Vishnu Sahasranama Stanza 14

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Om Namo Narayanaya!

 

sarvagah sarvavid-bhaanuh-vishvak-sena janaardanah

veda vedavid-avyango vedaanga vedavit kavih.

 

123. Sarvagah – " He who has gone everywhere " , meaning " One who pervades

everything " .

The cause pervades its effect: gold in all ornaments; ocean in all waves; cotton

in all cloth.

The Infinite Consciousness Itself expresses as both world-of-matter (Kshetra)

and the

Knower-of-the-field (Kshetrajna). Vishnu, the Infinite is beyond these two

(Uttamah

Purushah) in whom there is no expression of matter and, there- fore, no

`Knower'-hood.

He is the All-Pervading Self, Maha Vishnu.

124. Sarvavid-bhaanuh -One who is All- Knowing (Sarvavit) and Effulgent

(Bhaanuh).The

Light of Consciousness is the " Light that illumines all lights " and it is again

Consciousness

that " illuminates even darkness " -Geeta Ch.13, St.17. In the Mundaka Upanishad

(4.10)

also we read: " By its Light alone it illumines all other experiences. "

Sarvavit-Bhaanuh is

one term: meaning that all Knowing Effulgent Consciousness.

Sarvam vetti vindata iti vA sarva-vit - One who knows everything or One who

obtains

everything. In the first interpretation, bhagavAn is the knower in all - the

inner soul. In the

second interpretation, He performs the function as pradyumna and recovers or

obtains all

the jivas that have been absorbed into Him in the form of samkarshaNa.

125. Vishvaksenah -He, while facing whom, even the mighty army of the gods

retreat and

scatter away, is called as Vishvaksenah. He is the Almighty and All-Powerful,

and no army

can stand against Him.

SrI Bhattar interprets this nAma as referring to aniruddha, the protector. The

word senA is

derived from " inena vartate iti senA " - where inena means svAmin saha. So sena

is one

which is with the Lord always - seSvara. This nAma indicates His Sakti which

indicates His

capacity. a-niruddha refers to One who is not under anyone else's control. This

nAma also

indicates the gUna of the Lord by which He is always there to protect His

devotees.

126. Janaardanah -The term Ardayati is a verb meaning both `giving sorrow' or

`giving

joy'. Thus, One who gives sorrow and disaster to the vicious, and who blesses

with joy and

peace to the good people is called Janaardanah.

a) One who destroys the wicked.

b) One who protects people from the wicked.

c) One who is approached by devotees for their wishes.

SrI Bhattar gives the support from mahAbhArata - dasyu-trANAt janArdanah (MB

udyoga

parva 71.6) -

He is janArdana because He protects people from dasyus (demons). SrI Sankara

gives the

following two interpretations: One who destroys those who are wicked - janAn -

durjanAn,

ardayati - hinasti (destroys). ard also means to beg, to ask - gatau yAcane ca.

janaih

ardyate - yAcyate - One who is approached by His devotees for whatever they

want.

127. Vedah –The term Veda comes from the root vid: `to know'. Since Veda gives

knowledge, the Lord is termed as Vedah, in the sense, that He is the One who

gives the

Knowledge of the Reality, because He is the very Reality. In Mahabharata, Vyasa

says:

" Krishna alone is All-vedas, All-sciences, All-techniques and All-dedicated

Actions " . In the

Bhagavad Geeta (Ch. 10, St.2) Lord says: " Out of mere compassion for them, I,

abiding in

their Self, destroy the darkness born of ignorance, by the luminous lamp of

wisdom " .

128. Vedavit –`One who knows the veda'. The Lord alone is the One Experience

without

which the Vedas cannot be fully realized. The surest and the most exhaustive

commentary

of the Vedas is to be found only in a stilled mind, which is in communion with

Vishnu, the

Supreme Reality. Geeta (Ch. 15, St. 15) says, " I am the author of the Vedanta,

as well as

the Knower of the Vedas. "

Vedam, vedArtham vetti iti vedavit. Or, vedAn vinte - vicArayati iti vedavit.

One who knows

the veda-s, or One who spreads the knowledge of veda-s (e.g., in the form of

pradyumna,

vyAsa, etc.). SrI Bhattar interprets this nAma as representing the pradyumna

incarnation -

as one who propounds the Sastra-s and explains their significance.

129. Avyangah -He who has no imperfections (Vyanga) anywhere in him- The

All-Perfect.

The term Vyanga also means person, and so A vyanga means One who cannot be known

by anyone in any `personal-form'. Geeta plainly says " This great Reality is

Imperceptible,

Unthinkable, without any modifications " . -Geeta. Ch. 2, St. 25. One could also

interpret

the nAma as meaning that He is not deficient in any way in any of the six guNas

- ~jnAna,

bala, aiSvarya, vIrya, Sakti, and tejas.

130. Vedaangah –One whose very limbs are the vedas. In Kenopanishad in the

closing

stanzas, the teacher insists that all knowledges are Its limbs.

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives the following quotes from SrImad BhAgavatam in

support of

the interpretation that He has veda-s for His body:

" ...trayIm tanum svAm paridhunvate namah - We offer our worship to One who has

veda

for His body " - (SrImad bhAgavatam 3.13.34)

" trayImayam rUpamidam ca saukaram - One who has the varAha form which is the

veda

svarUpam " - (SrImad bhAgavatam 3.13.41).

131. Vedavit –`One who contemplates upon the Veda is Vedavit': (Vedam

Vichaarayati=Vedavit). Mere word meaning cannot give us the true concept of the

subtle

theme discussed in the Vedas. Continuous reflection upon their declarations

alone can

reach us to the peaks of their imports. In the Geeta, Bhagavan Himself declares

that He is

not only the very Revealer of Vedas but He is at once the Knower of the Veda

-Geeta Ch.

15, St. 15.

It is absolutely necessary that the student of the Vedas should try to

understand the

meaning of their declaration. To repeat the mantras parrot-like is not of any

consequence:

`He who has studied the Vedas but has not understood the meaning, but carries a

load, as

the `road-rest' on the roadside.' Thus He who constantly reflects upon the Veda,

and

naturally lives up to it, is the Great Lord.

132. Kavih -The term Kavi in the Vedas means the `Seer'. One who experiences

something

more than the ordinary is called a Kavi. In the Isavasyopanishad (8) we read:

- " The Seer,

the Intelligent.... " In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (5-7-23) we read: " There

is no Seer

except Him. "

 

Krishnarpanamastu!!