SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 49 - Part 1.

[Guest guest]

SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 49.

 

su-vratah su-mukhah sUkshmah su-ghoshah sukha-dah su-hr*t |

mano-haro jita-krodho vIra-bAhur_vidAraNah

||

 

om su-vratAya namah

om su-mukhAya namah

om sUkshmAya namah

om su-ghoshAya namah

om sukha-dAya namah

om su-hr*de namah

om mano-harAya namah

om jita-krodhAya namah

om vIra-bAhave namah

om vidAraNAya namah

 

456. su-vratah - a) He of good vows - to protect anyone who surrenders.

b) He who did intense tapas in His nara-nArAyaNa incarnation.

c) He who has good control of the offerings He accepts - e.g., from

the likes of kucela only.

d) He who observes nitya-karma-s in His incarnations just to set an

example to us.

 

om su-vrtAya namah.

 

This nAma occurs later as nAma 824.

 

Under nAma 824 SrI BhaTTar gives the vyAkhyAnam that is most familiar to all

of us - Lord rAma's vrata expressed during vibhIshNa SaraNAgati through

 

sakr*deva prapannAya tavAsmIti ca yAcate |

abhayam sarva-bhUtebhyo dadAmyetat vratam mama || yuddha

18.34

 

"To him who seeks my protection even once and begs of me

saying "I am Thine", to him I give protection from all beings. This is my

vow".

 

SrI v.v.rAmAnujan gives the equivalent reference from

nammAzhvAr's SrIsUkti - SaraNamAgum tanatAL aDaindArgatkellAm - tiruvAimozhi

9.10.5.

 

SrI Sa~nkara gives this interpretation under the current

nAma, but gives a different anubhavam for the nAma when it occurs later in

Slokam 88. There he interprets vratayati as enjoys, and su-vrata as

referring to His enjoying the offerings of bhakta-s such as kucela. vratam

is control of the food one eats and other controls. SrI rAdhAkr*shNa Sastri

observes that bhagavAn had good control of His habits when He was

nara-nArAyaNa. SrI cinmayAnanda gives another dimension of the

nara-nArAyaNa incarnation as its applies to the nAmna su-vrata - He who did

intense tapas (su-vrata) for a long number of years in the nara-nArAyaNa

mount in BadrinAth.

 

For the current nAma, SrI BhaTTar gives another aspect of bhgavAn's su-vrata

- good deeds. BhagavAn has nothing to gain by observance of any karma such

as the prescribed kula dharma-s. Even so, bhagavAn observes all the

anushTAna-s during His incarnations without any compromise. Thus He is a

su-vrata. He says in the gItA -

 

na me pArtha asti kartavyam trishu lokeshu ki~ncana |

na anavAptam avAptavyam varta eva ca karmaNi || 3.22

 

"For me, arjuna! There is nothing in all the three worlds which

ought to be done, nor is anything that is not acquired that ought to be

acquired. Yet I go on working".

 

BhagavAn continues to work purely for the benefit of His creation. This is

the significance of His nAma as su-vrata. He says in the very next Sloka in

the gItA that if He did not do this, He will set a bad example for others,

and they will not perform their prescribed duties and suffer for this lapse.

 

 

The dharma cakram writer gives some examples of the power of su-vrata.

BhIshma practised the su-vrata of brahmacarya, which gave him his enormous

greatness. hariScandra's story is an example of the greatness of

satya-vrata.

 

The nAma-s from 457 to 463 that follow are interpreted by SrI BhaTTar first

based on the nara-nArAyaNa incarnation, and then he gives an alternate

interpretation based on the mohini incarnation.

 

457. su-mukhah - He with a charming face.

 

om su-mukhAya namah.

 

su - Sobhanam mukham asya iti su-mukhah.

 

This can be taken as a reference to His having a sweet countenance even when

He was chanting the mantra-s and meditating as nArAyaNa maharshi in His

nara-nArAyaNa incarnation. SrI BhaTTar refers us to the mantra about

kr*shNa - kr*shNAya kamala-dala amala netrAya - To SrI kr*shNa Who has a

face with eyes pure and spotless like a lotus petal. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan

gives reference to nAcciyAr tirumozhi - "engaLai maiyal ERRi mayakka un

mugam mAya-mandiram tAn kolO" 2.4; amalanAdipirAn - ap-perivAya kaNgaL

ennaip-pEdaimai SeidanavE - 8; prasanna vadanam dhyAyet etc.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa Sastri explains the significance of the nAma very nicely by

pointing out that normally with practice one overcomes the strain of severe

penance, and so the countenance will not reflect any strain. But in

bhagavAn's case we see cheerfulness instead of just the lack of strain. When

He was told to go to the forest just at the time He was decorated for

paTTAbhishekam,

His face didn't have the slightest indication of disappointment or sadness,

but instead displayed the peace and satisfaction typical of the greatest of

those who have renounced the worldly things (ayodhyA kANDa 19.30-33).

kamban's description of rAma's face is "meit-tiruppadam mEvu enRa pOdilum,

it-tirut-tuRandu Egu enRa pOdilum, cittirattil alarnda Sen-tAmaraiyai

ottirukkum mugattinai unnuvAL" - Lord rAma's face resembled a

picture-perfect lotus-flower no matter whether He was asked to ascend the

throne or to forsake all and go to the forest.

 

SrI Sa~nkara gives reference to vishNu purANam and to several passages from

SrImad rAmAyaNa. In vishNu purANam we have - prasanna vadanam cAru

padma-patrAyatekshaNam (6.7.79)- His face is pleasing, handsome, possessed

of large eyes resembling the lotus-petal. In rAmAyaNa, SrI Sa~nkara gives

references to sundara kAndam 33.24 - sa pitur-vacanam SrImAn abhishekAt

param priyam | manasA pUrvam AsAdya vAcA prati-gr*hItavAn; ayodhyA kANDam

24.17 - imAni tu mahAraNye vihr*tya nava-pa~nca ca | varshANi

prama-prItah sthAsyAmi vacanam tava ||; and ayodhyA kANDam 19.33 - na vanam

gantu-kAmasya tyajataSca vasundarAm | sarva-lokAtigasyeva mano rAmasya

vivyate ||

 

An alternate interpretation given by SrI Sa~nkara based on the Sruti passage

- yo brahmANam vidadhAti pUrvam - SvetA. upa. 6.18, is that He has a very

satisfied countenance because He has imparted all the knowledge to brahmA.

 

458. sUkshmah - Subtle, delicate and difficult to comprehend.

 

om sUkhsmAya namah.

 

He is sUkshmah because He can be realized only by deep contemplation and

meditation which is performed without expecting any benefit. He can't be

comprehended through the physical organs such as the eyes and ears, and

can't be realized through the mind, but can only be experienced.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa Sastri nicely explains the power behind the concept of

sUkshma. The subtler the object, the more power it has. We all know the

ultimate power of the atom. If we start from the macro level of our body,

and go through the different subtler levels such as the sense-organs, the

mind, the buddhi, and finally the soul, the power increases as the subtlety

increases. MahAvishNu is subtler than the subtlest of things, sUkshmah.

SrI Sa~nkara gives reference to the Sruti - sarva-gatam susUkshmam -

muNDakopanishad 1.1.6 - He who is very subtle and has entered into

everything.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda points out that in vedAnta terminology, sUkshma or subtlety

implies pervasiveness, and bhagavAn's nAma of sUkshma refers to His

All-pervasiveness.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives a different perspective to the anubhavam of

this nAma by tracing the nAma to the root sUc - paiSunye - to point out, to

indicate by gesture. He gives the explanation that

bhagavAn is suKshmah because, even though He does not manifest Himself

expressly, He expresses Himself to us through everything around us all the

time. This is the sUkshma behind vishNu the Sukshmah, viz. that He is all

around us and has never really hidden Himself from us in any way.

Just as the sound made by the cow identifies the cow even if the cow is not

seen, or the sound (voice) created by a person identifies the person even

though the person is not seen, so also everything around us that is created

by bhagavAn identifies Him to us (e.g., the AkASa, the sound from the AkASa,

etc).

 

459. su-ghoshah - a) He whose voice is itself the great veda-s.

b) He who is praised by the delightful voice of the veda-s.

c) He who has a very sweet, deep, and sonorous voice.

 

 

om su-ghoshAya namah.

 

SrI BhaTTar vyAkhyAnam is that bhagavAn is su-ghoshah because He is

proclaimed by the vedic voice of the upanishads. bhagavAn is veda-svarUpi

Himself. SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to tiruvAimozhi - nAraNan, muzhu

Ezhulagukkum nAthan, vEda mayan (2.7.2), and to peria tirumozhi 5.5.9, where

tiruma~ngai AzhvAr called bhagavAn "SandOgan, pauzhiyan, ain-tazhal Ombu

taittiriyan, Sama-vedI". SrI Sa~nkara bhAshyam is "su-Sobhano ghosho

vedAtmako asya iti su-ghoshah" - One whose auspicious sound is the veda-s.

He also gives a more direct alternate interpretation - He who has a voice

deep and sonorous like that of the cloud - megha-gambhIra ghoshatvAt.

 

The dharma cakram writer points out that when veda is chanted with the

proper intonations, the sound originates from the region of the diaphragm,

and this sound has the ability to cleanse and purify our mind. The sweet

sound of Nature, the sound arising from the trees and the birds, is soothing

and comforting to the mind. BhAratiyAr sings "kETkum oliyil ellAm nandalAlA

undan gItam iSaikkudaDA nandalAlA". All the musical instruments were

discovered as a result of listening to the sweet sound of Nature. This nAma

should remind us that all the mantra-s sung in praise of bhagavAn and that

sing His greatness are su-ghosha-s.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishsTha looks at the nAma from its root - hushir viSabdane

- to proclaim, to declare. The nAma su-ghoshah is formed by prefixing the

upasarga su- which means "Sobhana". su-ghoshah is thus the sound which

proclaims Him well repeatedly or loudly viz. the veda-s. Since the name and

the One who is referred to by that name are same, He becomes su-ghoshah.

BhagavAn manaifests Himself through su-ghoshah in real life constantly

everywhere. The knowledge of the rain, that of the running water as well as

water that is obstructed from its natural flow, all these can be known from

the sound emanating from these. Just as a great artist is revealed by the

art he/she creates, bhagavAn is constantly revealed through the sweet sounds

of Nature that He has created.

 

To be continued.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan