Vishnusahasranama

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Praanadah -One who gives (Dadaati) the Praanas to all. The term Praanas used in

philosophy indicated “all manifestations of Life in a living body”. The Source

of Life from which all dynamic activities in the living organisms of the world

flow out, meaning, That from which all activities emerge out is Praanadah.

Taittireeya Upanishad (2- 7) exclaims: “Who could then live. who could breath”

if He be not every- where.” (66) Praanah -That which sustains is Praana and

that which has got Praana functioning in it is called a Praanee. Since the Lord

is termed as this very same Praana, it means by its suggestion that He is One

who ever lives. The Immortal and the Eternal is Praanah. The term can also

mean that which gives Life-impulse even to the air; the capacity to sustain

life in the atmosphere flows from Him alone. In the Kenopanishad we read the

Supreme ‘Defined’ as the “Praana of Praanas” (Praanasya

Praanah). (67) Jyeshthah -Older than all. The Infinite is That which was even

before the very concept of space (Aakaasa) came into existence. The term is the

superlative degree of the Aged. In short, the import of this term is the same as

the more familiar term used in our sastras, the Ancient (Sanaatanah). (68)

Sreshthah -The most Glorious One: Here again it is the superlative degree of

glorious, Sreyah. (69) Prajaapatih -The Lord (Pati) of all living creatures

(Prajaah) .The term Prajas means ‘Children’. Therefore Prajaapati means the

Great Father, to whom all beings in the living kingdom are His own children, In

this sense, the term connotes One, who, as the Creator, creates all creatures.

(70) Hiranyagarbhah -One who dwells in the womb (garbha) of the world

(Hiranya).

The Upanishad declares: “All these are in-dwelt by the Lord.” The “Golden

Universe” is an idiom in Sanskrit where ‘gold’ means “objects of fulfilment and

joy”. One who dwells in them all is Hiranyagarbhah. The term can also mean as He

who, having become first the Creator, has come to he considered as the womb of

all objects. (71) Bhoogarbhah -One who is the very womb of the world (Bhooh)

The One from whom the world has emerged out. In the Cosmic Form of the Lord,

this world occupies an insignificant though sacred portion, just as the foetus

in the womb, constantly and lovingly nurtured and nourished by the very Essence

in the mother. Or, Bhooh = the earth: the divine consort of Hari: Garbha =

Protector. (72) Maadhavah -The Lord of Maayaa, Spouse of Mahaalakshmee. Or,

the term can signify the One who is ultimately experienced through a diligent

practice of “Madhu technique”: the very famous Madhu Vidyaa of the Chandogya

Upanishad. The term Maadhavah can also mean One who is the Silent (Mauni); who

is ever the Non-interfering Observer, the Silent Witness of the physical,

mental and intellectual activities in the realm of change. To put it in one

word, He is the One whom the seeker experiences when he has stilled his mind

which has been purified by Yoga practices. (73) Madhusoodanah -One who

destroyed the great demon Madhu. The story of Vishnu destroying these two

demons, Madhu and Kaitabha, is a story of secret suggestions in Mahabharata.

Madhu also means in Veda (Madhu=honey) as the fruits of actions (Karma-phala).

Actions leave impressions and these sensuous Vaasanaas are destroyed by

meditations on the Reality and so the Supreme gathers to Itself the name

Madhusoodanah: “the Destroyer of Vaasanaas.”

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