SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 87 - amRtASah.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 87 - amRtASah.

 

819. amRtASah – a) He Who feeds His devotees with the Nectar -

Himself.

b) He Who consumed the nectar after churning the Milk Ocean.

c) One Who has an ever-living will to give fruits.

d) One Whose wishes are failure-proof.

e) One Who is dear to the mukta-s.

f) One Who provides unending means of survival for His creation.

 

Om amRtASAya namah.

 

The nAma consists of a + mRta+ ASah. a-mRta refers to undying or

eternal, or to nectar. ASah is derived from the root aS – bhojane –

to eat. One Who consumed amRtam, or One Who gives amRtam to others,

is ASah - aSnAti ASayati vA ASah.

 

a) SrI BhaTTar's interpretation is – tAn sva-guNa amRtam ASayati iti

amRtASah – He Who feeds His devotees with the Nectar of His guNa-s.

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers to tivruvAimozhi 8.8.4, where nammAzhvAr

conveys this:

 

….

tEnum pAlum kannalum amudum Agit tittittu en

UNil uyiril uNarvinil ninRa onRai uNarndEnE.

 

"I can feel that He is in my body, flesh and blood, life-breath and

the faculty of thinking. He is sweet like honey, milk, sugar, candy,

and what not".

 

nammAzhvAr also describes that bhagavAn voluntarily entered into him

and gave him bliss as the insatiable nectar -

 

ArA amudamAi al AviyuL kalanda

kArAr karu mugil pOl en ammAn akkaNNanukku ( tiruvAi. 2.5.5)

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN gives a similar interpretation – amRtam

ayAcitam moksham ASayati bhojayati bhkatAn iti amRtASah – He Who

feeds – bestows moksham to His devotees unasked, is amRtASah.

 

b) SrI Sa'nkara gives multiple interpretations. The first one is

that bhagavAn is called amRtASah because He consumes amRta or

Immortal Bliss, which is His Own nature – sva-rUpa amRtam aSnAti

iti He also refers to bhagavAn's churning of the Milk-Ocean and

consuming the amRtam from this action in addition to giving it to the

deva-s.

 

c) d) Sri Sa'nkara gives an additional interpretation using the

meaning "desire or will" for the word "ASA", and gives the meaning to

the nAma as "One Who has an ever-living will to give fruits" – One

Who has amRtA ASA – amRtA avinaSvara phalatvAt ASA vA'ncA asya iti

amRtASah. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri explains this as referring to "His

desires or wishes being failure-proof – amRta".

 

e) One of SrI satya sandha yatirAja's interpretations is based on the

meaning "desire or attachment" for the word "ASA", and the

meaning "mukta-s" for the word "amRta-s" – "One Who is very dear to

the mukta-s" – amRtAnAm muktAnAm ASA icchA yasmin vishaya iti

amRtASah.

 

f) One of the interpretations given by SrI vAsishTha is that bhagavAn

has the nAma indicating that He provides for the unending supply of

means of survival for all His creation - pravAhato nitya-sthAyIdam

catur-vidha bheda vibhaktam yathAtadarha jIvana sAdhanAni ASayati =

bhojayati iti amRtASo vishNuh.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan