SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 65 - Part 1.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 65 - Part 1.

 

SrI-dah SrI-Sah SrI-nivAsah SrI-nidhih SrI-vibhAvanah |

SrI-dharah SrI-karah Sreyah_SrImAn loka-trayASrayah ||

 

om SrI-dAya namah

om SrI-SAya namah

om SrI-nivAsAya namah

om SrI-vibhAvanAya namah

om SrI-dharAya namah

om SrI-karAya namah

om Sreyah-SrImate namah

om loka-trayASrayAya namah

 

612. SrI dah - The Giver of Glories.

 

om SrI-dAya namh.

 

As mentioned in the beginning of the explanation for nAma 608, SrI

BhaTTar continues to interpret the nAma-s up to 619 in terms of

bhagavAn's inseparable association with pirATTi. For the current nAma,

his explanation is that bhagavAn is the Giver of glory to lakshmi in

the form of supreme love which is eternal, fresh, and spontaneous. The

SrI that He gives lakshmi is makes her declare "agalagillEn iRaiyum"

(SrI v.v. rAmAnujan). SrI bhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is: nitya nUtana,

nir-vyAja praNaya rasa Sriyam tasyai dadAti iti SrI-dah. That is to

say, He is Her life itself. He gives references to SrI vishNu purANam

1.9.144 - vishNoreshA anapAyinI - She is ever inseparable from vishNu;

yuddha kANDam 121.19 - ananyA hi mayA sItA bhAskareNa prabhA yathA -

(rAma's words) - SitA cannot be without Me even as the Sun and its

luster cannot be separated from each other; sundara KANDam 21.15 -

(SitA's words) - ananyA rAghaveNAham bhAskareNa prabhA yathA - Just as

radiance cannot be separated from the Sun, I cannot be separated from

rAma.

 

If SrI is taken to mean wealth, then the interpretation is that He is

the Giver of wealth to His devotees. This is SrI Samkara's vyAkhyAnam

- Sriyam dadAti bhaktAnAm iti SrI-dah. SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam

centralizes this to the case of SrI Herself - He is the One who gives

Her the quality of SrI, just as She is the One who gives Him the

pUrNatvam. The idea is that the two are One inseparable tattvam.

 

Since bhagavAn is the Giver of wealth, the question arises: What kind

of wealth should we seek? The dharma cakram writer clarifies this.

There are two kinds of wealth. One is called preyas and the other is

called Sreyas (this has been explained in a previous write-up as well).

Preyas is the search for material wealth, and Sreyas is the search for

spiritual wealth. This is dealt with in detail in kaThopanishad. We

should learn to worship vishNu with the interest in seeking Sreyas, and

not preyas, even though bhagavAn will bestow whatever the seeker seeks.

The lesson to take from this nAma is that we should seek Sreyas in

this life by worshipping vishNu, as the means for attaining mukti.

 

In summary, the nAma illustrates that He is the Giver of wealth to His

devotees, and He is the Giver of the attribute of SrI to lakshmi, just

as She is the Giver of pUrNatvam to Him, and thus the two are one

inseparable tattvam. PerumAL and pirATTi are like the Sun and its

prabhA or luster.

 

613. SrI-Sah - a) He Who is the ISa or Lord of SrI.

b) He Who has SrI as His Ruler.

 

SrI + ISah = SrI-Sah. Here again the inseparable Oneness of the

tattvam of bhagavAn and pirATTi is reflected. SrI BhaTTar gives

reference to the description of lakshmi as:

 

"AdAvAtma guNatvena bhogya rUpeNa vigrahe |

AdhAraka svarUpeNa dAsI bhAvena vA sadA || "

 

"lakshmi is ever with bhagavAn either as His innate qualities in His

Transcendental Form, or in a delightful form in His body, or as His

support by Her essential nature as a devout servant". SrI v.v.

rAmAnujan explains this as: "pirATTi is in the form of His auspicious

qualities in His Transcendental Form, as His beauty (saundaryam) in His

divya ma'ngala vigraha form, and as His Support as well as servant", as

described in the SrI pA'ncarAtra samhitA. She is also His Ruler in

that He does not act without consent and approval from Her - SrI ISAh

asya sa SrI-Sah.

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan points to the nAma SrI-patih (nAma 610) in this

context.

 

SrI BhaTTar also refers us to SrI sanatkumAra samhitA 113, describing

lakshmi as the Ruler of bhagavAn: - "pum pradhAna Isvara IsvarI" -

lakshmi is the Ruler of the individual souls, or prakRti, and of the

Ruler Himself.

 

SrI Samkara interprets the nAma as meaning that He is the Lord of

wealth - Sriya ISah SrISah.

 

The nAma can thus be understood as illustrating that bhagavAn is the

Lord of all wealth, and He is also the Lord of lakshmi, who in turn is

His Ruler as well.

 

614. SrI-nivAsah - a) The Abode of lakshmi

b) The Support of lakshmi.

c) He who dwells in purified hearts.

d) He who resides where lakshmi resides.

 

om SrI-nivAsAya namah.

 

This nAma occurred earlier as nAma 185 (Slokam 20). The gist of the

vyAkhyAnam for the nAma in Slokam 20 is included here.

 

a) In Slokam 20, SrI BhaTTar interprets the nAma based on the incident

of bhagavAn churning the Milky Ocean. lakshmi emerges from the Ocean

and takes Her place on His vaksha-sthalam, with the declaration as

captured by nammAzhvAr: "agagillEn iRaiyum enRu alarmEl ma'ngai uRai

mArban (tiruvAi mozhi 6.10.10)". SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives several

references: paSyatAm deva devAnAm yayau vaksha sthalam hareh (SrI

vishNu purANam); en tiru vAzh mArvar (tiruvAimozhi 8.3.7); malindu tiru

irunda mArvan (mUnRAm tiruvantAdi 57); tiru ma'ngai ta'ngiya Sir mArban

(nAcciyAr tirumozhi 8.4). SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri describes the

inseparable oneness of bhagavan and pirATTi in terms of pirATTi being

the amRta creeper that surrounds bhagavAn who is like the kalpa vRksham

- yato lakshmIs-tato harih.

 

SrI Samkara bhAshyam for the occurrence of this nAma in Slokam 20 is:

yasya vkashasi anapAyinI SrIh vasati sah SrI-nivAsah - He in whose

vaksha-sthalam SrI always resides is SrI-nivAsah.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda describes SrI as connoting "all Glory and power,

faculties and strength, to be good and to perform creative acts of

righteousness". She is found to never reside permanently in any

bosom, except that of Lord vishNu. Even great sages and saints in

recorded history have come to compromise the perfection in them. The

only place where imperfections never enter to molest the serene essence

is the seat of Eternal Perfection, which is the bosom of nArAyaNa.

Hence mahA vishNu is indicated as SrI-nivAsa - The Permanent Abode of

lakshmi.

 

b) In the current Slokam, SrI BhaTTar interprets the nAma in terms of

the Oneness of bhagavAn and pirATTi - He is the contiguous support of

lakshmi - note the word nitya in the vyAkhyAnam - divya vallyA iva

kalpa drumah tasyAh nitya aupaghnah SrI-nivAsah.

 

c) SrI Samkara bhAshyam in the current instance of the nAma is:

SrImatsu nityam vasati iti SrI-nivAsah - He who dwells in devotees who

are endowed with SrI or virtue. SrI cinmayAnanda gives the

interpretation that SrI here refers to those who are pure at heart,

wherein the passions and lusts have been removed, and peace, joy,

devotion, and understanding reside. BhagavAn lives in the hearts of

these, who are here referred to as SrImAn's, or those who have SrI in

them.

 

d) SrI anantakRshNa SAstri gives the explanation that bhagavAn resides

where SrI resides, which is suggestive of the togetherness of bhagavAn

and pirATTi. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri quotes: yato lakshmIs tato harih.

 

 

Under Slokam 20, SrI cinmayAnanda explains the nAma as referring to

bhagavAn being the Permanent Abode of all auspicious qualities, unlike

in the case of everyone else, whom She blesses for a brief period of

time with a tiny part of some aspect of auspiciousness. Please see the

detailed description under Slokam 20.

 

The nAma "SrI-nivAsah" thus signifies that

- SrI lives in His vaksha sthalam inseparably (SrI referring to

pirATTi),

- He lives in those who are blessed with SrI or virtue (SrI referring

to the virtue in the devotees of bhagavAn)

- BhagavAn is the permanent Abode of all auspicious qualities (SrI or

virtue residing in Him always in full)

 

614. SrI-nidhih - a) He who has lakshmi as His wealth.

b) He in whom all wealth resides.

c) He who is the treasure house for SrI.

 

a) nidhi means wealth. Ho who has SrI as His wealth is SrI-nidhih.

SrI BhaTTar's anubhavam is that SrI has been placed in bhagavAn like a

gem-studded jewel in a casket. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri describes that

SrI is the personification of all His Sakti, and He treasures her and

protects her in His vaksha-sthalam and keeps her protected with His

pItAmbaram. She is the incarnation of all Sakti, and He is the resort

where all Sakti resides.

 

b) SrI Samkara gives the interpretation - sarva Saktimaye asmin akhilAh

Sriyoh nidhIyanta iti SrI-nidhih - He who is the resort of the entirety

of wealth, as He is all-powerful.

 

c) SrI cinmAyananda interprets the nAma as "He who is the nidhi for

SrI", and notes that He is All-Full and Perfect, all glories draw

themselves from Him alone. In this sense, SrI also draws her vitality

from Him, and He is thus the nidhi of SrI.

 

The dharma cakram writer explains the meaning behind the nAma as

follows: SrI refers to all that is good. As bhagavAn has declared -

He takes incarnations to protect the good and destroy the evil -

paritrANAya sAdhUnAm vinASAya ca dushkRtAm. This nAma indicates His

protecting SrI - the incarnation of all that good and virtuous. This

nAma teaches us that just as the good part of the food that is consumed

is converted into blood etc. and the bad part is discarded as waste, we

should retain what is good around us and discard what is not good.

Meditation on this nAma of vishNu with this understanding of the

meaning of this nAma will give us this ability.

 

The nAma SrI-nidhih thus means:

 

- He has SrI as His treasure

- SrI has Him as her treasure

- He is the resort of all wealth

 

615. SrI-vibhAvanah - a) He who owes His greatness to lakshmi.

a) He who bestows greatness on all according to their karma.

b) He who makes lakshmi's fame (vivhavam) known to everyone.

 

SrI BhaTTar gives the reference to sage vAlmIki - aprameyam hi tat

tejah yasya sA janakAtmajA (AraNya. 37.18) - "The tejas or splendor of

SrI rAma, who has sItA as His pirATTi, is beyond all measure". These

are the words of mArIca to rAvaNa. ANDAL dramatically describes the

extent of trouble He went through to get pirATTi - uNNAdu uRa'ngAdu oli

kaDalai UdaRuttu peN Akkai AppuNDa SelvanAr (nAcciyAr tirumozhi 11.6).

peN here refers to pirATTi who has no one to compare with.

 

b) SrI Samkara gives the interpretation that He is SrI-vibhAvanah

because He gives various forms of prosperity to all according their

karma-s - karmAnurUpeNa vividhAh Sriyah sarvabhUtAnAm vibhAvayati iti

SrI-vibhAvanah.

 

c) SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives the interpretation that He is

SrI-vibhAvanah because He spreads the fame of lakshmi by proudly

displaying His association with lakshmi, and by bestowing blessings on

all devotees through His association with lakshmi.

 

The dharma cakram writer explains in simple terms the complimentary

nature of perumAL and pirATTi. The analogy he gives is that when

wealth is in someone's possession who does not use it for anything

good, it is wasted. Neither the wealth of this person acquires fame,

nor does the possessor of this wealth. The dharma cakram writer gives

the example of a poor man who got seven jars of gold, six of them full,

and the seventh half full. He was taken by greed that the seventh jar

was only half full, and so started living a life with the aim of trying

to get the seventh jar filled up, and in the process suffered even more

in poverty than before he got the gold jars. This is not the purpose

of getting wealth. Instead, there are those who get wealth and then

use it to help those in need. They attain fame because of their

wealth, and their wealth also becomes famous because it is used for the

right purposes. BhagavAn has the wealth in the form of SrI

(mahAlakshmi), and He bestows all His devotees with blessings according

to their karma, and so He gets His fame. SrI gets the fame since the

wealth that He has because of His association with her is being used

for protecting dharma. Thus, the mutually complimentary nature of

bhagavAn and pirATTi is conveyed in this nAma, as in other nAma-s of

this group.

 

- To be continued…..

 

-dAsan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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