SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 47.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 47.

 

anirviNNah sthavishTho bhur_dharma-yupo mahA-makhah |

nakshatra-nemir_nakshatrI kshamah kshAmah samIhanah ||

 

om anirviNNAya namah

om sthavishThAya namah

om bhuve namah

om dharma-yUpAya namah

om maha-makhAya namah

om nakshatra-nemaye namah

om nakshatriNe namah

om kshamAya namah

om kshAmAya namah

om samIhanAya namah

 

436. anirviNNah - He who is never despondent .

 

om a-nirviNNAya namah.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha derives the meaning starting from the root vid -

vicAraNe to discuss, to consider. SrI BhaTTar explains this by indicating

that bhagavAn does not become despondent even though His expectations that

we will resort to Him for our redemption are not fulfilled. He just goes on

with a new creation in the hope that we will meet His expectations in our

next chance. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to nammAzhvAr - SOmbAdu

ip-palluruvai ellAm paDarvitta vittA - periya tiruvantAdi 18. SrI Sa~nkara

gives the interpretation that He is never despondent because He has no

wishes that are not fulfilled.

 

The term a-nirvedah is also used to explain this nAma - One who is not

despondent or in despair.

 

The dharma cakram writer points out that just as the heart ceaselessly keeps

beating in order to keep us alive but takes rest constantly in between the

beats and so never gets tired, bhagavAn ceaselessly creates this world and

rests also continuously in between and never gets tired. If we do our

karma-s with a sattvic attitude we also will never get despondent, but if we

do our karma-s either with the rAjasic or tAmasic disposition, we will get

easily depressed. This is the lesson we should take from this nAma.

 

437. sthavishThah - He who is Immense.

 

Om stahvishThAya namah.

 

The author of nirukti explains this nAma as "sthoulyAt sthavishThah. SthUla

means large, immense, huge. SrI BhaTTar explains this sthoulya in terms of

the huge grouping of stars referred to SiSumAra in vishNu purANa 2.9.1 -

tArA-mayam bhagavatah SiSumArAkr*tih prabhoh - The form of the mighty Hari

which is present in heaven, consisting of the constellations, is that of a

porpoise, with dhruva situated in the tail, etc. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan observes

that this constellation is revolving constantly like a cakra, and is being

constantly drenched by the Ganges flowing from the satya loka to this earth,

and is a reminder that bhagavAn is constantly striving to rejuvenate and

sustain the beings of this Universe. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa Sastri gives

reference to taitttirIya AraNyaka 2.19, which also describes bhagavAn in

this great form of SiSumAra, the Gangetic porpoise, with all the deva-s as

part of His body - tasmai namas-tac-chiro dharmo mUrdhAnam brahmottarA

vishNur-hr*dayam.....sa vA esha divyah SAkvarah SiSumArah. SrI Sastri also

refers us to the description of the huge form of bhagavAn in SrImad

bhAgavatam, 2.1.24 - 2.1.38, starting with viSeshas-tasya deho'yam

sthavishThaSca sthavIyasAm. Here He is described as sthUlasyAm sthUlah -

the most huge among those that are huge (Slokam 24), and sthavishThe vapushi

(Slokam 38) - He with the form that is huge.

 

SrI Sa~nkara gives reference to another vedic passage - agnir-mUrdhA

cakshushI candra-sUryau - muNDakopanishad 2.1.4 - Agni is His head, the moon

and sun are His eyes.

 

438. bhUh - The All-supporter.

 

om bhuve namah.

 

bhu bhav - to be - He who exists, without any other support. Thus one

interpretation is that this refers to One who truly exists, unlike all other

beings which have only temporary existence in a bodily form.

 

bhu also refers to Earth, or in this case the support for all the stars in

SiSumAra referred to in the previous nAma. The vishNu purANa passage quoted

in the previous paragraph says that dhruva is in the tail of the SiSumAra

group of stars, and as dhruva spins, all the other stars spin with it, and

is thus the supporter of the SiSumAra constellation. Since dhruva is a form

of bhagavAn, bhagavAn is thus the supporter of all the stars of SiSumAra.

This is SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam. SrI rAmAnujan refers to nammAzhvAr -

tiRambAmal maN kAkkinREn yAnE (tiruvAimozhi 5.6.5), and to tirumazhiSai

AzhvAr - nAgamEndu maNNinai...kAttu (tiruccandaviruttam 6) - He who supports

the AdiSesha who supports the Earth.

