Guest guest Posted January 31, 1999 Report Share Posted January 31, 1999 SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 46. vistArah sthAvara-sthANuh pramANam bIjam-avyayam | artho_'nartho mahA-koSo mahA-bhogo mahA-dhanah || om vistArAya namah om sthAvara-sthANave namah om pramANAya namah om bIjAya-avyayAya namah om arthAya namah om anarthAya namah om mahA-koSAya namah om mahA-dhanAya anamah 427. vistArah - a) He who spreads (the veda-s). b) He who is spread out in everything. c) He who expands to contain everything (at the time of pralaya). om vistArAya namah After destroying the kali yuga by force in His kalki incarnation, bhagavAn establishes the kr*ta yuga and then spreads dharma through the veda-s. SrI BhaTTar gives reference to the mahAbhArata: tatah adharma vinASo vai dharma-vr*ddhiSca bhArata | bhavishyati kr*te prApte kriyavAn ca janas-tathA || (mahA. vana. 191.7) SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to nammAzhvAr - kaliyum keDum kaNDu koNmin; tiriyum kali-yugam nI~ngi devargaL tAmum pugundu peria kida yugam paRRip-pErinba veLLam peruga (tiruvAimozhi 5.2.1,2). SrI satyadevo vAsishTha points out that bhagavAn is vistArah because He spreads Himself out in the form of all the beings He has created and all the objects in the universe. Then at the time of pralaya, all these merge back into Him, and He expands Himself to contain all the things. Thus the nAma visTara applies both to His being spread out in all objects, and His spreading out to contain all the objects within Himself. SrI vAsishTha gives reference to the yajur-veda - tadantarsya sarvasya tadu sarvasyAsya bAhyatah; ISAvAsyam idam sarvam yat-kim ca jagatyAm jagat; etc. He also gives the example of a seed expanding to a tree, and the tree being contained in the seed back again. The dharma cakram writer adds another dimension to the anubhavam of this nAma. He observes that the viSva-rUpa that bhagavAn showed to arujuna is an illustration of this nAma. This form with infinite faces, infinite eyes, with no beginning or end, with all the beings including all the deva-s contained in this form, with the Sun and the moon as His eyes, and with no top, middle or bottom, illustrates His nAma "vistArah". svAmi vivekAnanda once made a statement to the effect that "Life is to expand", meaning that we get closer and closer to God by expanding our love to Him and our desire to reach Him. This is what the nAma "vistArah" should remind us. 428. sthAvar-sthANuh - a) He who is tranquil after establishing the dharma in kr*ta yuga. b) He in whom the earth etc. rest c) He who is motionless, and in whom the earth etc. rest. om sthAvar-sthANave namah. SrI BhaTTa's vyAkhyAnam is "evam dharme sthAvari_kr*te, Same sthAsyati iti sthAvara-sthANuh", which supports interpretation a) above. SrI Sa~nkara interprets the nAma as "sthitiSIlah sthAvarah; sthitiSilAni pr*thivyAdIni tishThanti asmin iti sthANuh; sthAvaraSca asau sthANuSca sthAvara-sthANuh". This is translated slightly differently by two different interpreters. One is that the apparently motionless objects such as the earth etc., rest in Him. The other interpretation is that this nAma refers to "He who is firmly established, and in whom the apparently motionless entities such as the earth are established, and He is both of these". SrI cinmayAnanda gives the interpretation "He is both Firm (shtAvara) and Motionless (shtANuh)". He is motionless because He is All-pervading. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri explains sthAvara as referring to the pa~nca bhUta-s that will continue till the time of pralaya, sthANuh as referring to One whose state does not change, and interprets sthAvara-sthANuh as referring to One who does not change in His state, and in whom the changeless pa~nca bhUta-s exist. The tamizh word "tAvaram" is related to the samkr*t word "sthAvara". SrI satyadevo vAsishTha observes that just as the road does not move even though people keep moving on it, and the mother walks but the child in her womb does not walk with her, so also bhagavAn has created all that is around us but He Himself is sthAvarah. 429. pramANam - The Authority. om pramANAya namah. The root from which the nAma is derived is mA mAne to measure, to compare with. pramANam is that through which everything is ascertained. In this case it refers to bhagavAn who is the final proof or authority for everything. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha points out that bhagavAn created this Universe the way He wanted, including the decision on how many species should exist and what attributes they should have, etc., and so He is the pramANam or authority for everything. The nAma occurs again as nAma 959. SrI BhTTar interprets the current occurrence as referring to His being the authority to decide what is good and what is bad for the people in the kr*ta yuga, after the kalki incarnation. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri defines pramANam as that ability which helps us decide between good and bad through data acquired using our sense organs (ears, eyes, etc.). BhagavAn is the One who controls this, and so He is Himself pramANam. 430. bIjam-avyayam - The Seed Imperishable. om bIjAya avyayAya namah. The nAma is bIjam (seed) that is avyayam (imperishable). Because dharma grows again and again from Him after the end of each yuga, He is the Imperishable Seed (SrI BhaTTar). SrI Sa~nkara vyAkhyAnam is that He is the cause of everything without Himself undergoing any change (anyathA bhAvavyatih ekeNa kAraNam). The dharma cakram writer gives a slightly different interpretation - Unlike some seeds which may not produce a tree and which may decay in the form of the seed itself, bhagavAn is the undecaying seed from which the Universe results. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri refers us to gItA 9.18 - (aham) bijam-avyayam. SrI rAmAnuja bAshyam for this passage in gItA is "tatra tatra vyaya-rahitam yat kAraNam tad aham eva" - "I alone am the imperishable seed that is the exhaustless cause everywhere". SrI satyadevo vAsishTha refers us to the vedic passage "ajAyamAno bahudA vijAyate", which conveys a similar message. He also gives a passage from vaiyAkaraNa defining the term avyayam - sadr*Sam trishu li~ngeshu sarvAsu ca vibhaktishu | vacaneshu ca sarveshu yan-na vyeti tad-avyayam || which can be approximately translated as "That which is equal and indistinguishable in the three genders and numbers as well as in its various declensions". 431. arthah - The Goal - He who is sought after. om arthAya namah. That which is obtained or desired to be obtained is "artha". SrI BhaTTar refers us to gItA - "j~nAnavAn mAm prapadye vAsudeah sarvam iti" (7.19). SrI Sa~nkara bhAshyam is "sukha rUpatvAt sarvaih arthyata iti arthah" - He who is sought after by all as He is of the nature of bliss. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri remarks that there are many things in this world which are sought after with a view to deriving happiness, but they all end up in resulting in misery after they are acquired and enjoyed. Unlike these, bhagavAn is sought after by those who have the j~nAna to know that He is the only one to be sought for permanent bliss. 432. anarthah - a) He who is not the goal for some. b) He who is self-fulfilled and does not have any other end to seek. om anarthAya namah. a) SrI BhaTTar explains that He is not sought after by those who have only a little merit. They seek Him if at all, only for wealth. These are those who want to regain their lost wealth, those who wish to acquire new wealth, and those who seek the enjoyment of their own self (kaivalyam) without seeking kaimkaryam to bhagavAn. SrI Sa~nkara bhAshyam is that bhagavAn is completely fulfilled and so does not need any artha (i.e., He does not seek anything), and so He is anarthah. The dharma cakram writer has devoted about one-and-a-half pages to this nAma, and nicely describes how the current-day human being goes to great lengths to make himself/herself comfortable, and in the process keeps making life miserable. The needs just keep increasing the more new things are invented. The atom bomb is invented, and instead of protecting man it becomes a threat to worry about. More and more cosmetics are invented, and more and more diseases result as a result of their use. More and more things are invented to satisfy our taste buds, and more and more problems result because of over-consumption. This nAma should illustrate to us that life that does not keep multiplying our needs is the life that will ultimately lead us to the mental state where we can contemplate on bhagavAn. 433. mahA-koSah - a) He who has a great treasure. b) He who is a Great Treasure. c) He who is shielded by the five koSa-s or shields. om mahA-koSAya namah. koSa means treasure. mahA-koSa refers to vast, inexhaustible treasure. Even though BhagavAn is giving away Himself and His belongings always to His devotees in all ways, still it does not diminish. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to "Unam il Selvam enko?", pointing to the undiminishing Affluence called BhagavAn. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha observes that from this Great Treasure-chest (mahAkoSah) viz. bhagavAn, come out all these different worlds, and the different life-forms in each of these worlds, but the Treasure-chest is not in anyway diminished by this. We see this demonstrated even in day-to-day life, in that the waters of the ocean never diminish even though the water is constantly evaporating. So also, the beings are born one from the other just because of the mahAkoSa. SrI Sa~nkara's interpretation is based on the meaning "shield" for koSa. This interpretation is that the real nature of the soul is shielded by the five koSa-s, anna maya koSa, prANa maya koSa, mano maya koSa, vij~nAna maya koSa, and Ananda maya koSa, and bhagavAn is the mahAkoSa who is shielded from all except the yogi-s. The dharma cakram writer points out that by control of our indriya-s we can cross the anna maya koSa, by control of breath we can cross the prANa maya koSa, by control of the mind the manomaya koSa is crossed, by channeling one's intellect and through control of worldly desires and passions we can cross the vij~nAnamaya koSa, and through meditation on the Self we cross the Anandamaya koSa, and ultimately realize bhagavAn. 434. mahA-bhogah - He who has objects of great enjoyment. om mahA-bhogAya namah. SrI BhaTTar: He who has objects of great enjoyment. Great sensual gratifications which have got to be acquired by means of wealth, they too can be had from Him. The objects of desires that are obtained by the worship of indra and other gods is but a blessing of bhagavAn - "labhate ca tatah kAmAn mayaiva vihitAn hitAn" - gItA 7.22. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to nammAzhvAr 3.10.3 - muttu il pal-bhOgattoru tani-nAyakan - bhagavAn has limitless and unbounded bhoga-s. The dharma cakram writer points out that among the joys that one gets, there are those which are conducive to desirable benefits, and there are those which lead to misery as a result of the enjoyment. When one eats food for satisfying hunger, this does not lead to suffering, but when one consumes food to satisfy the taste buds, it is of the later kind. The enjoyment involving gambling, intoxicating drinks, stealing other's wealth, etc., are bought at the price of misery as a consequence. The term mahAbhogah indicates that bhagavAn is the source of the bliss that is the greatest of all joys that lead to positive benefits, the one that leads to Self realization. 435. mahA-dhanah - He of great wealth. om mahA-dhanAya namah. He is endowed with immeasurable and unlimited wealth to be given to those who need it. SrI BhaTTar quotes vishNu purANa - marIcimiSraih daksheNa tathaiva anyaih anantatah | dharmah prApatah tathA ca anyaih arthah kAmah tathA paraih || - vishNu purAna 1.18.23 "dharma in an endless manner has been obtained from Him by the revered marIci, daksha, and others. Similarly wealth has been obtained from Him by others. Likewise, by yet others kAma (the sensual enjoyment) has been acquired". SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri points out that He is the possessor of the great wealth that can be put in the mahAkoSa - great treasure chest (nAma 433), and that is needed for the mahAbhoga - great enjoyment (nAma 434). The dharma cakram writer discusses three kinds of wealth - material wealth, knowledge, and devotion. The first two can be attained by anyone irrespective of their character etc. Those who have material wealth or knowledge are praised by the people of this world, and as a result get intoxicated with pride. But the third category of wealth is rewarded and praised by bhagavAn, and does not lead to anything except bhagavAn Himself. Lord rAma during His paTTAbhishekam gave away lots of material gifts to the participants, but He did not give any material gift to hanumAn. When siTa pirATTi asked rAma about this, He told her that He has already given to hanumAn what nobody else knows, and that she can find out what it is from hanumAn himself. When asked, hanumAn shows Lord rAma and sItA residing in His heart. This is what vishNu's nAma of mahAdhanah indicates, viz. that He gives away the greatest wealth there is, Himself, to His devotees. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha adds that He is mahAdhanah because He has wealth that leads to absolute bliss, never diminishes, immense, cannot be counted or measured, and is prayed for by everyone else. -dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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