it. Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswathi Swami has given us his guidance on this issue in one of his discourses. He advises us that learning the chanting of prayers even without knowing the meaning is a worthwhile act, and can be compared to finding a box of treasure without the key. As long as we have the box, we can open it whenever we get the key of knowledge later, but the treasure will be already there. Some could feel that they do not know the correct pronunciation, and so do not want to chant incorrectly. H. J. Achar, in his book "Sri Vishnu Sahasranama - A Study", H.J. Achar, Sharada Press, Mangalore, 1972, has given the analogy of a mother to whom a child goes and asks for an orange. The child does not know how to pronounce the word "orange", and so asks for "ange". The mother does not turn away the child and does not refuse to give the child the orange just because the child does not know how to pronounce the word. It is the spirit or bhava that matters, and so as long as one chants the name of God with sincerity, considerations such as not knowing the meaning, not knowing the pronunciation, etc., do not matter, and God who is the Mother of all of us will confer His blessings on us. The Final Word Sage Vedavyasa concludes the Stotram with the assertion - twice stated - that there is no way a devotee of Vishnu can meet with any dishonor or disgrace of any kind (na te yanti parabhavam - ne te yanti parabhavam om nama iti). If this is not worth striving for, with as little investment as the mere chanting of the thousand names of Vishnu with sincerity, then nothing else is worth striving for. Harih Om Those interested in more information may refer to the following works. "Sri Vishnu Sahasranama with the Bhashya of Sri Parasara Bhattar, with Translation in English", A. Srinivasa Raghavan, Sri Visishtadvaita Pracharini Sabha, Madras, 1983. "Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram", Keelathur Srinivasachariar, The Little Flower Co., Madras, Reprinted 1981. "Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram", C. V. Radhakrishna Sastri, C. Venkatarama Sastri Trust, 1986. Sri Vishnu Sahasra NAmam - Part 2 - Section 1. In the previous write-up, I had presented the view that it is beneficial to chant Sri Vishnu Sahasra NAma Stotram even if we do not know the meaning, even if we do not know the correct pronunciation, etc. In the current and subsequent articles, I am going to attempt to present the meanings of the Names occurring in Sri Vishnu Sahasra NAmam. One can legitimately ask the question: Why spend our time to learn the meanings, when the benefit of chanting is obtained anyway even without knowing the meanings? In fact, one of our devotees had sent me mail privately earlier, referring to the sloka that occurs in the phala sruti portion: sri rAma rAma rAmeti rame rAme manorame sahasra nAma tat tulyam rAma nAma varAnane (As stated by Lord Siva to PArvati - if you just chant the name "RAma", it is equivalent to chanting the 1000 names of Sri MahA Vishnu"). Sri Bhattar very nicely gives the explanation on why it is desirable to delve into an analysis of the meanings behind the Names: "Names pronounced merely and without knowledge of their meanings is beneficial (upakAriNAmapi), but revelation through etymological interpretation quickly affords DELIGHT TO MIND AND PURITY TO HEART (mana: prAsanatvam pAvanatvam ca). Sri Bhattar also refers to the chapters in MahAbhArata relating to the significance in knowing the meanings of the Names in addition to just chanting without knowing the meanings: nAma karmArtavit prApnuyAm purushottamam (Udyoga Parva 59) While I am not proficient in Sanskrit, I certainly derive great mental delight in trying to understand the meanings behind the Names; and in trying to understand the grammatical interpretation behind these Names. The reason for the latter is that it helps one to delve deeper mentally into the guNas of Sri Vishnu and enjoy His qualities even more. In his Bhagavad guNa darpana, Sri Bhattar proceeds to explain the names of MahA Vishnu in accordance with rules of grammar, etymology, and interpretation by the great Sages, with special reference to their significance, context, and propriety. Etymology according to the English dictionaries is the analysis of a word, based on its origin and development, including how the words are formed from their simple roots. Sri Bhattar also indicates in his introduction that even though the same name may occur more than once, its interpretation is different depending on the context in which it occurs, and there is no redundance or repetition in Sri Vishnu SahasranAmam based on the interpretation. In his commentary on Sri Vishnu Sahasra Namam, Sri Bhattar has beautifully traced a thread of connectivity in the sequence of the 1000 names as they occur in the stotram. He has identified an organization and structure in the composition that refers to the guNas of the Lord in the five manifestations in which He has revealed Himself to us, as described in the PancharAtra Agamas. These manifestations are: para, vyuha, vibhava, archa, and antaryAmi. Thus, for instance, Sri Bhattar has noted that the first 122 names in the stotram describe the qualities of the Lord in his para vAsudeva form. The next set of names describe the vyuha forms etc. Thus the names as they occur in the stotram are not just a random collection of names, but have a beautiful thread of organization and structure to them. Sri Bhattar has identified 44 such manifestations of Bhagavan in his exposition. Sri Srinivasachariar, in his editorial introduction to Sri Vishnu Sahasra Namam published by LIFCO, (1967), describes this beautifully as an arrangement of the petals of a rose 44 layers deep, or a step of stairs with 44 steps leading to the enjoyment of the Supreme. I will not go into the enumeration of these 44 forms at this stage. but will identify these as we go along. The enumeration and the corresponding slokas can be found in the LIFCO publication. A brief introduction to the five types of manifestations of the Lord will follow in the next section. Sri Vishnu Sahasra NAmam - Part 2 - Section 2. A brief introduction to the five types of manifestations of the Lord, to which Sri Bhattar refers in his exposition of the significance of the 1000 names of the Lord, is included below. The para can be viewed as the full and undifferentiated manifestation of the Lord in His complete and resplendent glory in which He has chosen to be unlimited by anything. He does not assume this form as a result of another object, and in this form He is endowed with the fullness of the six qualities - jnAna, bala, aisvarya, vIrya, sakti, teja). In this form, He is the shAdguNya paripUrNa, mahArNava, ni:sima - complete in all respects in the Six qualities, the Great Ocean of all that is perfect, unlimited by anything. Sri Bhattar refers to the sAtvata samhita in explaining the para, vyuha, and vibhava forms. "shAdguNya vigraham devam bhAsvajjvalana tejasam sarvatah pANi pAdam tat iti upakramya param etat samAkhyAtam ekam sarvAsrayam vibhum". "In the para form, the Lord has the body endowed with all six qualities; He shines with intense brilliance and luminosity, and has hands and feet all around. This form is unique, is the support of all, and is all-pervasive". In the vyuha manifestation, the Lord assumes different forms which are rich in some of the Six qualities, with different functions which emphasize these qualities. The vyuha forms can be viewed as the differentiated forms which arise from the para form. The vyuha forms are also referred to as Emanations by the translator of the Bhagavad GuNa darpana, Sri A. Srinivasa Raghavan. In particular, the following vyuha forms are identified: - pradyumna - aisvarya and vIrya - function of srshti or creation aniruddha - sakti and tejas - function of sthiti or protection and preservation samkarshaNa - jnAna and bala - function of samhAra or destruction The sAtvata samhita describes the vyuha forms as follows: etat pUrvam trayam ca anyat jnAnAdyaih bheditam guNai: | viddhi etat vyuha samgjnam vai nissreyasa phala pradam || "From this para form emerge three other forms (SamkarshaNa, pradyumna, aniruddha), which are distinguished by the possession of knowledge and other qualities allotted to each one of them, and which bestow these benefits to the devotees". The vibhava is that group of manifestations which are taken by BhagavAn in the form of god, man, animal, etc. (sura, nara, tiryagAdi). Vibhava is of two kinds: mukhya and anuvrtti, also referred to as vibhava and vibhava antara. Vibhava occurs in one of four forms: 1. Some like matsya and kurma are direct manifestations 2. In some incarnations, the Lord enters into the bodies of distinguished sages such as Sri VyAsa 3. In others, He invests His sakti for some period of time in others. The example of Puranjaya is given here, and we will dwell into the details when we look at the explanation behind the nAma puranjaya later on. 4. There are others in which He manifests Himself in idols as for instance in the arcAvatAra. It seems to me that Sri Bhattar, in his vyAkhyAna, has grouped the arcA form as a subgroup of the vibhava form. I request the bhAgavatas in this group to shed more light on whether I have misunderstood this explanation. Sri Bhattar distinguishes the vibhava form from the Lord's creations such as the four-faced Brahma, who are not manifestations of Bhagavan, but are the creations of Bhagavan. Sri Bhattar refers to the following from the Paushkara samhita to give us an understanding of the difference: jnAnopadeshTA bhagavAn kapilAkshastu adhokshaja: | vidyAmurti: caturvaktro brahmA vai loka pUjita: || tadamsa bhUto vai yasya visva vyanjana lakshaNa: || "The red-eyed BhagavAn, Adhokshaja, is the teacher of all knowledge. The four-faced BrahmA who is the embodiment of learning and who is worshiped by all worlds, is but a tiny amsa (part) of Bhagavan. He is the subordinate of BhagavAn, and he only propounds the knowledge he got from Bhagavan to all in the world". These are distinguished as the prAdurbhAva and prAdurbhAvAntara forms. Here the prAdurbhAva is the adhokshaja form, and the prAdurbhAvAntara is Brahma. It is pointed out that the creations of the Lord such as Brahma, agni, etc., are to be understood at a different level than the manifestations of the Lord in His para, vyuha, and vibhava forms. This is the basis for why those who have been initiated in the worship of acyuta are to worship only Acyuta and not the other gods (prAdurbhAvAnAm ArAdhyatvam .prAdurbhAvAntarANAm ArAdhana nishedhasca). With the above brief introduction, I will attempt to summarize the meanings behinds the Names starting in the next section. Sri Vishnu sahasranAmam - Part 3.2. N Krishnamachari (krish@ihgp.ih.lucent.com) Tue, 17 Jun 1997 22:59:45 -0500 Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: V. Sadagopan: "Kaimkaryam at Oppiliappan Koil" Previous message: usdeiva: "SrIrAmAnuja images" Sri Vishnu SahasranAmam - Part 3.2. With this, I am going to try to look into the meanings of the names in Sri Vishnu SahasranAmam. The main source I will be using is the Bhagavad guNa darpaNa by Sri Bhattar. I will be using Sri Sankara's commentary as a secondary reference. As I am starting this attempt at learning, I am finding out that just by reading books, and without the aid of an AcArya, it is impossible to gain knowledge. However, this is all what I can do at this stage. My request to all of you is to freely comment on and correct what I am saying because I know that it is full of errors and misinterpretations. With that request which goes without my repeating it for future write-ups as well, I present what I understand for the first of the 1000 names. Sri Bhattar interprets the first 122 nAmas in the stotram as describing the para form of the Lord. Recall that the para form is the all-perfect, undiminuted, absolute, manifestation of the Lord. The description of this form includes all the nAmas starting from visvam and including varArohah in slokam 13. Sri Bhattar views this segment of the stotram as Bhishma's response to YudhisThira's first two questions: kim ekam daivatam loke and kim vApyekam parAyaNam - who is the one deity to be worshiped, and what is the supreme goal of attainment. 1. visvam - a) One who enters all the worlds, Omnipresent b) The Universe c) One who is full in all respects - shAdguNya paripUrNa The first of the above meanings is derivable from the meaning of the word vis - to enter, which is considered the root of the word visvam. vesanAt visvamityAhu: The second meaning is related to the first. In support of the first two meanings, the following verse from moksha dharma is quoted: vesanAt visvamityAhu: lokAnAm kAsisattama | lokAnsca visvameva iti pravadanti narAdhipa || (They say BhagavAn is visvam because He enters all the worlds. The worlds themselves are called visvam because of this). Thus, the first two meanings of the name visvam can be understood in terms of the meaning of the root of the word. However, while Sri Bhattar has given the above references, the primary meaning he has chosen for this name is the third one. He points out that this first name in SahasranAmam appropriately describes the "all-round fullness and perfection" of BhagavAn at the outset - sarvatomukham pUrNatvam. The author of Nirukti also captures Sri Bhattar's thoughts through the following words: Nirukti - sarvatra pUrNatvAt svarUpa guNa vibhavai: - One who is present everywhere with the perfection and fullness of the guNas which are natural to Him. Because of my lack of knowledge of Samskrit, I am unable to understand how the interpretation of this third meaning is derived etymologically. I am going to seek the help of our Bhakti group members to throw additional light on this. -Dasan Krishnamachari Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - Nama 2. 2. VishNu: - a) One who is all-pervading b) One who has entered all sentient and non-sentient things and resides in them This name can be derived from the root vish - to pervade, or from the root vis - to enter. The first of the two meanings above can be understood based on the first root, and the second one derives from the second root. The latter is the same as the root from which the first name - visvam - was derived. However, the interpretation is different. The interpretation here is that BhagavAn has entered all beings - sentient and non-sentient, that He has created. For the first meaning above, the following supports are quoted from the srutis: In Sri KrshNa's own words from ShAnti Parva in MahAbhArata, vyApte me rodasI pArtha kAntiscApadhikA sthitA | kramaNaccApyaham pArtha! VishNuritabhisamgjnita: || "As I have pervaded the horizons, my glory stands foremost, and as I have measured by my steps the three worlds, O Arjuna! I am named VishNu". "vyApya sarvAn imAn lokAn sthitah sarvatra kesava: | tatasca vishNu nAmAsi viserdhAto: pravesanAt || "Kesava exists everywhere having pervaded all these worlds. Therefore His name is VishNu...". The following corroborative segments are quoted in support of the second meaning above: vivesa bhUtAni carAcarANi - He entered all beings, movable and immovable tat srshtvA | tadevAnuprAvisat - Having created it, He entered into the same. Sri Sankara interprets the name as meaning that BhagavAn is unlimited by space, time, and substance, having pervaded the whole world externally and internally. Nirukti gives the following summarization of Sri Bhattar's interpretation: "carAcareshu bhUteshu vesanAt vishNurucyate" - Because He enters - permeates - everything sentient and non-sentient, movable and immovable, He is named VishNu". Sri Surin, in his commentary on Amara Kosa, has given the following derivation for the word VishNu: veveshti iti vishNu: - One who surrounds and envelop. This is dervied from the root word vesht - to srround (recall the word veshti in Tamil for dhoti, which surrounds!). Between the first two nAmas, visvam and vishNu, the guNas of the Lord that have been described are that He is present everywhere and He is present in .everything. Sri Bhattar has interpreted the first name as meaning that the Lord is present everywhere with His shAdguNya paripUrNatva, ans Sri Sankara has interpreted the second name as meaning that the Lord is present in everything unlimited by time, space, and substance. Surely these are guNas of the para vAsudeva form of the Lord. The first two names are among the most discussed names from the point of view of interpretation, and Sri Sankara in particular has given several other interpretations to these names, in particular to the first one. One interesting rhetorical question that has been raised is: Given that the stotram is called visNu sahasranAmam, why did Sri VyAsa not start the stotram as vishNur visvam vashatkAro, and instead chose to start it as visvam vishNur vashatkAro...? It is to be inferred that visvam is the name that symbolizes the primary attribute of the para form as one of shAdguNya paripUrNatva, and vishnu and the following names then elaborate on the name or the guNa represented by the name visvam. For me, these first two names have been very difficult to grasp. I am sure there is mention of some of these names in some of our AlvAr's pAsurams, where they have sung these names and described how they have enjoyed the Lord in the context of these names. It will be extremely gratifying to hear these instances in parallel as we go along. I invite our Bhakti group members to share their insights into these. Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - Nama 3. Krishnamachari, N. (krish@ihmail1.ih.lucent.com) Tue, 24 Jun 1997 15:48:29 -0500 Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: M K Sudarshan: "bhishma-stuthi-9" Previous message: Krishnamachari, N.: "FW: Sri VishNu sahasranAmam - nama 2." Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - Nama 3- . 3. VashatkAra: - One who controls and directs (not merely pervades). Sri Bhattar interprets the names VishNu, vashatkAra, and bhuta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhu, as additional elaborations of the name visvam. The root of the word is vas - to control as He wills. It should be noted that Sri Bhattar has pointed out in his commentary for visvam that BhagavAn is everywhere with His shAdguNya paripUrNatva WHICH IS NATURAL TO HIM, in the commentary for vishNu that He permeates everything that HE CREATES AND POSSESSES, and in the current one for vashatkAra that He controls AS HE WILLS. Thus, all these guNas are not something that have been acquired or imparted by something external, but this is His will and schema. The following passages from the sruti are given in support of the interpretation of this nAma: * sarvasya vaso sarvasya IsAna: - He is the Controller of all and the Ruler of all. * jagadvase vartatedam - The Universe is under His control. The summarization from Nirukti is svecchayA yo sarvam vase karoti sa: vashatkAra: - One Who controls and directs everything and everyone as He wills. Sri Sankara provides a very different interpretation for this nAma. He points out that BhagavAn is Himself the vashatkAra mantra, where vashat is a sacred sound (similar to Om, svAhA, etc). used on sacrificial offerings. It is also used in the anganyAsa and karanYasa practice before chanting the sacred slokas (e.g., sahasrArchis saptajihva iti saktyai sikhAyai vashat). Note the similarity of vashatkAra to Om kAra, a word with which we are familiar. VashatkAra is thus a mantra, and BhagavAn is the mantra svarUpi. The explanation in terms of BhagavAn having control over all His creations is appealing because of the continuity it provides to the interpretations of the previous nAmas. -Dasan Krishnamacharyan Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - nama 4 - 9. . 4. bhUta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhu: - The Master of all things past, future, and present. Nirukti - trikAla vartinAm seshi - The Lord of all things that exist in the past, present, and future. From the srutis, we have "bhUta-bhavya-bhavan-nAtha: kesava: kesi sUdhana: " - Kesava, the slayer of Kesi, the asura, is the Lord of past, future, and present. The idea that BhagavAn is beyond the physical laws as we know them, such as the laws and constraints of time, can be inferred from this nAma. In order for Him to be the Lord of all things past, future, and present, He existed before anything existed, exists now, and will exist forever into the future. .. Thus the well-known and established physical law that all living things come to an end does not apply to Him. He is beginningless and endless. . Sri Bhattar has explained that the nAmas 2, 3, and 4 elaborate the first nAma by indicating how the All-pervading vAsudeva is in everything living and non-living, controls everything, and is the Master of everything past, future, and present. He now proceeds to explain the next 5 nAmas as further expanding on this last aspect - how He is the Master of all things past, future, and present. We will see that this is so because he is the creator of all beings (nama 5), the supporter of all beings (this nAma 6 seems to be further elaborated by nAmas 8 and 9), has existence independent of any other being and as the Lord or Director of all that exist (7), supports all that He has created by being their antaryAmi or inner soul (8), and supports by nourishing them and growing them (9). 