Guest guest Posted July 2, 1998 Report Share Posted July 2, 1998 SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 35. acyutah prathitah prAnah prANa-do vAsavAnujah | apAm nidhiradhishThAnam apramattah pratishThitah || om acyutAya namah om prathitAya namah om prANAya namah om prANadAya namah om vAsavAnujAya namah om apAm-nidhaye namah om adhishThAnAya namah om apramattAya nmah om pratishThitAya namah 320. acyutah - He who does not fall from His status. om acutAya namah. This nAma occurred previously (nAma 101). The different interpretations have been covered there. The additional material below was not covered earlier. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan adds the following reference from rAmAyaNa - "mitra-bhAvena samprAptam na tyajeyam kathancana dosho yadyapi tasya syAt " - "No matter what flaws a person has, if he has come to Me seeking My friendship, there is no way that I will abandon him under any circumstance". SrI rAmAnujan also gives the reference to divya prabandham - "kArtigaiyAnum kari-mugattAnum kanalum mukkaN-mUrtiyum mODiyum veppum mudugiTTu" - the reference here is to the story of bANAsura who was abandoned by the other devatA-s when he approached them for protection. Not so with bhagavAn - na me bhaktah praNaSyati - "My devotee will never perish" - gItA. Another meaning for acyta is One who does not slip from His position - na cyuta iti acyutah. The dharma cakram writer points to the passage in muNdakopanishad which describes the two birds sitting in different branches of the tree, one tasting the fruit and the other just watching the bird that is tasting the fruit (of karma). This has been described in a previous write-up. BhagavAn is the acyuta, from His superior position, watching the jIvAtmA which is tasting the fruits of karma in this case. 321. prathitah - One who is famous, One who is of great reputation. om prathitAya namah. The nAma is derived from the root prath - to become famous (prath - prakhyAn - prasiddhi). This fame can be associated with the previous nAma - His guNa of being acyuta, or on account of His creation, sustenance, etc. of the Universe. Supports for the interpretation are: "tasya nAma mahad-yaSah" - taittirIya nArAya... 1.9; "yaSasaSca eka bhAjanam" - rAmAyaNa - kishkindA .. 15.19; perumai uDiaya pirAnAr - tiruvAi mozhi - 1-6-9; nagar-il- pugazhAi - tiruvAi mozhi - 6-10-10. The dharma cakram writer points out that the fame that is derived from things such as wealth, position in life, etc. are impermanent and disappear as soon as the underlying cause that resulted in this fame disappears. This is not the case when the fame results from adherence to dharma, and in this case the fame is permanent. This is as evidenced by the cases of hariS-canDra, the pANDava-s, prahlAda, hanumAn, etc. BhagavAn is prathitah for the same reason i.e., He is satya-parAkrama, satya, satya-kAma, satya-samkalpa, satya-vrata, etc., and so He is prathitah. 322. prANah - The Life-Breath. om prANAya namah. He is prANa for those who resort to Him (SrI BhaTTar). He is also the life-energy for all beings (SrI Sankara) - prANo vA aham asmi - aitareya AraNyaka 2.2.3). SrI v.v.rAmAnujan gives reference to prabandham - ulagukkE Or uyirumAnAi - tiruvAi mozhi 6-9-7. The next 11 nAma-s are interpreted by SrI BhaTTar as describing the kUrma (Tortoise) incarnation. 323. prANa-dah - The Life-Giver. om prANadAya namah. Since He gave the strength to the deva-s to churn the Milky Ocean, He is prANa-dah (SrI BhaTTar). SrI Sankara gives the interpretation that He is the Life-giver to everyone (deva-s and asura-s), and also gives an additional interpretation using the meaning dyati - cuts - He cuts the strength of asura-s. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the following explanation - prANan dadAti dyati khaNDayati va sa prANa-dah - BhagavAn both gives life to all beings, and takes away the life of all beings when the time comes, and so He is prANa-dah in both senses. The dharma cakram writer points out that the different aspects of our life and body - such as our thoughts, our words, etc., are all different reflections of the prANa in us. Without prANa, our life will cease to exist, and our body will cease to function. But by controlling this prANa, we can control our body and all its actions. There is no limit to what can be achieved by having control over our prANa or breath. This nAma of mahA vishNu should teach us that the prANa that has been given to us by Him should be used for good purpose. 324. vAsavAnujah - The younger brother of vAsava or indra. om vAsavAnujAya namah. SrI BhaTTar says in his vyAkhyAna that this nAma refers to BhagavAn being born as the younger brother of indra in order to help him get the nectar which he wishes to have. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan points out that the reference in this nAma is NOT to upendra or vAmana (nAma 153). I am unable to explain what this incarnation is. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives an interpretation which does not involve a reference to indra. He interprets vAsavAnujah to mean One who has entered into everything in this world - vasati sarvatra vaste sarvam iti vA vAsuh ISvarah; vAsoh idam vAsavam sarvam jagat; vAsavam jagat anujAto = anupravishTo vAsavAnujah. 325. apAm-nidhih - The Sustainer of the waters of the ocean. om apAm-nidhaye namah. SrI BhaTTar continues his interpretation of this nAma based on the kUrma incarnation, and points out that this name indicates that He sustained the great Ocean when it was being churned. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to tiruvAi mozhi - appanE! Azh-kaDalaik kaDainda tuppanE! (4.7.5). SrI Sankara gives the meaning "The Ocean" to this nAma based on "Apo yatra nidhIyante sah apAm-nidhih - The place where the waters get collected in abundance". He also gives reference to the gItA - sarasAm asmi sAgarah - Among lakes I am the Ocean - gItA 10.24. SrI cinmayAnanda points out that the glory and might of the oceans are but a tiny reflection of bhagavAn's glory divine. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri takes the anubhavam of this nAma a step further and points out that just as the waters of all the rivers and canals ultimately reach the ocean and lose their identity, so also those who worship BhagavAn become one with Him. In this sense He is apAm-nidhih, or the Ocean where everybody merges in the end. The dharma cakram writer points out that just as the ocean is the beginning and the end for the water (by evaporation of the waters of the ocean, the vapor rises, condenses and comes back in the forms of rain, which then forms the rivulets and rivers, and these in turn go back to the ocean), so also the beings of this world originate from Him, and ultimately merge back into Him. Just as the good water as well as the dirty water gets into the ocean but then lose their identity and get merged into the ocean, so also the jIvAtmA-s attain equality without distinction when they reach Him. Unlike the bounds which man can place for the lesser bodies of water, there is no bound that he can place for the ocean - another reflection of BhagavAn as apAm-nidhih or Ocean. Though the external surface of the ocean is full of waves, its deep inside is peace incarnate, and in this sense also He is apAm-nidhih. 326. adhishThAnam - The Support. om adhishThAnAya namah. SrI BhaTTar interprets this as referring to His supporting the mandara mountain in His kUrma incarnation. He gives reference to vishNu purANa in support - "kshIroda-madhye bhagavAn kUrma-rUpI svayam harih | mandarAdreh adhishThAnam bhramato'bhUt mahA-mune || (1.9.88) :Bhagava nArAyaNa Himself, in the form of kUrma, supported the mandara mountain in the middle of the Milk Ocean when the mountain was revolving (at the time of churning)". SrI Sankara gives the more general meaning that He is adhishThAnam because He is the basis or support for everything in this Universe - adhithishThanti bhUtAni. 327. apramattah - The Vigilant. om apramattAya namah. He is extremely attentive in the protection of those who are in distress (SrI BhaTTar). pramatta refers to one who is careless or inattentive. apramatta refers to His guNa of extreme vigilance in protecting those who have surrendered to Him - ASrita-rakshakan. SrI Sankara's interpretation is that He is vigilant in awarding the effects of karma to those who are entitled to them. SrI cinmayAnanda points out that pramada refers to one who makes errors in judgment, and apramatta is One who does not make errors in judgment. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri points out that the vigilance here could also refer to bhagavAn being very careful and vigilant in distributing the nectar that came out of the churning of the Milk Ocean to the appropriate persons. The dharma cakram writer points out that the lesson we should take from this nAma is that we should always be vigilant about the thoughts that enter our mind, and ensure that our thoughts do not stray towards the pleasures of indriya-s but instead meditate on Him constantly. Just as a thief would not enter a house where people are awake, negative thoughts won't enter one's mind when one is awake and vigilant in the thought of bhagavAn. Whenever negative thoughts enter one's mind, one should divert those thoughts to positive energy by chanting bhagavAn's nAma instead. This is the lesson one should take from this nAma. 328. pratishThitah - He who is self-dependent. om pratishThitAya namah. One who is supported and established in His own greatness, without any support from external sources. The following upanishadic quote echoes this explanation almost verbatim - "sa bhagavah kva pratishThita iti | sve mahimni" - (chAndogya 7.24.1) To the question "Where is bhagavAn firmly established?", the reply is "In His own greatness". In vishNu dharma (72.2), we have a similar statement - "sve mahimni sthitam devam" - "The Lord who rests on His own greatness". One who supports the rest of the Universe obviously is not supported by something external, since then His support will depend on something else. We get our greatness from our wealth, our fame, etc., which are all impermanent; not so with bhagavAn - His greatness is not dependent on impermanent things. SrI cinmayAnanda explains this nAma in terms of cause and effect. Everything else in this Universe has its cause, and thus everything else is an effect. Unlike this, bhagavAn is the Ultimate Cause. The lesson we should take from this guNa of bhagavAn is that we should learn to depend on the One who is Permanent in this Universe, and not be dependent on all the impermanent things such as wealth, fame, etc. The dharma cakram writer gives the example of pANdava-s and kaurava-s. We are constantly reminded of the impermanent things in life by the occurrence of aging, death, loss of fame, friend becoming enemy, etc., and all these should teach us that the life that is to be led is by meditating on the One who is Permanent, viz. bhagavAn. -dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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