Vishnu Sahasranamam Stanza 36

[Guest guest]

Om Namo Narayanaya!!

 

skandah skanda-dharo dhuryo varado vaaryuvaahanah

vasudevo brihat bhaanur aadidevah purandarah.

 

 

327. Skandah - skanda means One who melts like butter when it comes

to helping His devotees, or flows like nectar in the thoughts of His

bhakta-s - skandati iti skandah (This is one interpretation that SrI

Sankara gives). He who dries up (destroys). skandayati Soshayati

iti skandah - One who destroys the asura-s and other evil-doers (SrI

BhaTTar). SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives reference to gItA -

senAnInAmaham skandah (gItA 10.24) - I am skanda among the chiefs of

armies. Here, skanda refers to subrahmaNya, who is considered the

chief among the chiefs of armies.

 

328. Skanda-dharah – " One who upholds the withering righteousness. "

SrI Sankara's interpretation for the term skanda is " righteous path -

dharmapatham " , and so the vyAkhyAna he gives is that bhgavAn is the

upholder of the path of dharma. - BhagavAn is the supporter of

skanda, the commander-in-chief of the army of gods.

 

329. Dhuryah -One who bears the weight of the burden of all beings

in the form of birth etc. The Lord is the One who carries the

responsibilities of creation, sustenance and annihilation of the

entire world of plurality. One who carries out these functions

systematically without any hitch round millenniums is Sree Narayana

and He is therefore Dhuryah. He bore the weight of the Mandara

Mountain in His kUrma incarnation, and so He is the Supporter (SrI

BhaTTar).

 

330. Varadah -One who blesses all true devotees and fulfils their

request for boons. It can also mean " One who gives the best (Varam)

in life to those who seek Him with perfect detachment and sharpened

discrimination.

 

331. Vaayuvaahanah – " The One who controls, regulates and moves the

great winds " . In the Sanskrit literature, the movement of air in the

atmosphere has been classified under seven types and they are called

the `Sapta Marutah'. In short, the inconceivable might and power of

the winds and their life-sustaining abilities are all lent out to

the air by His own munificence and, therefore, He is called as

Vaayuvaahanah.

The next 12 nAma-s are interpreted by SrI BhaTTar as referring to

adhyAtmavAsudeva or para vAsudeva form of bhagavAn.

 

332. Vaasudevah –One who is at once both Vaasu and Deva. Vaasu

means " One who dwells in the physical equipments of all living

creatures as its indweller (Jeeva) " ; Deva means " One who revels or

One who illumines " . Thus, Vaasudevah means " One who lives in the

physical equipment as though conditioned by them, and yet, who is

the Vital Consciousness in the light of which every experience is

illumined. The Lord is the One who dwells in all things of the

universe and He is at once the Supporter of the entire world.

Says Maha. Bhar. Santi Parva [341.41]:

Chadayami jagat sarvam bhutva surya ivamsubhih

SArva-bhutadivasas ca vasudevas tatah smrtah

-becoming like the sun, I cover the whole world with rays. I am also

the resident in all beings. So I am called Vasudeva.

Maha. Bhar Ud. Par. [70.3] says:

Vassanat sarva bhutanam vasutvat devayonitah vasudevas tato vedyah

- The Loed should be known as Vasudeva because He covers all beings

and He is the source of all divinities.

Visnu Pur. [1.2.12] says:

Sarvatra'sau samastam ca vasaty atreti vai yatah

Tatah sa vasudev'eti vidvabhih paripathyate

- The Supreme Self dwells everywhere and in all things. So wise men

call them Vasudeva.

Visnu Pur [6.5.80] says:

Sarvani tatra bhutani vasanti paramatmani

Bhutesu ca sa sarvatma vasudevas tatah smrtah

-The Paramatma is called Vasudeva because all beings live in Him and

because He lives in all beings " .

Also, directly, it can be taken to mean, One who is born as the Son

of Sri Vasudeva in the Jail of Kamsa, the Blue-Boy of Brindaavana.

He is called Vaasu as He veils Himself with His own Maayaa; Deva

means " He who sports, wishes to conquer, conducts, shines, creates

and moves " . In the Udyoga Parva of Mahabharata, we read, " Like the

Sun with his rays I am residing in all beings and hence, I am called

Vaasudeva " .

Vishnupurana says, ``as He resides everywhere in and through all

things, He is termed Vaasudevah. " All beings remain in the Supreme,

and He in all being and hence, the Omnipresent is called the

Vaasudeva.

 

333. Brihat-bhaanuh -Possessed of endless rays, meaning " One who

illumines the world with the rays of the Sun and the Moon. "

Mahabharata says, " He whose great rays are in the Sun, Moon and

others and He who illumines the universe through them is called the

Possessor of great rays. SrI Sankara gives the following

reference: " bRhanto bhAnavo yasya candra sUryAtigAminah |

tair-viSvam bhAsayati yah sa bRhad-bhAnurucyate || (udyoga70.4) " He,

whose great rays surpass the sun, moon, and others, and He who

illuminates the universe through them, is called bRhad-bhAnuh " . SrI

rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives the support from muNDakopanishad - na

tatrasUryo bhAti na candra tArakam nemA vidyuto bhAnti kuto'yamagnih

| tamevabhAntam anubhAti sarvam tasya bhAsA sarvamidam vibhAti

(2.2.10). The sun and moon get their luster from Him. The dharma

cakram writer points out that while the sun gives light to the

external world, BhagavAn gives light to the Sun as well as the light

needed for us to realize our internal self.

 

334. Aadidevah – " One who is the Primary source for everything, "

meaning the Lord. He is the First Cause, and hence the first Deity.

 

335. Purandarah – " The destroyer of the cities. " SrI Sankara

vyAkhyAnam is " sura SatrUNAm pura dAraNAt purandarah " -Because He is

the Destroyer of the cities of the enemies of the gods, He is called

purandarah. SrI BhaTTar: asurapurAni dArayati iti purandarah - The

destroyer of the cities of asura-s. SrI cinmayAnanda talks of

the " cities " referring to the fields of experiences - waking, dream

and deep-sleep. Since bhagavAn helps in transcending the Gross,

Subtle, and Causal bodies (sthUla, suKshma, and kAraNa), and then

experience the self, at that moment the three " cities " are burned

down or pillaged or blasted. Without overcoming the attachment to

the sthUla, sUkshma, and kAraNa SarIra-s, we cannot experience the

self. The dharma cakram writer graphically explains that if we

consider the sthUla SarIra as belonging to bhagavAn and surrender it

in His service, then He helps in overcoming our attachment to the

sthUla SarIra. If we dedicate the mind to His service and to

meditation on Him, He helps us overcome our actions being controlled

by our mind. If we have mahAviSvAsam in Him and surrender to Him

unconditionally, He relieves us from the constraints of the

kAraNaSarIram as well. This is when we are able to experience the

self. Since bhagavAn is the cause of the destruction of the three

sArIra-s that are standing in the way of our experiencing the self,

He is called purandarah.

 

 

Krishnarpanamastu!!