SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 81 - nigrahah, vyagrah.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 81 - nigrahah, vyagrah.

 

767. nigrahah – a) The Subduer.

b) He Who has a firm control over all creation.

 

Om nigrahAya namh.

 

The word nigraha means restraining, keeping in check; nigrahaNa means

holding back or down, suppressing. Thus, the nAma means “One Who

restrains”, “One Who keeps in check”. The different vyAkhyAna

kartA-s give different instances of His restraint as illustrations of

this nAma.

 

a) SrI bhaTTar’s vyAkhyAnam is that He has this nAma since He

successfully subdued all the enemies in the mahAbhArata war by His

skill as a Charioteer, without expecting the support of arjuna or his

valor. SrI Sa’nkara’s vyAkhyAnam is that the nAma signifies that He

controls all things independently – sarvam sva-vaSena nigRhNAti iti

nigrahah. SrI stya sandha yati raja alludes to His subduing all the

asura-s – nigRhNAti daityAn iti nigrahah. SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj

gives the interpretation – nigRhNAti vipatha gAminah iti nigrahah – He

restrains those Who stray away from the path of dharma. SrI bala deva

vidyA bhUshaN refers to His control of the enemies of pANDava-s in the

form of yama – nigRhyante pArtha-Satravah kaka-dRshTinA anena iti

nigrahah.

 

b) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives a different interpretation from the

above. Taking the upasarga ni, and the root grah – upAdAne – to take

hold of, to seize, SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the interpretation:

niScayena gRhyate yena iti nigrahah vishNuh - bhagavAn has a firm grasp

and leads everything in this universe as He wishes, creating what is

fit to be created, destroying what is fit to be destroyed, etc.

 

c) SrI cinmayAnanda literally translates the nAma “nigrahah” as “The

Killer”, and points out that such a nAma is justified for bhagavAn in

the context of His destroying the ego in His devotees. This is like a

doctor who “murders” the diseases in the patients, the sun is the

destroyer of darkness, etc. The nAma also means “One Who absorbs the

devotees unto Himself”.

 

768. vyagrah – a) He Who was very enthusiastic (to destroy the enemies

of His devotee during the mahAbhArata war).

b) He Who has no end.

c) He Who moves around in many different ways.

d) (a-vyagrah – He Who is not confused – dvaita pATham)

e) He Who uses garuDa as His vehicle.

 

Om vyagrAya namah.

 

The root from which the term agrah is derived is agi –gatau. Through

the uNAdi sutra 2.28, the addition of the affix ra leads to the words

agra, which mean “front, first”.

 

a) SrI bhaTTar’s vyAkhyAnam is that Lord kRshNa took the lead as needed

in the mahAbhArata war, because He could not put up with any delay in

putting down the enemies of arjuna. This is evidenced by His action

against bhIshma:

 

ye yAnti yAntyeva Sini-pravIra! Ye’vasthitA satvaram te’pi yAntu |

bhIshmam rathAt paSyata pAtyamAnam droNam ca sankhye sa-gaNam mayA’dya

||

…………. rathAt avaplutya visRjya vAhAn || (mahA

bhArata, bhIshma. 59.86)

 

“O Sini-pravIra (referring to Satyaki)! Those who have gone, have gone

for ever. Those who are still left, let them all go at once. You will

see now that bhIshma is thrown from his chariot, and also droNa with

his army”. So saying, kRshNa jumped down from the chariot , and

leaving the horses, advanced forward against bhIshma.

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan translates the above quote from mahA bhArata

slightly differently: He describes the scene where the pANDava forces

are running confused at the intensity of bhIshma’s attack, and then

kRshNa declares: “Let those who run keep running, and let the

remaining watch Me defeat bhIshma and droNa”; so saying, He jumps from

His chariot, even forgetting His own promise not to take to weapons.

Thus, He is One Who does not delay when it comes to His determination

to get rid of enemies. Thus, the nAma indicates His intolerance and

impatience when it comes to getting rid of the enemies of His devotees.

nammAzhvAr beautifully captures this guNa of bhagavan in tiruvAimozhi

9.2.10: amararkku iDar keDa aSurarukku iDar Sei kaDu vinai ne’njE! –

“You are One with the determined Mind to do whatever You have to do

eliminate the demons when it comes to protecting the deva-s”. (SrI v.

n. vedAnta deSikan comments that in this regard, He is the efficacious

poison to the asura-s that will not fail, and for which there is no

antidote).

 

b) SrI Sa’nkara uses the meaning “end” for the word “agram”, and gives

the interpretation that because He has no end, He is vyagrah – vigatam

agram asya itit vyagrah (agram – antah, vinASah).

 

c) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the derivation “vividham gamanam yo

vidhatte sa vyagra ucyate – He Who moves around using many different

ways is vyagrah. He points out that everything that is moving is a

manifestation of His guNa of vyagra, or movement in various ways.

 

d) SrI satya sandha yatirAja uses the pATham a-vyagrah for the nAma as

his primary interpretation. The meaning is “One Who is not confused” –

vyagro na bhavati iti a-vyagrah. (In thisinterpreatation, vgagrah

means “One who is confused”, and avyagrah is the opposite. vividham

agram asya iti vyagrah – One Who is confused, with multiple paths and

not knowing what to choose – amara koSa vyAkhyAnam).

 

e) In his alternative interpretation using the pATham “vyagrah”, Srai

satya sandha yatirAja gives the explanation: “vih garuDo agre asya sa

vygrah” – He Who has garuDa as His vehicle (to go, to move around).

 

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

 

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