SrI vishNu sahasra nAma - Slokam 84 - mahA-karmA.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 84 - mahA-karmA.

 

793. mahA-karmA – He of magnanimous actions.

 

Om mahA-karmaNe namah.

 

mahAnti karmANi yasya sa mahA-karmA – He Whose actions are great and

magnanimous. The difference in the different interpretations

relates the specific anubhavam of the vyAkhyAna-kartA-s on His mahA

karma-s.

 

a) SrI BhaTTar continues the thread from the earlier nAma-s. "Even

though bhagavAn is of a merciful nature, deceitful acts were

perpetrated by Him for the sake of the protection of the prapanna-s -

those who had taken refuge in Him, and for the destruction of those

who were wedded to unholy practices. Since all His acts were thus

justifiable, He is mahA-karmA" – evam prapanna paripAlanArthatvAt

durAcAra-daNDanArthatvAcca parama-kAruNikasyaiva vipralambha

sambhavah | evam nyAya vRttatvAt mahA-karmA. One is reminded of the

well-known Slokam "paritrANAya sAdhUnAm, vinASAya ca dush-kRtAm,

dharma samsthApanArthAya sambhavAmi yuge yuge" (gItA 4.8).

 

SrI Sa'nkara gives examples of a different kind for the great deeds

referred to in this nAma – such as the creation of ether, earth,

water, air, and fire – mahAnti viyatAdIni bhUtAni karmANi kAryANi

asya iti mahA-karmA. SrI cinamyAnanda elaborates on this – "To

create a cosmos so scientifically precise and perfect out of the five

great elements, and to sustain them all with an iron hand of

efficiency, all the time constantly presiding over the acts of

destruction without which the world of change cannot be maintained,

is in itself, a colossal achievement of Absolute Intelligence".

 

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvaj gives the interpretation that He has this

nAma because He performs divine actions – mahat mahanIyam divyam

karma yasya iti mahA-karmA. He gives the support from gItA 4.9 –

janma karma ca me divyam – "My birth and My actions are of a divine

nature".

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN's anubhavam of the mahA karmA's is the

incident involving Lord kRshNa restoring indra's royal umbrella and

adiTi's earrings and giving them back to their owners – mahAnti

bhauma vadha maNi parva chatra aditi kuNDala AnayanAni karmANi yasya

sa mahA karmA. The reference to these incidents is found in SrImad

bhAgavatam in skanda 10, adhyAya 59, Sloka 2:

 

indreNa hRtac-chatreNa hRta-kuNDala-bandhunA |

hRta amara adri sthAnena indreNa j~nApito bhauma ceshTitam |

sa-bhAryo garuDArUDhah prAg-jyotisha puram yayau

|| (bhAga. 10.59.2)

 

"Having been requested by indra for His help in recovering his royal

umbrella, his mother's ear-rings, and his seat called maNi parvatam

in sumeru hill, that has been forcibly taken away by narakAsura, Lord

kRshNa went to the city of narakAsura with satyabhAmA, riding on His

garuDa vAhanam". The chapter in SrImad bhAgavatam then extensively

describes kRshNa-s fight with narakAsuran, and the slaying of

narakAsura in the end. Then in Slokam 43, Lord kRshNa is referred to

as a-tarkya-kRt – He Who performs acts that are unarguably great.

The use of the word atarkya-kRtah here is the same as the sense

conveyed by the current nAma – mahA-karmA.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan