SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam -Slokam 104 - tAraH.

[Guest guest]

SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam -Slokam 104 - tAraH.

 

968. tAraH – Savior; He Who is a ferry to cross the ocean of samsAra.

 

om tArAya namaH.

We saw this nAma in Slokam 37 earlier (nAma 340).

 

The root from which the nAma is derived is tRR – plavana santaraNayoH – to cross

over, to swim. He who helps the jIva-s that are deeply immersed in the ocean of

samsAra, to cross this ocean.

 

For nAma 340, SrI BhaTTar gives the interpretation "Savior" – sarva samsAra

bhayAt tArayati iti tAraH - One Who protects us from the ocean of samsAra. He

gives a quote from the atharva Siras in support:

 

garbha janma jarA maraNa samsAra sAgara mahA bhayAt tArayati iti | tasmAt

tAraH |

 

"He makes all cross over the great fears of the ocean of samsAra comprising

conception, birth, old age, and death. Therefore, He is called tAraH".

 

Note that bhagavAn Himself is beyond all these fears, since He is never born

(a-jAyamAnaH), He is beyond aging (a-jaraH), and beyond death (a-maraH).

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives reference to tiruma'ngai AzhvAr's periya tirumozhi,

where the guNa of bhagavAn signified by the nAma tAraH is praised:

 

nandA naragattu azhundA vagai nALum

entAi! tonDar Anavarkku in aruL SeivAi

…………

(periya tiru. 11.8.10)

 

"You Who help Your devotees by making sure they do not get submerged in the

hell-like experience of samsAra".

 

Because samsAra is compared to an ocean, and bhagavAn helps cross this, He is

traditionally compared to a ferry. SrI kRshNan refers us to ANDAL's reference

to Him as the ferry to cross all miseries:

nALum tunbak kaDal pukku vaikuntan enRu Or tONi peRAdu uzhalginREn (nAcci. tiru.

5.4). SrI kRshNan also refers us to the divya dESam by name tiru nAvAi

(literally meaning "The Blessed Ship"), where Lord mukundan gives moksham to the

devotees who worship Him.

 

Drawing from an example from SrI KRshNan, all that a measly worm has to do to

cross from one peak to another peak in its lifetime, is to climb on a lion that

jumps from the first peak to the second peak, and in the process, the worm has

achieved the otherwise impossible feat. Similarly, all that the jIva has to do

is to surrender to Lord nRsimha, the man-lion incarnation, and He will make sure

that the jIva crosses the insurmountable obstacle of crossing the ocean of

samsAra. He is like a boat that carries one from one shore to the other shore.

All that the individual has to do is to get into the boat, and leave the

navigation to the boatman.

 

SrI Sa'nkara's interpretation is also that bhagavAn has this nAma signifying

that He helps us cross the ocean of samsAra – samsAra sAgaram tArayan tAraH.

His alternate interpretation is "tAraH praNavo vA" – The word tAra refers to the

praNava mantra, since meditating on the praNava mantra uplifts one from the

ocean of samsAra. SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan also points to the significance of

the praNava mantra as the uplifter from samsAra.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda explains the nAma as "One Who helps us cross over; the Eternal

Boat-man, to whom, if the devotee can surrender in unswerving faith and true

devotion, He will surely row them across the Ocean of samsAra. That One is

tAraH. Through exclusive, devoted meditation, alert with understanding, the

individuality in each of us wakes up to the higher plane, and there, in that

Be-attitude to experience the Self – the Eternal Brahman – SrI Hari".

 

The dharma cakram writer notes that we should take a hold of bhagavAn instead of

being taken hold of by nature. We should dedicate ourselves to His service in

everything we do. The rAma nAma is called `tAraka mantra', because it protects

those who meditate on this tAraka nAma. Just as hanumAn was able to cross the

ocean by chanting Lord rAma's name, we will be able to cross the ocean of

samsAra by meditating on His name. He quotes the common saying in

tamizh: "rAman irukkum iDattil kAman illai; kAman irukkum iDatitil rAman

illai" – (Where there is rAma, there is no desire in material things; where is

desire in material things, there is no dedication to rAma". The more intensely

we resort to the tAraka mantra, the faster we will be relieved from the bondage

of samsAra.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan