SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 67 - Part 1.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 67.

 

udIrNah sarvatas-cakshur_anISah SASvata-sthirah |

bhUSayo bhUshaNo bhUtir_aSokah Soka-nASanah ||

 

om udIrNAya namah

om sarvatas-cakshushe namah

om anISAya namah

om SASvata-sthirAya namah

om bhU-SayAya namah

om bhUshaNAya namah

om bhUtaye namah

om a-SokAya namah

om Soka-nASanAya namah

 

630. udIrNah - a) He Who visibly manifests Himself through His

incarnations.

b) He who is superior to all beings

c) He who elevates His devotees to His level.

 

Om udIrNAya namah.

 

a) SrI BhaTTar interprets this nAma and the subsequent few nAma-s as

describing the arcA form of bhagavAn. In this context, he interprets

the nAma "udIrNah" as "ullasitah" which means "shining, bright,

becoming visible" and gives the meaning "He has a pleasing and splendid

form that is clearly visible to the eyes of the devotee".

 

b and c) SrI Samkara's interpretation is "sarva bhUtebhyah

samudriktatvAt udIrNah" - He who is superior to all beings.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha derives the words starting from the upasarga

"ut" and the root Ru - gatau - to go, and gives the meaning - One who

is above all beings. Alternatively, he says that the nAma can signify

that He is udIrNah because He lifts everyone up. SrI kRshNa datta

bhAradvAj essentially gives the same explanation - ut - abhyudayam,

Rccahati - prApayati sma eva sadaiva svASritAnAm iti udIrNah. Thus, he

also derives the nAma from ut, and the root R - to go, and gives the

meaning that bhagavAn is called udIrNah because He lifts up His

devotees so that they reach Him.

 

The dharma cakram writer illustrates at different levels how bhagavAn

is superior in all respects. In sheer size of His form, He permeates

everything, and everything is His body, so there is no one who has a

bigger form than Him. In superiority of Power, we know through His

incarnations that there is no one superior to Him in His Power. In the

area of controlling indriyas and mind, bhagavAn is the yogISvara, and

there is none superior to Him in this aspect also. In the area of Love

to everyone, bhagavAn demonstrated that there is none equal to Him in

this aspect by His leelA-s in gokulam. When it comes to knowledge,

there is nothing more to know for one who has known mahA vishNu; since

He is the ultimate in knowledge. Thus, no matter what aspect one looks

at, there is nothing superior to Him. This nAma should reveal to us

this great and at the same simple Truth, and thus lead us to meditate

on Him.

 

631. sarvataS-cakshuh - a) He Who is visible to the eyes of all.

b) He who has eyes everywhere, and sees everything through His

consciousness.

 

Om sarvatas-cashushe namah.

 

a) SrI BhaTTar: He is sarvataS-cakshuh because He is visible to the

likes of even ordinary people like us. He has been visible to the

people of His time when He took incarnation as rAma, kkRshNa, etc., and

He is visible to us today in the form of arcA mUrti in the temples and

in our houses. This again supports His being chinna-samSayah as we saw

in nAma 629. He delights His devotees with His complete darSanam.

 

b) SrI Samkara: He is sarvataS-cakshuh because He has eyes everywhere,

and thus sees everything through His consciousness. Sarvatah sarvam

sva-caitanyena paSyati iti sarvatS-cakshuh. Through His caitanyam

which is natural to Him, He sees everything always. The Sruti says -

He has eyes on all sides - viSvataS-cakshuruta viSvatas-pAt (SvetASva.

3.3).

 

632. anISah - a) He Who is not the Master.

b) He Who has no one above Him as the Master.

 

Om anISAya namah.

 

a) SrI BhaTTar: He is called anISah since when it comes to His

devotees, He does not assert or display His rulership, and instead, is

completely subservient to them. We already saw several examples of

this in our explanation of the nAma 627 - vidheyAtmA. SrI v.v.

rAmAnujan presents this idea more graphically by pointing out that

bhagavAn becomes dependent on the likes of us to bathe Him and feed Him

in His arcA form! PeriAzhvAr describes this act of His becoming

dependent on His devotees thus - AycciiyAgiya annaiyAl anRu veNNei

vArttaiyuL sIRRamuNDu azhu kUtta appan (tiruvAi. 6.2.11). He just puts

up a show of weeping and crying to show how subservient He is to yaSodA

at the very thought that she may get angry at the remote suggestion

that He may be involved in any reported incident of butter being

stolen.

b) SrI Samkara: He is called anISah because He has no one above Him as

His Master - na vidyate asya ISa iti anISah. He quotes from the Sruti

- na tasya ISe kaScana - nArAyaNa. Upa. 3.2. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri

gives the additional example - na tasya kaScit patirasti loke na ceSilA

- SveTASva. 6.9.

 

The dharma cakram writer points out that the lesson to take from this

nAma is that one who is devoted to bhagavAn has bhagavAn Himself under

his control, and so devotion will lead one to the state where there is

no one who will be a master of the bhakta. This is the greatness of

devotion or bhakti.

 

633. SASvata-sthirah - He Who is eternally existent and steady.

 

Om SASvata-sthirAya namah.

 

SASvata means eternal, always, and sthirah means stable.

 

SrI BhaTTar: He assumes the various forms of the images (arcA forms)

which continue to exist for ever and which are directly perceptible to

the eyes, at all times. SrI BhaTTar quotes from the sAttvata samhitA -

bimba AkRtyA AtmanA bimbe samAgamya avatisThate - "He assumes a form

similar to that of the image (fashioned by us), enters into it and

remains there". The reference here is to the arcA mUrti-s.

 

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj also interprets the nAma in terms of

bhagavAn's vAtsalyam to His devotees - He is eternally stable in His

vAtsalyam to His devotees. His vyAkhyAnam is: SASvat bhava iti

SASvato nityah | sa ca asau sthira iti SASvata-sthirah - nityam

svASrita vAtsalya pratishThitah |

 

SrI Samkara: Even while being Eternal, He is also unchanging and

stable - SaSvat bhavannapi, na vikriyAm kadAcit upaiti iti

SASvata-sthirah.

 

The dharma cakram writer points out that when our mind is involved with

things that change, our likes and dislikes are also changing. For

example, if we get attracted to a body that is young, we lose the

attraction when the body becomes older. But if we involve our mind

with paramAtmA, who is never changing, there is no question of our

changing constantly between likes and dislikes. One who involves his

mind in the Supreme Self also attains eternal and stable piece,

knowledge, and love. The likes of us who have an impermanent body and

live in this impermanent world can attain permanent peace and permanent

joy by meditating on the etrnal and stable Self - the SASvata-sthirah.

This is the significance of this nAma.

 

-To be continued.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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