5. bhUta-krit - The creator of all beings. Sri Bhattar points out that this act of creation of is done by Him without dependence on anything external. "sarvANi bhUtAni svatantra: srjati" - note the word svatantrata: bhutAni karoti iti bhUtakrt - One who creates all the beings. In BrhadAraNya upanishad - "sa visvakrt sa hi sarvasya kartA - He is the creator of the Universe and all the beings in the Universe. "tvam kartA sarva bhUtAnAm" - You are the Creator of everything that exists - VishNu PurANa 1-4-15. . 6. bhUta-bhrt - The supporter of all things. BhUtAni Bibharti iti bhUta-bhrt - One who supports all. (seems to be further elaborated by nAmas 8 and 9) Sri Bhattar explains that this support is like that of the support at the center for a wheel and its spokes. If this central support does not exist, the rest of the spokes and the wheel collapse. Thus, one can think of this support as the responsibility for the existence of all the things that He creates. This support is in the form of being the inner soul or atman of all beings (nAma 8 below), and as the One who nourishes and protects all beings (nAma 9 below). Sri Radhakrishna Sastri in his work on Sri VishNu sahasranAma explains this support as that provided by Adi Kurma to support this universe, or by Sri VisNu as varAha mUrti when he retrieved and bore the world. Sri Sankara interprets nAma 6 above as referring to the acts of creation or destruction ("bhUtani krtanti krNoti hinsti iti bhUta krt), and nAma 7 as referring to the act of sustenance, in the context of the three functions of creation, sustenance, and destruction. 7. bhAva: - He who exists with all the splendor He who exists always, independent of anything else. This nAma is derived from the root bhU (bhavati - exists). Sri ChinmayAnanda gives the following derivation "bhavati iti bhAva:" 8. bhUtAtma - The AtmA or soul of all beings - sarveshAm bhUtAnAm AtmA All things are His body, and He is the soul of all things. The soul enters the bodies, and directly controls and directs all their activities. Sri Sankara gives the following reference from BrhadAraNya Upanishad: esha ta AtmA antaryamyamrtah (3.7.3) - The Lord is the soul, the antarYamI or inner ruler of all beings, and amrta or never ceasing to exist. Sri Chinmayananda gives the following reference from Kathopanishad: "eko vasI sarva bhUtAntarArmA rUpam rUpam pratirUpo bahisca" - The One Lord manifesting Himself as the souls of all beings who have different external forms. 9. bhUta-bhAvana: - One who nourishes and nurtures all beings that He created. The key word that both Sri Bhattar and Sri Sankara use in their vyAkhyAnas for this nAma is vardhayati - makes them grow - the act of nourishing is emphasized. Sri Bhattar's words are: tAni dhAraka poshaka bhogyapradAnena vardhayati iti bhUta-bhAvanah - He is bhUta-bhAvana because He makes all things grow by bestowing on them things that sustain them, nourish them, and contribute to their enjoyment. Sri Sankara bhAshya says: bhUtAni bhAvayati janayati vardhayati iti vA bhUta-bhAvanah - He makes them shine (bhA - to shine), generates or invigorates, and makes them grow. With this, we have concluded the first sloka out of the 107 slokas. We notice that Sri Bhattar has beautifully brought out the continuity in the description between the 9 nAmas covered in this first sloka. We will continue from nAma 10 in the next write-up. -Dasan Krishnamacharyan - Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - nAma 10 to 17. . 10. pUtAtmA - The Pure Self - One who is untainted by the effects of karma - good or bad. PUta AtmA yasya sa pUtAtmA - One who has the pure Atma is pUtAtmA. .Our Atmas.reap the fruits of the actions that we are involved in because of their association with our body. BhagavAn is also associated with the same bodies since we are all extensions of His body. However, He is Pure Atman because He is not affected by the fruits of the association with the bodies. Sri Bhattar gives a very simple example to make this point. A teacher uses a stick to strike a student. Both the teacher and the student .come in contact with the same stick, but the pain of association with the stick is felt by the student, but not by the teacher. So also, even though both the Lord and the jIvAtmans are associated with the bodies of the jIvAtmans, the Lord is not affected by the fruits of the actions of the jIvAtmans. In the Gita, Sri KrshNa says: "na mAm karmANi lipanti" - actions do not taint me. Also, the sruti says: subhAsubah karmabhiryo na lipyati kadAcana - never tainted by actions, good or bad. 11. paramAtmA - The Supreme Soul - for whom there is no other guiding or superior soul paro mA asya .sa AtmA paramAtmA - That Soul for whom there is none superior is paramAtmA. All of us have Him as our inner souls, but BhagavAn has no one as His Inner Soul that guides Him. There is no one superior to Him. The author of Nirukti says: "Atma IsvaratvAt paramAtmA - One who is the Lord of Himself is paramAtmA. Sri Eknath Easwaran indicates that Lord Krishna says in the Gita "I am in every one, but no one is in Me". He does not give the reference to the Sanskrit sloka, and I am unable to reference it. I would like help from the Bhakti members in identifying the relevant sloka. There are several pramAnas from the srutis for this: "na param puNdarIkAkshAt drsyate bharatarshabha" - There is nothing superior to the Lotus-eyed. "param hi puNdarIkAkshAt na bhUtam na bhavishyati" - There was nothing in the past, and there will be nothing in the future, that is superior to the Lotus-eyed Lord. "na daivam kesavAt param: - There is no God superior to Kesava. "matta: para-taram nAnyat kincidasti" - Greater than Myself, there is nothing else (GitA 7-7) "param hi amrtam etasmAt visva-rUpAt na vidyate" - There is no greater nectar than the Lord of Universal form. "parah parANAm paramah paramAtmA" - He is greater than the great; He is superior, and he is the Supreme Soul (visHNu purANa - 1.2.10) "paramAtmA ca sarveshAm AdhAra: paramesvara: | vishNurnAma sarva-vedeshu vedAnteshu ca gIyate || (VishNu purANa 6.4.10) The Isvara above all Isvaras, the paramAtmA who is the supporter of every being, is sung by all vedas and vedantas as Lord VishNu. 12. muktAnAm paramA gatih - One who is the ultimate goal for all muktas or Released or Liberated Souls. Muktas are those who are already released from all bondage, and enjoy every bliss that the BhagavAn has. They have equality with God in the enjoyment of this Bliss. The goal that such a mukta longs for at this stage is to constantly serve the Lord., and thus the Parama purusha is muktAnAm-paramA-gatih. The muktas are .compared to those who reside in the celestial world, the sveta dvIpa. They have no needs such as food, no wants, no desires, etc. For these people who have accomplished everything and who are equal to God in their enjoyment of bliss, the one goal that is of interest is the unceasing servitude to God, and thus God is the Supreme and Ultimate Goal for the muktas. ParamA gati is the goal after attaining which you won't desire anything else. In other words, this is the limit of the goal . Normally, the nature of any goal is such that if you attain .that goal, then you will want to attain the next higher goal. This is not the case with paramA gati. Some pramANas from the srutis are the following: ".....mAmeva anuttamAm gatim" - (The attain) Me, the unsurpassed goal - Bhagavad GItA 7.18 "sA kAshthA sA parA gatih" - He is the highest means; He is the Supreme Goal - kaThopanishad -3.11. Sri Bhattar interprets the next 5 names in terms of why the muktAs choose BhagavAn as their Supreme goal. It should be noted that Sri Bhattar's vyAkhyAna weave a thread of continuity in the sequence of the names occurring in the stotram, and for this reason Sri Bhattar extends the interpretation to levels beyond what is etymologically derived from the word.. relatively speaking, Sri Sankara seems to more strictly adhere to the literal meaning of the word in his vyAkhyAna. Of course, there are also inevitable differences in interpretation because of the visishtAdvaita vs. advaita philosophies. The reasons for the muktAs choosing Sri MahA VishNu as their Supreme gaol are: He does not send them back to the cycle of samsAra once they reach Him (13), He gives the enjoyment of His Bliss to the muktas in abundance (14), He witnesses the muktas' enjoyment of Him and is in turn pleased, which pleases the muktas (15), He knows the right place for the muktas to get their eternal Bliss (16), and He is one whose Greatness never diminishes over time in spite of the constant Bliss that He provides to the muktas (17). 13. avyayah - a) One who does not send back anyone who has reached Him (to the cycle of birth and rebirth .(Sri Bhattar) b) Indestructible (Sri Sankara) Sri Bhattar's vyAkhyAna - na vIyate - na vyapagamyate iti avyayah - He is avyaya because He does not send them back (to samsAra) .In the Yama Smrti, we find the following: "sattvam vahati sUkshmatvAt param nArAyaNam prabhum | paramAtmAnam AsAdya param vaikunTam Isvaram || amrtatvAya kalpeta na nivarteta vai puna: | " The Mukta bears a body of pure and subtle sattva and attains the Supreme Lord nArAyaNa. Once he reaches the Supreme Lord in the supreme VaikuNTha, he becomes fit for immortality and is not returned back to this world any more. Sri Sankara's vyAkhyAna - Sri Sankara gives a different interpretation to this name - Indestructible - based on na asya vyayah iti avyayah, where vyaya means something that can be destroyed. He gives the following pramANa from the BrhadAraNya Upanishad: "ajarah amarah avyayah - He is undecaying, immortal, and indestructible" (6.4.25). See also the nArAyaNa sUktam - anatamavyayam kavim ..... The Immortal and Indestructible Seer 14. purusah - a) One who bestows on the Muktas the enjoyment of the Bliss of Himself in plenty.- puru sanoti iti purushah b) One who is reclining in this body - puri sete iti purushah c) One who existed before anything else existed - purA AsIt iti purushah d) One who completes and fulfills existence everywhere - pUrayati iti purushah Puru sanoti iti purushah - One who gives in plenty; puru means plenty, and sanoti means giver. Or, purUNi phalAni sanoti - dadAti iti pururshah - One who gives plentiful benefits. We find in the taittirIya upanisahd - "rasi vai sah , rasam hveyAm labdhvA AnandI bhavati - He is Pure Bliss Itself. Having attained Him, the Mukta becomes endowed with joy". Several other explanations for this name are possible. One of these that is also given by Sri Sankara in addition to the above that Sri Bhattar has also chosen, is supported by the following in MahAbhArata "navadvAram puram puNyam etairbhAvaih samanvitam | vyApya sete mahAtmA yastasmAt purusha ucyate || - (12-203-35). "Since the great Soul pervades and resides in this holy city (the body) with nine dvAras or gates, possessed of these organs (senses, etc.)., He is called purusha". Another alternative interpretation that Sri Sankara gives is "puri sete iti purushah - One who dwells in this Fort city - our body". He refers to the following from the taittirIya AraNyaka - "pUrvameva aham iha Asam iti purushasya purusahtvam" - I indeed existed here before; as I existed before, I am called purusha. We recall that the purusha is sometimes pronounced as pUrusha in vedic chantings (ato jyAyAgsca pUrushah - in purusha sUktam as an example). Pura is used to refer to this body as in Gita 5-13: nava dvAre pure dehe..the fortress with nine gateways. Sri Chinmayananda suggests that these different ways of interpreting the meanings of the names is a way to understand more and more about the Nature of the Lord. 15. sAkshI - One who directly witnesses everything .as it is. , The All-Knower, The Omniscient BhagavAn sees everything directly by His own awareness without any instrument for seeing (such as the sense organs) in between. sAkshAt Ikshate - The Direct Cognizer. Just as the sun illumines everything but is not affexted in anyway by the state of the objects it illumines, so also the Lord witnesses everything but is not affected by all that He witnesses. The jIvAtmAs see everything through some sense organ or othe other, and so the deficiencies of these organs limits what is seen. Not so in the case of the Lord. Sri Bhattar interprets this name as indicating that the Lord witnesses the muktas enjoying the Bliss that He confers on them, and is thus happy Himself. Obviously, this give great pleasure to Mukhtas, since they are interested in His happiness, and this is one of the reasons for His being their paramA gati. 16. kshetrajnah - One who knows, and can lead, the muktas to the exact place where the muktas will get their sought-after Supreme Bliss. Sri nArAyaNa is the vaikunTha vAsi. VaikunTha is the place after reaching which there is no return to this world. That this is a place which even the greatest of sages can realize only after intense meditation and devotion to the Lord is evident from the following passage attributed to Sage Agastya in varAha purANa - "adyApi tam lokavaram dhyAyan tishThAmi suvrata! | kada prApyet tu asau loka: sarva loka varottamah || "I am even now steeped in the meditation of that supreme world. When am I going to reach that best and noblest of all worlds? This is the thought that is haunting me". In varAha purANa, BhagavAn tells Sage Agastya: "pasya lokamimam mahyam yo na vedestu drsyate | tvat-priyArtham ayam lokah darsitaste dvijottama || " See this world which exists for my sake and which is not seen even by the vedas. O best of Brahmins! This world has been shown to you in order to please you". Note that even a sage of the standing of Agastya has not seen this place except when God chose to show it to him. Sri Sankara has interpreted this name based on Bhagavad GItA Chapter 13 slokas 1 and 2 in particular. Here, the word kshetra refers to the body, and kshetrajna refers to One who knows (understands the principle or tatva behind) all the bodies and is the direct witness of the actions of all the bodies (by being directly inside the bodies and not needing any secondary means to witness these). I would like to request our Bhakti group members to elaborate on the interpretation of the word kshetrajna as it occurs in Bhagavad GItA, and in particular if the interpretation of this term in GItA is different from the meaning that God is the soul in all the bodies. May be kshetrajna is a guNa of the Supreme Soul, and is an elaboration of the name "bhUtAtmA". 17. akshara - One whose greatness never diminishes over time in spite of being enjoyed by the miktas constantly. na ksharati iti aksharah . His greatness is innate, and does nto derive from something external. So it never diminishes. In Nirukti, this is explained as follows: "sadA anubhUyamAno'pi nissIma guNa gauravAt | muktai: kvacit na ksharati iti akshara: parikIrtita: ||" Sri Sankara's interpretation is: "sa eva na ksharati iti aksharah - He alone exists without dying. Sri Bhattar has thus explained nAmas 13 to 17 as the reason why muktas consider the Lord the paramA gati. We will continue with nAma 18 in the next part. -Dasan Krishnamacharyan Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - Names 18 to 24.. 18. yogah - One Who alone is the definite and unobstructed means to salvation. The word yoga is derived from the word yujyate which means "with whose help the goal is attained". The author of Nirukti summarizes Sri Bhattar's interpretation thus: "sAkshAt moksha eka hetutvAt yoga iti abhidhIyate" - He is called Yoga because He is the one sure means for true salvation. Sri Chinmayananda refers us to Chapter 2 stanza 48 of the Gita, wherein yoga is defined as the state of detachment in the consequences or benefits of one's actions - sidhyasidhyoh samo bhUtvA samatvam yoga ucyate. One could say that BhagavAn is one for .whom this samatva is natural without any external means or effort, and so He is yogah Himself. Sr Sankara gives the meaning "Union" for the word yoga. .In his bhAshya we find the following: " jnAnendriyANi sarvANi nigrhya manasA saha | ekAtma bhAvanA yoga: kshetrajn-paramAtmanoh || tadavApyatayA yoga iti yogavitAm vidu: ||" "Yoga is the process of realization of union with God through control of the senses of cognition along with the control of the mind. Since BhagavAn can be reached by yoga, He is himself called yoga".. It is unclear from the text of Sankara BhAshya that I have whether the above are Sri Sankara's own words, or whether he is quoting some sruti. If any of our Bhaka-kotis can clarify this, I would be very grateful. Sri Ramanuja, in his GItA BhAshya (stanza 9-22 referred to under the next nAma) seems to use this meaning (i.e., union with God) for the word yoga as well. 19. yogavitAm netA - One who leads those who practise yogA until they reach their Goal. From Sankara BhAshya, a yoga-vit is one who inquires into, realizes, or acquires yoga - yogam vidanti, vicArayanti, jAnanti, labhanta iti vA yoga vidah. Nayati iti netA - one who leads . In GItA, Sri Krishna says: "ananyAs-cintayanto mAm ye janAh paryupAsate | teshAm nityAbhiyuktAnAm yoga-keshemam vahAmyaham || (GItA - 9-22) " On those who meditate on me with single-minded devotion, those that want to be with Me unceasingly, I confer on them .the Bliss of .union (yoga) with Me constantly and never returning back to samsAra again (the safety or kshema)" 20. pradhAna purusha Isvarah - One who is the Lord of Primordial Matter as well as the Jivas. PradhAna here refers to the cause of bondage, and purusha refers to the jivAtmA. Perhaps the easiest way to understand the concept of prakrti or pradhAna is through the following explanation for the Brahma Sutra - deha yogAdvA so'pi - This conealment of the true nature of jiva is caused by the contact with the body (at the time of creation) or by the contact with the Primordial Matter (prakrti or pradhAna) at the time of deluge. Thus prakrti or pradhAna can be conceived of as the undifferentiated or 'asat' form of the bondage of the jiva, and the sarIra or body can be conceived of as the sat form that keeps the jiva in bondage. Chapter 13 in the Bhagavad Gita deals elaborately with the concepts of prakrti and jIvAtmA and their interrelationship to each other. In sloka 19 of chapter 13, BhagavAn points out that both prakrti and purusha have always existed, and this nAma indicates that He is the Lord and Master of both. "prakrtim purusham caiva vidyanAdau ubhAvapi". prakrti can be considered to be composed of rajas, tamas and sattva, and from these all the rest such as the panca bhUtas, the eleven indriyas, the five indriya-gocaras, etc. arise. These are explained in detail in the gItA bhAshya by TirukkaLLam Sri NrsimhAchArya. 21. nArasimha vapuh - One who possesses a body of man and lion combined. The .guNa to be enjoyed here is that BhagavAn instantaneously assumes any form - no matter how unusual it may have to be - to help His devotees the moment the request is made, and he takes the form that removes the fear of His devotee (PrahlAda), and at the same time terrorizes His enemy (HiraNyakasipu). Ths nAma also signifies that BhagaVan is ever ready to remove all impediments to devotion to Him. Sri Radhakrishna Sastri in his commentary on Sahasranama .goes into this guNAnubhava further. The nara and simha sarIra combined in one is uncommon, unusual, and out of the ordinary. The lion is the strongest and .bravest among the four-legged animals in existence. Man is the most evolved intellectual being in His creation. Thus it would make sense if God had assumed a form with human head and lion's body. for the objective of destroying His powerful enemy. Not so; it was exactly the opposite - the head of a lion which is not the most intellectually evolved, and the body of a human which is not the strongest body for the feat. The author points out that this form indicates to us that the Lord's uniqueness and omnipotence are Universal, and not dependent on any part of the body such as the brain in the head or the form of the etc. This is also illustrated by the HayagrIva form. In normal course of life, something that originates from a jada form such as the pillar should be expected to be a jada form, and one that is born to a living mother should be a life-form. Here, the narasimha avatAram illustrates the opposite, which can happen only because BhagavAn is the divya purusha. 22. srImAn - One with a lovely form. In the context of the uncommon and frightful form of nara-simha that we encountered in the previous nAma, one would not normally expect this to be a form of beauty. Not so in the case of BhagavAn, since His form is celestial, charming and beautiful. It is difficult to translate the description that Sri Bhattar has given in Sanskrit - soundarya lAvaNyAdibhih ati-manohara divya rupa. Sri Sankara interprets this name as One who has Lakshmi always with Him in His vaksha-sthala - yasya vakshasi nityam vasati srI: sa srImAn. And for this reason, even though He has the form of a man-lion, there is no diminution in His beauty. 23. kesavah - One with lovely locks of hair. The name can be derived from the word kesa - hair. He is beautiful not only because he has Lkashmi with Him, but because He is naturally beautiful. "prasastah kesAh santu asya iti kesavah. An additional interpretation for this name, which is supported by VishNu purANa, is given by Sri Sankara. This interpretation says that kesava derives from the fact that KrishNa is the destroyer of the demon Kesi who was sent to kill the child KrishNa by Kamsa. "yasmAt tvayaiva drshTAtmA hatah kesI janArdana: | tasmAt kesava nAmnA tvam loke jneyo bhavishyati || " However, the name kesi-hA appears later on in the stotra, and this literally means the destroyer of kesi. So a different interpretation here will be appropriate since otherwise there is the punarukti dosha, or the fault of repetition. In fact, the name kesava itself repeats later on in the stotra, and we will wait to see what interpretation the great vyAkhyAna kartAs are going to give us at that time (kesavah kesi-hA hari: ). 