SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 42.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 42.

 

vyavasAyo vyavasthAnah samsthAnah sthAnado dhruvah |

pararddhih paramah spashTah tushTah pushTah SubhekshaNah ||

 

om vyavaSayAya namah

om vyavasthAnAya namah

om samsthAnAya namah

om sthAnadAya namah

om dhruvAya namah

om parardhaye namah

om paramAya namah

om spashTAya namah

om tushTAya namah

om pushTAya namah

om SubhekshaNAya namah

 

SrI BhaTTar interprets the next few nAma-s as referring to the aspect of

bhagavAn as dhruva, the Pole Star.

 

386. vyavasAyah - a) The Pivot (of the planets).

b) One with a firm and resolute mind, One with True

Knowledge about Self.

 

om vyavasAyAya namah

 

atiSayena sIyate (badhyate) asmin jyotiScakram iti vyavasAyah - The circle

of planets is tightly bound and closely fastened to bhagavAn, and so He is

called vyavasAyah. Space which is the support for the stars and planets is

the body of bhagavAn, and so He is tied to them tightly.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda refers us to two Sloka-s in the gItA where the term

vyavasAya occurs. SrI rAmAnuja in his gItA bhAshya (2.41) interprets the

word as referring to "unshakable conviction" (about the true nature of the

self) - vyavasAyo niScayah. The same interpretation is given in gItA 2.44.

So vyavasAyah can refer to One with a resolute mind, or One who has True

Knowledge of the self.

 

387. vyavasthAnah - The basis.

 

om vyavasthAnAya namah.

 

The basis for the nAma is the root sthA (sthiti). vyavasthAnam karoti iti

vyavasthAnah, or asmin vyavasthitih sarvasya iti vyavasthAnah. One who

establishes everything, or One on whom the basis of everything resides; or

One who regulates everything in the Universe and the associated functions.

vyavasthA is given the meaning "determination, decision, settlement" in

Apte's dictionary, and vyavasthit means 'established'. One who determines

everything is thus vyavasthAnah, and One who establishes everything in

their respective places or positions is vyavasthAnah.

 

SrI BhaTTar associates this basis with kAla or time, which is the basis for

everything that happens in this world. This again is determined by the

movement of the planets, of which dhruva is the pole or the pivot. SrI

Sankara associates the nAma with bhagavAn being the One who divides and

regulates everyone including the different protectors of the world, various

types of beings, takes care of their survival and sustenance, etc.

 

388. samsthAnah - The final end.

 

om samsthAnAya namah.

 

sarvam etasmin santhishThate - samApyate iti samsthAnah. One in whom all

things have their ultimate end is samsthAnah. Another interpretation, given

by SrI v.v.rAmAnujan, is samApyate iti samsthAnah - One who terminates

everything at some stage is samsthAnah.

 

SrI Sankara gives an additional interpretation - samIcInam sthAnam asya iti

samsthAnah - He who has the supreme place. This is elaborated by SrI

rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri as referring to the Milky Ocean, the sUrya maNDala, the

heart of the yogis etc., or His position as dhruva in the dhruva maNDala.

 

389. sthAna-dah - The Giver of the Supreme Abode.

 

om sthAnadAya namah.

 

sthAnam dadAti iti sthAna-dah. da is "to give". There are many nAma-s that

end with the affix -da, and all of these can be understood based on this

suffix. Other examples are prANa-dah, mAna-dah, SAnti-dah, SrI-dah,

darpa-dah, sarva-kAma-dah, and svasti-dah. sthAna-dah is One who gives the

best of the sthAna-s, paramapadam.

 

SrI Sankara gives a more general interpretation as One who gives status to

the beings as they deserve - dhruvAdInAm karmAnurUpam sthAnam dadAti iti

sthAna-dah. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri points out that bhagavAn is the One who

gave the position to dhruva which is unlike all the other stars viz. dhruva

is fixed in position compared to the others who are in constant motion.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda gives references to kathopanishad (yathAkarmam yathASrutam

- 2.5.7), and quotes "karma phala dAtA nArAyaNah" to support SrI Sankara's

interpretation. The dharma cakram writer gives reference to tirukkuraL to

support the same interpretation -

 

"vaguttAn vagutta vagai allAl kODi

toguttArkkum tuyttal aridu".

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha comments that bhagavAn gives the position to the

stars in space, to the devas in the antariksha loka, to the water-living

creatures in the Oceans, etc. At a lower level, He has even created

appropriate places in our bodies for the refuse that results from the bodily

functions.

 

390. dhruvah - The Stationary (Fixed).

 

om dhruvAya namah.

 

The root dhru means to be steady. He conferred a status on dhruva that is

as permanent as SrI vaikunTham. Since He can make any place as permanent

as His abode viz. SrIviakunTham, the significance here is that He is

everywhere.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri comments that bhagavAn conferred on dhruva that

which is only His Nature - viz. the indestructible status, and so dhruva is

bhagavAn Himself. The dharma cakram writer points out that in the midst of

the cycle of creation and pralaya where everything that has been created

merges in Him and then reappears, He is the only permanent or fixed one, and

so He is dhruva. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha takes the meaning "certain" for

dhruva, and points out that even though everything except Him in this

Universe is adhruva, by His Nature of dhruvatva He gives a sense of

certainty to everything - thus the rising of the sun and the setting of the

sun are dhruva or certain, birth and death are certain, etc.

 

Next begins the story of SrI rAma. The next 16 nAma-s are interpreted by

SrI BhaTTar in the context of rAmAvatAra. SrI BhaTTar titles this section

as "The story of SrI rAma which resuscitates even the dead". SrI

v.v.rAmAnujan points out the "bias" that SrI BhaTTar has for this

incarnation shows in the vryAkhyAnam that he gives for these nAma-s. The

title is just the beginning.

 

391. pararddhih - He who is full of noble and auspicious qualities.

 

om paraddhaye namah.

 

r*ddhih means vibhUti or manifestation. parA r*ddhih yasya sa pararddhih -

One who has a super-abundance of auspicious qualities or kalyANa guNa-s.

SrI v.v.rAmAnujan comments that it is not an exaggeration to say that in no

other incarnation do we find the perfection of auspicious qualities as in

the rAma incarnation. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri refers us to rAmAyaNa where

some of these qualities are described in Sloka-s 1.1.8 to 1.1.18 by sage

nArada to vAlmIki. The last two Sloka-s are given here as examples:

 

"samudra iva gAmbhIrye dhairyeNa himavAniva |

vishNunA sadr*So vIrye somavat priyadarSanah ||

 

kAlAgni-sadr*Sah krodhe kshamayA pr*thivI samah |

dhanadena samstyAge satye dharma ivAparah ||

 

"rAma has gAmbhIrya like an ocean, dhairya of himavAn, vIrya of

vishNu, the sweet appearance of the moon, anger comparable to that of

pralaya agni, patience of Mother Earth, tyAga of kubera, and satya of dharma

devatA".

 

SrI rAmAnujan gives an additional interpretation: pareshAm r*ddhireva

r*ddhih yasya - One who considers para samr*ddhih or the fulfillment of

others as His own. After crowning vibhIshaNa, Lord rAma felt happy by the

sheer act of fulfilling His word - kr*ta kr*tyah tathA rAmah. He also

quotes "utsaveshu ca sarveshu piteva paritushyati" - When the citizens are

happy, He feels happy like a father who feels pleasure at the happiness of

the child".

 

392. parma-spashTah - He whose greatness is explicit.

 

om parama-spashTAya namah.

 

spashTa (pratyaksha, dr*shTA) pAramyah parama-spashTah. His greatness is

explicitly obvious. SrI BhaTTar refers us to rAmAyaNa - vyaktamesha

mahA-yogI paramAtmA sanAtanah - (yuddha kANDam - 114.4). These are

mandodari's words when she sees rAma after He slays rAvaNa in the

battlefield. Similarly, tArA, vAli's wife, recognizes rAma's divine nature

as soon as she sees Him - tvam aprameyaSca durAsadaSca.....manushya

dehAbhyudam vihAya divyena dehAbhydayena yuktah (rAmAyaNa 4.24.31-32). Lord

rAma's only goal and firm determination (mahA-yogi) in this incarnation was

protection of the world, and His greatness can be clearly cognized by means

of direct perception. sumitrA's words are: "sUryasyApi bhavet sUryah" - He

shines even brighter than the Sun, and He is the One who gives brightness to

the Sun. Other references to Lord rAma's explicit greatness are His being

called "pumsAm dr*shTi cittApahAriNam", "rUpa samhananam lakshmIm tadr*Sur

vismitAkArAh", etc.

 

The dharma cakram writer points out that it is this explicit greatness that

caused bharata to throw away the kingdom that was offered to him and instead

be devoted to rAma, lakshmaNa to serve rAma for 14 years without food and

sleep, and hanumAn to surrender to rAma as soon as he met him and serve Him

for the rest of his life.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives an independent interpretation based on the

root spaS - to bind ( spaSati - badhnAti), and gives the meaning "One who

binds everything in a superb way" for parama-spashTa. The example of the

complex human body, which retains its beautiful appearance in spite of its

internal complexity, is given as an example. He gives the following quotes

in support: asya spaSo na nimishanti (rg 9.73.4), divah spaSah pracaranti

(atharva 4.16.4), etc.

 

393. tushTah - He who is full of happiness.

 

om tushTAya namah.

 

Instead of being in SrIviakunTham where only a chosen few could be with Him,

He decided happily to choose dasaratha, a human, as His father, and be born

in this world so that He was within reach of everyone. When the deva-s

appeared before Him in His rAma incarnation and praised Him as bhagavAn, He

told them that He was happy to consider Himself as a human, the son of

dasaratha - AtmAnam mAnusham manye rAmam daSarathAtmajam. As we saw before,

He is one who was happy like a father of an accomplished child when His

citizens were happy - piteva paritushyati, and who attained unbounded joy by

just fulfilling His word to vibhIshaNa and crowning him as the king of lankA

- pramumoda ha.

 

SrI Sankara interprets the nAma as referring to His being The Supreme Bliss.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda explains that He is tushTa - One who becomes happy even

with the smallest of offerings. He refers us to

 

"patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktyA prayacchati |

tadaham bhaktyupahr*tam aSnAmi prayatAtmanah ||

 

"I accept even if one offers some leaf or flower, fruit, or spoon of

water, happily, if it is offered in love".

 

The dharma cakram writer points out that bhagavAn is tushTa because He is

not subject to the pains and pleasures that other beings are subject to.

rAma did not feel instant happiness when He was going to become king, nor

was He sad when He was asked to go the forest for 14 years. kr*shNa only

smiled when gAndhAri cursed that the yAdava race should come to an end

forever. bhagavAn is only the witness to all events, and is not influenced

in any way by any event, which for the outsiders is deemed good or bad,

happy or sad etc. This nAma should teach us that the proper way to realize

bhagavAn is to be tushTa always, and be witness to the events around us but

not be attached to them, and train to be a yogi - santhushTah satatam yogI.

 

394. pushTah - He who is full of noble qualities.

 

om pushTAya namah.

 

pUrNatvAt pushTah. He is complete in every respect, and so there is no room

for likes and dislikes, wants and desires. The dharma cakram writer refers

us to vaLLuvar referring to bhagavAn as "vENDUdal vENDAmai ilAn".

Meditating on the significance of this nAma will lead us to move towards

this state where we overcome likes and dislikes.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha extends this meaning to also suggest that He is

pushTa because He keeps all his creations fulfilled by making available the

means for them to be fulfilled - pushNAti iti pushTah.

 

395. SubehshaNah - He who has auspicious eyes.

 

om SubhekshaNAya namah.

 

We have seen the nAma-s padmanibhekshaNah (346) and aravindAkshah (348)

earlier. SrI BhaTTar refers us to ayodhyA kANDam -

 

"yaSca rAmam na paSyettu yam ca rAmo na paSyati |

ninditah sa vaset loke svAtma'pi enam vigarhate ||

(ayodhyA 17.14)

 

"Whoever has not seen rAma or whomsoever rAma has not seen, that

person stands condemned by all people in this world, and even his own self

condemns him".

 

SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to amalanAdipirAn - kariyavAgip-puDai parandu

miLirndu SevvariyODi nINDa ap-perivAya kaNgaL, sung by tiruppANAzhvAr.

subhRUh Ayata tAmrAkshah sAkshAt vishNuriva svayam - He with such beautiful

brows and bright long red eyes - He is none other than vishNu, is the praise

of the citizens of ayodhyA. hanumAn describes rAma to sItAdevi as "rAmah

kamala patrAkshah sarva sattva manorathah - where he describes the greatness

of seeing His eyes as well as being seen by His eyes. sItA pirATTi herself

describes Her Lord rAma thus - tam padma daLa patrAksham .. dhanyAh paSyanti

me nAtham - Those who are blessed see the beautiful lotus-like eyes of my

nAtha.

 

SrI Sankara elaborates on the power of the beauty of His eyes thus:

 

"IkshNam darSanam yasya Subham Subhakaram narANAm, mumukshUNAm

mokshdam, bhogArthinAm bhogadam, pApinAm pAvanam, sarva sandeha viccheda

kAraNam, hr*daya-granther vicchedakaram, sarvakarmANAm kshpaNam, avidyAyASca

nivartakam sah SubekshaNah".

 

"His mere sight is so auspicious and bestows good on all beings; it

gives moksham to the spiritually minded, enjoyments to those that desire

them, cleanses sinners, removes all doubts, burns up all the karma-s, and

removes all ignorance".

 

He quotes the Sruti "bhidhyate hr*daya-granthih chidyante sarva samSayAh

kshIyante cAsya karmANi tasmin dr*shTe parAvare" (muNDakppanishad 2.2.8) -

The knots of the heart are cut....

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri gives us several references to the Sruti. IkshANam

also refers to the determination by bhagavAn that He will become many from

One. This samkalpam became the auspicious decision which resulted in the

creation of this Universe. Since He is the One with the Subha IkshaNa or

samkalpa, He is SubhekshaNa. SrI SAstri gives the following quotes to

support this interpretation: tadaikshata bahu syAm prajAyeyeti (chAndogya

6.2); sa Ikshata lokAnnusr*jA iti (aitareya 1.1.1); sa IkshAm cakre (praSno

6.3); seyam devataikshata hantAhamimAh tisro devatA anena jIvena

AtmA'nupraviSya nAmarUpe vyAkaravANi (chAndogya 6.3).

 

The dharma cakram writer points out several examples of individuals who

benefited by the mere sight of bhagavAn falling on them. arjuna asked Lord

kr*shNa to bless him with His Merciful glance; as soon as this happened, all

of arjuna's doubts were cleared, and he realized the true nature of his soul

immediately. guha, hanumAn, paraSurAma, and Sabari are just among some of

the examples of people who gained immensely from the mere sight of Lord

rAma.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan