Fw: Sri Vishnave nama:/4th Naama of SrI VenkatEsa ashtOttharam from VarAha PurANam: Excerpt from the write up by Sriman Sadagopan Iyengar and myself

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4. Sri VishNavE SrI VenkatEsaaya nama :

 

 

Salutations to the Lord , who pervades every thing in the universe

without any exception ( sarva gatha: prathi vasthu poorNan ).

 

This is the 31st Naama of SrI Venlatesa in the BrahmANDa PurANam version

that has been covered elsewhere:

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/oppiliappan/sva/sva031.html

 

This is a tirunAmam which is sanctified with universal acceptance--by the venerated Shruti,

the ItihAsAs and the PurANas.

 

The Shruti, for instance, is full of adulatory references to this Lord--

"VishNO: nukam veeryANi pravOcham" etc.

 

The Celestials are unable to take their eyes away from the glorious form of this Emperuman, says

the Shruti--"tat VishNO: paramam padam sadA pasyanti sooraya:"

 

The lotus feet of this VishNu are incredibly sweet and secrete the nectar of liberation

and Bhagavat anubhavam--"VishNO: padE paramE madhva utsa:"

 

It is this Emperuman who is the personification of all sacrifice or Yagyam --"YagyO vai VishNu:"-- and irrespective of which dEvatA the Yagya is addressed to, it is VishNu who receives it (Havis) and responds by showering the desired boon on the performer.

 

Etymologically, this great tirunAmam indicates one who pervades all--"visati iti VishNu:". When the Narayana anuvAkam tells us that the Lord pervades all that one sees and hears (and those one can't too)--"antar bahischa tat sarvam vyApya Narayana: stittha:"--it is to this VishNu that it refers to . For, at the end of the anuvAka, it is to VishNu that the prayer is addressed--

"Narayanaya vidmahE VAsudEvAya dheemahi, tannO VishNu: prachOdayAt".

 

He is the Lord of Seven Hills, the adhi dEvatA of all mountains--"VishNu: parvatAnAm adhipati: sa mA avatu" (JayAdi mantram).

 

It is Vishnu who is responsible for demigods winning their battles against inimical forces, be it Indra or Rudra--"Indrasya yujya: sakhA". In RudrA's war with the asurAs in the TripurAs, it is VishNu who serves as the arrow and destroys the TripurAs which caused such terror to the inhabitants of all the worlds.

 

The Divine Consort too is identified as the Empress of all worlds, sentient and non-sentient, because of Her association with VishNu--"asyEsAnA jagatO VishNu patnI". Mother Earth too is adulated as VishNu's mahaishI--"MahIm dEvIm VishNupatnIm ajUryAm".

 

It is this VishNu who took the ten magnificent avatArAs for protection of the sAdhUs and destruction of evil. The Shruti eulogises the Trivikramavatara time and again as but a leelA of VishNu--"TrEdhA VishNu: vichakramE"

 

Sri Vishnu is the repository of all valour, bravery and maniliness and triumphs over all other deities, especially Rudra, says the Srimad Ramayana--"adhikam mEnirE VishNum"

 

Though there are any number of SahasranAma stOtrAs, the mere mention of the word "SahasranAmam" indisputably refers only to Sri VishNu SahasranAma. It is this Lord who is the One of a Thousand Names ("PEr Ayiram udayAn") and the other tirunAmAs in this stotram are but expansions and elaborations of this sacred name. It is He who is the Infinite, without a beginning and an end--"anAdi nidhanam VishNum" and the Lord of all Worlds and dEvatAs-"Jagat prabhum dEva dEvam". He is the only one among thirty three crore dEvatAs, who is fit for adulation and veneration--"tamEva cha archayan nityam...dhyAyan stuvan namasyamscha yajamAna: tamEva cha". Of all forms of worship, it is that of VishNu that is the greatest--

"ArAdhanAnAm sarvEshAm VishNO: ArAdhanam param".

 

It is to this unparallelled Ultimate, to this matchless warrior, this personification of mercy and compassion, that the gem among PurANAs ("PurANa Ratnam") is devoted--Sri VishNu PurANa. It is this PurANa that all the VEdAntins, irrespective of their particular school of thought, whether they be advaitins, visishtAdvaitins or dvaitins, draw upon for inspiration, to expound their ideas. It is this PurANa that is hailed as the best among its class, a SAtvika PurANa whose every syllable is worth its weight in gold.

 

Apart from being the subject matter of the Shruti, Smritis, the ItihAsAs and the PurANAs, this tirunAma is also enshrined in a potent mantra, the Shadaksharam, which is counted among the most magnificent of Bhagavath mantrAs, along with the ashtAksharam and the DvAdasAksharam.

 

According to Sri Nammazhwar, this Emperuman is lotus-like all over: His holy feet, His broad and beautiful eyes, His soft and munificent palms--all of these are soft, reddish and radiant like a lotus--"vittilangu sem sOthi tAmarai pAdam kaigaL kaNgaL". Swami Desikan too concurs with this assessment--"TAmarai dhAtu niram koNdaaaa mEnian" (Panniru TirunAmam). His tirumEni is glowing and huge like a mountain--"vittilangu karum sudar malayE tiruvudambu". And on this huge mountain, there is the incongruous sight of the Sun and the Moon being present simultaneously, the brilliant Sudarsana Chakra and the PAnchajanya Shankha with its soft, white lumuniscence. It is this Emperuman who confers upon His votaries glory and bliss equal to His own--"tan mayyam AkkinAn vallan EmpirAn VittuvE".

 

More than anything else, it is this Lord who gives us our glorious identity as "VaishNavA"s.

 

This Emperuman holds as weapons four "kalappai" (plough) in His hands and represents the tirumAN that we wear on

the right part of our stomach. He protects us from the northern side--"VishNum chaturhalam vandE padma kinchalka sannibham"