Vishnu Sahasranama Sloka 4

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Om Namo Narayanaya!

 

sarvas-sarvas-sivah sthaanur bhootaadir nidhir-avyayah

sambhavo bhaavano bhartaa prabhavah prabhur-eesvarah.

 

Nama 25: Sarvah -

He who is the all. He being the One cause from which have sprung

forth all things and beings. He himself is the all. In Mahabharata

Udyoga Parva (70-12) we read: " As He is the origin and end of all,

whether existent or otherwise, and as He, at all times, cognises

all, He is called " Sarva " . All waves rise from the same ocean and,

therefore, the ocean is the very essence in all waves.

Sri ChinmayAnanda gives a very simple illustration to help

understand the concept behind this nAma. - " All waves arise from the

same ocean, and so the ocean is the essence in all waves " .

 

Nama 26: Sharvah –

Sri Sankara interprets this word in terms of the action of BhagavAn

at the time of pralaya in withdrawing all beings unto Himself -

srNAti samhAra samaye samharati samhArayati vA sakalAh prajA: iti

sarvah. In this context, SrI RadhAkrshNa Sastri points out that this

destruction at the time of prlaya is not really to be considered

cruel, since this is like " destroying " the shape of raw rice when it

is cooked in order to make it edible - the beings are destroyed in

order to give them new life.

Sri Bhattar's vyAkhyAna says that the Lord is called sarva because

He removes the evils of objects that are His body (sva sarIra

bhUtAnAm asubhamapi srNAti iti sarvah. Perhaps this means that

BhagavAn destroys the sins of His devotees.

 

Nama 27: Sivah –

The One who is Eternally Pure. In Him can never be any contamination

of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas. `Non-apprehension of

Reality' is Tamas and `misapprehensions of Reality' constitute the

Rajas. In the Reality Itself there can be neither of them `He is

Brahman; He is Siva', so the Upanishad declares of the Absolute

Oneness, which is Vishnu.

subha Avahasca sivah - One who bestows auspiciouness on all.

In Mahabharata Drona Parva (202), we have the following for

supporting the above interpretation:

" sameghayati yan-nityam sarvArthAn sarvakarmasu |

sivamicchan manushyAnAm tasmAdesha sivah smrtah ||

" One who bestows all that is desired always by all His devotees is

called Siva because of this guNa of His " .

Two instances of Sri VishNu being referred to as Siva are in

nArAyaNa upanishad -

" sAsvatam sivam acyutam " - The Eternal, The Auspicious, and the One

Who never lets His devotees fall "

" sa brahma sa sivah sendrah so'ksharah paramah svarAt " - He is

Brahma, He is Siva, He is Indra, He is Eternal, He is Supreme, He is

the Lord of all.

 

Nama 28: Sthaanuh: -Generally this term Sthaanuh is used for the

permanent pillars that mark the frontiers of a country. They are

permanent, immovable, fixed. The Truth, that remains thus firm and

motionless, without movement, permanently established in Its own

Realm of Purity, is called by the term Sthaanuh-the

Pillar. " Eternal, All-Pervading, the Pillar, Motionless (is) this

Ancient One, " so says Geeta Ch. 2, 24.

One who is firm in His benefits and anugraha to the devotees.

The name derives from the word stha - tisThati, indicating firmness

or steadiness. Sri Bhattar interprets this name as indicating that

the result of BhagavAn's anugraha is firm in its effect of blessing

the devotee far beyond what other lesser acts can bestow.

We will revisit the name sthANu again in the sloka " vistArah

sthAvarah sthANuh..... " , where we should expect a different

interpretation for this guNa in the context that is applicable at

that part of the stotram.

 

Nama 29: Bhootaadih –

The very cause for the five great elements: Space, Air, Fire, Water

and Earth. Sri Sankara gives the interpretation bhUtAnAm Adi-

kAraNatvAt bhUtAdih - BhagavAn is called bhUtAdih because He is the

first cause of all beings.

 

Sri Bhattar gives the interpretation bhUtaih sprhaNIyatanatayA

AdIyate - One who is eagerly sought after by all beings.

a) One who is eagerly sought after by all beings

b) The source or cause of all beings

c) The very source of the panca bhUtas

 

Nama 30: Avyayah Nidhih –

The Imperishable treasure. The term Nidhi means `that in which

precious things are stored away or preserved secretly': (Nidheeyate

Asmin iti Nidhih). Therefore, He who is the substratum-container-for

the entire universe is the Nidhi. During the dissolution (sleep) the

One into Whom all things go to lie merged therein temporarily, till

the next projection or creation (waking), as this Immutable Treasure

Chest-the Vishnu. Here `unchangeable' (Avyaya) is

qualifying `Nidhi'.

Sri Sankara interprets this nAma as meaning that VishNu is the One

in whom all things go and lie merged therein temporarily till the

next creation, and so He is the Immutable Treasure Chest.

Sri Bhattar explains Avayayah Nidhi as the inexhaustible treasure.

He is like the wealth that is kept under safe keeping and always

available at the time of distress to His bhaktas.

 

Nama 31: Sambhavah –

One who takes up by his own free will various incarnations for the

glory of the world is Sambhavah. In fact, He alone is the source of

all that is created. In Harivamsa we read the assertion: " I am the

Narayana, the Source from which all creatures and things spring

forth " . To uphold Dharma I shall manifest again and again, declares

the Lord in His Geeta:

One who manifests Himself at will to those who sincerely seek Him.

He manifests Himself at any place and at any time and in any form

(e.g., nrsimha, matsya, kUrma, etc.).

Note the following: " dharma samsthApanArthAya sambhavAmi yuge yuge "

(GItA 4-8) " svecchayA sambhavAmyevam garbha duhkha vivarjitah "

 

Nama 32: Bhaavanah -To do Bhaavana is to give: One who gives

everything to His devotees is Bhaavanah. The Lord is One who gives

both joy and sorrow to each one according to his deserts. In the

case of humanity it is He again who destroys the evil and blesses

the good. One who regenerates all by dispelling all their evils.

Sri Bhattar's interpretation is given by the following words: yo

janitvA janAn ujjIvayati sah bhAvanah - One who, after having

manifested Himself (sambhavah - see above), brings back all to life.

 

Nama 33: Bhartaa -The One who `Governs' the entire living world.

Governing includes protecting the world from all harms and serving

it positively with progress and joy. One who does these to all

creatures at all times is Vishnu-the great Bhartaa.

Sri Sankara gives the following vyAkhyAna - prapancasya

adhishTAnatvena bharaNAt bhartA - BhagavAn is bhartA (Sustainer)

because He sustains the universe as its Lord. Sri Bhattar points out

that He does this nourishing of His devotees by giving Himself up to

His devotees because this is His Nature - yasmAt pushNAti Atma-dAnAt.

 

Nama 34: Prabhavah –

The One who is the very womb of all the Five Great Elements. It is

That from which even the very concepts of time and space have sprung

from.

Sri Bhattar says Asya bhavah prakrshTa iti prabhavah - His birth

(bhava) is unsullied by any blemish, and is capable of uprooting the

fetter of birth of all those who realize Him.

Nama 35: Prabhuh -The Almighty Lord. He who is the All-Powerful. He

who has the supreme freedom to do (Kartum), not to do (Akartum), or

to do quite differently from what He had already done (Anyathaa

Kartum) is considered as the Prabhuh.

Sri Sankara's vyAkhyAna is - sarvAsu kriyAsu sAmarthya atisayavAn

prabhuh - One who is the most powerful, showing it forth in all His

actions. Sri Bhattar's vyAkhyAna can be summarized as:

" brahmAdInAm ca sarveshAm bhoga-moksha-samarpaNe |

samarthah prabhu: ityuktah sarveshTa phalado manuh || "

He is prabhu - most powerful - because he can bestow fruits such as

the enjoyment of the pleasures associated with those of Brahma and

even moksha.

 

Nama 36: Eesvarah –

a) One who has the supreme power of control over all beings

b) One who has the ability to do anything without the help of any

other beings or things

The first meaning derives from the word aisvarya - nirupAdhikam

aisvaryam asya iti Isvarah - He is Isvara because he has unlimited

might or power. The second meaning derives from IshTe iti Isvarah -

One who can do whatever He wills without the help of anything else.

 

 

Krishnarpanamastu!