Vishnu Sahasranamam Stanza 47

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Om Namo Narayanaya!!

 

anirvinnah sthavishtho-abhoordharma-yoopo mahaa-makhah

nakshatranemir nakshatree kshamah kshaamahsameehanah.

 

435. Anirvinnah - He who is never despondent. SrI Sankara gives the

interpretation that He is never despondent because He has no wishes

that are not fulfilled. SrI BhaTTar explains this by indicating that

bhagavAn does not become despondent even though His expectations

that we will resort to Him for our redemption are not fulfilled. He

just goes on with a new creation in the hope that we will meet His

expectations in our next chance. The dharma cakram writer points out

that just as the heart ceaselessly keeps beating in order to keep us

alive but takes rest constantly in between the beats and so never

gets tired, bhagavAn ceaselessly creates this world and rests also

continuously in between and never gets tired. If we do our karma-s

with a sattvic attitude we also will never get despondent, but if we

do our karma-s either with the rAjasic or tAmasic disposition, we

will get easily depressed. This is the lesson we should take from

this nAma.

 

436. Sthavishthah –One who is supremely gross. The entire cosmos

being His form, He Himself is the universe, and as such in His total

manifestation, He is supremely gross. Geeta says (Chapter XI-20)

that the Lord spreads Himself covering the whole world and the

atmosphere. The Upanishad (Mundaka 1-4) also says how " the sky form

His head, the sun and the moon are His eyes. " SrI Sankara gives

reference to another vedic passage - agnir-mUrdhAcakshushI candra-

sUryau - muNDakopanishad 2.1.4 - Agni is His head, the moon and sun

are His eyes.

SrI BhaTTar: He who is Immense. SrI BhaTTar explains this sthoulya

in terms of the huge grouping of stars referred to SiSumAra in

vishNu purANa 2.9.1 -tArA-mayam bhagavatah SiSumArAkRtih prabhoh -

The form of the mighty Hari which is present in heaven, consisting

of the constellations, is that of a porpoise, with dhruva situated

in the tail, etc. SrI rAdhAkRshNa Sastri gives reference to

taitttirIya AraNyaka 2.19, which also describes bhagavAn in this

great form of SiSumAra, the Gangetic porpoise, with all the deva-s

as part of His body - tasmai namas-tac-chiro dharmo mUrdhAnam

brahmottarAvishNur-hRdayam.....sa vA esha divyah SAkvarah SiSumArah.

SrI Sastri also refers us to the description of the huge form of

bhagavAn in SrImadbhAgavatam, 2.1.24 - 2.1.38, starting with

viSeshas-tasya deho'yamsthavishThaSca sthavIyasAm. Here He is

described as sthUlasyAm sthUlah -the most huge among those that are

huge (Slokam 24), and sthavishThe vapushi (Slokam 38) - He with the

form that is huge.

 

437. A-bhooh - One who has no birth, or the one, by realising whom,

the seeker will no more have births. Some people dissolve the line

Sthavishthah + Bhooh. In that case instead of A-bhooh they give the

Lord the name, `Bhooh', meaning `earth.' Just as the earth is the

stage upon which the entire drama of life is being played, Sri

Narayana is the substratum upon which the entire world of

experiences is playing about. SrI Sankara - He who is not born,

though he also refers to the possible alternate pATham - bhuh,

Existence.

SrI BhaTTar: The All-supporter. He, who exists without any other

support. Thus one interpretation is that this refers to One who

truly exists, unlike all other beings which have only temporary

existence in a bodily form. bhu also refers to Earth, or in this

case the support for all the stars in SiSumAra referred to in the

previous nAma. The vishNu purANa passage quoted in the previous

paragraph says that dhruva is in the tail of the SiSumAra group of

stars, and as dhruva spins, all the other stars spin with it, and is

thus the supporter of the SiSumAra constellation. Since dhruva is a

form of bhagavAn, bhagavAn is thus the supporter of all the stars of

SiSumAra.

 

438. Dharma-yoopah -Yoopah is the name given to the post to which

the sacrificial animal is tied in a yaaga The Lord is the very Post

to which all Dharmas (righteousness) are tied to. This means He is

the very essence behind all righteousness [sri Sankara]. SrI

BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is - dharma-tattvam Sirah avayavatayA yauti

itidharma-yUpah - He in whom dharma is united as part of His body

viz. head. The taittirIya AraNyakam passage referred to in nAma 436

starts with " tasmainamas-tac-chiro dharmah " - He whose Head is

dharma. SrI BhaTTar quotes " dharmo mUrdhanam ASritah - dharma has

resorted to His head " . dharma is His most important responsibility.

The dharma cakram writer observes that dharma and bhagavAn are not

distinct. This nAma should remind us that those who follow dharma

are always protected by bhagavAn. This was the advice given to

duryodhana by bhIshma when bhIshma had to fight on the side of

duryodhana, viz. that there is no way that the pANDava-s can be

defeated because they are on the side of dharma.

 

439. Mahaa-makhah -The Great Sacrifice. Because the sacrifices

dedicated to Him confer total liberation -(Nirvaana). Also in the

Geeta we were told, " offer is Brahman, what is offered is Brahman,

the fire is Brahman, the offerer is Brahman and the goal reached is

also Brahman. "

 

440. Nakshatranemih - The Nave of the stars. One who is the nave

around which all the star and the planets including the sun, moon

and other planets always move around. For this brilliant glowing

wheel of Light, Sri Narayana is the very Axle. SrI Sankara uses this

reference to explain that bhagavAn is nakshatra-nemih because He is

in the center of the SiSumAra collection of stars, and is the one

who supports it like a nave at the center of the wheel.

Naksatra –tarakaih sardhamcandra-suryadayo grahah |

Vayupasa-mayair bandhair nibaddha dhruva-samjnite||

" Heavenly bodies like moon and sun along with all nakshatras and

Tarakas are tied to dhruva with bonds constituted of air. " According

to this statement all these heavenly bodies are included in the tail

of Dhruva or Sisumara Cakra. In the heart of Sisumara Cakra, the

Lord dwells as its operator. The Vedas says describing Sisumara:

Visnur hrdayam Visnu is its heart.

SrI BhaTTar vyAkhyAnam is " jyotiS-cakram nayati iti nakshatra-

nemih " . He refers to the continuation of the vishNu purANam passage

referred to in nAma438.

" evam bhraman bhrAmayati candrAdityakAn grahAn |

bhramantamanu tam yAnti nakshatrANi ca cakravat || vishNu

purANam 2.9.2. " As He (in the form of dhruva) goes round, He makes

the sun, the moon and other planets revolve. All the stars also

follow Him like a wheel as He moves in a circle " . VishNu purANam

continues with

" SiSumArAkRti proktam yad-rUpam jyotishAm divi |

nArAyaNah param dhAmnAm tasyAdhArah svayam hRdi || (2.9.4)

" The porpoise-like figure of the celestial sphere is upheld by

nArAyaNa, who Himself, in planetary radiance, is seated in its

heart " . Reference to vishNu being in the heart or center of the

SiSumAra cakra and being responsible for its movement is also made

in the the svAdhyAyabrAhmaNa of taittirIya Sakha referred to under

nAma 436. The dharma cakram writer reminds us how important this

function of mahAvishNu is. If only one of the millions of stars goes

out of its path prescribed by Him, the consequences will be

disastrous for us. This nAma should remind us that just as order in

the macro level is important for our survival, there is need for

order at the thought level as well for the long-term survival of all

of us. If the thoughts are not good, and if they are not devoted to

the welfare of the world as a whole but are self-centered, the

consequence is the long-term destruction of the whole.

 

441. Nakshatree -One who is the Lord of the stars. SrI Sankara gives

the interpretation that nakshatrI refers to His being the Moon, the

Lord of all the stars (nakshatrANAm aham SaSI - Among the stars, I

am the Moon - gItA10.21). SrI BhaTTar explains that His being the

Lord and driving force behind SiSumAra is the reference here.

 

442. Kshamah -One who is supremely efficient in all undertakings.

One who has extreme patience with all the stupidities of his

devotees.

SrI BhaTTar: a) He who is competent. b) He who has great patience.

a) This interpretation is based on ksham - sahane to allow, to

suffer. SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is - akhila bhuvana bhAram

anAyAsena kshamate - vahatiiti kshamah; He is known as kshamah

because He bears the burden of the entire Universe with ease. SrI

Sankara bhAshyam is " sarva kAryeshusamarthah kshamah - He who is

clever and competent in everything. b) SrI Sankara gives an

additional interpretation based on ksham – sahane to endure. He

refers to SrImad rAmAyaNa - kshamayA pRthivI samah – SrI rAma is

like the earth in patience - bAla kANDa 1.18. The dharma cakram

writer links the two interpretations nicely by pointing out that in

order to be competent and efficient, you have to act with patience.

And when we act with patience and thus become efficient in our acts,

the feeling we should have is that this is the kRpA of bhagavAn.

This nAma conveys the idea that in order to be efficient and

proficient, we need to be patient and then dedicate the results of

this efficient performance to bhagavAn and grow our devotion to Him.

This in turn will get us closer to realization of Him.

 

443. Kshaamah - SrI Sankara's vyAkhyAnam is that He is kshAmah - The

Remainder, since He alone remains when everything else has

disappeared in pralaya.

SrI BhaTTar: a) He who is in a diminished form. b) He in whom all

forms diminish. The root from which this nAma is derived is kshau -

kshaye to waste. SrI BhaTTar explains this nAma by pointing out

that bhagavAn stands in the form of dhruva in a diminished form at

the time of the dissolution of the Earth inclusive of the five

elements. All the luminaries up to dhruva disappear, and dhruva

alone remains shining in his place, as stated in vishNu purANa -

" yAvan-mAtre pradeSe tu maitreyAvasthito dhruvah |

kshayamAyAti tAvat-tu bhumerAbhUtasamplave || 2.8.92

 

444. Sameehanah -One whose desires are auspicious. The Lord is

considered as " Well-desiring " in as much as he desires the well-

being of all His creatures at all times. He knows how to control and

regulate His power of desiring (Icchaa-sakti) and thus He is

extremely efficient in His creative activity. SrI Sankara's

vyAkhyAnam is that He is one who wishes well for His creation-

SRtyAdi artham samyagIhata iti samIhanah - Well-wisher.

SrI BhaTTar: a) He who establishes all others (indra etc.) in their

respective posts. b) Well-wisher - He who works towards the welfare

of His creation. The nAma is derived from the root Iha ceshTAyAm -

to aim at, to desire, to strive for. There are two aspects to

striving for something. One is to strive by oneself, and the other

is to make others work. Thus there are two different interpretations

given for this nAma. SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is that bhagavAn after

the deluge, at the time of creation, makes all the other deva-s do

their work in their respective posts.

 

 

Krishnarpanamastu!