SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106, nAma 9229. pApa nASanaH.

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SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106, nAma 992 - pApa nASanah.

 

992. pApa-nASanaH – The Destroyer of sins.

 

Om pApa-nASanAya namaH.

 

pApam nASayati iti pApa-nASanaH. It is very interesting to look at

the derivation of the word pApa – it is derived from the root pA –

rakshaNe – to protect. The addition of the affix paH leads to the

word pApaH – that from which one should protect oneself is pApa, or

sin. SrI vAsishTha gives the derivation for the word pApa as " pAti

asmAt AtmAnam iti pApaH – That from which one should protect oneself

is pApaH or sin.

 

SrI BhaTTar explains the nAma by reminding us of the great value of

meditating on bhagavAn's leelA-s. By meditating on the nectar-like

stories of His stealing the butter and curd, by reminding ourselves

of His rAsa-krIDA-s with the gopi-s, etc., the sins in our minds are

removed. In fact, this is one of the ways that bhagavAn annihilates

the internal flaws in the minds of SrI vaishNava-s – those who

meditate on Him with single-minded devotion. SrI BhaTTar's words

are: atha dadhi-navanItastainya rAsa krIDAdi kathAmRtena pareshAm

pApa-nASanaH | avatAre'pi vaishNavAnAm bAhyAbhyantara Satru-nASanaH

|

Even during His incarnations, He annihilates the enemies, both

internal and external, of SrIvaishNava-s (the devotees of vishNu

inseparably associated with SrI or mahA lakshmi). He annihilates the

internal enemies when they meditate on His kalyANa guNa-s, and he

annihilates the external enemies through the divine weapons that he

carries for their protection (which is the substance of the next and

last Sloka)..

 

SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan explains that ordinary thieves only steal

material objects, but bhagavAn steals the feelings of stealth itself

from the minds of the devotees – the Stealer of the thought of

stealth itself- cauryasya cauryam jagati prasiddham – He is well-

known as the Stealer of the very thought of stealth itself from those

who meditate on His leelA-s of stealing butter, curd etc.

 

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

3.6.2, where AzhvAr refers to bhagavAn by the nama " pApanASan " :

 

mUvarAgiya mUrtiyai mudal mUvarkkum mudalvan tannai

SAvamuLLana nIkkuvAnai taDam kDal kiDantAn tannai

dEva dEvanai ten ila'nkai eri ezhac ceRRa villiyai

pAva nASanai pa'ngayat taDam kaNNanaip paravuminO. (tiruvAi. 3.6.2)

 

" I beseech all of you people to devote yourselves to the Lotus-eyed

Lord who is the Chief among the tri-mUrti-s, the antaryAmi of rudra

and brahmA, and their Creator. He is the One Who removes the curses

of rudra, brahmA and other gods whenever they get into trouble. He

is the One Who is reclining in the Milk Ocean, and the same One Who

tortured the evil-minded ravAna and his SrI la'nkA to retrieve sItA

pirATTi. He is the Lotus-eyed Lord Who removes all our sins by the

mere contemplation on Him " .

 

Similar thoughts are expressed by periyAzhvAr:

 

emmanA! en kula daivamE! ennuDai nAyakanE!

nin uLEnAip peRRa nanmai ivvulaginil yAr peRuvAr?

namman pOlE vIzhttu amukkum nATTil uLLa pAvam ellAm

SummenAdE kai viTTo ODit tURugaL pAindanavE. (periAzhvAr

tiru. 5.4.3)

 

" My Lord! How can I ever describe the great benefit that I have

received because of Your Grace? All the sins that normally push me

down mercilessly to the ground like demons and ghosts, have left me

quietly like prisoners that escape without making any noise and hide

in the bushes " .

 

SrI vELukkuDi kRshNan refers us to the gItA Slokam 4.9:

 

janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvataH |

tyaktvA deham punar-janma naiti mAmeti so'rjuna || (gItA

4.9)

 

" He who thus knows in truth My divine birth and actions does not get

rebirth after this body; he will come to Me, O arjuna " .

 

SrI kRishNan svAmi adds that if we meditate on His birth, we won't be

born again; if we meditate on His drinking His mother's milk in His

birth, we won't have to be born to drink a mother's milk; if we

enjoy His leelA of stealing butter and curd, our sins will be stolen

away by Him; if we meditate on His being bound by ropes by yaSodA, we

won't be bound again in samsAra; such is the greatness of the

thoughts about Him and His leelA-s.

 

SrI Sa'nkara's vyAkhyAnam is: " kIrtitaH pUjito dhyAyataH smRtaH

pAparASim nASayan pApa-nASanaH " – He Who destroys the sins of those

who adore Him, meditate on Him, and remember and sing hymns of praise

on Him. He gives support from a work titled vRddhaSAtAtapa:

 

pakshopavAsAd yat-pApam purushasya praNaSyati |

prANAyAma Satenaiva tat-pApam naSyate nRNAm ||

 

prANAya sahasreNa yat-pApam naSyate nRNAm |

kshaNa-mAtreNa tat-pApam harer-dhyAnAt praNaSyati ||

 

" Whatever sins are removed by fasting for a fortnight, are destroyed

by performing a hundred prANAyAma-s. Whatever sins are destroyed by

a thousand prANAyAma-s, are removed in a fraction of a second by

meditating on Hari " .

 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives an explanation for how the thought of

bhagavAn's leelA-s is able to wash away one's sins. These thoughts

of bhagavAn's leelA-s have the effect of keeping Him always on our

thoughts, and this is what causes one's mind to be purified. This

is what bhIshma tells yudhishThira at the beginning of the stotra:

 

tasya loka pradhAnasya jagannAthasya bhUpate |

vishNor-nAma sahasram me SruNu pApa bhayApaham ||

 

" O king, hear from me the thousand names of vishNu, the Lord of the

Universe, the highest in the worlds; these remove all sins and

fear " . The next stanza clarifies that the nAma-s are but

representations of bhagavAna's guNa-s – yAni nAmi gauNAni vikhyAtAni

mahAtmanaH, and thus, meditation on the names of vishNu, or the guNa-

s of vishNu, leads to the removal of sins in the mind of one who

meditates on vishNu.

 

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives support from SrImad bhAgavatam:

 

nAma sa'nkIrtanam yasya sarva pApa praNASanam |

praNAmo duHkha SamanaH tam namAmi harim param || (bhAga.

12.13.23)

 

" My prostrations to Lord SrI Hari Whose nAma sa'nkIrtanam leads to

the eradication of all sins, and by worshipping Whom all sorrows are

weakened " . This is the last Slokam of SrImad bhAgavatam, and can be

considered the summarizing Slokam of SrImad bhAgavtam by SrI sUta

muNi.

 

SrI cinmayAnanda summarizes the purport of the nAma in the following

words: " Meditating upon Whom all vAsanA-s (sins) are liquidated.

When an individual, surrendering in love to Him, acts and fulfills

his duties, all his existing vAsanA-s are destroyed, and no new ones

are created. This is the very root in the theory of karma yoga in

the veda-s. Through meditation upon the Self, all sins are dissolved

and totally removed " .

 

In one of his alternate interpretations, SrI satya sandha tIrtha

looks at the nAma as pApanAH + aSnAti – pApam nayati iti pApanAH

daityAH, tAn aSnAti iti pApaNASanaH. The asura-s are called pApanAH

because they lead in committing sins, and bhagavAn `eats away' or

destroys these asura-s, and so He is called pApanASanaH.

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN also includes the above thought in one of

his alternative interpretations – pavitraiH caritaiH SrotRRNAm

nikhila karmya rUpam pApam vivartayan, asurAnAmapi nihatAn Atma

vidyAm nivartya muktim tebhyo yacchat pApanASanaH – He is called pApa

nASanaH because He removes the sins of those who hear the stories of

His leelA-s; He is calo called pApa nASanaH because He destroys the

asura-s, and in the process, even for them He removes their sins by

redeeming the knowledge about the Self and gets them to moksha.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)