vishNu sahasranAmam (6)

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PB = Translation of srI parAsara bhattar's commentary.

SA = Translation of srI sankarAchArya's commentary.

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(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".

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(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).

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S. G. Srinivasan email : sgsrini

Graduate Student

Dept. Of Mater. Sci. & Engg.

Room 204, Roberts Hall, BOX 352120

University Of Washington Phone : (206)-632-1083 (H)

Seattle, WA 98195-2120 (206)-685-3851 (W)

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