SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 76 - analah revisited.

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In my posting titled "SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 76 -Part 2", I

had covered the nAma analah. In that write-up, I had failed to mention

that the nAma had previously come in Slokam 32 (nAma 293). SrI M. K.

Krishnaswamy was kind enough to bring this to my attention. I have

revised the write-up based on additional information covered under

Slokam 32 by the different interpreters. This is included below.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 76 - analah revisted.

 

716. an-alah - a) He Who is never satisfied that He has done enough

for His devotees.

b) He Who cannot tolerate the offense committed to His devotees.

c) He Who receives the prANa Sakti as His own and functions in the form

 

of the jIvAtmA (SrI Samkara).

d) He Who is beyond smell etc.

e) He Who is unlimited (in His Glories) (alam - paryApti - end).

f) He Who is in the form of Fire.

g) One Who has no end (alam - paryApti - end)

h) One Who has no opposition (alam - opposition)

i) He Who rejuvenates His devotees who intensely long for Him (an -

prANane ).

 

Om analAya namah.

 

This nAma occurred as nAma 294 in Slokam 32 earlier. The reader is

referred to this earlier write-up as well.

 

The nAma can be looked at as an-alah, a-nalah, or ana-lah. The

different interpretations are derived based on the different ways of

looking at the word.

 

a) For the occurrence of this nAma in Slokam 32, SrI BhaTTar uses the

meaning al - paryApti - to be satisfied, and gives the interpretation

to the nAma an-alah as "He Who is not satisfied"; in spite of all that

He does for His devotees, He feels that He has done nothing to help His

devotee - "na ki'ncit kRtam eshAm mayA iti avitRptah". SrI BhaTTar

quotes the incident from mahA bhArata, where Lord kRshNa expresses His

feeling of being permanently in debt to draupadi who cried out for His

help. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan describes that even though He protected her

when she cried out for help, and even though in addition He helped the

pANDava-s by changing the day into night, violating His promise not to

take to arms during the war, etc., still His heart was heavy that He

did not do enough to help draupadi. As Lord kRshNa was departing to

SrI vaikunTham after the purpose of His incarnation was completed, He

said relating to this incident: RNam pravRddhamiva me hRdayAt

nApasarpati(udyoga. 28.22) - "(That cry of help uttered by draupadi

even from a distance calling me "govinda", even though I was far away

in dvArakA) - that cry is never away from My mind, like debt that has

increased over time with interest accumulated on it".

 

nammAzhvAr describes this guNa of bhagavAn in peria

tiruvanTAdi 53 - "un aDiyArkku en Seivan enRE irutti nee" - "Your

preoccupation is in contemplating on what You can do to help your

devotee always". In this aspect, He is like the fire that is never

satisfied with anything that is offered to it; it keeps consuming

whatever is offered, and grows more and more eager to consume more.

For this reason, the term analah also refers to fire.

 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives another dimension to His not being

"satisfied" - He is not satisfied with just the materialistic offering

during His worship, but will be satisfied only when it is offered with

bhakti or devotion. Bhakti is the only requirement for satisfying Him,

and not any accompanying materialistic offerings.

 

b) For the current occurrence of the nAma an-alah, SrI BhaTTar gives

the additional interpretation that bhagavAn has this nAma because of

His guNa of not being able to put up with apacAram to His devotees. SrI

BhaTTar quotes the following words of bhagavAn:

 

dvau tu me vadha kAle'smin na kshantavyo katha'ncana |

ya~jna vighna-karam hanyAm pANDavAnAm ca dur-hRdam || (bhA. sabhA.

68.26)

 

"At the time of destruction two persons will not at all be forgiven by

Me. I will kill Him who obstructs the conduct of this sacrifice, and

also him who is ill-disposed to the pANDava-s".

 

SrI rAmAnujan also refers us to the incident where Lord kRshNa refused

to take the offering in duryodhana's house because of duryodhana's

attitude of hatred towards the pANDava-s.

 

c) Under Slokam 32, one of the interpretations given by SrI Samkara is

based on looking at the nAma as ana-lah. ana refers to prANa, and the

root lA means "AdAne dAne ca - to take, to obtain". His interpretation

is "anAn prANAn Atmatvena lAti iti ana-lah". The translators have

generally translated this to mean that He receives the prANa Sakti as

His own and functions in the form of the jIvAtmA, and hence this nAma.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha uses the same approach as above, but gives the

interpretation that since bhagavAn ultimately takes away the prANa-s to

Him, He is called ana-lah.

 

d) Another alternate interpretation that SrI Samkara gives is based on

the root nal - gandhe bandhane ca - to smell, to bind. In this

interpretation, the nAma is explained as a-nalah; na alam asya sah

a-nalah - He Who is beyond smell etc. SrI Samkara gives support from

bRhadAraNya upanishad: a-sthUlam anaNvahrAsvam a-dIrgham a-lohitam

a-sneham acc-chAyam ….. a-mAtram anantaram a-bAhyam …(3.8.8.) - Brahman

is neither big nor small, neither short nor tall, not colored, not

wettable, can't be measured, etc.

 

e) For the current occurrence of the nAma analah, SrI Samkara uses the

meaning "limit" for alam - paryApati, and gives the interpretation that

this nAma signifies that bhagavAn is unlimited in His energies and

powers - alam paryAptih Sakti sampadAm na asya vidyata iti an-alah. SrI

cinmayAnanda quotes the gItA in support: nAnto'smi mama divyAnAm

vibhUtInAm paramtapa | (gItA 12.5) - "Of My Divine Glories, there is no

end".

 

This interpretation of SrI Samkara brings out the parattvam of

bhagavAn. Notice that Sri BhaTTar has used this same root (al -

paryApti), and given the interpretation that bhagavAn is unlimited in

His desire to help His devotees (see a above). Both experiences are

true, and are different dimensions of His guNa, the first expounding

His parattvam, and the second expounding His vAtsalyam. Further

appreciation of this difference in approach between SrI Samkara and SrI

BhaTTar can be gleaned from the article that was posted earlier,

comparing the two vyAkhyAna-s.

 

f) SrI cinmayAnanda takes the meaning "fire" for "analah", and comments

that the nAma can refer to His being in the form of Fire and sustaining

our body with the right amount of warmth that is needed for the

sustenance of our body.

 

g) h) Using the meaning "paryApti - tRpti vacana" for the term alam,

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha interprets an-alah as "One Who does not have an

end". In addition, using the meaning vAraNa - resistance or opposition

for the word "alam", he gives the alternate interpretation "He Who has

no one to oppose Him" for the nAma an-alah. He gives several Sruti

references: na tvadanyah kavitaro na medhayA dhIro varuNa svadhAvAn

(atharva. 5.11.4); na dvitIyo na tRtIyah(atharva. 13.4.16); aham indro

na parAjigye (Rg. 10.48.5); sarvam tadindra te vase (Rg. 8.93.4;

atahrva. 20.112.1; yajur. 33.35).

 

i) SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj takes a different approach from others,

and gives his interpretation starting with the root an - prANane - to

live, to breathe. Using the uNAdi sUtra "vRshAdibhayaScit - (1.106)" -

he derives the word analah, and gives the interpretation "Anayati

samujjIvayati tapah: kRSAn sva-janAn sva-darSanena iti analah" - He Who

rejuvenates His devotees who are engaged in intense tapas on Him, by

giving His darSanam to them.

 

 

 

 

 

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