SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 73 - Part 6.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 73 - puNyah.

 

692. puNyah -a) The Purifier.

b) He Who is excellent in performing pious activities.

 

Om puNyAya namah.

 

This nAma occurs again as nAma 925 in Slokam 98.

 

There are two ways the derivation of the word "puNyah" has been

approached - one from the root pU - pavane - to purify, and the other

puN - Subha karmaNi - to be pious. The details will be seen below

under the respective authors.

 

SrI BhaTTar gives the definition - punAti iti puNyah - He who purifies

is puNyah, which is derived from the root pU - pavane to purify. SrI

BhaTTar points out that bhagavAn has this nAma because He purifies even

the worst of the sinners and makes them fit for extolling Him. SrI

v.v. rAmAnujan observes that the nAma "puNyan" for bhagavAn in tamizh

is a favorite of the AzhvArs. Among the references he gives are from

tirumazhiSai AzhvAr - "anantan mEl kiDanda em puNNiyA!" (tiruccanda

viruttam 45), and from tiruma'ngai AzhvAr - "un aDiyEn manam pugunda

ap pulava! puNNiyanE!" (periya tirumozhi 3.5.7).

 

SrI Samkara interprets this nAma to mean that He is a Purifier because

thought about Him purifies the person who thinks about Him -

smRtimAtreNa kalmashANi kshapayati iti puNyah. The dharma cakram

writer explains that just as the thoughts of indriya-sukham are

thoughts that are not conducive to His realization, the thoughts about

Him produce the purity that leads to His realization.

 

Under nAma 925, SrI BhaTTar gives the above as his second

interpretation for this nAma - that by the mere contemplation of His

kIrti pertaining to His helping His devotees, we become pure. He gives

the example of bhagavAn's protection of gajendra, and observes that the

meditation of His kIrti through acts such as this will purify us. This

same interpretation and example are presented by SrI baladeva

vidyAbhUshaN for this nAma under Slokam 98.

 

For the occurrence of this nAma in Slokam 98, SrI Samkara gives the

interpretation that bhagavAn has the nAma puNyah because He enables all

to be righteous by His teachings through the Sruti-s and smRti-s -

sarveshAm Sruti smRti lakshaNayA vAcA puNyam AcashTa iti vA puNyah.

 

Under the current Slokam, SrI baladeva vidyAbhUshaN comments that

bhagavAn is a Purifier of this world in the sense of eliminating or

removing the wicked (such as kamsa).

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha derives the nAma starting from the root pU -

pavane - to purify, and gives the derivation - pavata iti, pUyate vA

anena iti puNyah - pavitrah pApAnaviddhah Subho vA - He who purifies,

or One by whom things are purified is puNyah; or, One who is pure,

devoid of any sin, auspicious, etc. He gives the example of bhagavAn

in the form of the Sun purifying all objects in the universe, in

addition to being pure Himself.

 

In addition to the above derivation and interpretation,both SrI

satyadevo vAsishTha and SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj also give the

alternative derivation of the nAma starting from the root puN - Subha

karmaNi - to be pious. SrI bhAradvAj gives the derivation as "puNati

Subham karma Acarati iti puNyah - One Who observes pious activities is

puNyah. By the grammatical rule "tatra sAdhuh" (ashTAdyAyI 4.4.98),

with the addition the yat pratyaya to puNa, the term puNyah means "One

who is excellent in observing the pious activities", and not just in

the sense of being good. BhagavAn sets the example to His devotees on

performing pious acts by performing them Himself. He leads by example.

 

Thus, bhagavAn is puNyah (the Purifier) because a) He purifies even the

worst of sinners by making them think of Him; b) He purifies this world

by eliminating the wicked from our midst during His incarnations; c)

His thought is a purifier for those who meditate on Him; d) He purifies

everything in the form of the Sun; e) He guides us to be righteous

through the Sruti and smRti.

 

Alternatively, He is puNyah (One who excels in observing pious

activities) because He excels in the practice of pious activities so

that He sets an example for others to follow.

 

-To be continued.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

 

 

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