SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 72 - Part 1.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 72 - mahA-kramah.

 

mahA-kramo mahA-karmA mahA-tejA mahoragah |

mahA-kratur_mahA-yajvA mahA-ya~jno mahA-havih ||

 

om mahA-kramAya namah

om mahA-karmiNe namah

om mahA-tejase namah

om mahoragAya namah

om mahA-kratave enamah

om mahA-yajvane namah

om mahA-ya~jnAya namah

om mahA-havishe namah

 

SrI BhaTTar enjoys bhagavAn's greatness in terms of His unbounded

vAtsalyam towards His devotees in the next few nAma-s. The

interpretation of SrI BhaTTar is in terms of His relation with His

devotees, how He makes it easy for the worshipper to worship Him, etc.

 

676. mahA-kramah - a) He Who provides easy step-by-step access for the

elevation of His devotee.

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

c) He Whose strides are great in that He reaches everything faster

than anyone else.

d) He Whose Feet are great (to surrender).

 

 

 

The word kramam refers to step or pace (of the feet), and also to a

systematic or gradual approach. SrI Samkara uses the first meaning to

explain the nAma in terms of His tri-vikrama incarnation, and SrI

BhaTTar uses the second meaning and interprets the nAma in terms of

bhagavAn's making it easy for devotees to reach Him through gradual

steps.

 

a) Since bhagavAn provides a systematic approach to elevate us who are

at the bottom of the pit of samsAra from our lowly levels to His level,

He is called mahA-kramah. SrI BhaTTar provides a very lucid analogy to

make this point clear. Just as a mother starts feeding breast milk to

the child first for easy digestion, and then slowly starts feeding

cow's milk, then other fluids, and then solid food, so also bhagavAn

provides gradual steps to His devotees to reach Him. At first, He

removes from our mind the dislike against Him; then He makes us believe

in Him and His vedic injunctions; then He makes us obey these

injunctions with pleasure; after this, He bestows knowledge and

devotion, and generates deep faith in Him; ultimately He makes us

attain Him. Even though this takes several births in the cases of most

of us, He keeps at it till He gets us to Him. SrI BhaTTar quotes the

following in support:

 

janmAntara sahasreshu tapo dhyAna samAdhibhih |

narANAm kshINa pApAnAm kRshNe bhaktih prajAyate || (laghu atri

smRti)

 

"The sins of human beings get annihilated over a period of several

births by means of austerities, meditation, and contemplation on Him,

and devotion to Lord kRshNa results in the end".

 

bahUnAm janmanAm ante j~nAnavAn mAm prapadyate (gItA 7.19)

 

"It is only at the end of many births that a wise man resorts to Me".

 

AbhyAsa yogena tato mAm icchAptum dhana'njaya | (gItA 8.8)

 

"O Arjuna! Strive to attain Me by constant practice of meditation".

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives related reference from divya prabandham:

"ARRa nalla vagai kATTum ammAn" (tiruvAi. 4.5.5), and "neRi vASal

tAneyAi ninRAnai…" (mudal tiruvantAdi 4). SrI v.n. vedAnta deSikan in

his tamizh vyAkhyAnam for the first reference brings out the point that

bhagavAn shows this path to arjuna step by step, gradually, and not all

at once. Doing so all at once would have only confused arjuna

profusely. The second reference stresses that it is only by His Grace

that the step-by-step path will be revealed, and not otherwise; Siva

tried his best to realize Him by controlling all his indriya-s, and

could not find Him

 

b) SrI Samkara interprets the nAma as referring to His tri-vikrama

incarnation - mahAntah kramAh pAda-vikshepA asya iti mahA-kramah. He

gives reference to taittirIya Upanishad in support - Sanno

vishNur-uru-kramah (1.1). SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri adds that the

significance of mahA here is that these measures are nothing known to

us, and beyond our comprehension - we can't define what each "step" of

bhagavAn means in this context of tri-vikrama incarnation. All we can

say is that His steps are "big".

 

c) SrI cinmayAnanda interprets the "long stride" to refer to His being

able to permeate and pervade everything, one of meanings of the term

"vishNu"; He reaches everything and everyone earlier than anything

else or anyone else, and so He is mahA-kramah, or One with great

strides, in this sense as well. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha conveys this

anubhavam in his vyAkhyAnam as well - na cAsti ki'ncit bhuvi vartamAnam

mahAkramo yan-na vase karoti… - There is nothing in this universe that

is not under the control of this mahA-kramah.

 

d) The dharma cakram writer gives yet another anubhavam - His steps

(Feet) are so great that by resorting to them one crosses the ocean of

samsAra; our ordinary steps only allow us to cross short distances in

this earth. The lowliest of beings here will become the greatest of

mukta-s just by surrendering to His steps - such is their greatness.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

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