SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 89 - sapta-jihvah.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 89 - sapta-jihvah.

 

831. sapta-jihvah – The seven-tongued.

 

Om sapta-jihvAya namah.

 

sapta refers to the number seven. jihvA means tongue in general,

also to the "tongue of fire". It is in this late sense that the

interpreters have explained the nAma in general. agni or fire is

considered to have seven tongues, and bhagavAn in the form of the

sacrificial fire accepts the sacrificial offerings and takes it to

the different gods.

 

SrI BhaTTar quotes the paushkara samhitA in support:

 

tad-vaktra-devatAnAm ca huta-bhuk parameSvarah |

mantra-pUtam yad-AdAya hutam Ajya puras-saram |

brahmANDa bhuvanam sarvam santarpayati sarvadA ||

 

"The Supreme Lord in the form of huta-bhuk (fire) carries to the gods

the offerings that are sanctified by the mantra-s and made in a

sacrifice along with clarified butter, and thereby always pleases the

entire Universes".

 

a) SrI BhaTTar notes that fire is considered to have seven tongues

named kAli, karAli, manojavA, sulohitA, sudhUmravarNA, sphuli'ngini,

and viSvaruci, and they have been allotted the duties of nourishing

the gods, receiving the oblations, and carrying them to the

respective gods.

 

SrI Sa'nkara gives the muNDakopanishad passage in support:

 

kAlee karAleeca manojavA ca sulohitA yA ca sudhUmravarNA |

sphuli'nginee viSva-rucee ca devI lelAyamAnA iti sapta-jihvAh ||

(muNDa. 1.2.4)

 

"kAli, karAli, manojavA, sulohitA, sudhUmravarNA, sphuli'ngini, and

the brilliant viSva-ruci are the seven flaming tongues". One

translator translates this as "The seven quivering tongues of fire

are: The black one, the terrific one, swift as the mind, the very

red one, of purple color, emitting sparks, and all-shaped goddess".

 

Other references to the seven tongues of agni found in the Sruti are:

 

- divas-cd-agne mahinA pRthivyA vacyantAm te vahanayah sapta-

jihvAh | (Rg. 3.6.2)

- sapta te agne saamidhah sapta-jihvAh | (tait. sam. 1.5.3)

 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri notes that the tongues of fire that accept the

offerings are known differently depending on whether the karma is a

sAttvic, rAjasic, or tAmasic: The seven flames are known as hiraNyA,

kanaka, raktA, kRshNA, suprabhA, atirkatA, and bahu-rUpA in a sAttvic

karma, padma-rAgA, suvarNA, bhadra-lohitA, SvetA, dhUminI, and kAlikA

in a rAjasic karma, and kali, karali, etc., in a tAmasic karma. He

also notes that the devatA-s associated with the seven tongues are

the deva-s, pitR-s, gandharva-s, yaksha-s, nAga-s, piSAca-s, and

rAkshasa-s.

 

b) In addition to the interpretation in terms of the seven tongues of

agni, SrI vAsishTha gives an alternate interpretation, in which he

takes the reference to "seven" as a reference to "many" – sapta iti

aneka upalakshaNam aneka-prakAra jihvam vidhatta iti. In this

interpretation, his anubhavam is that just as He has several tongues,

He has also equipped His creation with several types of tongues for

the different species. He observes that as the offerings in the homa

feed the agni with its seven tongues, the food consumed by the

different species through the tongue, along with the prANa vAyu, is

transmitted to feed the jATharAgni; thus, what the veda talks of

(feeding the fire through the different tongues), is nothing

different from what happens in real life, and so veda is not talking

anything but real life happenings – bhavati lokena samo vedo vedena

ca samo lokah.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda suggests that the "seven tongues of flame" conveys

the idea that the Light of Consciousness in us beams out through

seven points in the face – two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the

mouth. As intelligent beings, powers of perception, metaphorically,

flame out through each one of them, illumining the world for us. The

one in our heart, SrI nArAyaNa, Who totally manifests as the seven

distinct tongues-of-flame is classified here in the language of

lyrics as sapta-jihvah.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan