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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

 

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