Sri vishNu sahasranAmam - nAma 86 to 95.

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Sri VishNu SahasranAmam 86 to 95.

 

86. sure(s)ah - a) The Lord of all the other gods.

b) The best among those who can bestow their devotees' desires.

 

a) SurANAm I(s)ah sure(s)ah.

 

The word sura means one who can fulfil the desires of the devotees

(sushThu rAti - dadAti - iti surah. He is sure(s)a because He created

the other gods (sura) such as Brahma and Rudra and conferred on them the

functions for which they are responsible.

 

b) su rA Isah - Best among those who can bestow blessings on their

devotees. su - (s)obhanam, rAti - dadAti, Isah - Their Lord or the

The Best. Thus sure(s)a means the best among those who can fuflfil the

desires of the devotees. Sriman nArAyaNa is the only one who can fulfil

the ultimate desire of the devotees - that of moksha.

 

87. (s)araNam - The Refuge.

 

According to amarako(s)a, (s)araNam means protection as well as home -

(s)araNam vadha rakshitror grha rakshaNayorapi. BhagavAn is the

Ultimate Refuge to those who are in misery - ArtAnAm Arti hantAram. He

is the also the final Goal or the Destination - nivasishyasi mayyeva ata

Urdhvam na sam(s)ayah; the one who realizes Him comes to live in Him.

Sri ChinmayAnanda points out that He is not only the Home for those who

have realized Him, but in pralaya time He is the home for all beings.

 

88. (s)arma - One who is Bliss, the Highest Goal to be attained.

 

Amarako(s)a gives this word as an alternative (i.e., with the same

meaning) as prIti, sukha, etc. In the vyAkhyAna for amarako(s)a,

LingAyasurin gives the following derivation - (s)rNAti duhkham iti

(s)arma - One who destroys or removes the sorrows. Both Sri Sankara

and Sri Bhattar give the meaning "Bliss". ParamAnanda rUpatvAt (s)arma,

and sukham paramprApyam iti (s)arma, respectively. I could not find the

root word for the nAma from the dictionary. Sir William-Monier's

dictionary speculates that the name is probably derived from (s)ri.

 

89. vi(s)varetAh - The seed for the Universe.

 

retas means seed. Vi(s)vam kAryam asya iti vi(s)varetA, or vi(s)vasya

kAraNatvAt vi(s)varetA.

 

The name denotes that He is the seed from which the tree of life has

sprung forth. Later on, in nAmas 118 and 151, we will see that He is

the also the vi(s)vayoni where the seed develops and takes full form.

In other words, everything results from Him and exists because of Him.

Sri Bhattar notes that the purpose of His creation is for His service

and His service only. In vishNu tatva, we have the following -

 

"vicitrA deha sampattih IsvarAya niveditum |

pUrvameva krtA brahman! Hasta-pAdAdi samyutA ||

 

"Brahman! This wonderful wealth, namely body, associated with hands,

legs, etc., has already been created by me with a view to enable beings

to use them in the service of the Supreme."

 

90. prajAbhavah - One from whom all beings have originated.

 

In nAma 70, prajApati, we found that prajA can refer to those special

births (prakarsheNa jAyante) such as the nitya suris. So here

prajAbhava can refer to the general interpretation that prajA refers to

all beings, or more specifically that He created all the other suris or

Ever-Free Angels. Sri rAdhAkrshNa SAstri points out that while normal

evolution starts with primitive forms and evolves to higher forms,

BhagavAn deiced to create the higher forms such as Brahma first, and

then the forms that are not as accomplished, such as all the animals,

the humans, etc., later.

 

91. ahah - a) One who never forsakes anyone.

b) One who is like the Day that awakens people from ignorance.

c) One who does not destroy His devotees.

 

The first interpretation is based on "na hInah asya asti iti ahah -

There is no one who is abandoned by Him. The second interpretation is

based on the traditional meaning of the word aha - day. The third

interpretation is derived by a-ha, where ha means destroy; One who does

not destroy is a-ha.

 

92. samvatsarah - He who lives for the uplift of His devotees.

 

This name repeats again as nAma 423. The meaning is derived from the

root vas - to live. samuddharaNAya samvasati iti samvatsarah. The

term samvatsara is also used to denote the year, and hence another

interpetation for this nAma is that BhagavAn is Time itself.

 

93. vyAlah - a) One who accepts the devotees - e.g., vibhIshaNa.

b) One who is beyond grasp such as a vyAla - a serpent, an elephant,

a tiger, etc.

 

Sri Bhattar gives the first interpretation based on the root lA - to

take or accept. VyAla also means a serpent, a mad elephant, a vicious

tiger etc. BhagavAn is vyAla because He is slippery like a serpent to

grasp, or beyond grasp like a huge elephant. Or He is impossible to be

controlled by the demons, like a mad elephant - vyAlavat bhujangavat

gajavat grahItum a(s)akyatvAt vyAlah.

 

94. pratyayah - One who can be relied upon.

 

PratIyate asmin iti pratyayah - One in whom we can place confidence.

In the sabhA parva in mahA bhArata, we have

 

"yadi te hrdayam vetti yadi te pratyayo mayi |

bhImasenArjunau (s)Ighram nyAsabhUtau prayaccha me || (20.7)

 

"If your heart understands me, and if you have FAITH in me, place BhIma

and arjuna immediately at my disposal".

 

95. sarvadar(s)anah - a) One who shows all His grace to His devotees

b) The All-seeing.

 

Sri Bhattar interprets dar(s)ana to mean He shows everything, and (S)ri

(S)ankara interprets this word to mean He sees everything. Great indeed

are the ways great minds see and enjoy the BhagavAn in many different

ways! Sri Sankara gives the following reference to the sruti -

 

"vi(s)vata(s)cakshur vi(s)vAksham - One who has eyes on all sides - One

who has a Universal eye". (taittirIya AraNyaka 10.1, 11).

 

(S)rI ChinmayAnanda gives the following reference to GItA -

sarvato'kshi (s)iromukham - One who has eyes and heads everywhere.

 

-dAsan krshNamAchAryan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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118, 151