SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 53 - Part 2.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 53 - Part 2.

 

SarIra-bhUta-bhr*t - a) He who supports all the tattva-s which

constitute the SarIra.

b) He who supports all beings which are part of His body.

c) He who protects the devatA-s who are associated with different

parts of the body.

 

om SarIra-bhUta-bhr*te namah.

 

The term bhUta can refer to the pa~nca mahA bhUta-s, the 24 tattva-s

or Reals of which the pa~nca mahA bhUta-s are a subset, or to the

entire universe of all beings. Thus there are different

interpretations for the nAma. SrI BhaTTar uses the meaning of bhUta

as referring to the 24 tattva-s or Reals that are the elements involved

in creation - prakr*ti, mahat, ahankAra, sound, ether, touch, air,

sight, light, taste, water, smell, earth, mind, eye, ear, nose, mouth,

skin, tounge, hand, leg, anus, and the organ of reproduction. These

are the SarIra-bhuta-s are the elements of creation. BhagavAn supports

these tattva-s through His body, i.e., they are part of Him. SrI

BhaTTar gives reference to mahAbhArata - tasya mUrdhA samabhavat dyauh

sa-nakshatra devatA - His head was the sky along with the stars and the

deities - SAnti parva 348.49. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers to

tiruvAimozhi 10.7.10 where nammAzhvAr refers to these 24 tattva-s:

"po~ngaimpulanum poRi aindum karumEndiriyam aim-bUtam I~ngiv-vuyirEi

pirakiruti mAnA~ngAra mana~ngaLE" - the five senses such as sound, the

five sense-organs, the five action-oriented limbs, the five elements

like earth, prakr*ti, mahat, ahamkAra, and manas or mind.

 

A more general meaning for the word bhUta is anything that exists

(from bhU - satyAyAm - all that is true or exists - SrI v.v.

rAmAnujan). Since all these beings are His body, and since He supports

(bhr*t) these bhUta-s which are part of His SarIra, He is

SarIra-bhUta-bhr*t. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan and SrI P. B. aNNa~ngarAcArya

svAmi have given this interpretation. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives the

support again from tiruvAimozhi 10.7.2 - "tAnEyAgi nirAindu ellA ulagum

uyirum tAnEyAi… ninRozhindAn".

 

SrI Sa~nkara gives the interpretation that since bhagavAn nourishes

the elements of the body, and since He Himself is the prANa (the vital

air), He is SarIra-bhUta-bhr*t.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives an alternate interpretation. Different

devatA-s are associated with different parts of our body - the Sun with

the eyes, the moon with the mind, the skin with vAyu, the color or

vArNa with ISA etc. BhagavAn is the Protector of these SarIra-bhUta-s

or devatA-s, and so He is called SarIra-bhUta-bhr*t.

 

498. bhoktA - The Enjoyer.

 

om bhoktre namah.

 

This nAma occurred earlier as nAma 145.

 

There the nAma was explained as referring to bhagavAn's guNa of

enjoying even the simplest offerings from His devotee. "patram,

pushpam, phalam, toyam..." from the gItA (9.26) was referenced. He is

also the Ultimate Enjoyer of the offerings to all the gods (bhoktAram

yaj~na tapasAm sarvaloka maheSvaram… gItA 5.29). Under the current

nAma SrI BhaTTar extends this guNa of bhokta to include not only the

offerings to the gods (havya), but also to the kavya, the offering to

our pitr*-s or the deceased ancestors - havya kavya bhujo vishNoh

udak-pUrve mahodadhau (mahAbhArata Santi parva 348.3) - bhagavAn is

stationed in the north-est ocean and consumes the havya and kavya that

are offered with sincerity. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives several

references to support the interpretation:

 

- tiruvAimozhi 5.6.4 - Seigaip-payan uNbEnum yAnE ennum (5.6.4);

- ahamannamahamannamahamannam ahamannAdo'hamannAdo'hamannAdah -

taittirIya upanishad - I am the food or the object of enjoyment for My

devotees, and I am the Enjoyer or consumer of the offerings of My

devotees as well;

- nammAzhvAr's tiruvAimozhi 9.6.10 - vArik-koNDu ennai vizhun~guvan

kANil enRu….ennil munnam pArittu tAn ennai muRRap paruginAn - AzhvAr

and bhagavAn are competing with each other to enjoy each other, and

bhagavAn succeeds in the competition!

- tiruvAimozhi pASuram 10.10.11 - avA aRac-cUzh ariyai - He who mingles

with His devotees intimately and to His heart's content.

 

The obvious examples of kaNNan accepting with great delight the handful

of puffed rice from kucela, and His accepting the food offered by

vidura over that offered by duryodhana are well-known.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda gives two derivations for the meaning for bhoktA

-bhunakti iti bhoktA - The Protector, and bhunkte iti bhoktA - The

Enjoyer. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha nicely expresses this - rakshako

bhakshaNaSca. He creates, protects, and then swallows at the time of

pralaya.

 

The dharma cakram writer explains the function of bhagavAn as bhoktA in

a way that applies to our day-to-day life. BhagavAn is in all of us -

in some cases He is the observer, in others He is the guide, in yet

others He is the Enjoyer, etc. (gItA 13.22). For those who spend their

time in worldly pursuits, He is just the observer. For those who

observe the path of dharma, He is the bhartA in times of need - as in

the case of pANDava-s. For those who offer to bhagavAn the worldly

gains that they get, such as the fame etc. that come to them, He is the

bhoktA, i.e, He accepts these as offerings, and He bestows on them His

anubhavam instead. The more we dedicate our actions and the benefits

of these actions to Him, and thus make Him the bhoktA, the more He

reveals to us what true happiness is, and the more we are relieved of

undesirable attributes such as ahamkAram, mamakAram, etc. The

significance of this nAma thus is for us to realize that we should

dedicate all our actions and their effects to bhagavAn as the bhoktA,

and we should instead enjoy Him and attain eternal bliss.

 

SrI BhaTTar interprets the next few nAma-s in terms of the guNAnubhavam

of the incarnation of bhagavAn as SrI rAma. Earlier, nAma-s 390 to

421had been interpreted also in terms of SrI rAmAvatAra.

 

498. kapIndrah - a) The Lord of the monkeys.

b) The Great Boar - varAha.

c) He who controls all movement in everything.

 

om kapIndrAya namah.

 

kapInAm indrah kapIndrah. SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is: BhagavAn

assumed the human form which was very different from His Nature in

order to propagate the performance of sacrificial acts laid down in the

veda-s which He had Himself promulgated earlier in the form of

hayagrIva, and the deva-s assumed the form of monkeys which are even

more different from their nature. He was the indra or the Lord for the

gods who were his servitors, and hence He is called kapIndra. This is

supported by the following Sloka from vAlmIki rAmAyaNa -

 

sarva-lokeSvarah sAkshAt lokAnAm hita-kAmyayA |

sarvaih parivr*to devaih vAnaratvam upAgataih || (yuddha

114.16)

 

loka here means the world, the people of the word, and also the veda-s.

So His incarnation is for the protection of the world and its people,

but also for the protection of the veda-s.

 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri observes that for One who could control

thousands and thousands monkeys, it is a trivial task to control the

indriya-s of mortals like us. The dharma cakram writer points soul

that our mind which is like a monkey can be controlled if we seek the

help of bhagavAn and meditate on Him, and then we can win over the

aj~nAna just as the controlled monkeys won over rAvaNa in the battle.

Our soul is caged and imprisoned by the aj~nAna, just as sItA pirATTi

was imprisoned by rAvaNa, and it is only by controlling the mind which

is like a monkey that we can get rid of this aj~nAna and release the

soul from its bondage. This nAma should teach us that it is possible

to achieve this with the help of bhagavAn, kapIndrah.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha interprets the word kapi based on kapi

sa~ncalane - anything that moves about, and applies this to the sun,

the moon, and all other objects that move. He thus interprets the nAma

to mean "He who gives the power of movement to everything that moves".

This can then be extended to even the movement of the pure blood and

impure blood simultaneously inside the body without getting mixed up,

the AtmA moving from one body to another, etc., and thus He is

kapIndrah, the Controller of movement in everything and everywhere.

 

SrI Sa~nkara points out that kapi can also refer to a boar (varAha),

and so kapIndrah can also refer to His varAha incarnation. The term

kapih was interpreted earlier in nAma 102 - vr*shAkapih - in this

sense.

 

498. bhUri-dakshiNah - a) The giver of liberal gifts.

b) He who makes things grow fast and move fast.

c) He who is extremely dextrous.

 

om bhUri-dakshiNAya namah.

 

bhUri means "much, abundant, numerous, copius". dakshiNah has been

interpreted as one who gives dakshiNA. vyAkhyAna kartA-s have

interpreted the nAma as a reference to the incarnations in which

bhagavAn has performed numerous sacrifices to uphold dharma and to set

an example to the rest of the world, and in these He has made large

gifts to the participants to set an example to others. SrI v.v.

rAmAnujan points out that this example should extend to the vaidika

karmA-s such as SrAddha, in which the dakshiNA should be liberal to the

participants. He gives the example of Lord kr*shNa's guru dakshiNA -

that of bringing back sAndIpani's dead son to life again - maRi kaDal

vAi mANDAnai Oduvitta takkaNaiyA uruvuruvE koDuttAn (periAzhvAr

tirumozhi 4.8.1).

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha derives his interpretation based on daksh

vr*ddhau SighrArthe - to grow, to go in speed, and gives the meaning

that bhagavAn makes things that He creates grow very fast, as also move

about with speed as soon as they are born. A bird starts eating things

as soon as it is born without worrying about whether something is raw

or ripe, and starts growing. A human child starts drinking milk the

moment it is born, and a young animal starts walking as soon as it is

born as well. This aspect of bhagavAn where He makes everything grow

fast and move around fast is suggested by the nAma bhUri-dakshiNah

according to this interpretation.

 

The word dakshiNa is also given the meaning dextrous, able, clever

(pANini 1.1.34). Thus the nAma could mean that bhagavAn is extremely

dextrous. This interpretation is mentioned in passing by SrI

rAdhAkr*shNa Sastri.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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