SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 55 - Part 1.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 55 - Part 1.

 

jIvo vinayitA sAkshI mukundo'mitavikramah |

ambhonidhir-anantAtmA mahodadhiSayo'ntakah ||

 

om jIvAya namah

om vinayitre namah

om sAkshiNe namah

om mukundAya namah

om amita-vikramAya namah

om ambho-nidhaye namah

om anantAtmane namah

om mahodadhi-SayAya namah

om antakAya namah

 

515. jIvah - He who gives true life to His devotees.

 

om jIvAya namah.

 

jIvayati iti jIvah (SrI v.v. rAmAnujan). He helps bhAgavata-s keep

away from committing sinful acts and thereby bringing about their ruin,

and instead makes them lead a life of Bliss by doing service to Him.

SrI rAmAnujan corroborates this interpretation of SrI BhaTTar by

reference to periAzhvAr - eyiRRiDai maN koNDa endai irAp-pagal Oduvittu

ennaip-payiRRip-paNi koNDAn (5.2.3). He even made the squirrels do

service to Him and thus enjoy the bliss of kaimkaryam to Him.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the more general interpretation viz. that

bhagavAn is the cause of sustenance of everything - jIvayati prANAn

dhArayati iti jIvah.

 

516. vinayitA - a) The Savior.

b) He who shows the path to everyone.

 

om vinayitre namah.

 

SrI BhaTTar derives the interpretation from the root nay, which has teo

meanings - gatau rakshaNe ca - to go or to protect. SrI BhaTTar uses

the second of the two meanings. In fact he states that bhagavAn

protects His devotee-s with love and affection and treats them like

princes - rAjakumAra lAlanena rakshati. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives the

moving example of Lord rAma's words of concern to sugrIva after his

first fight with vAli, where he was defeated and had to come back.

rAma says "tvayi ki~ncit samApanne kim kAryam sitayA mama" (yuddha

kANDam) - "Of what use is it to me to get sItA if even the slightest

harm has been caused to you?" - such was the concern and love that he

had for a mere monkey-king. We have nammAzhvAr's words in tiruvAimozhi

- j~nAlattUDE naDandum ninRum kiDandirundum SAlap pala nAL ugandOr

uyirgaL kAppAnE (6.9.3) - You show your standing pose, your reclining

beauty, your sitting posture on different occasions to sustain the

lives of those who seek Your protection.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha bases his interpretation using the first

meaning given above for nay viz. to go. His interpretation is -

sarvasya jagato gatim prAyayitA gater-dAtA ityarthah - He shows the

path to everyone, or gives direction to everyone.

 

517. sAkshI - The Observer.

 

om sAkshiNe namah.

 

BhagavAn is the Observer within every one of us. uLLuvAr uLLiRRellAm

uDan irundu aRidi - tirumAlai 34 (SrI v.v. rAmAnujan). SrI BhaTTar's

interpretation is that bhagavAn is so concerned about the welfare of

His devotees that He constantly observes them to make sure no harm

comes to them.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the interpretation - sAkshAt drashTA

sAkshI - He Who sees things as they truly are, or it can also mean He

who sees things for Himself. Since bhagavAn is inside us, outside of

us, and is everywhere and in everything, He is the the sAkshI of

everything that happens inside us and outside of us. SrI vAsishTha has

composed the following Slokam as his interpretation for this nAma -

 

sAkshI sa vishNuh sa hi darSano vA drashTA svayam sa hi sUrya cakshuh

|

j~nAnam hi cakshuh r*tamAtrabodhah so'ntargatah paSyati viSvamAtram

||

 

SrI Sa~nkara and others who follow his vyAkhyAnam have interpreted

nAma-s 516 and 517 together as one nAma - vinayitA_sAkshI - He who

witnesses or observes the humility of His devotees.

 

518. mukundah - He who gives moksha.

 

om mukundAya namah.

 

Both SrI Sa~nkara and SrI BhaTTar give the same vyAkhyAnam - muktim

dadAti iti mukundah. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives several references to

divya prabandham: pul eRumbu Adi onRu inRiyE naRpAl ayoddhiyil vAzhum

SarASaram muRRavum naRpAlukku uyttanan (tiruvAimozhi 7.5.1); anRu

SarASara~ngaLai viakundattERRi (perumAL tirumozhi 10.10); viNNulagam

taruvAnAi viraiginRAn (tiruvAimozhi 10.6.3), etc.

 

Both SrI Sa~nkara and SrI BhaTTar have given reference to the pANini

sUtra 6.3.109 - pr*shodarAdIni yathopadishTam to support the

derivation of the word mukunda from muktim dadAti - "The elision,

augment and mutation of letters to be seen in pr*shodara etc., while

not found taught in treatises of grammar, are valid, to that extent and

in the mode, as taught by the sages".

 

519. amita-vikramah - a) He of boundless valor.

b) He of the three great strides (tri-vikrama).

 

om amita-vikramAya namah.

 

SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is that bhagavAn is the Supporter of all

Realities such as prakr*ti. He is known by the name AdhAra Sakti -

AdhAra Sakti samj~nasya amUrtasya ca vai vibhoh (SrI paushkara). SrI

V. N. vedAnta deSikan's English translation of of the vyAkhyAnam for

this nAma by SrI M. V. rAmAnujAcArya is "The Lord is of inestimable

capacity to bear".

 

SrI Sa~nkara gives two interpretations for the nAma. One is based on

vikrama referring to Saurya, which means strength, power, might -

amitam vikramaNam Sauryam asya iti amita-vikramah. The nAma occurs in

SrImad bhagavad-gItA in Slokam 11.40 - anantavIryAmitavikramastvam ….,

which is translated by SrI tirukkaLLam nr*simharAghavAcArya svAmi as

immeasurable parAkramam, which stands for heroism, prowess, courage,

valor.

 

The second interpretation SrI Sa~nkara gives for the nAma is based on

the meaning "stride, step, pace" for vikramah, or vikramaNa - amitA

aparicchinnA vikramAstrayah pAdavikshepA asya - He whose three strides,

or steps, were immeasurable. The reference here is to the tri-vikrama

incarnation. The Lord's steps were so vast, they were indeed

immeasurable.

 

The root kram - pAdavikshepe - to walk, to step, is the basis for the

derivation of the interpretation by SrI satyadevo vAsishTha, which is

the same basis on which SrI Sa~nkara's second interpretation above

rests. However SrI vAsishTha interprets the nAma as meaning that

bhagavAn has innumerable or countless strides in His manifestations.

This diversity or extensive manifestation is also reflected in

everything around us - the Earth, the sky, and the region in between;

rajas, tamas and sattva guNa-s; sun rise, mid-day, and the sunset;

etc.

 

-To be continued

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan

 

 

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