SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 74 - Part 5.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 74 - vAsu-devah.

 

700. vAsu-devah - a) He Who pervades and sports.

b) The Son of vasudeva.

c) The presiding Deity of the well-known 12-lettered vAsu-deva mantra.

d) The Deity Who is adored by His devotees.

e) He Who lives in everything and Who keeps them moving around.

 

Om vAsudevAya namah.

 

This nAma occurred earlier as nAma 334 (Slokam 36), and will occur

again as nAma 714 (Slokam 76).

The meaning given for this nAma under Slokam 36 was "He Who pervades

and sports". Please refer to the write-up under Slokam 36 for the many

references. SrI BhaTTar points out under nAma 334, that this nAma,

like the nArAyaNa nAma, is a guhya mantram, and its meaning should be

properly learnt from a qualified AcArya. I am sharing what little I

understand based on what is written in the different vyAkhyAna-s.

 

a) For nAma 334, SrI BhaTTar's interpretation was that bhagavAn is

called vAsu-deva because He is vAsu (One in whom everything lives like

in a mother, and One who envelopes and protects everything like a bird

with its wings), and He is a deva (One Who sports, or has this process

of pervasion, permeation, creation, protection, destruction, etc., as a

part of His leelA). So He is both a vAsu and a deva, and so He is

called vAsu-devah.

 

For this nAma in Slokam 36, SrI Samkara also derives the meaning based

on the combination of the words vAsu and deva, but he suggests that in

addition to His divine play in permeating everything and being the

dwelling place for everything, His play includes His covering

everything with His mAyA (vasati - AcchAdayati - covers, conceals,

sheaths, envelops, etc. - vasati, vAsayati, AcchAdayati vA sarvam iti

vAsuh). For the nAma in Slokam 76, he unequivocally associates His

play (being a deva) with enveloping the whole universe (vAsu) with His

mAyA - jagat AchchAdayati mAyayA iti vAsuh sa eva deva iti vAsu-devah.

The term 'mAyA' in the advaita system is interpreted as "illusion",

whereas in the viSishTAdvaitic system it refers to the wonderful power

of ISvara, whose effects are very real.

 

b) For the current occurrence of the nAma, both SrI Samkara and SrI

BhaTTar gives the explanation that He is called vAsu-deva because He is

the son of vasudeva (vasudevasya apatyam vAsu-devah). SrI kRshNa

datta bhAradvAj gives the support from SrImad bhAgavatam, where

bhagavAn declares that He is called vAsu-deva because He was born as

the son of vasu-deva in the yadu kulam:

 

avatIrNo yadukule gRha Anaka dundubheh |

vadanti vAsu-deveti vasu-deva-sutam hi mAm || (bhAga. 10.51.41)

 

c) Under Slokam 76, SrI BhaTTar explains the nAma vAsu-deva in terms of

the twelve-lettered mantra, namely that the nAma vAsu-deva refers to

the Deity that presides over this (vAsu-deva) mantra. The same

para-vAsu-deva from SrI vaikunTham took incarnation as vyUha vAsudeva

in the Milky Ocean (SrI BhaTTar's interpretation for nAma 714), and He

also took the incarnation as the son of devaki and vasu-deva in mathurA

(SrI BhaTTar's interpretation for nAma 700). SrI v.v. rAmAnujan

observes that it is the same vyUha vAsu-deva that descended from SrI

vaikunTham, that also took birth as the child of vasu-deva, delighted

the hearts of the gopi-s, was the para-tattvam for the yogi-s, and at

the same time was the death for kamsa and a terror for his other

evil-minded associates.

 

d) SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj includes an additional interpretation

that has not been given by the others - He has the nAma vAsu-deva

because He is adorned by His devotees - vAsyate sevyate bhaktaih iti

vAsuh; sa cAsau deva iti vAsu-devah. The root from which he derives

this interpretation is vAs - upasevAyAm - to scent, to make fragrant.

 

e) One of the meanings for the root "div" (from which the word deva is

derived) is "to move around" - div krIDA vijigIshA vyavahAra dyuti

stuti moda mada svapna kAnti gatishu. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha uses

this last meaning (gacchati, gamayati) for the word deva, and gives the

interpretation for the nAma as "One Who dwells in everything, and makes

it possible for everything to move around". He gives reference to the

ISAvAsya Upanishad mantra "ISAvAsyam idam sarvam yad-ki'nca jagatyAm

jagat" as support.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda gives the interpretation that He has this nAma since

He lives in every living entity as the jIva-entity. He supports his

interpretation with a reference to the gItA Slokam 18-61:

 

ISvarah sarva bhUtAnAm hRd-deSe'rjuna tishThati |

bhrAmayan sarva bhUtAni yantrArUDhAni mAyayA || (gItA 18.61)

 

"The Lord, O arujuna, abides in the heart of every being, spinning them

round and round, mounted on a wheel as it were, by His power".

 

The gItA bhAshyam for this Slokam by bhagavad rAmAnuja indirectly

supports this interpretation by the use of the name vASu-deva for

bhagavAn in this context - "ISvarah sarva-niyamana-Seelo vAsu-devah

sarva-bhUtAnAm hRd-deSe sakala-pravRtti-nivRtti mUla-j~nAnodaye deSe

tishThati".

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

 

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