SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 104 - ya~jnaH.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 104 - ya~jnaH.

 

971. yaj~naH – He Who is the Sacrifice.

 

om yaj~nAya namaH.

 

We studied this nAma in Slokam 48 (nAma 446).

 

The nAma is derived from the root yaj – deva pUjA sa'ngati karaNa

yajana dAneshu – to sacrifice, to make an oblation to, to give, to

associate with.

 

Several interpretations are possible: yajanam yaj~naH; ya ijyate sa

yaj~naH; yajanti yatra iti yaj~naH; ijyate anena iti yaj~naH sAdhanam

(offering, He Who is worshipped, the means or objects used in the

offerings, are all called yaj~naH).

 

A Slokam from the gItA captures the above thought:

 

brahmArpaNam brahma haviH brahmAgnau brahmaNA hutam |

brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahma karma samAdhinA || (gItA

4.24)

 

"Brahman is the instrument to offer with; Brahman is the oblation;

By Brahman is the oblation offered into the fire of Brahman; Brahman

alone is to be reached by him who meditates on Him in his works".

 

For the instance of this nAma in Slokam 48, SrI BhaTTar comments that

bhagavAn is the object of all yaj~na-s, the Bestower of benefits of

the yaj~na-s, the aids for the performance of the yaj~na, etc., and

so He is called yaj~naH – "yaj~na, tat sAdhana, tat-phalAvadhitvena

pratipAditaH | ato yaj~naH |". SrI BhaTTar gives the following from

vishNu purANa in support, where the ijyA or sacrifice is described as

the basis for all the sustenance of all the three worlds:

 

tataSca ijyA Ahutir-dvArA poshitAste havir-bhujaH |

vRshTeH kAraNatAm yAnti bhUtAnAm sthitaye punaH || (VP

2.8.101)

 

"The gods, who are the receivers of the oblations, being nourished by

the offerings in the fire, cause the rains to fall for the support of

the created brings".

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to the gItA, where Lord kRshNa declares

that He is the basis of everything that constitutes the yaj~na:

 

aham kratur_aham yaj~naH svadhAham aham aushadham |

mantro'ham ahameva Ajyam aham agniH aham hutam || (gItA

9.16)

 

"I am the kratu – the jyotisThoma and other vedic sacrifices. I

alone am the Great sacrifice. I am the offering to the manes. I am

the herb. I am the mantra. I am Myself the clarified butter. I am

the fire, and I am the oblation".

 

Again, in Slokam 8.24, Lord kRshNa declares:

 

aham hi sarva yaj~nAnAm bhoktA ca prabhureva ca |

na tu mAm abijAnanti tattvena ataS-cyavanti te || (gItA

9.24)

 

"I am the only enjoyer and the only Lord of all sacrifices. They do

not recognize Me in My true nature, and hence they fall".

 

SrI BhaTTar also refers us to the Sruti vAkya – yaj~no vai vishNuH –

yaj~na is vishNu Himself.

 

For the current instance of the nAma, SrI BhaTTar explains that

bhagavAn serves the function of the yaj~na for those who do not have

the means to perform proper yaj~na-s, but who just do His nAma japa

instead – svArAdhana dharma samRddhi riktAnAm tad-arthinAm svyameva

yaj~naH – To those devotees who wish to attain Him, and therefore

want to perform ArAdhanA (worship) of the Lord, but have no physical

and material wherewithal, the Lord Himself stands as the japa yaj~na,

namely, He is pleased with the japa which itself is a yaj~na.

 

SrI veLukkuDi kRshNan notes that some previous nAma-s (sapta-jihvaH,

saptaidhAH etc.) have dealt with the subject of yaj~na also, but

these were directly related to bhagavAn being the support for those

who are capable of performing yaj~na in the prescribed way. However,

the current series of nAma-s deal with bhagavAn's support for those

who do not have the means to perform yaj~na-s in the prescribed

manner.

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN's interpretation is along similar lines –

"aki'ncanAnAm tat-tad-ArAdhana upakaraNatvAt yaj~naH" – Since He

serves as the means for those who are otherwise not in a position to

worship Him, He is called yaj~naH.

 

SrI vAsishTha explains the nAma as "evam ca yajyate sa'ngamyate

dIyate ca yasmA iti nAnArtho yaj~na SabdaH" – He Who is worshipped,

to Whom all the benefits of all karma-s are dedicated, etc., is known

as yaj~naH. SrI vAsishTha further explains that all our actions are

ultimately performed for our Atma-prIti, and since bhagavAn is the

antaryAmi of our AtmA, they are ultimately performed for His

pleasure.

 

Several versions of Sri Sa'nkara's vyAkhyAnam are given: ya~jna

svarUpatvAt ya~jnaH; yaj~nAtmanA yaj~naH; sa'ngantA yaj~naH; etc.,

all of which explain the nAma as "One Who is of the form of yaj~na or

sacrifice".

 

For the instance of the nAma in Slokam 48, Sri Sa'nkara's vyAkhyAnam

is: "sarva yaj~na svarUpatvAt yaj~naH | sarveshAm devAnAm

tushTikArako yaj~na AkAreNa pravarta iti vA |" – All sacrifices are

His form, or because He exists as sacrifice in order to please all

the gods".

 

One of the meanings for the root yaj that we have seen above is yaj –

sa'ngati – to associate with. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri uses this

meaning and explains the nAma as "One who associates the karma-s of

the jIva-s with their effects".

 

For the instance of the nAma in Slokam 48, SrI baladeva vidyA

bvhUshaN refers to bhagavAn's birth to ruci and AkUti as yaj~na –

ruci patnyAm AkUtyAm yaj~na nAmA AvirbhUtatvAt yaj~naH.

 

In Slokam 48, SrI raghunAtha tIrtha uses the pATham in which he

treates "yaj~na ijyaH" as one nAma, and explains the nAma as One who

is worshipped in sacrifices – "yaj~ne ijyaH stutyaH pUjyaH iti

yaj~na-ijyaH.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda defines the term yaj~na as "work undertaken with a

pure spirit of total dedication in complete cooperation with others,

and for the well-being of all creatures and for the welfare of the

world". He then comments that whenever there is such a cooperative

endeavor with total selflessness, there is SrIman nArAyaNa in action

through His creatures, and this is why He is called yaj~naH.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

[Guest guest]

Dear Sir,

 

Will you please tell us something about other commenatators like Balaladeva

Vidya Bhushan, Satyadev Vasishta, Raghunatha Tirtha, etc., as they are not

well-known like Sankara, Parasara Bhattarya and Chinmayananda?

 

Thanks and regards

Srimahavishnu Vinjamuri

 

, "champakam" <champakam> wrote:

>

> SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN's interpretation is along similar lines

"aki'ncanAnAm tat-tad-ArAdhana upakaraNatvAt yaj~naH" – Since He serves as the

means for those who are otherwise not in a position to worship Him, He is called

yaj~naH.

 

SrI vAsishTha explains the nAma as "evam ca yajyate sa'ngamyate dIyate ca yasmA

iti nAnArtho yaj~na SabdaH" – He Who is worshipped, to Whom all the benefits of

all karma-s are dedicated, etc., is known as yaj~naH. SrI vAsishTha further

explains that all our actions

are ultimately performed for our Atma-prIti, and since bhagavAn is the antaryAmi

of our AtmA, they are ultimately performed for His pleasure.

 

For the instance of the nAma in Slokam 48, SrI baladeva vidyA bvhUshaN refers to

bhagavAn's birth to ruci and AkUti as yaj~na –ruci patnyAm AkUtyAm yaj~na nAmA

AvirbhUtatvAt yaj~naH.

 

In Slokam 48, SrI raghunAtha tIrtha uses the pATham in which he treates "yaj~na

ijyaH" as one nAma, and explains the nAma as One who is worshipped in

sacrifices – "yaj~ne ijyaH stutyaH pUjyaH iti yaj~na-ijyaH.

> -dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

[Guest guest]

Dear Sir:

 

SrI Baladeva vidyA BhUshaN is a famous gauDIya vaishNava scholar who

lived in the 18th century. SrI raghunAtha tIrtha was the tenth

pontiff of the madhvAcArya system (dvaita system). His period as

pIThAdhipati is listed in a web page as 1700 - 1755, and he was

associated with the vyAsarAja MaTHam. SrI satya sandha tIrtha was

associated with the uttarAdi MaTham, and was the yati of this MaTham

between 1705 and 1715. SrI satya devo vAsishTha was born in 1912.

I do not know his whereabouts now. His titles indicate that he is

learned in all four veda-s. Even though I am not even remotely

qualified to comment on his scholarship, the book I have clearly

indicates that he was very highly learned in samskRt, including

samskRt grammar, in astrology, in all the veda-s, in vedic medicine,

and many other areas. I wish I had enough samkRt knowledge to follow

all the commentary that he has written, but it is a treasure-house

for those who wish to delve into the origin of the nAma-s from an

etymological perspective. In addition to his extensive commentary on

each nAma, he has composed a Slokam of his own explaining the meaning

of each nAma, and thus he has composed a thousand Sloka-s of his own

to explain the 107 Sloka-s of SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam.

 

I hope this addresses your question.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

, "yatirajadasa" wrote:

>

> Dear Sir,

>

> Will you please tell us something about other commenatators like

Balaladeva Vidya Bhushan, Satyadev Vasishta, Raghunatha Tirtha, etc.,

as they are not well-known like Sankara, Parasara Bhattarya and

Chinmayananda?

>

> Thanks and regards

> Srimahavishnu Vinjamuri

>