SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 64 - Part 1.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 64 - Part 1.

 

anivartI nivRttAtmA samksheptA kshema-kRc_chivah |

SrIvatsa-vakshAh SrI-vAsah SrIpatih SrImatAm-varah ||

 

Om anivartine namah

Om nivRttAtmane namah

Om samksheptre namah

Om kshema-kRte namah

Om SivAya namah

Om SrI-vatsa-vakshase namah

Om SrI-vAsAya namah

Om SrI-pataye namah

Om SrImatAm-varAya namah

 

603. a-nivartI - a) He who does not turn away those who are inclined to

come back to this world.

b) He Who does not turn away from His battles with the asura-s.

c) He Who does not turn away from dharma under any circumstance.

d) He whose creations never turn back in their shape, form etc. till

pralaya.

 

Om a-nivartine namah.

 

The term nivartana means causing to return, returning, turning back

etc.

 

a) SrI BhaTTar: na nivartayati iti a-nivRtI. For those who are

attached to the pravRtti dharma, bhagavAn does not let them turn away

from samsAra - (pravRtti dharma nishTargaLai samsArattai viTTu

nivarttikkac ceiyyAdavar - SrI P. B. aNNa'ngarAcArya svAmi)

 

b) and c): SrI Samkara gives two alternate interpretations. 1.

devAsura samgrAmAt na nivartata iti a-nivartI - He who never turns away

in His battles with the asura-s; and 2. VRsha priyAt dharmAt na

nivartata iti a-nivartI - He who, being devoted to dharma, never turns

away from it.

 

d) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the interpretation - na nivartitum

SIlam asya iti a-nivartI - He who does not have the characteristic of

coming back. He elaborates by pointing out that bhagavAn's creations

are such that they do not lose their attributes until the end of

creation, until pralaya.

 

In summary, two main interpretations are given: a) SrI BhaTTar -

(samsArAt) na nivartayati iti a-nivarti - One who does not let those

who observe pravRtti dharma turn back from samsAra, and b) SrI

Samkara - na nivartata iti a-nivartI - One who does not turn away

Himself from certain things.

 

604. nivRttAtmA - a) He whose Nature is superior to other things.

b) He who is the AtmA of those who practice the nivRtti

dharma.

c) He whose nature is that He is free from the bonds of samsAra.

d) He whose mind is turned away from worldly attachments.

e) He whose mind turns away from any feeling of self-glory over His

kIrti or fame.

f) He who naturally turns away from the objects of senses.

g) He who does not turn away from anywhere because of He is

Omnipresent.

 

om nivRttAtmane namah.

 

This nAma is one of the two nAma-s that occur 4 times in SrI BhaTTar's

interpretation (231 - Slokam 25, 453 - Slokam 48, 604 - Slokam 64, and

780 - Slokam 83). (The other nAma which occurs 4 times in SrI

BhaTTar's interpretation is prANa-dah). Please see the write-ups under

Sloka-s 25 and 48. The write-up below supplements the previous

write-ups.

 

nivRtti refers to detachment. SrI BhaTTar uses the word in this sense,

as also with the meaning "superior" - nivRttam - udgatam - superior.

His interpretation of the nAma in Slokam 25 uses the meaning

"superior", indicating that bhagavAn's Nature rises above all other

things. The interpretations of the other three instances of the nAma

are based on the meaning "detachment", and correspond to d) for nAma

453, b) for nAma 604, and e) for nAma 780.

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan elaborates on how bhagavAn is the AtmA of those who

practice the nivRtti dharma (interpretation b). These are the jIva-s

who do not have any interest in pravRtti dharma, and live their lives

with the soul objective of doing kaimkaryam to Him. They are not

interested in any fruit out of their action except the bhAgyam of doing

kaimkaryam to Him. BhagavAn gives them exactly that, namely He gives

them His lokam from where there is no return to samsAra - viNNulagam

taruvAnAi variaginrAn (tivuvAimozhi 10.6.3). In fact, even though

bhagavAn is AtmA of these nivRtti dharma practitioners just as He is

the

AtmA of all other creations, yet He considers that these nivRtti dharma

followers are His soul, that is, He cannot live without them.

 

SrI rAmAnujan also gives his anubhavam of bhagavAn's detachment from

any feeling of self-glory over His greatness (interpretation e). Here

He is, creating this great wonder with all its innumerable creatures

and all the planets and the different worlds. He is the svAmi of all

these worlds - vIRRirundu Ezhulagum tanik kOl Sella; varambilAda mAyai

mAya!… varambilAda kIrtiyAi! (tiruccanda viruttam 96). With all this

greatness, one would expect that He should have some attachment of

ownership to His wonderful creation, and pride of this great creation

of His. Yet, He does not have any of this sense of pride, and is only

interested in our welfare instead, in whatever He does. Such is His

greatness.

 

In the four instances where SrI BhaTTar uses the nAma nivRttAtmA as

referred to above, SrI Samkara uses the nAma nivRttAtmA in Sloka-s 25

and 64, the nAma vimuktAtmA in Slokam 48, and gives interpretations

using the pATha as a-nivRttAtmA or alternatively as nivRttAtmA in

Slokam 83.

 

His interpretations are:

 

Slokam 25: "He whose nature is that He is free from the bonds of

samsAra - samsAra bandhanAt nivRtta AtmA svarUpam asya iti nivRttAtmA".

 

Slokam 64: "He who naturally turns away from material pleasures -

svabhAvatah vishayebhyo nivRtta AtmA manah asya iti nivRttAtmA".

 

Slokam 48, where Samkara pATham is vimuktAtmA: "He who is the free Self

- svabhAvena vimukta AtmA yasya iti vimuktAtmA". Note that He is

unbound by the effects of karma, and so by nature He is vimukta AtmA -

the unbound Self.

 

Slokam 83: a-nivRttAtmA: "He who never turns away from anywhere

because He is omnipresent - sarvatra vartamAnatvAt a-nivRttah kuto'pi

iti a-nivRttAtmA. If the nAma is taken as nivRttAtmA, SrI Samkara's

interpretation is: "By nature He turns away from the objects of the

senses - nivRtta AtmA mano vishayebhyo asya iti vA nivRttAtmA".

 

SrI cinmayAnanda observes that the significance of the nAma lies in

indicating to us that we have to detach our mind from sense indulgences

in order to realize Him. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri notes that bhagavAn is

the only one who can retrieve those who are attached to all kinds of

material and sense objects, beause He is the only one who is not

attached to anything. Only the one who is not stuck in the mud can

retrieve one who is stuck in it.

 

Summarizing the four instances of this nAma, bhagavAn is called

nivRttAtmA because His Nature is superior to all other things, He

showed how to practice the nivRtti dharma in His incarnation as

nara-nArAyaNa, He is the soul of those who practice the nivRtti dharma,

His nature is that He turns away from material pleasures, sense

objects, etc., and He turns away from any self-glory about His

immeasurable greatness and instead does everything only for the

pleasure of His devotees.

 

605. samksheptA - a) He who constrains or limits (the field of light of

knowledge of those who practice the pravRtti dharma).

b) He who, at the time of cosmic dissolution, contracts the expansive

Universe into a subtle state.

c) He who minimizes the misfortunes of His devotees.

 

Om samksheptre namah.

 

The term samkshepa means shortened, abridged, contracted, etc. (e.g.,

samkshepa rAmAyaNam). Different vyAkhyAna kartA-s have different

anubhava-s of this guNa of bhagavAn.

 

a) SrI BhaTTar continues to interpret this nAma in relation to his

vyAkhyAna of the previous nAma-s, in terms of pravRtti and nivRtti

dharma-s. Thus, his interpretation in the current instance is that

bhagavAn constrains the knowledge field of those who observe the

pravRtti dharma such that they don't see the light completely, and are

born again in samsAra instead of attaining Him. Associated with birth

in this world, there is a diminution of the natural knowledge

consistent with the pUrva karma-s.

 

b) SrI Samkara interpets His constraining act in terms of the

contraction of the whole Universe in His body in a subtle form -

vistRtam jagat samhAra samaye sUkshma rUpeNa samkshipan - samksheptA.

 

c) SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives the interpretation that He is

samksheptA because He reduces or minimizes the misfortunes of His

devotees - samkshipati nyUnayati bhaktAnAm vipattIh iti samksheptA.

 

d) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha's anubhavam of this nAma is that bhagavAn

contracts a huge tree in the form of a small seed, and the same dharma

applies to all of His creations in the whole huge Universe.

 

e) SrI cinmayAnanada and SrI anatakRshNa SAstri point to an alternate

pATham, with the nAma being given as a-samksheptA, meaning He who never

abandons His devotees.

 

The dharma cakram writer remarks that the deeper we get involved in

this worldly life, the more we are contracting or constraining our

knowledge of Him. The purpose of life properly lived is to expand the

knowledge of Him. Those who live a life of involvement in the material

and sensual aspects of life, are living and yet not living (that is,

they have not achieved the purpose of this precious life).

 

The idea to take from the different interpretations is that bhagavAn

incorporates different constraints on His creatures as part of the

administration of dharma and as part of the administration of His

function of the cycle of creation. This is seen in different forms:

in the form of limiting the knowledge of the followers of the pravRtti

dharma, the form in which the huge tree is contained in a small seed,

the way in which He assimilates all the innumerable jIva-s into Himself

at the time of pralaya, the way in which He minimizes the suffering of

His devotees, etc.

 

606. kshema-kRt - a) He who does what is good for His devotees.

b) He who protects what has been acquired by His devotees.

 

Om kshema-kRte namah.

 

SrI BhaTTar: BhagavAn does what is good for the practitioners of

nivRtti dharma by removing the obstructions to their knowledge.

 

SrI Samkara: upAttasya kshemam - parirakshaNam karoti iti kshema-kRt.

This ha been translated differently by two different translators. SrI

T. S. kRshNamUrti gives the translation - He who gives kshema or

protection to those who go to Him. SrI R. anantakRshNa SAstri gives

the meaning - He who protects what has been acquired by His devotees.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda notes that bhagavAn not only preserves that which has

been attained by His devotees, He also helps them attain what has not

been attained so far - ananyAS cintayanto mAm....yoga kshemam

vahAmyaham - gItA 9.22. Here yoga refers to what has not been attained

yet, and kshema refers to what has been already acquired. tirukkaLLam

SrI nRsimha rAghavAcArya svAmi explains yoga and kshema as follows:

a-labdhasya lAbho yogah, labdha rakshaNam kshemah - attaining something

that we don't have is yoga, and preserving what we have is kshema. SrI

kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives a similar explanation - aprAptasya

prApaNam yogah, yogasya rakshaNam kshemah. BhagavAn gives yogam in the

form of moksham to the devotee who longs for it, and then gives kshemam

by making sure he does not lose it (kshemam). SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives

reference to nammAzhvAr - perum tunbam vEraRa nIkki tan tALin kIzh

SErttu avan Seyyum SEmattai eNNit teLivuRRE? - tiruvAimozhi 7.5.10.

Note that the kshemam referred to here is moksham.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the meanings: dwelling or residing -

nivAsa, going or in movement - gati, to diminish or extinguish -

kshaya, to hurt or cause pain - himsA, etc. to the word kshema,

starting from the roots kshi kshaye, kshi nivAsa gatayoh, and kshi

himsAyAm, in addition to the traditional meaning, to bestow welfare.

He thus gives the interpretation to the nAma as indicating that

bhagavAn resides in everyone and everything (nivAsa), He gives it

movement (gati), and in the end He takes away the soul from the body

(kshaya). He knows the beginning, the end, and the in-between of all

the jIva-s. Hence He is kshema-kRt in all the senses.

 

The dharma cakram writer gives the analogy of a mother who protects the

child when the child is in her womb, and then for as long as the child

seeks the mother's support, she provides this support by loving the

child even more than her own self. That is the way bhagavAn looks

after His devotees (bhagavAn bhaktan mIdu pittuk koNDuLLAr).

 

This nAma should remind us that it is He protects us, and does whatever

is good for us no matter what He does.

 

607. Sivah - a) He who gives auspicious things to His devotees.

b) He who purifies those who meditate on Him.

c) He in whom the whole Universe rests at the time of pralaya.

d) He who resides in everything and everywhere.

 

Om SivAya namah.

 

a) SrI BhaTTar: Sivam karatvAt Sivah - He does what is auspicious for

all whether they desire the enjoyment of worldly pleasures or whether

they seek moksha - whether the aspirant is a bubhukshu or a mumukshu.

SrI BhaTTar refers us to

 

- SrI mahAbhArata - Sivo SivAnAm a-Sivo a-SivAnAm - He does good for

the good, and bad for the bad.

- SrI vishNu purANam (6.7.62) - samsAra moksha sthiti bandha hetuh -

He is the cause of the bondage of wrldly existence, also for the

release from it.

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives reference to tirumozhi 1.1.9 - aruLoDu peru

nilam aLikkum nAraNan, and to tiruvAimozhi 1.5.7 - SeDiyAr Akkai

aDiyAraic cErdal tIrkkum tirumAl.

 

The idea emphasized here is that a) whatever He does is for our good,

and b) He does whatever we deserve to get based on our karma.

 

b) SrI Samkara: He is Sivah because He purifies everyone by the mere

remembrance of His name.

 

c) Both SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj and SrI satyadevo vAsishTha give the

alternate interpretation based on the root SI'ng - svapne to sleep.

Sete sarvam jagat pralaya velAyAm yasmin iti Sivah - He in whom the

whole Universe rests at the time of pralaya is Sivah (SrI kRshNa datta

bhAradvAj).

 

d) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha also gives the alternate interpretation

based on the root Syai - to go, the meaning given being that He is

present everywhere, He is in everything - SyAyate sarvam iti prApnoti

iti arthah.

 

Theus, the nAma Sivah indicates that whatever bhagavAn gives us is what

is good for us, and is meant for our purification and for our reaching

Him. The punishment He gave to the demons such as rAvaNa, kamsa, etc.

were all for their ultimate good. It should be realized that when we

encounter some sufferings in life that are obviously given to us by

bhagavAn, we should accept these as willingly as when He gives us

things that make us happy, because whatever He does is for our good.

 

-To be continued.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

Om SrIvatsa vakshase namah.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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