SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 23.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - slokam 23.

 

gurur_gurutamo dhAma satyah satya-parAkramah |

nimisho'nimishah sragvI vAcaspatir_udAra-dheeh || (23)

 

Om gurutamAya gurave namah

Om dhAmne namah

Om satyAya namah

Om satyaparAkramAya namah

Om nimishAya namah

Om animishAya namah

Om sragviNe namah

Om vAcaspataye namah

Om udAradhiye namah.

 

211. gurur-guru-tamah - The foremost among the preceptors.

 

Om gurutamAya gurave namah.

 

guru means 'spiritual preceptor'. SrI Bhattar interprets the

following phrase 'guru-tamah' as an adjective for guru, i.e., the guru

who is the best of all guru-s. SrI Sankara views this as two nama-s,

guru and guru-tama.

 

He is the foremost of preceptors since he is the one who gave the

veda-s to brahma, who then is the source of the veda-s to the rest of

the world. yo brahmANam vidadhAti pUrvam yo vai vedAnSca prahiNoti

tasmai- He who brought brahma into existence and imparted the veda to

him (SvetASvatara 6.18). We also have "guruh ka iti | guruh

sAkshAd-AdinArAyaNah" - The Ultimate guru is AdinArAyaNa (tripAdvibhUti

mahAnArAyaNopanishat - 8.15). In SrI SankarAcArya guru pramparA, the

first guru is nArAyaNa - nArAyaNam padmabhuvam vasisTham Saktim ca

tatputra parASaram ca vyAsam Sukam ........SrI SankarAcAryam. We all

know that SrIman nArayANa is the first and foremost in the SrIvaishNava

guru paramparA.

 

In dharam cakram, the writer says that He is guru-tama because

you don't have to even go and look for Him. He pervades everything and

is everywhere, and all we need to get His teaching is to feel the need

for it. All that is needed is the thirst for His mercy in order for us

to progress in getting true knowledge instead of living the life of a

stone or tree.

 

212. dhAma - a) The Place of Residence.

b) The Supreme Light.

c) The Abode of all desired things.

 

 

Om dhAmne namah.

 

We encountered the word dhAma when we looked at the nAma

tri-kakud-dhAma (nAma 62). Some of the same thoughts presented there

apply here.

 

SrI Bhattar interprets the nAma-s starting with the previous one

as referring to the matsya incarnation. Because of my a~jnAnam, I was

not able to understand the connection with matsya avatAra for the

previous nAma. For the current one, he points out that bhagavAn is

dhAma because He is

like the helmsman who steers the boat carrying the seeds of all the

transitory moving and non-moving objects at the time of pralaya.

 

SrI Sankara interprets the nAma as being the Supreme Leading

Light. SrI RAmAnuja in his gItA bhAshya for slokam 10.12 (param brahma

param dhAma), chooses the meaning "Supreme Light" in that context for

the word dhAma - dhAma Sabdo jyotirvacanah - param jyotih.

 

The writer in dharma cakram elaborates further on the term

"Supreme Light". The eye sees with the light from the Sun. But neither

the Sun's light nor the eye can see the Ultimate. For that you need the

light called bhagavAn's Grace, the Inner Light. This is what mahA

vishNu is, viz. dhAma the Supreme Light, which can reveal what no other

light can. It is the eye of intense desire to reach Him that can see

this light, and no other eye can.

 

Other interpretations given include "He is the Abode of all

desired objects", "He is the Abode of all desires", "He is the Abode for

all karma-s", etc.

 

SrI chinmayAnanda, in addition to the interpretation "Supreme

Light", gives the alternate interpretation that He is dhAma because He

is the Ultimate Goal (dhAma = peak).

 

213. satyah - The Good.

 

Om satyAya namah.

 

This naAma has occurred previously as nAma 107, and will

re-occur as nAma 873. Please refer to the explanation for nAma 107.

 

In the current context of matsya avatAra, SrI Bhattar points out

that He is satya because He was good to sat-purusha-s such as Manu who

sought His help at that time.

 

At the time I submitted the explanation for nAma 107, I did not

have SrI satyadevo vAsishTha's vyAkhyAna. Now I am adding some extracts

from this source. Under nAma 107, one explanation given was - satya is

One who is 'excellent' in sat, based on the pANini sUtra 4.4.98. SrI

satyadevo vAsishTha refers us to the Slokam in bhagavad gItA (17.26 and

17.27) for a definition of 'sat' in Lord Kr*shNa's words.

 

sad bhAve sAdhu bhAve ca sadityetat prayujyate |

praSaste karmaNi tathA sac-chabdah pArtha ucyate ||

 

ya~jne tapasi dAne ca sthitih saditi cocyate |

karma caiva tadarthIyam sadityevAbhidIyate || (gItA

17.26 and 27)

 

The word 'sat' thus refers to existence, goodness, good acts,

firmness in sacrifice, austerities, and gifts, and any acts for such

purposes. One who is excellent in all these, or One who is excellent to

(i.e., supports) those who do acts along these lines, is satya.

 

214. satya-parAkramah - One of unfailing valor.

 

Om satyaparAkramAya namah.

 

SrI Bhattar, continuing on his interpretation of this sequence

of nAma-s in terms of maysa avatAra, gives the example of bhagavAn

performing truthfully the courageous acts towards Manu and others. The

writer in dharma cakram points out that there can be two kinds of valor,

one which is used for the good of the people, such as that of SrI Rama,

and the other that is used for demonstrating power and for hurting

others, such as RAvaNa's. Meditating on mahA vishNu gives us the

ability to develop the valor of the former kind.

 

215. nimishah - One whose eyes are closed (towards the enemies of His

devotees).

 

Om nimishAya namah.

 

na Ikshate iti nimishah. His Graceful Sight does not fall on

those who are opposed to Him or His devotees. SrI Sankara gives the

meaning that His eyes are closed while He is in yoga-nidrA. SrI

RAdhAkr*shNa Sastri points out that He is nimisha (with closed eyes)

because He does not need His eyes to see, His ears to hear etc. The

dharma cakram writer points out that He of closed eyes is seeing all

because He is everywhere, in every one of us, all the time, and is

watching all that happens everywhere even without eyes. Those who can

contemplate on the yoga-nidrA of vishNu can close their eyes and

meditate, and over a period of time, will be able to divert their minds

towards Him in that state (normally, whether our eyes are open or

closed, they wander in worldly thoughts!).

 

216. animishah - One with eyes closed.

 

Om animishAya namah.

 

SrI Bhattar interprets the nAma in terms of the matsya

incarnation. In His celestial Fish incarnation, He never closes His

eyes and is ever-watchful of His devotees (Fish do not have eyelids, and

so never close their eyes). SrI Sankara gives two additional

explanations - He is ever awake because of His wisdom, or He is Atma

svarUpa, and AtmA never sleeps.

 

The dharma cakram author gives the significance of this nAma as

indicating that one who contemplates on this nAma will be always

spiritually awake, and bad thoughts and the worldly distractions won't

enter his mind. One is reminded of tiruppANAzhvAr's concluding pASuram

in amalanAdipirAn "en amudinaik kanDa kaNgaL maRRonRinaik kANAvE".

While the AzhvAr sang this when he was witnessing the beauty of the Lord

in the temple, the statement aptly applies to the inner eyes as well.

 

217. sragvI - Adorned with the garland (vaijayantI).

 

Om sragviNe namah.

 

srag means garland. According to PANinI's ashTAdhyAyI 5.2.121 -

as mAyA medhA srajo vinih - the affix vin coming after sraj indicates

'association with'. So here the meaning is 'One who is associated with

the garland always - referring to the vaijayantI garland of vishNu.

Prof. A. srinivAsa rAghavan points out that the vaijayanti is composed

of the five precious gems - pearl, ruby, emerald, sapphire, and diamond.

SrI Sankara refers to the vaijayanti as referring to the garland made of

the tanmAtrA-s or the rudiments of the five basic elements (taste,

sight, sound, smell, and sensation) of the pa~nca bhuta-s. SrI

rAdhAkr*shNa Sastri gives the reference to vishNu purANa - pa~nca

svarUpA yA mAlA vaijayantI gadA bhr*tah | sA bhUta hetu sangAtA bhUta

mAlA ca vai dvijah || (1.2.72). The writer in dharma cakram suggests

that we should divert all our tan-mAtra-s to the service of vishNu (he

gives the example of ANdAL who decorated herself with the flower garland

just to make sure it was good enough for Lord RanganAtha).

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha derives the meaning starting from sr*j

to create or set forth. Since all creations such as the stars, Sun,

etc., are Hiscreations, He is sragvI. In a garland, there may be

different kinds of flowers, but they lose their identity as soon as they

are part of the garland. So also, all these different creations are

together the sragvI or bhagavAn vishNu. Or, just as it is common

practice to identify an important person in our society by putting a

garland around the neck, bhagavAn is distinguished by this unique

garland to indicate His Lordship and superiority.

 

218. vAcaspatih - The Lord of Speech.

 

Om vAcaspataye namah.

 

SrI Bhattar's interpretation is that He is vAcaspati because it

was He who propounded the knowledge of the veda-s through SrImad matsya

purANa. It is the power of expression in the matsya purANa that reveals

the guNa of vAcaspati in Him.

 

SrI Sankara interprets this nAma and the next one - udrAradhIh,

as one nAma, vAcaspatirudAradIh, meaning "The Lord of vidyA, being of

magnificent intellect. All the other interpretations I am using, except

that of SrI satyadevo vAsishTha, follow this same line. The latter

gives the vyAkhyAna for these as separate nAma-s, but lists the nAma as

one, and points out that this combining is done only to make sure the

count of the nAma-s is exactly 1000. SrI Bhattar does not have the

problem since there are other places where the others consider two

separate names whereas he combines them into one (e.g., gurur-guru-tama,

the first nAma in the current posting).

 

According to satya bhAshyam (the name that SrI satyadevo

vAsishTha has given to his vyAkhyAnam), the term vAcaspati signifies

that bhagavAn protects, or is the Master of, vidyA or veda.

 

219. udAra-dhIh - One with vast knowledge.

 

Om udAra-dhiye namah.

 

dhI here means buddhi or intellect. UdAra means generous,

noble, illustrious, etc. One who has a generous disposition towards His

devotees, or one who has an illustrious or special intellect that can

capture all things at all times, is udAradhIh. SrI chinmayAnanda gives

the interpretation that bhagavAn has a large-hearted tolerance to

appreciate the weekness of His devotees' heart, and a great sympathy and

infinite kindness towards sinners in general. He has enough paternal

kindness to overlook our trespasses, unlike the laws of physical nature

which are blind and uncompromising.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan