SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 44.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 44.

 

vaikunThah purushah prANah prANa-dah praNamah pr*thuh |

hiraNya-garbhah Satru-ghno vyApto vAyur_adhokshajah

||

 

om vaikunThAya namah

om purushAya namah

om prANAya namah

om prANa-dAya namah

om praNamAya namah

om pr*thave namah

om hiraNya-garbhAya namah

om Satru-ghnAya namah

om vyAptAya namah

om vAyave namah

om adhokshajAya namah

 

406. vaikunThah - Remover of obstacles (to union).

 

om vaikunThAya namah

 

SrI BhaTTar derives the meaning from the root kuThi gati praghAte -

obstructing the path. Thus kunThA signifies the obstacles to union.

vaikunTha-s are those whose obstacles have been removed. The obstacles to

bhagavAn are sins. He is the remover of sins, and so He is called

vaikunTha.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri explains the nAma as vigatA kunThA tasyAh kartA -

One who regulates those that tend to go their own way if left unobstructed.

At the beginning of the earth, when the pa~nca bhUta-s tended to expand

uncontrolled without uniting with each other, bhagavAn controlled this and

made them co-exist through union with other.

 

SrI Sankara and SrI BhaTTar both quote the following Sloka from mahAbhArata

in support of the concept that bhagavAn brings about the union of seemingly

incompatible things:

 

"mayA samSleshitA bhUmih adbhir-vyoma ca vAyunA |

vAyuSca tejasA sArdham viakunThatvam tato mama || (SAnti

343-50)

 

"By me the earth was united with water, ether with air, and air with

fire. So I am called viakunTha".

 

He is vaikunThah also because He removes all obstacles to attaining Him for

His devotees, and unites them with Him (SrI P.B. aNNa~ngarAcArya).

 

SrI satyadevo vASishTha explains that One for whom all obstacles or

obstructions (kunThA) have been removed is vikunTha. Or One who removes all

obstacles is vikunTha also.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri gives yet another explanation. bhagavAn is called

vaikunThah because He was born to Subhra and vikunThA in the fifth

manvantara. He then married ramA and acceded to her request to create a

place for her enjoyment, and this place was called vaikunTha. He Himself is

this vaikunTha. This is supported by vishNu purANa 3.2.41 and bhAgavata

8.5.4-5.

 

The dharma cakram writer takes the interpretation to a level where it

applies to lives of individuals for whom He removed the obstacles facing

them from attaining Him and united them with Him. The cases of prahlAda,

paraSurAma, karNa, hariScandra, vAli, etc. are given as examples.

 

407. purushah - The Purifier.

 

om purushAya namah.

 

This nAma occurred earlier also (nAma 14), even though it was not identified

as a recurring nAma at that time. A summary of the vyAkhyAna given for nAma

14 is included here.

 

a. puru sanoti iti purushah - One who gives in plenty.

b. purA AsIt iti purushah - One who existed before anything else.

c. pUrayati itit putushah - One who completes and fulfils existence

everywhere.

d. puri Sete iti purushah - One who is reclining in this body.

 

In support of d) above, SrI Sankara gives the additional support from the

Sruti-s: sa vA ayam purushah sarvAsu pUrshu puriSayah (Br*. Upa. 2.5.18) -

He is indeed called purusha who lives in all the bodies. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan

gives the following support from divya prabhandham in support of a):

vENDiRRellAm tarum en vaLLal (tiruvAimozhi 3.9.5); enakkE tannait-tanda

kaRpagam (tiruvAImozhi 2.7.11).

 

To the above four explanations, we now add the following:

 

e. "usha dAhe purUn sarvAn oshati dahati iti vA purushah" - He who

outshines everyone.

f. "pApmana oshah tasmAt purushah" - He who burns away all sins.

g. piparti pr*NAti pAlayati pUrayati iti vA purushah - He who protects -

from pr* pAlana pUraNayoh - to protect or nourish

h. purah + kushan = purushah (from pura agragamane) - pura agragamane

purati agragAmI bhavati iti vA purushah - He who is the Leader or who is in

the forefront.

i. pUrvah asmAt viSvAt tat AdikAraNatvAt iti purushah - He who is the

original cause of the world.

j. purUNi bhuvanAni samhAra samaye syati antam nayatIti purushah - He who

takes the worlds to their end at the time of samhAra or pralaya.

 

Under the current nAma, SrI BhaTTar gives the two new interpretations above

- One who burns (purifies) - oshah - all sins by nature: sa yat pUrvah

asmAt sarvasmAt pApmana oshah tasmAt purushah. This is close to the Sruti

passage that SrI Sankara gives as a support - sa yatpUrvo'smAt sarvasmAt

sarvAn pApmana aushat tasmAt purushah (Br. Upa. 1.4.1).

 

The nAma can also be derived from the root pr* to protect or nourish (g).

Also, from the uNAdi sUtra purah kushan and from pura agragamane (pANi ni

sUtra), the meaning "One who leads or is in the forefront" (h) is derived.

SrI P.B. aNNa~ngarAcArya svAmi chooses this meaning in his abridged

commentary. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan nicely summarizes the guNa-s indicated by the

nAma purusha as "rakshaka", phala prada" etc.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha, who gives most of the interpretations that have

been covered by other vyAkhyAna kartA-s, also adds the last one above.

 

408. prANah - The vital air (Life-breath).

 

om prANAya namah.

 

This nAma occured earlier (nAma 67, 322). There the explanation given was

prANIti iti prANAh - That which gives or sustains life. In addition to

giving prANa to everything in this world, He is also the prANa for all the

gods and for all His devotees. As prANa, He causes the movements.

 

SrI v.v.rAmAnujan gives additional references - en Aviyai, naDuvE vandu

uyyak-koLginRa nAthanai (tiruvAimozhi 1.7.5); naRpAl ayOddhiyil vAzhum

SarASaram muRRavum naRpAlukku uittanan (tiruvAimozhi 7.5.1); ottAi

ep-porutkum uyirAi (tiruvAimozhi 2.3.2). SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri refers us

to "yad-vai prANiti sa prAnah (chAndogya 1.3).

 

409. prANa-dah - The Life-giver.

 

om prANadAya namah.

 

This nAma occurred earlier (66, 323), and will re-occur as nAma 956. The

interpretations were: a) prANAn dadAti iti prAna-dah - He who gives life

(SrI Sankara and SrI BhaTTar); b) prANAn dyati iti prANah - He who takes

away the vital airs at the time of death (SrI Sankara); and c) prANAn

dIpayati - He who purifies and brightens the vital airs (SrI Sankara).

 

The aspect of His giving life has also been interpreted as His giving the

ability to the nitya-sUri-s to enjoy Him constantly, which is the sustenance

of their life.

 

The dharma cakram writer points out that when bhagavAn gives life in the

form of the sun, the beings that receive this light are more lively than the

beings that do not get exposed to the sun. Similarly, those who identify

themselves with their body are not in an awakened and energized state

compared to those who realize that they are the belongings of bhagavAn.

bhagavAn in His mantra svarUpa awakens the spiritual light in those who

chant the gAyatri mantra, and this in turn leads to God realization. Thus

He gives life in different ways to the beings of this world.

 

410. praNamah - a) He who makes others bow before Him.

b) He who deserves to be worshiped.

 

om praNamAya namah.

 

praNAmayati iti praNamah. By His superior character, He makes others bow

before Him. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to divya prabandham - "ilai tuNai

maRRen ne~njE! ila~nkaiyai IDazhitta kURamban allAl kuRai (nAnmugan

tiruvantAdi 8) - Except for Lord rAma, there is no one else fit for us to

worship.

 

An alternate version for this nAma is praNavah - He who is praised

immensely. SrI Sankara quotes sanatkumAra - praNamantIha vai vedAs-tasmAt

praNava ucyate - He for whom prostrations are made in the veda, is praNavah.

 

 

praNavah refers to the praNava mantra, and this is considered the verbal

representation of bhagavAn - mantra svarUpi.

 

411. pr*thuh - Well-known.

 

om pr*thave namah.

 

The word pr*thuh is derived from pratha prakhyAne - to become famous. SrI

BhaTTar gives references to the following: pr*thu-SrIh pArthivAtmajah (bAla

kANDa - 1.8) - The son of king daSaratha is endowed with world-wide renown;

teshAm atiyaSe loko rAmah - (bAla 77.28) - Amongst them rAma was the most

reputed. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers to divya prabandham - nigar il pugazhAi -

(tiruvAi mozhi 6.10.10).

 

SrI Sankara gives the meaning "He who has expanded Himself as Cosmos". SrI

satyadevo vAsishTha gives the explanation for this interpretation - prath

vistAre - to spread out, to expand. The viSva rUpa of mahA vishNu is an

example of pr*thuh in both senses - He who is well-known through His virAt

svarUpa or He who is spread throughout cosmos in His virAt svarUpa.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri gives an additional interpretation - His ninth

incarnation among His innumerable incarnations is as pr*thu mahAraja who is

the father of pr*thvI. This is described in SrImad bhAgavtam 1.3.14 -

r*shibhir-yAcito bheje navamam pArthivam vapuh - In response to the request

from the r*shi-s, He appeared in the form of pr*thu.

 

412. hiraNya-garbhah - He who delights everyone's heart.

 

om hiraNya-garbhAya namah.

 

This nAma occurred earlier as nAma 71. The interpretation given was a) He

who is in a lovely abode viz. parama padam, or b) He who is the originator

of all that is the object of fulfillment or joy. hiraNya refers to gold.

The analogy here is that just as gold is pure, very attractive, and highly

coveted, paramapadam is suddha-sattva, and hence the reference to hiraNya.

One who generates all that is great is hinraNya garbhah. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan

gives reference to tiruvAimozhi 10.9.11 - toNDar ALvadu SUzh-pon-viSumbe -

SUzh-pon-viSumbu here referring to "niratiSaya tEjOrUpamAna paramapadam".

 

hiraNya also refers to the vIrya that He had in Him and that resulted in the

creation. This is another explanation for the nAma that is given by SrI

rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri.

 

Just as gold is hidden in the heart of the earth, He is hidden in the hearts

of His devotees. He is hiraNyagarbha in this sense as well (SrI

rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri).

 

SrI radhAkr*shNa SAstri gives a connected account of the nAma-s starting

with viakunThah and ending with this nAma in terms of creation. BhagavAn

vaikunTha who has unobstructed and enormous energy, descended from His state

of parama purusha and decided to reside in the beings in this Universe in

the form of purusha in this body as if it is vaikunTha. Then He converted

the prAna Sakti which operates the prakr*ti into a form which supported the

beings, and thus becme prANa-dah. Thus resulted this Universe, the AkASa

being the first of the bhUta-s (tasmAd-vA etasmAdAtmana AkASas-sambhUtah).

First there resulted the great sound of praNava (pEroli). From this AkASa,

there resulted the other bhUta-s (AkASAd-vAyuh, vAyoragnih, agnerApah,

adbhyah pr*thivI), and thus He expanded into the cosmos (pr*thuh). This

pr*thu is the Father of this Universe. pr*thvI is the daughter of this

pr*thuh. Starting from the sthUla form, and following through with the

bestowing of the SUkshma form, He then gave the prANamaya, manomaya, and

vi~jnAna maya koSa-s to His creations as the hiraNyagarbhah. Thus,

starting from the nAma viakunThah, and up to the nAma hiraNya garbhah, the

secret of creation is nicely revealed.

 

413. Satru-ghnah - The Slayer of the enemies.

 

om Satru-ghnAya namah.

 

Satrum hanti iti Satru-ghnah. SrI BhaTTar points out that He subdues by

His arrows of wisdom the senses which lead away the people to the enjoyment

of earthly pleasures. That is, when one mediates on Him, this is how He

slays the enemies to the devotee's realization of Him. The mind is compared

to rAvaNa and his ten heads to the ten sense-organs.

 

SrI Sankara gives the interpretation that He is the destroyer of the enemies

of the gods. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha interprets the nAma as referring to

His act of punishing those who violate His dictum.

 

414. vyAptah - He who is full (of love and affection)

 

om vyApatAya namah.

>From nirukti we have - nIca pUjya avisesheNa vyApanAt vyApta ucyate -

Because He does not distinguish between young and old, master and servant,

friends and foes, when it comes to showering His affection. SrI BhaTTar

refers us to SrImad rAmAyaNa -

 

paurAn svajanavat nityam kuSalam paripr*cchati |

puteshvagnishu dAreshu preshya-Sishya gaNeshu ca ||

nikhilena AnupUrvyAcca pitA putrAniva aurasAn || ((AraNya

2.37,38)

 

Also, "ripUNAmapi vatsalah" - Even towards His enemies rAma is kind" -

yuddha 50.56.

 

Another interpretation given is that He pervades everything (SrI Sankara,

SrI cinmayAnanda, SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri).

 

415. vAyuh - He who moves (towards His devotees).

 

om vAyave namah.

 

SrI BhaTTar: He is called vAyu because He Himself goes seeking His devotees

wherever they may be. Examples are His going to Sabari seeking her with

respect, His visit to bharadvAja in his ASrama, His friendship with guha,

etc.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the derivation - vAti sarvatra gato bhavati

iti vAyuh - vishNuh. He who is spread out everywhere in this Universe.

There is not a single place in this Universe where air has not entered or

does not exist. This is the guNa of bhagavAn.

 

The dharma cakram writer reminds us that this is a nAma that emphasizes

bhgavAn's guNa of being all-pervasive. He gives reference to gItA - "puNyo

gandhah pr*thivyAm - I am the principle of sweet fragrance in the earth

(7.9). We can survive without food or water for a few days, but without

vAyu we can't survive even for a few minutes. Without bhagavAn we can't

survive, period. This is the concept this nAma should remind us. vAyu

comes to us without our seeking; so does bhagavAn - He seeks His devotees

and goes after them (see SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam in the beginning). vAyu

does not distinguish between people in any way; so does bhagavAn mingle with

everyone with equality of disposition.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda points out that He is not just the air but the life-giving

force behind the air.

 

SrI Sankara derives the meaning from vAti - gandham karoti iti vAyuh - He

who is the cause of smell. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri refers us to the

upanishad - vAyurasmai puNyam gandham Avahati - aitareya 1.7. bhagavAn is

the antaryAmi for vAyu, and makes vAyu perform its functions -

"yo vAyau tishThan-vAyorantaro yam vAyur-na veda yasya vAyuh SarIram yo

vAyumantaro yamayati, esha te AtmAntaryAmyamr*tah" - br*hadA 3.7.7.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri gives several passages from the Sruti to bring out

the uniqueness and importance of vAyu among the devatAs. The Sun, moon,

fire and water all merge into vAyu when they disappear - vAyurvAva samvargo

yadA vA agnirudvAyati, vAyumevApyeti, yadA sUryo'stameti vAyumevApyeti, yadA

candro'stameti vAyumevApyeti,yadApa ucchushyanti

vAyumevApiyantivAyuhyavaitAn-sarvAn-samvr*kye (chAndogya 4.3). When the

indriya-devatA-s such as the sun and the moon enter the sushupti state, vAyu

continues to be active as the prANa vAyu - mlocanti hyanyA devatAh, na

vAyuh, saishA'nastamitA devatA vAyuh - br*hadA 1.5.22. bhgavAn vishNu bears

the earth through His vibhUti as vAyu - kim tad-vishNor-balamAhuh |

vAtAt-vishNor-balamAhuh | (taittirIya 1.8.3). vAyu is the thread that

keeps this world together like a string holding the beads of a chain;

without this the world will break apart like a chain with a broken string;

bhagavAn is this force - vAyurvai gautama tat-sUtram, vAyunA vai gautama

sUtreNAyam ca lokah paraSca lokah sarvANi ca bhutAni sandr*bdhAni bhavanti

(br*hadA 3.5.2). Thus vAyuh and its vital role in the existence and

survival of this Universe is the reason for bhagavAn's nAma as vAyuh.

 

417. adhokshajah - He who does not get diminished.

 

om adhokshajAya namah.

 

He is adokshajah because He never gets diminished even though He is enjoyed

by His devotees. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan gives the most appropriate support for

this from nammAzhvAr - "yAnum Etti mUvulagum muRRum Etti pinnaiyum tAnum

Ettilum tannai Etta Etta engu eidum? tEnum pAlum kannalum amudamum

Agit-tittippa" - tiruvAimozhi 4.3.10.

 

He is adhokshajah also because His vitality never diminishes, and He is not

diminished by repeated births and deaths - adho na kshIyate jAtu yasmAt

tasmAt adhokshajah (mahAbhArata udyoga 4.69.10). adhah means down or below,

and kshIyate refers to getting diminished.

 

 

SrI Sankara gives an alternate interpretation - He who is perceived when the

sense organs (aksha gaNa-s) are made inward-looking. He gives reference to

the following verse, whose author or source are not known.

 

adho bhUte hyakshagaNe pratyag-rUpa-pravAhite |

jAyate tasya vai j~nAnam tena adhokshaja ucyate ||

 

Yet another interpretation given by SrI Sankara is "He who manifests Himself

as the virAt between the sky (aksha) and the region below (adhah) i.e., the

Earth" - aksham adhah tayor-madhye vairAja rUpeNa ajAyata iti adhkshajah.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri adds yet another dimension: adhah - j~nAtr*tvabhAvAt

hInam, akshajam j~nAnam yasya sa adhokshajah - He who is not recognized by

indriya-s such as the eyes etc., even though He is everywhere, in

everything.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan