SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106 - nAma 986. svayam-jAtah.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106 - nAma 986. svayam-jAtah.

 

986. svayam-jAtaH – He Who is self-born.

 

om svayam-jAtAya namaH.

 

svayam jAyate ajanishTa iti vA svayam-jAtaH – He Who is self-born, or

is not created by anyone else is svayam-jAtaH.

 

SrI BhaTTar's anubhavam is that bhagavAn has this nAma signifying

that He takes His incarnations as and when necessary, without waiting

for those in difficulty to come and pray to Him to take His

incarnation – prArthanA nirapekshatayA jAtaH svayam-jAtaH. In other

words, He takes the incarnation out of His concern for the protection

of the good, the destruction of the evil, and the preservation of

dharma (paritrANAya sAdhUnAm, vinASAya ca dushkRtAm, dharma

samsthApanArthAya sambhavAmi) – He Himself takes birth out of His own

will. His main concern is the protection of the jIva-s that are

His children – it is His Nature to be concerned and to protect

(kAkkum iyalvinan kaNNa perumAn – nammAzhvAr in tiruvAimozhi 2.2.9),

and so He takes incarnations for this purpose as and when necessary,

out of His own sa'nkalpam.

 

Repeated reference has been made to the unique approach of SrI

BhaTTar in interpreting the nAma-s by emphasizing that all that

BhagavAn does is for the benefit of His devotees. Even though the

outward meaning for the nAma is " One Who is born by Himself " , SrI

BhaTTar takes the opportunity to point out that " He is born by

Himself as and when necessary to remove the sufferings of His

devotees " , rather than to just say that " Bhagavan has no other

Creator " . The current nAma is one other instance of SrI BhaTTar's

unique anubhavam in his interpretation of the nAma-s.

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan quotes the tiruviruttam pASuram in support:

 

uyir aLippAn enninRa yOniyumAip piRandAi ! imaiyOr talaivA

| … (tiruviuttam 1)

 

" You Who took birth voluntarily in order to liberate us from the

burden of samsAra " .

 

SrI vELukkuDi kRshNan gives a quote from the gItA in support, and

notes that bhagavAn gets entangled in the miseries of this world just

to release us from the same miseries:

 

na me pArtha asti kartavyam trishu lokeshu ki'ncana |

nAnavAptam avAptavyam varta eva ca karmaNi || (gItA 3.22)

 

" For me, arjuna, there is nothing in all the three worlds which ought

to be done, nor is there anything unacquired that ought to be

acquired. Yet I go on working " .

 

SrI veLukkuDi kRshNan points out that it is for removing the bondage

of several other women that sItA pirATTi voluntarily lived for ten

months in the prison of the ten-headed rAvaNa, and it is for removing

our bondage that Lord kRshNa voluntarily chose to be born in the

prison of kamsa. For the Divine Couple, all these voluntary

sufferings are for the purpose of relieving our sufferings.

 

In his vyAkhyAnam for the above gItA Sloka, bhagavad rAmAnuja

explains that bhagavAn still continues to work for the protection of

the world, even though there is nothing for Him personally to be

achieved by working – " …. karmaNA avAptavyam na ki'ncid api asti,

athApi loka rakshAyai karmaNi eva varte " .

 

SrI Sa'nkara had explained the previous nAma (Atma-yoniH) as

signifying that bhagavAn is the Material cause of the Universe. He

continues this thread in the current nAma, and explains the nAma svam-

jAtaH as signifying that bhagavAn is also the Instrumental cause –

nimitta kAraNam api sa eva iti darSayitum svayam-jAta iti. The

terms `Material cause' and `Instrumental cause' can be briefly

explained by reference to the making of a pot by a potter, using the

mud, the wheel, the water etc. In this example, the mud is the

upAdAna kAraNa or the material cause. The nimitta kAraNa or the

Instrumental cause is the pot maker. The other supplementary

materials such as the wheel, the water etc. are called the sahakAri

kAraNa-s. SrI Sa'nkara's interpretation for the previous and the

current nAma-s are that bhagavAn is both the Instrumental Cause and

the Material Cause in the process of creation. He gives support

from the brahma sUtra (prakRtiSca pratij~nA dRshTAnta anuparodhAt

(1.4.23)) that declares that bhagavAn is not just the Instrumental

cause but also the Material cause. In other words, He performs the

function of creation with no other help or external means but from

Himself, by Himself. This is nicely captured by nammAzhvAr in his

tiruvAimozhi pASuram 1.5.4 (tAn Or uruvE tani vittAi tannil mUvar

mudalAya….).

 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri explains the nAma as `One Who appeared by

Himself " , and gives the reference from taittirIya upanishad in

support: tad-AtmAnam svayam akuruta – That Brahman created Itself by

Itself (Anandavalli in taittirIya upanishad). If it be said that

devaki `gave birth' to kRshNa, SrI Suka explains that bhagavAn just

appeared from her womb just as the moon appears in the sky – devakyAm

deva rUpiNyAm vishNuH sarva guhASayaH AvirAsIt yathA prAcyAm diSi

induriva pushkalaH (SrImad bhAgavatam 10.3.8). Lord kRshNa chose to

enter devaki's womb for some time, and then chose to come out when He

chose to come out; the connection between devaki and kRshNa is just

the same connection as between the east direction and the moon from

which it appears.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

(To be continued)