vaisampAyanar

[Guest guest]

>"V. Chandrasekaran" <vcs

>vaisampAyanar

>sgopan

>Wed, 26 Aug 1998 12:15:53 +0500 (GMT+0500)

>

>Dear Sri Sadagopan,

> Namaskarams.

> I have a question related to a character whose name appears

>in the beginning of Vishnu Sahasranamam. Sri vaiSampAyanar.

>The sthOthram his name appears as the sayer,

>

>SrI vaiSampAyana uvAcha

> s^rutvA dharmA na sESeNa pAvanAni cha sarvaSa:

> yudhishtira SAnthanavam punarE vApya bhAshatha:

>

>yudhishtira uvAcha

> kimEkam ....

> .....

> .....

>

> I would like to know who this personality is.

>

Dear Sri Chandrasekaran :

 

I am copying the other memebrs of the group on my

response to your question , since there may be others ,

who might like to know about the identity of

Sage VaisampAyanar and how he fits in here .

 

Sri Vishnu Sahasra Naamam is found in the AanusAsana

Parvam of MahA Bharatham and is architected as a

conversation between YudhishtrA -- the eldest of the

PandavAs and the son of DharmarAjan and Kunthi dEvi --

and the dying Bhishma PithAmahar resting in a cage

of arrows in the battle field of Kuru KshEthram .

 

YudhishtrA was always fond of learning about and

performing Dharmam . YudhishtrA approached his venerable

grandsire and had a lot of clarifications on various

kinds of codes of conduct completely ( SruhtvA dharmAn

asEshENa pavanAni cha sarvasa : ) . They were uplifting

and sanctifying to hear . YudhishtrA still had a nagging

doubt about the identity of the Lord , who should be eulogized ,

meditated upon and celebrated .Hence ,He wanted to know furhter

as to who is that one and only Supreme Lord , who can grant

Moksha Sukham and release the Janthus from the cycles of

births and deaths without fail ( KimEkam Dhaivatham lOkE ?

Kim vApyEkam parAyaNam ? kO dharma: Sarva dharmANAm?

Kim Japan muchayathE Janthu: ? ManavA: Kam archantha:?

ManavA: kam sthuvantha: ? )

 

The kind hearted AcharyA BhismA blessed YudhishtrA

with the answer thru the revelation of Sri VishNu

Sahasra Naamam and revealed the parathvam ( supermacy )

of VishNu thru that sanctifying names of the Lord .

 

Sage Vaisampaayanaa refers to this in the section

that you quoted:

 

VaisampAyanOvAcha :

 

SruthvA dharmAN asEshENa pavanAni cha sarvasa:

YUDHISHTRA : SAANTHANAVAM punrEva abhyabhAshatha

 

YudhishtirOvAcha:

 

kimEkam dhaivatham lOkE----samsAra BhandhanAth

 

Sage VaismapAyanA sets the context here as a PourANikA

to King JanamEjaya , when he narrated MahA Bharatham

to the above king . By the way , JanamEjaya is the son

of Parikshith , the grandson of ArjunA . He wanted to

avenge his father's death caused by a serpent's bite due

to a curse . JanamEjaya peformed an auster penance to

eliminate the entire serpent race .Every one of the serpents

except Takshaka was destroyed in the Yaj~na Kuntam

and latter was saved by a sage named AstikA . This

sage asked JanamEjaya to stop the Yaj~nam . Sage

VaisampAyanA narrated the whole of Mahaa Bharatham

to JanamEjayA to overcome the sins accumulated from

Brahma Hatthi dhOsham .

 

VyAsA BhagavAn ( VyAsaaya VishNu rUpAya VyAsa rUpAya

VishNavE ) composed Maha Bhaaratham . His chief disciple

was VaisampAyanA . Sage VaisampAyanA's chief disciple was

Sage Yaj~navalkyA of Sukla Yajur Vedaa Fame . When

AchArya VaisampAyanA was angry at his dear disciple ,

he asked Yaj~na valkyA to give back the KrishNa Yajur

Vedam that he had taught him . Yaj~na valkya disgorged it

and the other disciles took the form of Titthiri birds

and picked up the Vedam . Yaj~navalkyA sought the Sun God

as his next AchAryaa and blessed us with Sukla Yajur Vedam .

 

Vyaasa Bhagavaan's Sishya , VaisampAyanA was extremely

skilled in the narration of PurANAs composed by his

AchAryA . While reciting the AanusAsanikA parvam ,

he is conversing with JanamEjayA and reminds the king

of the context of the birth of Sri VishNu Sahasra Naamams

from the mouth of the grandsire , Bhishmar .

 

V.Sadagopan