 

SrI Sa~nkara uses an alternate pATham as his primary text here, leading to

the nAma as a-bhuh- He who is not born, though he also refers to the

possible alternate pATham - bhuh, Existence.

 

439. dharma-yUpah - He who is united with dharma.

 

om dharma-yUpAya namah.

 

yu - miSraNe to join. yUpa refers to a post, e.g., the sacrificial post to

which sacrificial animal is tied. Here it refers to His being the peg for

all dharma-s.

 

SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is - dharma-tattvam Sirah avayavatayA yauti iti

dharma-yUpah - He in whom dharma is united as part of His body viz. head.

The taittirIya AraNyakam passage referred to in nAma 437 starts with "tasmai

namas-tac-chiro dharmah" - He whose Head is dharma. SrI BhaTTar quotes

"dharmo mUrdhanam ASritah - dharma has resorted to His head". dharma is

His most important responsibility (v.n.vedAnta deSikan).

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives a different anubhavam of this nAma. dharma is

that which sustains - dhArayati iti dharmah. yUpa as was pointed out

earlier is derived from yu - miSraNe to join. The pa~nca bhUta-s serve the

purpose of sustaining life in this world. Since bhagavAn unites the pa~nca

bhUta-s which sustain the life in this world, He is dharma-yUpah.

 

The dharma cakram writer observes that dharma and bhagavAn are not distinct.

This nAma should remind us that those who follow dharma are always protected

by bhagavAn. This was the advice given to duryodhana by bhIshma when

bhIshma had to fight on the side of duryodhana, viz. that there is no way

that the pANDava-s can be defeated because they are on the side of dharma.

 

440. mahA-makhah - The Great ya~jna-svarUpi.

 

om mahA-makhAya namah.

 

makhah refers to yaj~na, sacrifice, or sacrificial oblation. SrI

v.v.rAmAnujan points out that bhagavAn is ya~jna-svarUpan. This can be

best understood from SrI satyadevo vAsishTha's explanation that ya~jna is

something that gives whatever is desired on successful completion.

BhagavAn is the mahA-makhah since He bestows everything desired on His

devotees. The Universe and all the things He has created for the enjoyment

and benefit of the beings of this Universe are examples of things that

resulted from this 'mahA-mahkah'.

 

Another explanation is that dharma is the greatest ya~jna (ya~jno dharmaSca

vi~jneyah), and since dharma is His head, He is Himself the great sacrifice

personified (mahA-makhah).

 

SrI Sa~nkara bhAshyam is that He is mahA-makhah (The Great sacrificial

oblation?) because sacrifices or offerings to bhagavAn lead to moksha, the

greatest of the benefits.

 

441. nakshatra-nemih - He who makes the stars move.

 

om nakshatra-nemaye namah.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the derivation for nakshatra as "na ksharati

kshIyate vA". The word nemih is derived from the root nI to lead or carry.

SrI BhaTTar vyAkhyAnam is "jyotiS-cakram nayati iti nakshatra-nemih". He

refers to the continuation of the vishNu purANam passage referred to in nAma

438.

 

"evam bhraman bhrAmayati candrAdityakAn grahAn |

bhramantamanu tam yAnti nakshatrANi ca cakravat ||

* vishNu purANam 2.9.2.

 

"As He (in the form of dhruva) goes round, He makes the sun, the moon and

other planets revolve. All the stars also follow Him like a wheel as He

moves in a circle".

 

VishNu purANam continues with

 

"SiSumArAkr*ti proktam yad-rUpam jyotishAm divi |

nArAyaNah param dhAmnAm tasyAdhArah svayam hr*di || (2.9.4)

 

"The porpoise-like figure of the celestial sphere is upheld by

nArAyaNa, who Himself, in planetary radiance, is seated in its heart".

 

Reference to vishNu being in the heart or center of the SiSumAra cakra and

being responsible for its movement is also made in the the svAdhyAya

brAhmaNa of taittirIya Sakha referred to under nAma 437. SrI Sa~nkara uses

this reference to explain that bhagavAn is nakshatra-nemih because He is in

the center of the SiSumAra collection of stars, and is the one who supports

it like a nave at the center of the wheel.

 

The dharma cakram writer reminds us how important this function of mahA

vishNu is. If only one of the millions of stars goes out of its path

prescribed by Him, the consequences will be disastrous for us. This nAma

should remind us that just as order in the macro level is important for our

survival, there is need for order at the thought level as well for the

long-term survival of all of us. If the thoughts are not good, and if they

are not devoted to the welfare of the world as a whole but are

self-centered, the consequence is the long-term destruction of the whole.

 

442. nakshatrI - He who has (supports) the stars.

 

om nakshatriNe namah.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha explains that just as one who has kshetra is called

a kshetri, or one who has SarIra is called a SarIri, one who has the stars

is nakshatrI. SrI BhaTTar explains that His being the Lord and driving

force behind SiSumAra is the reference here. SrI Sa~nkara gives the

interpretation that nakshatrI refers to His being the Moon, the Lord of all

the stars (nakshatrANAm aham SaSI - Among the stars, I am the Moon - gItA

10.21).

 

443. kshamah - a) He who is competent.

b) He who has great patience.

 

om kshamAya namah.

 

a) This interpretation is based on ksham - sahane to allow, to suffer. SrI

BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is - akhila bhuvana bhAram anAyAsena kshamate - vahati

iti kshamah; He is known as kshamah because He bears the burden of the

entire Universe with ease. SrI Sa~nkara bhAshyam is "sarva kAryeshu

samarthah kshamah - He who is clever and competent in everything.

 

b) SrI Sa~nkara gives an additional interpretation based on ksham - sahane

to endure. He refers to SrImad rAmAyaNa - kshamayA pr*thivI samah - SrI

rAma is like the earth in patience - bAla kANDa 1.18.

 

The dharma cakram writer links the two interpretations nicely by pointing

out that in order to be competent and efficient, you have to act with

patience. And when we act with patience and thus become efficient in our

acts, the feeling we should have is that this is the kr*pA of bhagavAn.

This nAma conveys the idea that in order to be efficient and proficient, we

need to be patient and then dedicate the results of this efficient

performance to bhagavAn and grow our devotion to Him. This in turn will get

us closer to realization of Him.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha points out that when the jIva-s leave the vedic path

and pursue other paths, He does not lose His patience, but instead gives the

fruits that are consistent with these actions and thus makes them pure and

keeps giving them more opportunities to correct themselves. In a sense,

bhagavAn's guNa of kshamA is reflected in everything in this Universe

inherently. The individual soul puts up with the body for the duration that

is prescribed for it irrespective of all the actions of the body, every

creation of His puts up with the heat and cold to which they are exposed,

etc.

 

444. kshAmah - a) He who is in a diminished form.

444 b)He in whom all forms diminish.

 

om kshAmAya namah.

 

The root from which this nAma is derived is kshau - kshaye to waste. SrI

BhaTTar explains this nAma by pointing out that bhagavAn stands in the form

of dhruva in a diminished form at the time of the dissolution of the Earth

inclusive of the five elements. All the luminaries up to dhruva disappear,

and dhruva alone remains shining in his place, as stated in vishNu purANa -

 

"yAvan-mAtre pradeSe tu maitreyAvasthito dhruvah |

kshayamAyAti tAvat-tu bhumerAbhUtasamplave || 2.8.92

 

SrI Sa~nkara's vyAkhyAnam is that He is kshAmah - The Remainder, since He

alone remains when everything else has disappeared in pralaya.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the explanation that bhagavAn is kshAmah

because He is hidden in everything in this Universe.

 

445. samIhanah - a) He who establishes all others (indra etc.) in their

respective posts.

b) Well-wisher - He who works towards the welfare of His

creation.

 

om samIhanAya namah.

 

The nAma is derived from the root Iha ceshTAyAm - to aim at, to desire, to

strive for. There are two aspects to striving for something. One is to

strive by oneself, and the other is to make others work. Thus there are two

different interpretations given for this nAma.

 

SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is that bhagavAn after the deluge, at the time of

creation, makes all the other deva-s do their work in their respective

posts. samIhayati iti samIhanah. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan gives reference to

tivuvaImozhi - iRukkum iRai iRuttuNNa ev-vulagukkum tan mUrti niRuttinAn

deiva~ngaLaga ad-deiva nAyakan tAnE (5.2.8).

 

SrI Sa~nkara's vyAkhyAnam is that He is one who wishes well for His creation

- Sr*tyAdi artham samyagIhata iti samIhanah - Well-wisher.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives several references from Sruti-s to support the

interpretation of this nAma, among which is the following from r*g veda -

 

"sUryA-candram-asau dhAtA yathA pUrva-akalpayat |

divam ca pr*thvIm ca antariksham atho svah ||

- r*g 10.190.3.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan