Vishnu Sahasranama Stanza 13

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Om Namo Narayanaya!!

 

 

Rudro bahu-siraa babhrur visvayonis-suchi-sravaah-

amritah saasvatah-sthaanur- varaaroho mahaatapaah.

 

114. Rudrah -One who makes all people weep, At the time of death or

during the total dissolution, the One who makes all weep is Rudrah.

From a devotee's standpoint the same term is interpreted as the One

who liquidated all sorrows is Rudrah. Bhagavan declares Himself to

be " Among the Rudras, I am Sankara –(Geeta Ch. 10, St. 23).

According to the Vedic terminology there are 11 Rudras; this

eleventh " Rudra " is called as Sankara: Sam-karoti-iti = Sankarah -

" One who blesses all with Auspiciousness (Sam). "

rOdayati iti rudrah - Sri Bhattar interprets this to mean that He

brings tears of joy to the eyes of His devotees. It could also mean

that He brings tears to the eyes of the beings when He withdraws

them during the pralaya. Sri Sankara points out that it could also

mean one who confers (ra) the good (rud), or it could mean one who

destroys (dru) misery and its cause (ru - duhkham) - rum drAvayati

iti rudrah.

115. Bahusiraah -One who has many heads. The Purushasooktam of the

Rig Veda describes the Cosmic Form of the Lord with a

narration, " The Purusha of thousand heads, thousand eyes and

thousand feet……. " In Geeta a similar description of the Universal

Form of the Lord is found in Chapter XI. Again in the Geeta Chapter

XIII when the Lord was describing the Infinite Goal to be known

(Jneyam), He describes It as " Everywhere legs, everywhere hands,

every- where eyes, everywhere His face " .

Thus, He whose personal manifestations constitute the universe is

known as " One who has many heads. "

In gItA we find the following description of the viSvarUpa of

bhagavAn -sarvAScaryamayam devam anantam viSvatOmukham - the rUpa

with uncountablefaces in all directions (11.11). Again in gItA

(13.13), we have " sarvatahpANi pAdam tat sarvato'kshi SirO mukham -

The Pure jivAtma savarUpa has hands and legs everywhere, has eyes,

heads, and mouths everywhere..... " . Sri Bhattar has interpreted the

name as referring to the form of bhagavAn asananta, in which form He

has many faces and over a thousand hoods.

116. Babhruh -One who rules over the worlds. " Like a King " -

Atmabodham gives this analogy. He in whose presence all the

instruments of perception, feeling and knowing continue their

coordinated activity is the Self, the Atman, who is Great Lord

Vishnu.

According to Sri Bhattars interpretation, He as AdiSesha supports

the earth. He is also the supporter of the Earth as Adi kUrma, Adi

varAha, etc.

117. Visvayonih -One who is the Total Cause from which alone the

entire world of experiences (visvam) has emerged out. The womb

(yoni) from which thoughts and actions had risen is called

Visvayonih.

a) The cause of this world.

b) One who unites His devotees with Himself.

yOni means cause. Since He is the cause of this world He is called

viSvayOni. In nAma viSvarEtA - we saw that He is the seed from which

the world originates. This nAma says that He is also the place where

the seed develops into its full blossom. yOni means womb, and He is

the seed, the womb, the sustainer after the birth of the world, the

one who impartially observes as the kshetraj~na, etc. The word yOni

can also be derived from the world yu - to unite (yu miSraNE). Thus

yOni can refer to bhagavAn's act of uniting His devotees with Him.

Without His will, no one will be united with Him. He is viSvayOni

because He unites His devotees with Himself.

118. Suchisravaah -One who has beautiful and efficient ears

(Sravas): " Everywhere are His ears " -(Geeta Ch. 13, St. 13) meaning

thereby He is the Hearer in all ears. The term Sravas not only means

ears, but it also means " names " -so Suchisravas can mean `One who

has Divine and Sacred names'. Thus, the devotee can invoke Him with

thousands of His names when He can readily listen in and rightly

understand the exact purity and the real depth of devotion in the

devotee. Also the term can be used to indicate the One whose " names "

are worthy of being heard by seekers.

a) One who listens to words which are pure.

b) One whose names are worthy of being heard.

c) One who has beautiful and divine ears.

a) SucIni SrAvaNyAni SRNoti iti Suci-SravAh -

One who listens to words that are pure. Sri Bhattar gives the

following reference to mahAbhArata in support of this

interpretation -

SucIni SrAvaNIyAni SRNomi iha dhanan~jaya |

na ca pApAni gRhNAmi tato'ham vai SuciSravAh || (MB Santi parva

344.61)

" O dhanan~jaya! I listen here to all that is pure and agreeable to

hear. I do not heed to what is sinful. Therefore I am known as Suci-

SravAh " .

In this context, Sri Bhattar points out the incident where bhagavAn

just kept listening to the words of vidura which were full of

dharma, and the night passed away for KRshNa unnoticed -

dharmyA ramyASca arthavatIh vicitrArtha padAksharAh |

SRNvanto vividhA vAcah vidurasya mahAtmanah |

akAmasyaiva kRshNasya sA vyatIyAya SarvarI || (MB Udyoga 93.2)

b) Sri Sankara gives the following interpretation -

SucIni Sravamsi nAmAni SravaNIyAnyasyeti Suci-SravAh -

One whose names and glories are very holy and purifying to hear.

c) The word Sravas also means ear.

Sri chinmayAnandA thus interprets the name as meaning One who has

divine ears - He is the Hearer of all ears.

119. Amritah -One who is Immortal and Immutable. Mritam = dead. The

Infinite is Ajarah, Amarah and Avyayah. It can also mean as One who

is of the nature of Nectar (Amritam) -a sure cure for those who are

suffering from malady of ignorance. Amritah also means Moksha; and

thus it is indicated, He is the ever-liberated-the Pure State of

Being.

a) The unsatiating nectar to His devotees

b) One who is Immortal

a) The devotees never get satiated by doing service to bhagavAn, and

He is sweet to the devotees to an unlimited extent.

b) na vidyate mRtam maraNam asya iti amRtah - He has no decay or

death. The sruti says He is non-decaying and Immortal -

ajarah amarah -(bRhadAraNya upanishad 4.4.25).

Sri chinmayAnandA points out that He is amRtah because He can cure

the disease of ignorance in His devotees.

120. Saasvata-sthaanuh -One who is both permanent (Saasvatah) and

irremovable (Sthaanuh). He is the One who remains Changeless,

because He is Immortal; who remains the same in all periods of time,

because He is permanent (Saasvatah); and who remains changeless in

His nature or Consciousness (Sthaanuh). This is a single term

(Saasvata-sthaanuh) and, therefore, we must add the meanings

together- Permanent and Changeless; Permanently Changeless Factor is

Vishnu.

The two parts of this name, SASvata and SthANu, occurred as separate

names earlier. Sri Bhattar gives this name the meaning 'Eternal and

Steady'. Unlike the nectar for which the devas and asuras churned

the Ocean, He is Eternal because he cannot be taken away from those

who enjoy Him. Sri Sankara gives the meaning " Eternally Firm " . SrI

rAdhAkRshNa Sastri gives the interpretation that He is SASvata

because He has no beginning or end, and sthANu because He does not

age or decay.

121. Vararohah - He who is the most Glorious (Vara) Destination

(Aaroha). The Seat of the Self is the most Glorious because the

imperfections of the world-of-matter (Prakriti) are not there in the

Spirit (Purusha). Liberation from the thraldom of matter is the

arrival of the Infinitude of the Self. " He never returns " , thunders

the Chandogya Upanishad (8-15-1) three times in one and the same

breath, assuring us that one who has reached the Seat of Vishnu,

beyond the frontiers of the intellect, there is for him no more any

return ever into the ego-centric life of tensions of sorrows.

a) One who is the most supreme object of attainment.

b) One of Excellent Ascent.

Varam means supreme, and Arohanam means ascent. Sri Bhattar's

interpretation is that He is the Supreme object of attainment, since

all other objects are inferior. Sri Sankara gives the meaning that

He is of Excellent Ascent. Sri rAdhAkRshNa Sastri suggests that

bhagavAn is varAroha because He is reclining on AdiSesha, the high

paryanka.

Sri Bhattar interprets the first 121 nAmas as describing the para-

vAsudeva form of the Lord, which is not conditioned by any limiting

adjuncts and which is not the effect of another object. It is

endowed with six qualities (~jnAna, bala, aiSvarya, vIrya, Sakti,

tejas). This is the object of attainment of the released souls. The

transcendental nature (paratva) of bhagavAn has been spoken of

mostly by the names ending with the above nAma - varAroha. Sri

Bhattar also interprets the contents of the first 121 names as the

response from BhIshma to YudhisThira for the first two of the six

questions posed to him 1) kim ekam daivatam loke? 2) kim vApi ekam

parAyaNam?The next set of nAmas are interpreted by Sri Bhattar as a)

representing the vyuha (emanation) forms, and b) responding to

YudhisThira's question - stuvantah kim - eulogising whom? The vyuha

forms are four in number - vAsudeva, samkarshaNa, pradyumna,

aniruddha. Of these, vAsudeva can be taken as having been included

in the para form. The vyUha forms are in charge of the work of

creation, sustenance, and destruction; they propound the Sastras,

explain their significance, and give the fruits in accordance with

the rules laid down therein; they also teach the method of

meditation and workship of bhagavAn. The six qualities of the para

rupa are distributed amongst the four vyUhas and each has its own

form and duties. They are the means for the attainment of salvation.

The samkarshaNa form is associated with knowledge and strength.

Starting with the next nAma, the samkarshaNa form - the second in

the vyuhas - is to be dealt with.

122. Mahaatapaah -One of great Tapas. The term tapas in Sanskrit has

three meanings: `Knowledge' (Jnaana), `Prosperity' (Aisvarya) and

also `Might' (Prataapa). It is in the presence of Consciousness that

we come to know all our experiences. `Conscious of' a thing or an

idea is the `Knowledge of' the thing or the idea. That about which I

am not conscious of, I have really no knowledge of it. All

knowledges, of all bosoms, in all living creatures, everywhere, at

all times, cannot be without the play of Consciousness upon the

respective objects of knowledge, and hence this Consciousness is

indicated in the Upanishads as Pure Knowledge, in the light of which

alone all knowledges are possible. All achievements and prosperity

(Aisvarya), all might and power of the living creatures can express

themselves through them only when they are alive. This great truth

is Maha Vishnu. " Whose Tapas is of the nature of Knowledge " (Mundaka-

Upanishad. 1-1-9).

 

 

Krishnarpanamastu!!