SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 82 - catur-gatih.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 82 - catur-gatih.

 

774. catur-gatih – a) He Who is in the form of the four purushArtha-s.

b) He Who provides the four goals: indra, brahma, kaivalya, and

moksha.

c) He Who has the four gaits (vRshabha, gaja, vyAghra, and simha

gati)

d) He Who is the goal of the four varNa-s and the four ASrama-s.

e) He Who is the Refuge for the four kinds of bhakata-s (Arta,

ji~jnAsu, arthArthI, and j~nAnI)

 

om catur-gataye namah.

 

a) SrI bhaTTar interprets the nAma as referring to His being the path

for all the four goals desired by His devotees – upAsaka abhiyoga

tAratamya kRta-kramAt catasrah prAptayah asmin iti catur-gatih. SrI

bhaTTar does not explicitly specify what the four goals are that he has

in mind. Two different interpretations have been given by the

subsequent interpreters. One is that the four goals are the four

purushArtha-s – dharma, artha, kAma, and moksha.

 

b) An alternate interpretation, given by SrI aNNa’ngarAcArya and a few

others, is that, depending on the merit of the upAsaka, bhagavAn takes

the upAsaka to one of the four goals: the position of indra, brahmA,

kaivalyam, or moksham.

 

c) In SrImad rAmAyaNam, hanuman describes Lord rAma to sItA pirATTi

with the name catur-gatih (sundara kANDam 35.20 – catur-daSa

samadvandvaS-catur-damshTraS-catur-gatih). This is traditionally

translated using the meaning “gait” for the word “gatih”, giving the

meaning to the nAma as “One Who has the four kinds of gaits”. SrI

v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to the ARAyirap paDi vyAkhyAnam for tiruppAvai

pASuram 23 – ‘mArI malai muzha’ngil”, for the part “un koil ninRu

I’nganE pOndu aruLi”. emperumAn’s naDai is enjoyed in four different

ways in SrI ra’ngam utsavam-s. These are the Rshabha gati (the walk of

a bull, characterized by pride and exultation), matta gaja gati (the

gait of an infatuated elephant, characterized by majesty), the vyAghra

gati (associated with the anger of an angry tiger), and simha gati (the

walk of lordliness associated with its position as the king of the

four-legged species and by its ability to overpower and conquer the

other four-legged species). In SrImad rAmAyaNam we have the reference

to the beauty of Lord rAma’s gait – gaja simha gatI vIrau SardUla

vRshabhaupamau, referring to the four gaits described above.

 

d) SrI Sa’nkara uses the meaning “goal” (the ultimate end) for the word

gati, and gives the interpretation that the nAma means “He Who is the

Goal of the four varNa-s and ASrama-s” – ASramANAm varNAnAm caturNAm

yathokta-kAriNAm gatih catur-gatih – He is the goal of the four stages

of life or ASrama-s (brahmacarya, gRhasta, vAnaprastha and sannyAsa),

and the four castes (brAhmaNa, kshatriya, vaiSya, and Sudra), when

their respective codes of conduct are observed.

 

e) SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN gives the interpretation that He has this

nAma because He is the Refuge for the four kinds of bhakta-s – the

Arta, ji~jnAsu, arthArthI, or j~nAnI – caturNAm ArtAdInAm bhaktAnAm

yathA-bhAvam AsryatvAt catur-gatih. SrI satya sandha yatirAja also

gives this interpretation, and gives the reference to the gItA Slokam

7.16:

 

catur-vidhA bhajante mAm janAh sukRtino’rjuna |

Arto ji~jnAsur-arthArthI j~nAnI ca bharatarshabha || (gItA 7.16)

 

“Four types of men of good deeds worship Me, O arjuna. These are the

distressed, the seekers after knowledge, the wealth-seekers, and men of

knowledge”.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

 

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