24. purushottamah - The Supreme amongst the purushas (i.e., individual souls). Purushebhya: uttama:, purushANAm uttama:, purusheshu uttama: are all possible derivations for this nAma. We find the uttama purusha (purushottama) described in more detail in the Gita in sloka 15.16 and 15.17. Here the purushas are described as of two kinds - the kshara or those who have the association with prakrti and are under the bondage of samasara, and the akshara or the muktas who are released from bondage. The uttama purursha is different from either of these kinds of purushas, and is the paramAtmA who supports the acetana and the chetans who are either the baddhas (purushas under bondage) or muktas (purushas released from bondage).. In Gita 15-18, Lord Krishna summarizes the above as follows: "yasmAt ksharam atIto'ham aksharAdapi cottama: | ato'smi loke vede ca pratithah purushottama: || "Because I am superior to both kinds of purushas - the kshara and the akshara, all the srutis and smrtis praise Me as purushottama." .As I am going through some of the above concepts on prakrti, pradhAna, purusha, etc., I may be misrepresenting the concepts since I have not done kAla-kshepa with AcAryas or learned these from gurus. So I would like to invite our Bhaktakotis to correct me wherever I am wrong or am misrepresenting the concepts. I am continuing with this effort simply because I have no other way of learning in my current circumstances. So I request forgiveness for my inadvertent mistakes. -DAsan KrshNamAchAryan -----------?????? Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - nAma 25 to 36. 25. sarvah (sa as in sanAtana) - One who is all - the cause of creation and destruction of all things. We have the following from MahAbhArata - "asatasca satascaiva sarvasya prabhavApyayAt | sarvasya sarvadA jnAnAt savamenam pracakshate || (MB 5.68.11) "He is the origin and end of all things, chetana and achetana, and He has full knowledge of all beings at all times, and so He is called sarva". Sri ChinmayAnanda gives a very simple illustration to help understand the concept behind this nAma. - "All waves arise from the same ocean, and so the ocean is the essence in all waves". 26. sarvah (sa as in Siva) - The Remover of all sins I am unable to get a good understanding of the interpretation of this nAma. The word is derived from the root sr - to tear to pieces, to kill, to hurt. Neither Sri Bhattar nor Sri Sankara have given references to other srutis for this nAma. If any of you know of a context in the Gita or elsewhere that this name occurs or is referred to, please advise me since I would like to understand the significance of this nAma better. .. Sri Bhattar's vyAkhyAna says that the Lord is called sarva because He removes the evils of objects that are His body (sva sarIra bhUtAnAm asubhamapi srNAti iti sarvah. Perhaps this means that BhagavAn destroys the sins of His devotees, but the significance of the word . "asubhamapi" in the above is unclear. The author of Nirukti interprets Sri Bhattar's above vyAkhyAna as follows: "sva sarIra jagad-duhkham sarva: sa sthAt srNAti yah"- Sri Sankara interprets this word in terms of the action of BhagavAn at the time of pralaya in withdrawing all beings unto Himself - srNAti samhAra samaye samharati samhArayati vA sakalAh prajA: iti sarvah. In this context, SrI RadhAkrshNa Sastri points out that this destruction at the time of prlaya is not really to be considered cruel, since this is like "destroying" the shape of raw rice when it is cooked in order to make it edible - the beings are destroyed in order to give them new life. 26. sivah - One who confers auspiciouness subha Avahasca sivah - One who bestows auspiciouness on all. In Mahabharata Drona Parva (202), we have the following for supporting the above interpretation: "sameghayati yan-nityam sarvArthAn sarvakarmasu | sivamicchan manushyAnAm tasmAdesha sivah smrtah || "One who bestows all that is desired always by all His devotees is called Siva because of this guNa of His". Two instances of Sri VishNu being referred to as Siva are in nArAyaNa upanishad - "sAsvatam sivam acyutam" - The Eternal, The Auspicious, and the One Who never lets His devotees fall" "sa brahma sa sivah sendrah so'ksharah paramah svarAt" - He is Brahma, He is Siva, He is Indra, He is Eternal, He is Supreme, He is the Lord of all. 28. sthANuh - One who is .firm in His benefits and anugraha to the devotees. The name derives from the word stha - tisThati, indicating firmness or steadiness. Sri Bhattar interprets this name as indicating that the result of BhagavAn's anugraha is firm in its effect of blessing the devotee far beyond what other lesser acts can bestow. Sri Radhakrishnam Sastri indicates that sthANu is also the name for a tree which has matured to such an extent that no changes affect it any more, including sun, rain etc. He interprets this name as indicating BhagavAn's guNa of not being affected by changes such as growth, decay, etc., nor impacted by the changes of time, place, etc. We will revisit the name sthANu again in the sloka "vistArah sthAvarah sthANuh.....", where we should expect a different interpretation for this guNa in the context that is applicable at that part of the stotram. 29. bhUtAdih - . a) One who is eagerly sought after by all beings b) The source or cause of all beings c) The very source of the panca bhUtas Sri Bhattar gives the interpretation bhUtaih sprhaNIyatanatayA AdIyate - One who is eagerly sought after by all beings. Sri Sankara gives the interpretation bhUtAnAm Adi-kAraNatvAt bhUtAdih - BhagavAn is called bhUtAdih because He is the first cause of all beings. It is possible that Sri Bhattar chose to interpret it differently because the second interpretation is similar to the meaning for bhUtakrt (nAma 5). I would like to request any of our bhaktas to comment further. Sri ChinmayAnanda gives another plausible interpretation . - The very cause for the first five great elements - the panca bhUtas - Space, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. BhUtAnAm Adih 30. nidhravyayah - The inexhaustible treasure. Avayayah nidhih - He is like the wealth that is kept under safe keeping and always available at the time of distress to His bhaktas. Sri ChinmayAnanda points out that the term nidhi means that in which precious things are stored away or preserved secretly - nidhIyate asmin iti nidhih. Surely BhagavAn is a treasure that is not understood or obtained easily by everyone. Sri Sankara interprets this nAma as meaning that VishNu is the One in whom all things go and lie merged therein temporarily till the next creation, and so He is the Immutable Treasure Chest. 31. sambhavah - (Though like a Hidden Treasure), One who manifests Himself at will to .those who sincerely seek Him. He manifests Himself at any place and at any time and in any form ( e.g., nrsimha, matsya, kUrma, etc.). Note the following: "dharma samsthApanArthAya sambhavAmi yuge yuge" (GItA 4-8) "svecchayA sambhavAmyevam garbha duhkha vivarjitah" 32. bhAvanah - (Having manifested thus), One who regenerates all by dispelling all their evils. The author of Nirukti summarizes Sri Bhattar's interpretation by the following words: yo janitvA janAn ujjIvayati sah bhAvanah - One who, after having manifested Himself (sambhavah - see above), brings back all to life. Sri ChinmayAnanda points out that to do bhAvana is to give, and BhagavAn gives the fruits of action as they deserve to all, and so He is bhAvana. This is consistent with Sri Sankara's interpretation that BhagavAn is bhAvana because He gives the fruits of actions to all jivas. 33. bhartA - Supporter. Sri Sankara gives the following vyAkhyAna - prapancasya adhishTAnatvena bharaNAt bhartA - BhagavAn is bhartA (Sustainer) because He sustains the universe as its Lord. Sri Bhattar points out that He does this nourishing of His devotees by giving Himself up to His devotees because this is His Nature - yasmAt pushNAti Atma-dAnAt. 34. prabhavah - One whose birth is of a sublime nature. Asya bhavah prakrshTa iti prabhavah - His birth (bhava) is unsullied by any blemish, and is capable of uprooting the fetter of birth of all those who realize Him. Or, prakarsheNa bhavati . 35. prabhuh - He who is all powerful. Sri Sankara's vyAkhyAna is - sarvAsu kriyAsu sAmarthya atisayavAn prabhuh - One who is the most powerful, showing it forth in all His actions. The author of Nirukti summarizes Sri Bhattar's vyAkhyAna thus: "brahmAdInAm ca sarveshAm bhoga-moksha-samarpaNe | samarthah prabhu: ityuktah sarveshTa phalado manuh || " He is prabhu - most powerful - because he can bestow fruits such as the enjoyment of the pleasures associated with those of Brahma and even moksha. 36. Isvarah - a) One who has the supreme power of control over all beings b) One who has the ability to do anything without the help of any other beings or things This nAma is interpreted based on its relation to the word aisvarya or to the word ishta. The first meaning derives from the word aisvarya - nirupAdhikam aisvaryam asya iti Isvarah - He is Isvara because he has unlimited might or power. The second meaning derives from IshTe iti Isvarah - One who can do whatever He wills without the help of anything else. We will continue with nAma 37 in the next section. -dAsan KrshNamAchAryan Krishnamachari wrote: 26. sarvah (sa as in Siva) - The Remover of all sins I am unable to get a good understanding of the interpretation of this nAma. The word is derived from the root sr - to tear to pieces, to kill, to hurt. Neither Sri Bhattar nor Sri Sankara have given references to other srutis for this nAma. If any of you know of a context in the Gita or elsewhere that this name occurs or is referred to, please advise me since I would like to understand the significance of this nAma better. It occurs in the rudraprashnaH, namo bhavAya cha rudrAya cha _namaH sharvAya_ cha pashupataye cha .... May be it occurs elsewhere also, like the shvetAshvatara upanishhad, but I am not sure about this. SarvA (26th naamam of Sri VishNu Sahasra nAmam V. Sadagopan (75041.3037@compuserve.com) 23 Jul 97 18:29:05 EDT Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ] Next message: Vidyasankar Sundaresan: "Re: The Ultimate sharaNagathi and personal beliefs ..." Previous message: V. Sadagopan: "Bhakta Sammelena" Dear Sri KrishNamAchAri and Sri RamakrishNan BalasubramaNyan& friends : I will add some more notes . The naamam "sarvan " is common to BOTH VishNu and Sivan ( as kshithimoorthy , one of the 11 RudrAs/ ekAdasa RudrAs) celebrated in BaisAk temple in the island of Baali , IndonEsia . In the 11th chapter of Bhagavdh GItA ( Visva roopa darsana adhyAyam ) , The Lord says : " Behold the dvAdasa AdhithyAs , ekAdasa RudrAs , the twin Aswins and the Maruths ; behold , O descendant of Bharata , many wonders never seen before " ( Chapter 11. 6 ) . ArjunA describes the "Sarvan " aspect of ViswarUpi in terror this way in the 27 th verse of the 11 th chapter this way : " Verily , as the many torrents of rivers flow towards the ocean , so do these heroes in the world of men enter Thy fiercely flaming mouths " . ArjunA sees that these creatures enter the mouths of Sarvan as moths rushing in great haste into the flames just to perish . He says : " O Lord ! swallowing all the worlds on every side withb Thy flaming mouths , Thou art licking Thy lips . Arjuna is terrified and salutes the "Sarvan " and pleads for mercy and confesses " Na hi prajAnAmi tava pravrutthim " ( O primeval One ! I know not indeed Thy purpose ) . In addditon to the Occurence of the nAmam , "sarvan (as in Siva ) in Rudraprasnam /Sri Rudram/Satha Rudreeyam , we come across this name in the Kaavyams ( Raghuvamsam and KumAra Sambhavam ), purANam ( Vaamana PurANam ) and in Atharva Vedam in the 11 th canto twice . I will focus on the usage in AtharvaNa vedam after commenting briefly on the use of "sarvan " from the Saiva SiddhAntham perspective . As indicated earlier ,The noun "sarvan " is used both for Lord Siva and VishNu Bhagavan . When Lord SivA is referred to , the attribution is to His destructive aspects as saluted in Sri Rudram based on the route "sr". The name " Bhavan" coming before "sarvan " is associated with the aspects of creation . The fifth anuvAkam' s first and second manthrams in Sri Rudram are : namO bhavAya cha rudrAya cha I namssarvAya cha pasupathayE cha BTW ,these two manthrams have a profound significance to Saiva SiddhAntham . They describe Sri Rudran as the magnificient God , who engages in pancha krithyam: Srishti (creation ) , shtithi ( protection and maintenance ) , samharam ( destruction ) , TirOdhanam ( hiding the truth thru MaayA ) and anugraham ( siva loka prApthi ) . Lord NatarAjA , the cosmic dancer symbolizes the pancha krithyam in his body . If one intreprets " Siva " as auspiciousnes , then the pancha krithyam applies to VishNu as well in His avathAram as Vata pathra sAyee .. The little drum (damarukam/udukkai ) on the upper right hand of Lord NatarAjA symbolizes the act of creation . The birth of limitless creatures and their cry is associated by the sounds emanating from the play of the udukkai . This is the Bhava aspect . The hand gesture on the lower right hand (abhaya mudrA ) refers to the sthithi aspect of pancha krithyA. on the upper left hand is agni , which is nothing but praLaya kAlAgni denoting samhAram and the sarvA aspect . The bent right leg posted on the back of the demon muyalagan represents the veil of maayA . The lifted left leg ( kunchitha paadham ) stands for anugraham . In chidambaram , a vettivEr maalai fititng exactly the size of the ankle of the kunchitha paatham decorates the lifted feet at ardha jAma kaalam . Next morning , that maalai is given as prasAdam to a devotee by the muraikkArar . In saiva siddhantham , Siva does not create the jeevans . He creates the bodies that house the jeevans . This is His creation . He protects the bodies during their life on earth ( shtithi ) . At the conclusion of the earthly cycle , He destroys the bodies (samhAram ) . All of these three acts take place on this earth dealing with the bodies of living beings . The fourth and the fifth acts ( tirOdhanam and anugraham ) deal with jeevans as opposed to physical bodies By perfecting the jeevan inside , He prepares them to become fit to reach His holy feet (tirOdhanam ) . He then blesses the jeevan in its purified state to join Siva Saayujyam (anugraham ) . The relation between SivA and VishNu is spelled out at the end of Sri VishNu Sahasra Naamam during the occasion of celebrating Sri Raama nAmam in pala sruthi . The passages in the atharva Vedam are beautiful echos of Sri Rudram housed in the middle of Yajur Vedam . Atharva Vedam Khandam 11. hymn 2 is a sonorous appeal to Sarvan not to harm the beings : bhavAsarvou mrudatham mAapi yAtham bhoothapathi pasupathi namO vaam I prathihithAmAyathAm maa vi srAshtam maa nO himsishtam dvipadhOma chathushpadha : II --- AV XI .2 .1 (meaning ) : O Bhava and SarvA , make us happy and do n't attack us !Salutaions to You , TWIN LORDS of all living beings , beasts and emancipated souls ! Shoot not the arrow aimed and drawn against us . pledge to Save our bipeds and quadrupeds ! nama : sAyam nama ; prAtharnamO rAthryA namO divA I BHAVAAYA CHA SARVAAYA chObhAbhyAmakaram nama: II ---- AV XI . 2.16 (meaning ) : Salutations to the Lord at evening and at morning's early light ! Salutations at night and day ! To the Lord's powers of creation (Bhavan ) and dissolution/destruction (Sarvan ) , both , have I paid my humble salutaions ! bhavAsarvAvidam bhrumO Rudram Pasupathisccha ya : I yeeshUryA yeshAm samvidhma taa na: santhu sadhA SivA : II ------ AV XI . 6 . 9 (meaning ) : May we eulogize the different aspects of the Lord , as BhavA , SarvA , RudrA and Pasupathi . May we understand the doctrines behind these aspects. May they be ever compassionate towards us ! I wonder whether Parasara Bhattar did not elaborate on this VishNusahasra nAmam ( Sarvan ) because of its destructive connotations as referred to in the rks of Sri Rudram and Atharva vedam . I am equally surprised that Sankara Bhagavdh PaadAL did not elaborate either on this nAmam inview of or inspite of its hyperlinks to Sri Rudran ! V.Sadagopan P.S : Regarding SaaKagrama mAlais found as aabharaNams on the Moolavars of Divya dEsams , the saaLagramams are never drilled to make a hole . They will shatter . It appears that the sALagrAmamams are housed in gold -plated casings and the hooks are attached to the outside of the casings to connect them . Sri ThiruviNNagarappan ( Moolavar ) has a huge saaLagrAma mAlai , which seems to be constructed this way . Next message: Vidyasankar Sundaresan: "Re: The Ultimate sharaNagathi and personal beliefs ..." Previous message: V. Sadagopan: "Bhakta Sammelena" Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - nAma 37 to 45. 37. svayambhUh - He who manifests Himself by His own free will. Svayameva bhavati iti svayambhUh - One who is self-born. Sri RAdhA KrishNa Sastri gives the example of how in the case of the birth of Lord KrshNa to Devaki and Vasudeva, the child was born unlike any other child, decorated with beautiful jewels, smiling, lotus-eyed, with divya rUpa, etc., and with no pain or discomfort to the mother. In Srimad BhAgavatam, we find the following description: "tam adbhutam bAlakam ambujekshNam caturbhujam sankha gadAryudAyudham | srIvatsalakshmam galasobhikaustubham pItAmbaram sAndra payodasoubhagam || "(Sri KrshNa at birth) was of magnificent appearance, lotus-eyed, adorned with sankha, cakra, and gada, with four arms, the kaustubha around his neck, adorned with pitAmbara (yellow silk cloth) around His waist, and beautiful like the water-laden cloud". 38. sambhuh -(sa as in Siva) One who causes happiness to everyone by the beauty of His appearance. Sam bhAvayati iti sambhuh - here sam (sa as in Siva) means sukham or happiness. This happiness is caused by the sheer beauty of His manifestation. In RAmAyaNa we see the following passages: "rUpa audArya guNai: pumsAm drshti citta apahAriNam" - (Sri Rama) attracts the eyes and hearts of beholders by His beauty, generosity, and similar qualities "candra kAntAnanam rAmam atIva priya darsanam" - Rama who has a face lovelier than the moon, and who has an extremely pleasing appearance 39. Adityah - a) The purusha in the Sun b) One of the twelve Adityas c) One who sustains and nourishes everything like the Sun Sri Bhattar points out that this is one example of BhagavAn manifesting Himself at His will. We are all familiar with "dhyeyah sadA savtr-manDala madhyavarti nArAyaNa...." - Sriman nArAyaNa who is in the centre of the orb of the Sun must always be meditated upon. We also have "sa yascAyam purushe, yascAsAvAditye, sa eka: " (taittirIya upanishad) - He is one and the same deity who is in the hearts of men and who is in the middle of the Sun. Sri Sankara gives the additional explanation that this nAma can refer to Lord VishNu being one of the twleve Adityas or Aditi's sons. He gives the Bhagavad Gita in support of this: "AdityAnAm aham vishNur-jyotishAm raviramsumAn | marIcirmaruTamasmi nakshtrANAm aham sasI || (10-21) "Among Adityas, I am VishNu, the twelfth Aditya ........". Sri Chinmaya points out that BhagavAn incarnated as Aditi's son in His vAmana incarnation. . Sri Chinmaya also points out that another way to enjoy this nAma is to realize that BhagavAn is like the Sun in that everything depends on the Sun for its survival, and so BhagavAn is Aditya or the Sun or the supporter and nourisher of everything. 40. pushkarAkshah - The Lotus-eyed. Sri ChinmayAnanda refers us to the famous quote "The eye is the reflection of the mind", and points out that the reference to the beauty of the eye in this nAma is to be contemplated on in terms of the Inner Joy and Peace that BhagavAn beams out to all through His eyes and magically lifts out all the sorrows in His devotee's hearts. This nAma re-occurs as nAma 561 later, where we will find a new interpretation. Pushkare akshiNI yasya sa pushkarAkshah; poshayatI bhUtAni pushkare akshiNI yasya sa pushkarAkshah. 41. mahA-svanah - He of the venerable sound (of the vedas) In BrhadAraNya upanishad, we have the following: "asya mahato bhUtasya ni:svasitametad yad-rg-vedo yajur-vedah sAma vedo-atharvAngirasa: itihAsa: purANam vidyA upanishada: slokA: sUtrANyaNuvyAkhyAnAni vyAkhyAnAni" (4.4.10) - Thus has been breathed from this great Being what we have as Rg veda, Yajur veda, sAma veda, and atharva veda, etc. 42. anAdi-nidhanah - One who is without beginning or end. Yasya Adi nidhanam na asti sa anAdi-nidhanah - One for whom there is neither beginning nor end. nidhana, which commonly refers to poverty or lack of wealth, also has a second meaning, death or destruction. . BhagavAn is anAdi-nidhana because His form is not composed of earthly elements like fat, flesh and bone - na tasya prakrtA mUrti: mAmsa-medosthi-sambhavA (varAha purANa 75.44), His body is beyond the range of the sense-organs, and can be cognized only by the eye of the mind - rUpam vA atIndriyam, antahkaraNapratyaksha nirdesAt, His body is not made up of the combination of elements like earth, water, etc. - na bhUta sangha samsthAno deho'sya paramAtmanah (MahAbhArata - sAnti parva 206-60), etc. 43. dhAtA - The creator (of .Brahma and others) The interpretation for this and the next nAma are not clear to me, and I am giving my best attempt. Especially the difference between the two names, and how they differ in their root words and thus in the meaning that they convey, was unclear to me. Each of the four primary references I am using seems to give a different interpretation, which seems to suggest that the meanings of these nAmas are open to interpretation.. First I considered including all the different interpretations but then decided against it in order to focus the material presented here. I would like to request SrimAn Sadagopan and others to elaborate more on this at their convenience. The name can be derived from the root dhA - to produce, to bear, to place, to lay upon. Sri Bhattar gives the following reference to Maula Samhita - "dhAtA kshetre karma-bIja-bhUtam garbham dadhAti - dhAtA places in the kshetra (i.e., prakrti), the fetus (i.e., the jiva), which is the seed for action". As mentioned under the nAma kshetrajna earlier, the kshetra is the field for actions, and the jiva is the seed for actions. The same concept is also expressed in the gItA - "mam yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbham dadhAmyaham | sambhavah sarva-bhUtAnAm tato bhavati bhArata || (Gita 14-3) The concept here is that BhagavAn causes all beings to be created through the combination of prakrti and jivan or AtmA, which are both His creations and under His control (pradhAna-purusha Isvarrah). It is as if prakrti is the womb in which He places jivan as the seed, and thus He is the creator or dhAtA. Based on the explanation given for the next nAma, the seed referred to here could also be Brahma, the four-faced creator of all the beings, with VishNu as the antaryAmin. In other words, VishNu is the dhAtA because He .seeds His vIrya in the prakrti so that the combination of prkrti and His vIrya result in the cause of Brhma as the fetus. 44. vidhAtA - The producer (of Brahma from the fetus referred to above) Sri Bhattar states that He is vidhAtA because He develops the fetus and makes him (Brahma) appear. Sri Sankara interprets this name to mean that he is the dispenser of the fruits of actions and inducer of actions - karmaNA tat-phalAnAm ca kartA vidhAtA. Sri Chinmaya interprets the name to mean that BhagavAn is the unquestionable Law behind the entire universe (may be this can be understood starting from the word vidhi - rule). 45. dhAturuttamah - a) One who is far superior to Brahma (dhAtr) b) The best of all basic constitutents The first interpretation is self-explanatory based on the previous two nAmas. Another explanation given is based on the word dhAtu, which means "element" or basic constituent. He is the ultimate constituent of all, and so He is dhAturuttama. -dAsan krshNamAchAryan Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - nAma 46 to 55. 46. aprameyah - One who cannot be defined, explained, measured, etc. through logical means, (but who can only be experienced) pramAtum na yogya: aprameyah - He is beyond reach through normal means because * He is beyond sense organs (pratyaksha) such as our mortal eyes, ears, etc.; * nor through inference (anumAna) because he is devoid of the marks leading to inference (e.g., the presence of fire can be inferred through smoke, but for this inference one should have at least once witnessed fire and smoke together, and no one has seen Him with or without anything associated); * nor through analogy or comparison (upamA), because He is without parts and everything else is only parts, and hence no comparison can be made; * nor through Apta vAkya or (s)abda pramANa (someone else who has seen Him telling us, or through sacred texts) because no one can see Him, since even the muktAs only experience Him. Sri Bhattar goes on to point out that BhagavAn is aprameya because He is beyond the sense organs of even Brahma and other gods (Sri RAdhA KrshNa Sastri points out that the means of sensing is the same for Brahma and other gods as it is for people). He is not describable as This or That, like this or like that, or inferred because of this or because of that, etc., and so He is aprameya. 47. hrshIkesah - a) The controller of the sense-organs of all including Brahma, Rudra etc. b) One who, in the form of the Sun and the Moon, makes this world happy through His rays The two interpretations are derived by looking at this word as hrshIkA + Isa or hrishI + kesa. The first explanation is derived from "HrshIkANAm Isah hrshIkesah - The Lord of the sense-organs. The second interpretation is given based on kesa - rays, hrshI - that give happiness. Sri Sankara gives the following support from MahAbhArata, Moksha dharma, (s)Anti parva for the second interpretation: "sUrya candramasoh (s)a(s)a vadam(s)ubhi: ke(s)a samjnitaih | bodhayan svApayan(s)caiva jagadutthisThAte prthak || bodhanAt svApanAccaiva jagato harshaNam bhavet || agnIshoma krtairebhih karmabhih pANdunandana | hrIke(s)o'hamIsAno varado lokabhAvana: || "The sun and the moon through their kesa or rays always uphold the world by awakening it and causing it to sleep. By such awakening and sleeping, the world is delighted. It is in consequence of this act of fire (Sun) and Soma who uphold the universe that I have come to be known as HrshIke(s)a...". Sri T.S. Krishnamurthy, who has written an English trnslation to Sri (S)ankara bhAshya, has taken this guNAnubhava one more step by saying that the ke(s)a - hair of the Lord in the form of the rays of the sun and the moon give delight (harsha), and thus He is HrshIke(s)a. 48. padma-nAbhah - One from whose navel the lotus (the cause of the Universe) emanates. Sarva jagat kAraNam padmam nAbhau yasya sa padmanAbhah - Sri Bhattar points out that this name substantiates or summaries all that has been said through the previous nAmas about BhagavAn being the creator or cause of Brahma (e.g., dhAtA, vidhAtA, dhaturuttamah). Sri RadhAkrshNa (S)astri gives a beautiful and simple explanation to enable the appreciation of this nAma. In our normal life, the child before and at birth is connected to the mother through the navel chord, and gets its nourishment from the mother through this chord. Similar is the chord from the Lord's navel, which is nothing but the Universe in its prakrti form, and which looks like a lotus which has not expanded. This is prior to its expansion through Time, and He is the nourisher of this creation of His (which is none other than Brahma). 49. amara-prabhuh - The Lord of the immortal gods. AmarANAm prabhuh amaraprabhuh. The Lord is amaraprabhu because He created the different devatAs and entrusted them with acts such as creation, destruction, etc., made them immortal because of their functions, and directs them in their functions. Sri Bhattar quotes the following words ascribed to Brahma in Uttara kANda in RAmAyaNa - "mahArNave (s)ayAnau'psu mAm tvam pUrvam ajIjana: | prAhApatyam tvayA karma sarvam mayi nive(s)itam || (104-4) "You were lying on the waters of the great ocean and you first of all created me. The entire duty of the PrajApati (the rulership of the beings) was entrusted to me by you". Also, the following from MahAbhArata is given - "etau dvau vibudha (s)reshThau prasAda-krodhajau smrtau | tadAdar(s)ita panthAnau srshTi samhAra kArakau ||(169-19) "These two great gods (Brahma and Rudra) are said to have emerged from the sweet temper and wrath of BhagavAn respectively. They carry out the duty of creation and destruction in the way shwon by Him". 50. vi(s)va karmA - a) One who is the agent of all actions with regard to the Universe. b) The Creator of the Universe vi(s)vam karma jagad-vyApArah yasya sa vi(s)va karmA. Sri Bhattar points out that this name signifies that all the entire work with regard to the affairs of the Universe are His alone either before or after the creation of Brahma. In other words, He is the director and controller. Among the many passages in the sruti that support the interpretation are: "so'kAmayatabahu syAm prajAyeya iti - He willed, I shall become many, I shall take birth" - taittirIya AraNyaka - 6. "so'bidhyAya (s)arIrAt svAt sisrkshu: vividhAh prajA: - Brahman willed to create different kinds of beings out of Its body and so It did" - 51. manuh - The Great Thinker. MananAt manuh - In the BrhadAraNya upanishad, we have "nAnyo'to'sto mantA - There is no thinker but Him" - (B.U. 3.7.23) To mentally conceive an act prior to the act itself is mananam. BhagavAn has to but think and not do anything else in order to achieve what He wills. The creation of the cosmos was only a minute part of His will. Sri Bhattar uses the word sankalpa lava mAtrAt - by the MERE fraction (lava mAtrAt) of His will to explain this guNa. 52. tvashTA - One who created all the different forms and names in this Universe. This name is dervied from the root tvaksh - to pare, to reduce, to chisel. Sri Bhattar uses this meaning to interpret this nAma to mean that BhagavAn has "chiseled" so many diverse forms and names of gods, man, birds, plants, insects, etc., and thus He is tvashTA. He gives the taittirIya araNyaka (3-11) in support - tvashTAram rUpANi vikurvantam vipascitam. Sri (S)ankara uses the same meaning to interpret this name as indicating that BhagavAn pares down all the beings or makes them shrink at the time of cosmic dissolution or pralaya. It is interesting to note that the first interpretation refers to the creation of forms and shapes from the primordial matter, and the second interpretation refers to the dissolution of forms and shapes back into primordial matter. 53. sthavishThah - One who is exceedingly huge in size. The name is derived from the two words sthUla and ishTha - One who willed to be huge. Sri Bhattar points out that this huge size is the manifestation of BhagavAn as the brahmANda (the egg-shaped universe) with the fourteen worlds. which are the places of residences for all the beings that He has created, as well as its sheath, and the sense-organs of all the beings, as well as the sound, touch, and other qualities that are the objects of these sense-organs, as well as their effects. The fourteen worlds are referred to by Sri Ramanuja in his Sri VaikuNTha gadyam (caturda(s)a bhuvanAntaram aNdam da(s)a guNitottaram ....) in his reference to Sri VaikuTham's location far, far beyond the limits of these fourteen worlds. 54. sthavirah - One who has always existed, Older than the oldest. The name is derived from the root stha - tishThati - to stand. This nAma signfies that BhagavAn is not constrained by Time. All His creation goes through the cycle of creation and pralaya, and He uses Time for His creation and dissolution, but He is not constrained by it. This He is older than the oldest. 55. dhruvah - One who is unaffected by Time, Unchanging, Permanent. The word is derived from the root dhr - to carry, maintain, preserve, to be eternal, immovable - (sthiratvAt dhruvah). The previous nAma indicated that BhagavAn is the oldest of the oldest. This nAma signifies that He is unchanging while Time keeps moving. Perhaps because both the nAms sthavira and dhruva refer to the quality of BhagavAn being beyond the influence, effect, or control of Time, Sri Sankara has chosen to interpret the two words as one nAma - sthaviro dhruvah - One who is unchanging and older than the oldest. Thus the sequence number for the nAmas that follow start differing from this nAma between Sri Sankara bhAshya and Sri Bhattar's vyAkhyAna. -dAsan KrshNamAchAryan Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - nAma 56 to 64. 56. agrAhyah - One who is beyond the grasp of others. The interpretation for this nAma by Sri Bhattar is that BhagavAn cannot be physically grasped, controlled, or acted upon by anyone or anything, and is thus beyond grasp. He gives the following reference to the sruti - nainam Urdhvam na tiryancam na madhye parijagrabhat - One could grasp Him neither in the vertical dimension, nor in the horizontal dimension, nor in the third dimension, or for that matter, any other dimension. Sri Sankara's interpretation is karmendriayih na grhyata iti agrAhyah - One who cannot be grasped by the organs of action. He gives the following reference to taittirIya upanishad - yato vAco nivartante, aprApya manasA saha - He cannot be described through speech, and cannot be reached by mind. Sri ChinmayAnanda gives us yet another interpretation. He points out that the Lord is not the "object" of perception ever by any one, but He is the "subject" who perceives. Thus He is ever the Subject but never the object of perception. He is imperceptible and incomprehensible. Sri Chinmaya refers us to the kenopanishad passage "yat cakshushA na pa(s)yati yena cakshUmsi pa(s)yanti tadeva brahma tvam viddhi - Understand that Brahman is That which cannot be seen by the eyes, but because of which eyes are perceiving other things. 57. (s)A(s)vatah - One who is eternal. (s)a(s)vat bhavatIti (s)A(s)vatah - That which remains the same at all times is the Permanent. Sri Bhattar points out that the fact that BhagavAn is (s)A(s)vata is evident from the eternal flow of action pertaining to the world (i.e., creation etc.). Sri Chinmaya points out that for something to be permanent, it has to be changeless with time, and BhagavAn is the controller of time, and is not controlled or affected by time, and so is Eternal and permanent. 58. krsHNah - a) One who is always in a state of Bliss (with His sport of creation etc.). b) One who has a dark-blue complexion.. The first interpretation is supported from the following verse in MahAbhArata - "krshir-bhU-vAcakah (s)abdo Na(s)ca nirvrti vAcakah | vishNus-tad bhAvayogAcca krshNo bhavati (s)A(s)vatah || (MB Udyoga parva 5.68.5) Approximately translated, this says: krishi means bhU, Na means nirvrtti or happiness and bliss, and BhagavAn is called KrshNa because He is the union of these two. Sri Sankara and Sri Bhattar interpret the name slightly differently with this same starting point. Sri Sankara interprets bhU to mean existence (bhU - bhav - to be), and Sri Bhattar interprets bhU to mean a receptacle or ground or container (e.g., bhUmi). So Sri Bhattar says that krshNa here means the receptacle of extreme joy because of His constant sport of creation etc. referred to in the previous nAma. Sri Sankara interprets the name to mean that He is the union of existence and bliss. The second interpretation also has its support in the MahAbhArata - "krshAmi prthivIm pArtha bhUtvA kArshNAyaso halah | krshNo varNa(s)ca me yasmAt tasmAt krshNo'ham arjuna || (S)Anti parva 342.79 Note the words krshAmi, kArshaNa, and krshNa in the above. Each of these words leads to a new and different interpretation of the meaning of the nAma here. The meaning of the first line in the above sloka is "When the earth becomes shelled by its hard crust, I shall turn myself into an iron plough-share (black-colored), and shall plough the earth." The name krshNa can arise out of the fact that He is doing the act denoted by the word "krshAmi". Sri Chinmaya beautifully points out that this "ploughing" refers to His ploughing all the stupidities in His devotees and preparing the heart-field, weeding out all the poisonous growth of sin, and cultivating therein pure Bliss. The second part of the verse means "O Arjuna! Because of my dark complexion, I am called KrshNa". The dark complexion referred to above could be because He is the (dark colored) iron plough, or because He is dark complexioned like the water-bearing cloud. Either way, because of His dark complexion, He is called krshNa. Notice that the dark complexion is associated with "kAr mugil vaNNan" or nIla megha syAmalan" - One who has the color of the rain cloud loaded with His limitless mercy. Sri Chinmaya points out that the inner meaning behind the "dark" complexion is that BhagavAn is not easily recognized (i.e., He is veiled behind some darkness) by those who aspire to reach Him except through single-minded devotion. The nAma krshNa can also be interpreted in terms of the word "AkarshaNa" or magnetic attraction. He is krshNa because He irresistibly attracts all His devotees. Or He sweeps away (like a magnet drawing away the iron filings) the sins in the hearts of those who meditate upon Him. This nAma occurs once more later as nAma 554 in "vedAh svAngo'jitah krshNo.....". Sri Bhattar gives the meaning b) for nAma 554, and gives the first explanation for the current nAma describing the paravAsudeva form. 59. lohitAkshah - One with eyes red like the beautiful lotus flower. Lohite akshiNi yasya sah lohitAkshah. Sri Bhattar enjoys the beauty of this nAma by ascribing the redness in the eye to the supreme joy that BhagavAn has. One can recall the mantra "sa mA vrshabho lohitakshah sUryo vipa(s)cit mansA punAtu", which we chant during our sandhyavandanam. This is the second reference so far to the beauty of BhagavAn's eyes (the earlier one was pushkarAksha). While Sri Bhattar explains the redness of the eye as resulting from extreme joy, another explanation given is that the redness is a result of BhagavAn's anger towards the evil-doers, for the destruction of whom He takes the different avatAras - vinA(s)Aya ca dushkrtAm. 60. pradrdanah - The Destroyer. This name is derived from the root tardih - to cause destruction. Pra-tarda means extreme destruction. Sri Bhattar gives the following from kaThopanisahd - yasya brahma ca kshtram ca ubhe bhavatah odanah - He who has for His food the brahmins and the kshatriyas (i.e., all beings of the universe) at the time of pralaya. Sri RadhAkrshNa (S)astri points out that given the interpretation for this nAma, the redness of the eye in the previous nAma can be appropriately the result of anger at the time of dissolution. 61. prabhUtah - One who is affluent, ever full, and well-endowed with wisdom, greatness, and other qualities. Literally, the word means "born full" pra-bhUta. Even though at the time of pralaya, BhagavAn destroys everything, still His affluence remains since He has the parama-pada (the transcendental world), which is full of Bliss. And His essential Nature, well-endowed with jnAna, bala, aisvarya, vIrya, (s)akti, and tejas still remain. Even after reducing everything at pralaya, the vAmana can be the trivikrama. 62. tri-kakud-dhAma - There are three words in this name - tri, kakub or kakut, and dhAma. tri means three; kakub means the direction or quarter of a compass (for example); kakut means the hump (such as the hump on the back of a bull, or a peak or mountain); kakub and kakut also are interchangeably used for either meaning. dhAma means abode or residence, and also a a ray of light or brilliance. Several interpretations arise depending on the choice of the meanings. We will start with dhAma meaning brilliance. Sri Bhattar indicates that if this meaning is used, dhAma will have to be considered as a separate nAma. The first part is then interpreted as tri-kakut, which refers to the incarnation of BhagavAn as the varAha, the Boar with three horns. This interpretation for tri-kakut is supported by the following sloka from moksha dharma in the mahAbhArata - "tathaiva Asam tri-kakudo vArAham rUpam Asthitah | 'trikakut' tena vikhyAtah (s)arIrasya pramApaNAt || moksha dharma 343-63. "Then I assumed the form of a Boar with three horns. So I became known as 'tri-kakut'. With that form I killed the rAkshasa." Sri Bhattar gives the above only as an alternative interpretation, but does not interpret the phrase tri-kakud-dhaAma as two separate words as explained above. Sri Sankara also interprets tri-kakub-dhAma as one nAma. One interpretation Sri Bhattar gives for tri-kakud-dhAma is One who has as His abode parama-pada, which is thrice as large as this universe. An alternative interpretation given is that the three parts refer to the three groupings of the six guNas (jnAna, bala, aisvarya, vIrya, (s)akti, tejas), and since He is the abode of these three groups of guNas, He is tri-kakud-dhAma. Sri Sankara gives the interpretation that He is the base or support for the three regions of the entire space, the upper, the lower, and the middle, and therefore He is tri-kakud-dhAma. Sri Chinmaya gives the vedAntic interpretation that He is the base or support for the three states of consciousness, viz., the jAgrat, svapna, and sushupti, and this is why He is called tri-kakud-dhAma. 63. pavitram - Purity Incarnate. Up to this point, the qualities, possessions, and body of BhagavAn have been portrayed step-by-step. Now we are passing to His essential Nature which is to be cognized through all of the above. The word is derived from poo - to purify. Either He is the Deity that purifies, or He is the means of purification. The purity referred to here is the inner purity of the mind, which He gives to those who meditate on Him. Both Sri RadhAkrshNa Sastri and Sri Chinmaya offer a second and more uncommon interpretation - One who gives protection (trAyate) from the thunderbolt of Indra (pavi). Sri Chinmaya points out that in vedAnta indra refers to the mind (indriyANam rAjA indrah - the mind), and the thunderbold of mind can destroy all the accomplishments of a sAdhaka, and uninterrupted medidation of Sri VishNu can give the protection against such distractions, and thus VishNu is pavi-tra. 64. mangalam param - The Embodiment of Supreme Auspiciousness Sri Sankara quotes the following from VishNu PurANa - "a(s)ubhAni nirAcashTe tanoti (s)ubhasantatim | smrti-mAtreNa yat pumsAm brahma tanmangalam viduh || "Brahman is known as beneficence because He wards off all evils and brings on a series of benefits to men on being merely remembered by them". param just emphasizes that He is the Supreme Beneficence. We may recall the introductory sloka "pavitrANAm pavitram yo mangalAnAm ca mangalam" by Bhishma; these two names occur now sequentially here. Since I will be on vacation until 24th, I will submit the next segment of Sri VishNu sahasranAmam the week of August 31st. I will miss the next two weeks, and apologize for the discontinuity. -dAsan krshNamAchAryan -------------- MESSAGE bhakti.v002.n296.8 --------------- From: "Krishnamachari, N."