SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106 - nAma 985. Atma-yoniH.

[Guest guest]

SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106 - nAma 985. Atma-yoniH.

 

Atma-yoniH svayam-jAto vaikhAnaH sAma-gAyanaH |

devakI-nandanaH srashTA kshitiSaH pApa-nASanaH ||

 

om Atma-yonaye namaH.

om svayam-jAtAya namaH.

om vaikhAnAya namaH.

om sAma-gAyanAya namaH.

om devakI-nandanAya namaH.

om sRashTre namaH.

om kshitISAya namaH.

om pApa-nASanAya namaH.

 

985. Atma-yoniH – He mixes with His devotees very easily.

 

The root from which the word yoni is derived is yu – miSraNe amiSraNe

ca – to join, to separate. The affix ni is added by application of

the uNAdi sUtra 4. 51, leading to the word yoni – womb. One

explanation for the nAma is AtmA = svayameva, svasya yoniH = kAraNam –

He Who is the Cause for Himself.

 

SrI BhaTTar uses the root yu – `to unite, to mix', and interprets the

nAma as - " dughdeneva sitAvalayam AtmanA bhoktAram miSrayati iti

Atma-yoniH " - One Who mixes others with Himself easily like milk with

sugar. In other words it is bhagavAn's sauSIlyam that is emphasized

by SrI BhaTTar through this nAma.

 

As has been pointed out in many previous nAma-s, Sri BhaTTar's main

emphasis in his sahasra nAma vyAkhyAnam is to bring out the two guNa-

s of bhagavAn that are of utmost significance and importance to the

devotees – namely bhagavAn's sauSIlyam and saulabhyam. The

interpretation of the current nAma is a vivid example where SrI

BhaTTar uses his skills in interpretation to emphasize bhagavAn's

guNa of sauSIlyam – or His ability to mix with His devotees with the

greatest ease, and let them enjoy Him easily and completely, as long

as they are sincerely devoted to Him.

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN echoes the same thoughts as Sri BhaTTar in

his interpretation – AtmAnam svam yauti bhaktaH sahavAsa bhoge iti

Atma-yoniH – He Who mixes the bhakta-s with Himself indistinguishably

for the purpose of their enjoyment of Him. He quotes the ananda maya

vidyA from Ananda valli of taittirIya upanishad – " yo veda nihitam

guhAyAm parame vyoman | So'Snute sarvAn kAnmAn saha | brahmaNA

vipaSciteti | - " He who knows Brahman hidden in the cavity of the

heart, enjoys in the supreme abode all the auspicious qualities of

Brahman along with the all-knowing Brahman " .

 

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to nammAzhvAr's tiruvAimozhi pASuram

2.3.1 in support of SrI BhaTTar's interpretation:

 

Unil vAzh uyirE nallai pO unnaip peRRu

vAnuLAr perumAn maduSUdan en ammAn

tAnum yAnum ellAm tannuLLE kalandu ozhindOm

tEnum pAlum neyyum kannalum amudum ottE. (tiruvAi. 2.3.1)

 

" O my mind! Even though you are present in this physical body of

flesh and the like - all filthy, you have served me right in the

direction of deliverance. What I have enjoyed is what nityasUri-s

enjoy in SrI vaikunTham. BhagavAn has subdued me even when I was in

a mood to leave Him, and has made me a happy servant of His, and he

has become one with me. It is like honey mixing with honey, milk

with milk, sugar with sugar, ghee with ghee, and nectar with nectar. "

 

It is worth noting that while SrI BhaTTar says that bhagavAn mixes

with His devotee like sugar and milk (see his vyAkhyAnam above),

AzhvAr says bhagavAn has mixed with Him like milk with milk itself

(honey with honey, milk with milk, ghee with ghee, etc.), a level

more intimate than the mixing of milk and sugar.

 

SrI Sa'nkara brings out an aspect of bhagavAn's function of creation

through this nAma – Atmaiva yoniH – upAdAna kAraNam na anyat iti Atma-

yoniH – Because He alone is the material cause of the universe, and

no other, therefore He is called Atma-yoniH.

 

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj also gives the interpretation that since

bhagavAn has no cause other than Himself, He is called Atma-yoniH –

svambhUtvAt Atma-yoniH. He gives support from the Upanishad:

 

sa viSva-kRd viSva-vid Atma-yoniH (SvetASvatara. 6.16)

 

While SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives the meaning svayam-bhU to the

word Atma-yoniH in the upnaishadic passage above, SrI N. S.

anantara'ngAcArya translates the term as " indweller in the jIvAtman "

in his book titled " Selections from the Upanishads " , and this

translation is based on the vyAkhyAna of SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja muni.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

(To be continued).