Vishnu Sahasranamam Stanza 41

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Om Namo Narayanaya!!

udbhavah kshobhano devah sreegarbhah paramesvarah

karanam kaaranam kartaa vikartaa gahano guhah.

 

 

373. Udbhavah – " The Originator " The Lord is the material-cause from

which the entire universe arises and, therefore, He is the origin

for the Cosmos [prapa~nca utpatti upAdAna kAraNatvAt udbhavah], or

it can mean to indicate, " One who is again and again born as the

endless jivas under the urge of their individual vaasanaas " . SrI

Sankara also gives the interpretation is that He is free from the

bondage of existence, and so He is udbhavah - udgato bhavAt samsArAt

iti udbhavah. One who removes the bondage of samsAra from those who

meditate upon Him. SrI BhaTTar points out that those who meditate on

the incident of His being bound by the rope will be removed from the

bondage of samsAra - udbhavo bhavah asmAt iti udbhavah.

 

374. Kshobhanah – The Creator of a commotion. The nAma is derived

from the root kshub - sa~ncalane to cause motion or disturbance.

kshobayati iti kshobaNah. SrI Sankara's vyAkhyAna is that He

creates vibration and agitation in purusha and prakRti

(consciousness or jiva-s and primordial matter) at the time of

creation by entering them. He refers us to vishNu purANa in

support - " prakRtim purusham caiva praviSya AtmeccayA harih |

kshobhayAmAsa sarga-kAle vyayAvyayI || (V.P. 1.2.29) – The eternal

lord Hari, at the time of creation, entered at His own will the

changeful Prakriti and the Changeless Purusha and created agitation

in them. If the Self were not in the equipments, the equipments will

not get agitated -will not pursue their functions. The Atman, the

Pure Consciousness is that which thrills and agitates both the

matter (Prakriti) and energy (Purusha), and causes the manifestation

of the living entities (jives), who, with their actions, constitute

the dynamic aspect of the world. If the Self is not there, there can

be no movement or expression of life; everything would have remained

completely inert and insentient. He is the Lord who thrills the

world and makes it so beautifully palpitating with life. Hence, He

is called as the Agitator (Kshobhanah). SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is

bandhArhAn kshobayati iti kshobhaNah - One who creates tumult in the

minds of those who are fit to be bound in samsAra.

 

375. Devah – " One who revels is Deva. This term `Deevyati' in

Sanskrit also means `to conquer', `to shine' and `to praise'

Therefore, Lord Vishnu is rightly called as Devah because He sports

through His play-the great Creation-Sustenance-Destruction-play, He

functions in all Beings as He shines as the Universal Consciousness;

and He is praised by all the devotees. SrI Sankara includes the play

of creation, the desire to conquer the enemies of gods, functioning

in all beings, shining in all beings, being praised by the holy men,

pervading all, etc., as the reasons for His being the only deva. He

quotes the SvetAsvatAra upanishad - eko devah sarva bhUteshu gUDhah

(6.11) - There is only one God who is hidden in all things that

exist - in support. He plays with the jiva-s by binding them with

mAyA or prakRti [srI BhaTTar].

 

376. Sree-garbhah - " Containing all glories within; One in whom are

all glories (Aisvarya) " The glory of the Lord is the universe and

this universe resides in Him, and therefore, all powers and glories

that are manifested in the universe are also ever in Him. SrI

Sankara gives the interpretation that He has Lakshmi or aiSvarya in

His belly in the form of the Universe. SrI cinmayAnanda gives the

interpretation that He has all the glories (SrI) in Himself, and so

He is SrI-garbhah. In His play as the deva He has Lakshmi always as

His companion. vishNoh eshA anapAyinI - She is ever inseparable from

vishNu - vishNu purANa - 1.9.144 [srI BhaTTar]. The dharma cakram

writer points out that just as the wealth that a mother protects

carefully is the child in her womb, a stingy person protects his

wealth, and a j~nAni protects his knowledge, so also mahAvishNu

protects the Universe. Just as the child cannot live independent of

the mother, so also the Universe can't exist without bhagavAn.

 

377. Paramesvarah -The Supreme (Parama) Lord (Isvara). He is the

Supreme Consciousness whose expressions are all the deities " . The

term Isvara indicates both might and glory. Therefore, Paramesvara

means " One who is Omnipotent and All-glorious. " BhagavAn is

parameSvarah because He is the Lord of all, including mahA Lakshmi.

Gita says: " Samam sarvesu bhutesu tistantan parameshwaram – the

supreme Being who dwells alike in all beings " . The dharma cakram

writer indicates that just as a human being does well in ruling over

himself if he has full control of his indriya-s, BhagavAn is in full

control of al the beings as the parameSvarah or Ruler of the

Universe.

 

378. Karanam – " The Instrument. " That which is most useful in

fulfilling any piece of work is called the tool or the instrument.

For the creation of the world He is the instrumental-cause (Nimitta

Kaarana).

 

379. Kaaranam – " The Cause. " By the earlier term it was indicated

that He is the instrumental-cause (Nimi- tta Kaarana) for the whole

universe. Here now, by this term, it is indicated that He is the

very material-cause (Upaadaana Kaarana) of the universe. Since the

term directly means only " the cause " , it can mean not only the

material cause, but also it can suggest the instrumental-cause. In

the former case it would mean " He from whom the whole universe

arises " , and in the latter sense, the term is interpreted by some

commentators as " He who causes the universe to emerge out " .

 

380. Kartaa – " The Doer " . He is the One in whose presence alone all

activities are possible, and hence by a transferred epithet, though

the doings all belong to the equipments, the Self is called as

the " Doer " . One who can freely perform all the functions of

creation, sustenance and destruction, is the " Doer " . Sri Sankara:

One who is free and is therefore one's own master. The

interpretation by SrI BhaTTar is based on paraSurAma incarnation, as

the one who slayed the demon kArta-vIrya. In the current instance

his interpretation is that bhagavAn is the Agent who causes others

to act. SrI cinmayAnanda quotes pANini - svatantrah kartA - One who

freely and independently performs the functions of creation,

protection and destruction, is the " Doer " . SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri

points out that He is kartA because without Him, the mere existence

of the pa~nca bhUta-s etc. could not have resulted in the Universe,

just as the presence of clay without the presence of a pot-maker

could not have resulted in the creation of a pot. Even though the

jIvAtmA-s may think that they are independent in their acts, nothing

functions without His Will.

 

381. Vi-kartaa – " One who creates the infinite varieties that

constitute the universe. " It can also mean, " One who has created out

of Himself, the endless self-manifestations of incarnations. "

vicitram bhuvanam kRtavAn iti vikartA- Sankara. He who undergoes

modifications -In truth bhagavAn does not undergo any modifications.

He is avikAra. However, since the Universe is an extension of Him,

and since the Universe undergoes modifications constantly, it can be

said that He undergoes modifications. He has no joy or sorrow that

results from His own act; but since He considers others' acts as His

own and feels one with the joys and sorrows of His creations, the

resulting vikAra or modification and feeling of joy and sorrow is

for the sake of His creation.

 

382. Gahanah – " The Un-knowable " . One who cannot be comprehended by

any of the known instruments of knowledge; One who is not an object

of perception, but is the very subject and the perceiver in all

sense-organs.

 

383. Guhah – " One who dwells in the cave of the heart " meaning " One

who is the very core of every living creature. " He is concealed

within the equipments and hence, He is described in our Scriptures

as " One who dwells in the cave of the heart " . The Smriti describes

Him as " This Lord, the Great Purusha, the Witness who dwells in the

cave most secretively. " Mundakopanishad describes the Self

as `Nihitam Guhaayaam'. Sri Sankara quotes from Gita " Naham prakasah

sarvasya yoga-maya sama vrtah – As I am hidden by my Yoga maya, all

do not experience me. Again, the Lord Himself says, " I am not

readily perceivable by all as I am veiled by my own Maayaa " . One who

hides Himself effectively from non-devotees [sri Bhattar].

 

 

Krishnarpanamastu!!