SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106, nAma-s 990, 991 - srashTA, kshitISaH.

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SrImate SrI ra'ngarAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106, nAma-s 990, 991 -

srashTA, kshitISaH.

 

990. srashTA – The Creator.

 

Om srashTre namaH..

 

We studied this nAma earlier (Slokam 63 - nAma 595). Please refer to

the write-up for nAma 595 also.

 

sRjati iti sRashTA – vishNuH – He Who creates. As has been explained

in several places before, brahmA creates the things inside the

brahmANDa, after bhagavAn creates the things outside brahmANDa, and

the brahmANDa itself with brahmA inside the brahmANDa, and gives the

power, the knowledge and the responsibility to brahmA for the rest of

the creation. It is because bhagavAn is the antaryAmi in brahmA that

brahmA is able to proceed with this function at this point. Thus

bhagavAn is the True Creator, as He is the Destroyer and the

Protector of all beings.

 

SrI BhaTTar reemphasizes through the interpretation for this nAma

that SrI BhIshma once more tells yudhishThira that devakI-nandana,

SrI kRshNa, is none other than para-vAsudeva who is responsible for

creation. One can see bhagavAn's saulabhyam and sauSIlyam reflected

through these series of nAma-s. Even though the reference to His

function of creation can be taken to illustrate His parattvam, the

fact that the same para-vAsudeva has made Himself accessible to all

the people in the audience (where bhIshma is instructing yudhisThira

on the greatness of bhagavAn's nAma-s reflecting His kalyANa guNa-s)

shows simultaneously His saulabhyam.

 

SrI Sa'nkara bhAshyam is: " srashTA sarva lokasya " – BhagavAn is

called srashTA because He is the Creator of all the worlds.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda comments: " Even the creator (meaning catur-mukha

brahmA) can perform his job only by drawing his abilities and

capacities from the Infinite Self, SrI nArAyaNa " . In other words,

brahmA creates only because bhagavAn is the antaryAmi of brahmA.

 

991. kshtISaH – The Lord of the Earth.

 

om kshitISAya namaH.

 

The root from which the nAma is derived is khsi – nivAsagatyoH – to

dwell. The application of the pANini sUtra 3.3.94 – striyAm ktin,

leads to the word khsitiH – the Earth; tasyA ISaH kshitISaH – The

Lord of the Earth.

 

SrI BhaTTar notes that bhagavAn is the Lord of all the worlds, not

just the Earth, as revealed in the following reference:

 

yo anantarUpo akhila viSvarUpo

garbhe'pi lokAn vapushA bibharti ||

 

" He is of infinite forms and is in the form of the entire universe.

He bears by His body all the worlds in His womb " .

 

However, in this nAma, bhagavAn is particularly singled out as the

Lord of the Earth. Different anubhavam-s are given for this. SrI

BhaTTar points out that there is generally more suffering in the

Earth than in the other worlds such as the deva loka-s etc., and so

bhagavAn takes incarnations more often here, to help relieve the

sufferings of the beings here. So He is particularly addressed as

the Lord of the Earth – kshitISaH - sarva ISatve'pi Arti-

bhUyishThatvAt bhUyishTham bhUmeH ISaH iti kshitISaH.

 

SrI veLukkuDi kRshNan refers us to the tiruvAimozhi pASuram 3.3.4,

where nammAzhvAr points out that even though bhagavAn is the Lord of

the deva-s, He is more attached to AzhvAr in this world more, because

AzhvAr is in a more helpless situation than the deva-s:

 

ESan vAnavarkku enban enRAl adu

tESamO tiruvE'nkaTattAnukku

nISanEn niRaivu onRum ilEn en kaN

pASam vaitta param SuDar SOdikkE. (tiruvAi. 3.3.4)

 

" We can declare that tiruvE'nkaTattAn is the Lord of nityasUri-s

etc. But this in no way adds to His glory. His true glory is in His

mingling with the lowliest of the lowly people like me, being

accessible to all the downtrodden etc. This, it is His saulabhyam

that adds to His glory, and not the Lordship over the nityasUri-s.

He has shown a doting love to me, endearing me that way " .

 

It is this love of bhagavAn towards the suffering and downtrodden

beings of the Earth that makes them dear to Him, and so He is called

the Lord of the Earth in this nAma.. bhagavAn is " ISan " for all the

other worlds, but His " pASam " or love is with the Earth.

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN also interprets the nAma as " Lord of the

Earth " , the Lordship being reflected in His being concerned with the

removal of the suffering of the beings of the world and their

protection – kshiter-bhAram apanIyatAm pAlayana kshitISaH.

 

SrI Sa'nkara interprets the nAma as a reference to the rAma

incarnation – The Lord of the earth, the son of daSaratha – kshiteH

bhUmeH ISaH daSarathAtmajaH.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda interprets the nAma as " The Consort of Mother

Earth " – kshiti referring to Mother Earth or bhUmi pirATTi.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha's interpretation is: Kshiyanti = nivasanti,

gacchanti vA nASam bhUtAni yasyAm sA kshitiH = bhUH, tasyA ISaH

kshitISaH – That in which all beings ultimately mingle after their

life here, is kshitiH, or earth. The Lord of kshiti is kshitISaH.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)