SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 81 - naika-SR'ngah.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokma 81 - naika-SR'ngah.

 

769. naika-SR’ngah – a) He Who adopted diverse tactics for controlling

His devotees’ enemies.

b) He Who can be brought under control (realized) through the four

horns in the form of the four veda-s.

c) He Who can be controlled (reached) through the OmkAra, with its

four “horns” – akAra, ukAra, makAra, and nAda.

d) He Who has the four horns in the form of the four veda-s, to

control the world through dharma.

e) He Who has many dimensions to His Lordship (prabhutvam).

f) He Who has many aspects to His role as a Bestower of His devotees’

wishes.

g) (eka-SR’ngah – satya sandha yatirAja) – He Who took incarnation as

the one-horned varAha.

h) He Who has many rays of effulgence radiating from Him.

i) He Who has provided diverse means to the different living beings

to cause harm to their enemies, as also to defend themselves from their

enemies.

 

Om naika-SR’ngAya namah.

 

The root involved in the nAma is SRR – himsAyAm – to tear to pieces, to

kill, to hurt. The word SR’ngah is derived from this root by the

application of the uNAdi sUtra 126, SRNAter-hrasvaSca. SrI satyadevo

vAsishTha gives the meanings – dIpti (radiance), “means of

destruction”, and “means for protection against obstacles from others”,

for the word SR’ngam – SR’ngam iti dIpter nAma, himsA-sAdhanam tathA

para-kRta-bAdhA-nivAraNa-sAdhanamapi SR’ngam. The word SR’nga also

means horn, and SrI Sa’nkara uses this meaning in his interpretation.

 

a) Of the above, SrI bhaTTar has used the meaning ‘himsA sAdhanam” in

his interpretation. na + eka + SR’ngah = naika-SR’ngah – He Who has

multiple means for causing distress to His enemies. SrI BhaTTar

elucidates his interpretation using the instances of mahA bhArata –

buddhi-yogah sArathyam anAyudha grahaNa vyAjah prAptakAle tad-grahaNam

iti bahu-vairi-bAdhakam asya iti na-eka-SR’ngah – “He is naika-SR’ngah

since He adopted several devices for bringing about the fall of the

enemies, like giving sound advice, skillfully driving the chariot,

pretending that he would not use a weapon but actually making use of

His weapon at the opportune moment, etc”. Interchanging day and night

is another of the tactics that He used. nammAzhvAr’s tiruvAimozhi

6.4.10 describes this guNa of His (SrI v.v. rAmAnujan):

 

maN miSaip perum bhAram nI’nga Or bhArata mA-perum pOr

paNNI mAya’ngaL Seidu Senaiyaip pAzh paDa nUtRiTTup pOi….

 

“To reduce the weight of this world caused by the ahamkAra of people,

the Lord caused the mahA bhArata war, performed many miracles, as if

some mantra was invoked for each step, and made sure that His design

succeeded”. (nooTriTTu – fabricated, as it were, all these mAya-s).

 

b) SrI Sa’nkara uses the meaning “horn” for the word SR’ngah, and gives

the meaning “He With Many Horns”. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri explains that

just as the animals with horns come under control when their horns are

seized, bhagavAn comes under control of His devotees through the four

veda-s – the four “horns” referred to by SrI Sa’nkara – catuh SR’ngah

naika-SR’ngah. SrI San’kara gives support from Rg veda – catvAri

SR’ngA (RV 4.58.3) -

 

catvAri SR’ngA tray’sya pAdA dve Sirshe sapta hastAso’sya |

tridhA baddho vRshabho rorarvIti mahAdevo martyAgm AviveSa || (RV

4.58.3)

 

(Ralph T. H. Griffith gives an explanation based on SAyaNa bhAshya for

the above in his translation of the Rg vedic hymns. The four horns

refer to the four veda-s, the three feet refer to the three daily

sacrifices, etc.).

 

c) SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives other interpretations from the SAyaNa

bhAshyam, which includes the four “horns”, namely akAra, ukAra makAra,

and nAda for the OmkAra – akAra ukAra makAra nAdarUpa SR’nga

catushTayopetah; from the niruktam - catvAri SR’ngA iti vedA vA uktah.

 

 

d) A thought that comes out of b) is that bhagavAn has the four horns

in the form of the four veda-s, that He uses to control the world

through dharma.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda interprets the reference to “the four horns “catvAri

SR’ngA” in the Rg vedic quote above (4.58.3) as a reference to the four

States of Consciousness – the waking, dream, deep-sleep, and Pure

Awareness. He interprets the three feet as the three states of gross,

subtle and causal bodies respectively.

 

e) The word SR’ngam also means Lordship, supremacy, etc. SrI kRshNa

datta bhAradvAj uses this meaning, and gives the interpretation that

the nAma refers to His many aspects to His Lordship – naikam vividham

SR’ngam prabhutvam yasya iti naika-SR’ngah. He quotes medinI in

support – SR’gam prabhutve Sikhare (medina 3.25).

 

f) SrI satya sandha yatirAja gives the interpretation – na eka SR’ngo,

na ekAni – anekAni SR’ngANi yasya vRsha rUpe sa naika-SR’ngah, which

can be translated as “He Who has multiple forms in His aspect as the

Bestower, or One Who establishes dharma” (vRsha – dharma).

 

f) In his alternate interpretation, he splits the word as nA

eka-SR’ngah, and explains the word nA separately as referring to the

parama purushatvam of bhagavAn (parama purshatvAt nA), and then takes

eka-SR’ngah as the nAma, and gives the interpretation that it refers to

vishNu’s form as the one-horned varAha incarnation. He quotes moksha

dharma in support – eka-SR’ngah tato bhUtvA varAho nandi-vardhanah|

imAm ca udhRtvAt bhUmim eka-SR’ngah.

 

h) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha uses the meaning “dIpti” for the word

“SR’nga”, and interprets the nAma as referring to One Who has many

radiant rays emanating from Him. He also gives two other

interpretations – 1) He Who has many ways of causing himsA; and 2) He

Who provides many ways to ward off from himsA (see the first

paragrapah). As illustration of the third interpretation, he points

out the sharp nails in the paw of the lion are its horns (SR’nga) for

its protection, the horns of the buffalo are its way of protection, the

hands for the man are his SR’nga’s for protection, the tusks of the

elephant are its SR’nga for protection, etc. All these same

instruments for their protection are also the same instruments for

destruction or himsA, and thus the same examples hold for the 2nd

interpretation above as well.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

 

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