SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 107. nAma-s 998, 999 - rathA'nga-pANiH, akshob

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SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 107 -

nAma-s 998, 999. rathA'nga-pANih, akshobhyah.

 

998. rathA'nga-pANiH – He Who is armed with the wheel in His hand.

 

Om rathA'nga-pANaye namaH.

 

rathA'ngam, cakram pANau yasya iti rathA'nga-pANiH.- He Who has the

discus in His hand. SrI vAsishTha gives the following derivation:

The word ratha is derived from the root ramu – krIDAyAm – to play, to

sport; by the application of the uNAdi sUtra 2.2, the affix kthan is

added, leading to the word ratha – chariot (ramate = krIDati yasmin

yena vA rathaH). The word a'nga is derived from the root agi – to

go. rathah a'ngati yena tad rathA'ngam – That which makes the

chariot go is rathA'ngam or wheel.

 

In one interpretation for this nAma, the reference is to the wheel or

discus in His hand. We studied the nAma cakrI (nAma 995), and one

might feel that there is redundancy between the two nAma-s. SrI

BhaTTar points out that in nAma 995, bhagavAn being the Possessor of

the Ayudham or weapon was described, whereas in the current nAma His

readiness for action (having the cakra ready in His hand for release)

is described, and thus there is no repetition. It is His readiness

for action at all times that is enjoyed in the current nAma. In

periya tiruvantAdi-87 this readiness is described by nammAzhvAr

as " eppozhudum kai kazhalA nEmiyAn " – He Who has the discus that

never leaves His hand.

 

Another interpretation given for the nAma is a reference to the

incident where bhagavAn jumped from the chariot and rushed towards

bhIshma during the mahA bhArata war with the wheel of the chariot in

His hand, just to make the promise of His devotee bhIshma come true,

even when it involved His breaking His own promise not to take to

weapons during the war. SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan reminds us of this

incident in explanation of this nAma.

 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri refers us to bhIshma's own description of this

incident:

 

sva-nigamam apahAya mat-pratij~nAm Rtam adhikartum avapluto

rathasthaH |

dhRta ratha caraNah abhyayAt calatguH haririva hantum ibham

gatottarIyaH || (bhAga. 1.9.37)

 

" Giving up His promise not to take arms in the battle, and just to

fulfill my promise that I will make Him take arms, He who had

ascended the chariot jumped down and rushed towards me with the haste

that made the earth shake, like a lion that was rushing to kill an

elephant " .

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN also gives the interpretation in terms of

bhagavAn bearing the wheel of the chariot in order to fulfill the vow

of His devotee – bhakta pratij~nA pratipAlakatAm ati-SlAghyatvAt

punarAha rathA'ngapANiriti bhIshmam prati pradarSitam etat.

 

999. akshobhyaH – He Who is unshakable.

 

Om akshobhyAya namaH.

 

We studied this nAma earlier in Slokam 86 – nAma 807. Please refer

to that write-up for additional insights on bhagavAn's akshobhyatvam.

 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the following derivation for the nAma:

The nAma is derived from the root kshubh kshobh – sa'ncalane – to be

agitated or disturbed. The application of pANini sUtra 3.1.124 – R-

halor-Nyat, results in the word kshobhyah, giving the sense of

SakyArthe arhArte vA - `one who is capable of', and `or one who is

fit to be'.. Thus, khshobhyah means `one who can be agitated,

perturbed, shaken', and akshobhyaH means " One who cannot be shaken' -

na kshobhayitum = sa'ncalayitum Sakyah akshobhyah.

 

SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is – prapanna abhaya dAna dArDhyAt sva-

mahimnA'pi akshobhyaH – He Who cannot be shaken from the firm vow

that He has taken to protect those who have surrendered to Him; this

vow of His cannot be shaken even by His own Great Self " . One is

reminded of the words of bhagavAn found in SaraNagati gadyam of

bhagavad rAmAnuja:

 

- anRtam nokta pUrvam me na ca vakshye kadAcana - I have never

uttered an untruth before, and will never utter one ever.

- rAmo dvir-nAbhibhAshate – rAma never talks with two tongues

- sakRdeva prapannAya tavAsmI ca yAcate |

abhayam sarva bhUtebhyo dadAmyetad vratam mama || (yuddha. 18.33)

" It is My vow to protect unconditionally from every living being,

anyone that surrenders to Me even once, or seeks my protection

saying " I am your servant " " .

- sarva dharmAn parityajya mAm ekam SaraNam vraja |

aham tvAsarva pApebhyo mokshayishyAmi mA Sucah || (gItA 18.66)

" Completely relinquishing all Dharma-s, seek Me alone for refuge. I

will release you from all sins. Grieve not " .

 

SrI veLukkuDi kRshNan points to the incident where sItA tries to

persuade rAma not to bear arms while in the forest, but to follow the

path of penance instead. Lord rAma's response is that He had given

His word to the Rshi-s in the forest that they will be protected from

the rAkshasa-s at all costs, and that He won't swerve from His word

even if it involves losing sItA and lakshmaNa:

 

apyaham jIvitam jahyAm tvAm vA sIte sa-lakshmaNam |

na tu pratij~nAm samSrutya brAhmaNebhyo viSeshatah || (AraNya.

10.19)

 

" O sItA! I would rather give up My life, or even you and lakshmaNa,

than break My promise, especially that which has been made to

brAhmins " .

 

Lord rAma reinforces His commitment to protect anyone who

approaches Him with sincerity, during vibhIshaNa SaraNAgati:

 

mitra bhAvena samprAptam na tyajeyam katha'ncana |

dosho yadyapi tasya syAt satAm etat agarhitam ||

(yuddha. 18.3)

 

" I will not forsake anyone who has approached Me with a feeling of

true love, even if this person has any faults. This is the conduct

that will be considered blemish-less by elders " .

 

The write-ups for the nAma satya-sandhah (Slokam 54), acyutah etc.,

give ample support to His akshobhyatvam.

 

SrI Sa'nkara's interpretation is – ata eva aSakya-kshobhaNa iti

akshobhyaH – `thus equipped with the various weapons, He is said to

be unassailable " . In other words, SrI Sa'nkara associates the

unassailability with the previous nAma-s describing His weapons.

 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri's anubhavam is that bhIshma is describing the

Lord whom He saw for 10 days in the battlefield through these last

few nAma-s (rathA'nga pANiH - the previous nAma, and akshobhyah – the

current nAma). SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN gives essentially the

same interpretation – tyakta Sastro'pi kshobhayitum gharshitum a-

SakyatvAt akshobhyah.

 

Another anubhavam of His being unshakable, is given by SrI

cinmayAnanda through the following words: " One Who cannot be

exasperated by anyone, by any act or acts, however blasphemous they

may be; One Whose peace and calm cannot be stormed out by any

happening in his outer world; Ever-peaceful. The term suggests

Infinite patience, love and kindness towards man and his frailties " .

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)