SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 103 - prANa-dhRt, prANa-jIvanaH.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 103 - prANa-dhRt, prANa-jIvanaH.

 

961. prANa-dhRt – He Who sustains the beings.

 

om prANa-dhRte namaH.

 

prANa means life. The word dhRt is derived from the root dhR –

dhAraNe – to hold, to support, to bear. SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam

is "tAn mAtR-vat dhArayati ca iti prANa-dhRt" – He Who nourishes the

living beings like a mother. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to

nammAzhvAr, who praises bhagavAn as "Our mother, Our father, Our

soul" – the three that always work for our welfare and benefit, in

the present, in the past and in the future:

 

pOginRa kAla'ngaL, pOya kAla'ngaL, pOgu kAla'ngaL, tAi tandai

uyir

AginRAi! unnai nAn aDaindEn viDuvEnO…. (tiruvAi.

2.6.10)

 

The pATham `prANa-bhRt' is used by Sri Sa'nkara, SrI vAsishTha etc.

The root in this case is bhR – dhAraNa poshaNayoH – to hold, to

support. Sri Sa'nkara's interpretation is – poshayan anna rUpeNa

prANAn prANa-bhRt – He Who nourishes the beings by means of food, or

in the form of food.

 

Sri vAsishTha gives the interpretation – sarvatra vyAptaH sarveshAm

prANinAm prANAn bibharti = poshayati, dhArayati vA saH prANa-bhRt –

He Who pervades everything, and nourishes and supports everything is

prANa-bhRt.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda explains the nAma as: "He Who rules over all prANa-

s – SrI Hari is the One Who causes everyone to eat, digest, feel

energized, act, achieve the fruits thereof, grow old and die. In all

these activities, the great One, Commanding, Factor, Divine, SrI

nArAyana, the Self, presides in silent detachment, and by His

presence He initiates and maintains all these activities in all

living creatures upon the earth's surface".

 

SrI satya sandha tIrtha gives the following interpretation – prANAn

indriyANi bibharti iti prANa-bhRt – He Who nourishes and supports the

indriya-s and life.

 

962. prANa-jIvanaH – He Who nourishes the beings.

 

om prANa-jIvanAya namaH.

 

The root involved in the nAma is jIv – prANa dhAraNe – to live, to

support life. jIvayati iti jIvanaH; prANAnAm jIvanaH prANa jIvanaH –

He Who supports life.

 

SrI BhaTTar explains the nAma as: "tAn anna pAnIyAdivat jIvayati iti

prANa-jIvanaH" – He Who supports life even as food and drink do.

SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan comments that even the food and the water

etc., have their power to sustain life only because He has given them

this power. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to a pASuram from

nammAzhvAr, where AzhvAr declares that for devotees like him,

bhagavAn is verily the food that is eaten, the drink that is

consumed, etc. In other words, they will not live without Him:

 

uNNum SORu parugu nIr tinnum veRRilaiyum ellAm

kaNNan, emperumAn……………… (tiruvAi. 6.7.1)

 

"emperumAn kaNNan is the food that we consume, the water that we

drink, and the betal leaves that we chew after food". He is the

tArakam (sustenance), poshakam (nurturing), and bhogyam (enjoyment)

for His devotee.

 

SrI kRshNan comments that bhagavAn offers Himself as the food for the

true devotees, and they cannot live without Him, and so He is their

life or jIvanam. So He is prANa-jIvanaH. SrI kRshnan notes that

this same idea is conveyed by the phrase "vAsudevaH sarvam" in the

gItA.

 

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives an interpretation that has the same

spirit: "prANAn jIvAn bhajana parAyaNAn jIvyati sva-darSana dAnena

iti prANa-jIvanaH – He Who rejuvenates His devotees who sing His

praise, by revealing Himself to them".

 

SrI Sa'nkara's vyAkhyAnam is: "prANino jIvayan prANAkhyaiH pavanaiH

prANa-jIvanaH" – He Who makes the beings live by means of prANa or

vital air. He gives the following Sruti in support:

 

na prANena na apAnena martyo jIvati kaScana |

itarena tu jIvanti yasmin etAvupASritau || (kaTho. 5.5)

 

"A man, whosoever he may be, does not live by prANa or apana, but by

something else on which both of these depend". In other words,

bhagavAn is the Supporter of prANa by which the life is supported.

 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri notes that life is not the vital air, or the

body, or the mind, by itself. It is a mysterious togetherness of all

of these that causes life, and this is made possible by bhagavAn

alone, and nothing else. So He is the true Support of life, or the

Giver of life to every living being.

 

SrI satya sandha tIrtha's interpretation is: prANena mukhya prANena

jIvayati janAn iti prANa jIvanaH – He Who sustains life through the

vital airs.

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN explains the nAma as: "prANAH te jIvanam

asya iti prANa-jIvanaH" - He Who has His devotees as His prANa or

life. This idea of how bhagavAn treats those who are dear to Him as

His own AtmA, has been described before, most recently under nAma

950, Slokam 102 (gItA 7.18).

 

SrI vAsishTha gives several supporting mantra-s from the Sruti:

 

- yo asya sarva janmana ISe sarvasya ceshTataH |

atandro brahmaNA dhIraH prANo mA nu tishTatu || (atharva.

11.4.24)

 

"I pray to prANa, alert and resolute, Who is the Lord of all and who

is responsible for the activities of all in this universe of various

beings that move and work".

 

- prANAya namo yasya sarva idam vaSe | (atharva. 11.4.1)

 

"Homage to prANa under whose control everything in this universe

exists".

 

- prANam Ahur mAtariSvAnam vAto ha prANa ucyate |

prANe ha bhUtam bhavyam ca prANe sarvam pratishTitam ||

(atharva. 11.4.15)

 

"The name prANa is bestowed on mAtariSvan, also known as the wind

(air). On this prANa depend the past, the future and everything in

the present".

 

There are different dimensions to supporting the life forms, starting

from giving a body to the jIva-s, giving them the vital airs for

survival, the food to eat, the water to drink, the mind to think, the

indriya-s to act with, etc., all functioning in a coordinated and

highly regulated way, till death parts the body and the soul.

Between the nAma-s prANa-daH, prANa-dhRt or prANa-bhRt, and prANa-

jIvanaH, one can see that all these supports happen because of Him,

and thus He is the sole Creator, Protector, and Destroyer in the end.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan