SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 104 - ya~ja-patiH, yajvA.

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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 104 - ya~ja-patiH, yajvA.

 

972. yaj~na-patiH – The Lord of yaj~na.

 

om yaj~na-pataye namaH.

 

The term yaj~na has been discussed above. SrI vAsishTha indicates

the root "pA – rakshaNe - to protect, to rule", for the derivation of

the word patiH. The term `pati' also means "Lord, Master". The

interpretations are based on either of these two meanings.

 

SrI BhaTTar explains the nAma as "sva-yaj~na-phala-pradaH yaj~na-

patiH" – He Who gives the fruit of sacrifices done to please Him.

 

Lord kRshNa declares in the gItA:

 

aham hi sarva-yaj~nAnAm bhoktA ca prabhureva ca | (gItA

9.24)

 

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

 

Sri Sa'nkara gives the above as support, and his interpretation

includes both protection aspect as well as the aspect that bhagavAn

is the Lord of all yaj~na-s: yaj~nAnAm pAtA svAmI vA yaj~na-patiH –

The Lord of the sacrifices or the Protector of them.

 

SrI vAsishTha explains the nAma as "svayam yaj~na rUpo yajanIyo

yaj~na sAdhanam ca bhagavAn yaj~nam pAti ityato yaj~na-patiH" –

BhagavAn is Himself in the form of sacrifice, He is the One Who is

worshipped through yaj~na-s, and He is the means for the performance

of the yaj~na, and so He is the Protector of the yaj~na-s, and so He

is called yaj~na-patiH.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda continues with his broader definition of yaj~na as

given in the previous nAma, and explains the current nAma as

indicating that bhagavAn is the Enjoyer in all self-dedicated, co-

operative endeavors, and so He is called yaj~na-patiH. He points out

that in chapter 3 of the gItA, the term yaj~na is used in this

sense. In particular, for the Sloka 3.9 below, his interpretations

emphasizes this point:

 

ya~jnArthAt karmaNo'nyatra lok'yam karma-bandhanaH |

tad-artham karma kaunteya mukta-sa'ngaH samAcara ||

(gItA 3.9)

 

"The world is bound by action other than performed for "the sake of

sacrifice"; do thou, therefore, O son of kunti, perform action for

the sake of ya~jna alone, free from all attachments".

 

He offers the additional explanation: "ya~jna here means only "any

self-sacrificing work undertaken in a spirit of Self-dedication, for

the blessing of all"… The following stanzas also will become more and

more clear only when we understand ya~jna as "any social, communal,

national, or personal activity into which the individual is ready to

pour himself forth entirely in a spirit of service and dedication".

 

973. yajvA – He Who performs the sacrifice.

 

om yajvane namaH.

 

..SrI vAsishTha points to the pANini sUtra 3.2.103, which explains the

word yajvA as indicating a past signification – One who has

sacrificed. However, he notes that in the case of bhagavAn there

is no limitation of time, and so the meaning should apply to the

past, present, and future – in other words, "viSva nirmANa rUpeNa tad-

artha sAdhana sampAdana rUpeNa ca yaj~nena ishTavAn yajate, yakshyati

iti vA sa yajvA vishNuH - One Who has sacrificed, One Who is

sacrificing, and One Who will continue to sacrifice for the purpose

of creating the Universe, and creating all the supporting materials

for the existence and enjoyment of all the creatures, is Lord vishNu.

 

SrI BhaTTar explains the nAma as signifying that bhagavAn Himself

performs sacrifice on behalf of those who are unable to perform their

rites, and gives the support from mahAbhArata in Lord kRshNa's own

words:

 

teshAm tu pavanAya aham nityameva yudhisThira! |

ubhe sandhye anutishThAmi hi askannam tad-vratam mama ||

 

"O yudhishThira! For the purification of those who are unable to

observe the daily rites, I am Myself doing the yaj~na at both dawn

and dusk every day. I never fail in carrying out this vow of Mine".

 

SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan points out that the reference here is to

the paramaikAntin-s who are unable to perform their nitya karma-s

because of some inevitable disabilities. Thus, this does not absolve

physically capable people from performing their nitya karma-s

regularly.

 

SrI baladeva vidyAbhUshaN interprets the nAma along lines similar to

SrI BhaTTar – aSaktam aki'ncanam AviSya tat-tad-ArAdhanam nivartayan

svyameva yajvA.

 

The term yajvA has the same meaning as the word yajamAna – one who

performs the sacrifice. Sri Sa'nkara explains the nAma as –

yajamAnAtmanA tishThan yajvA, where he interpets the terma yajmAna as

the "Lord" of the yaj~na, which is also true. He supports this

interpretation with a reference to the gItA:

 

aham hi sarva yaj~nAnAm bhoktA ca prabhureva ca | (gItA 9.24)

 

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

 

SrI cinmayAnanda reminds us of the definition of yaj~na as given by

him for nAma 971, and notes that the current nAma stresses that

bhagavAn is "One who performs yaj~na according to the strict

prescriptions laid down in the Vedas – the One Who maintains in all

His divine actions the true yaj~na spirit" – in other words, He

undertakes all His actions for the benefit of the creatures of this

world.

 

One of the meanings of the root yaja is `to give (yaja – deva pUjA

sa'ngati karaNa yajana dAneshu – to sacrifice, to make an oblation,

to give, to associate with). SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj uses this

meaning (yaja – dAne – to give), and interprets the nAma as – yajate

datte varAn bhaktebhya iti yajvA – He Who bestows His blessings on

the devotees is yajvA.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan