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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 81 - dyuti-dharah.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • December 19, 2002 


       SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 81 - dyuti-dharah.

764. dyuti-dharah – He Who possessed a majesty.

Om dyti-dharAya namah.

We encountered the phrase dyuti-dharah as part of nAma 276 –
ojas-tejo-dyuti-dharah (Slokam 30).  dyuti refers to effulgence or
radiance.  The root involved is dyut – dIptau – to shine.  SrI
rAdhAkRshNa SAstri comments that dyuti is the term that refers to the
unique effulgence that is characteristic of deva-s.  The word dharah
can refer to “One Who protects” or “One Who bears” (see nAma
dharAdharah in previous Slokam).  

SrI bhaTTar gives the interpretation for the nAma as “One Who had the
effulgence or radiance even at a very young age in His kRshNa
incarnation, that could bedazzle devendra”.  SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj
describes His unique kAnti – atiSayita kAnti sampannah.  

SrI SaÂ’nkara refers to the kAnti in all of bhagavAnÂ’s.limbs as his
interpretation for this nAma (Recall the Slokam 79 nAma-s: 
suvarNa-varNah hemAÂ’ngah varAÂ’ngah candanAÂ’ngadI, where the beauty and
kAnti of His limbs are described).  

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri comments that bhagavAn is called dyuti-dharah
because He supports the dyuti that is characteristic of the sun, the
moon, all the deva-s, lightning, ratna, etc.   In fact, whatever
radiance we all possess in us, is but a tiny part of His radiance.  SrI
cinmayAnanda points out that it is this kAnti in us that enables us to
be aware of all our perceptions, emotions, and thoughts.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha treats the word dyuti itself as referring to
“One Who possesses effulgence”, and then treats the word dharah as “One
Who protects”, and thus gives the meaning to the nAma “dyuti-dharah” as
“One Who has Effulgence, and Who protects and everyone and everything”
– svayam prakASamAnah sarvam dharati iti;  vAsatavika arthah
prakASamAnah sarvasya AdhAraSca iti arthah”.  

The dharma cakram writer comments that the dyuti that is referred to
here is not the physical beauty that one sees in the body, but the
radiance that emanates from the inner AtmA, and is reflected in the
same body.    Unlike the physical beauty which stirs thoughts of kAmam
in the observerÂ’s mind, the beauty that is seen in the body because of
the dyuti emanating from the AtmA, kindles thoughts of   bhakti in the
observer.  He quotes the famous saying in tamizh:  “rAman irukkum
iDattil kAman illai;  kAman irrukkum iDattil rAman illai” - “There is
no kAma where rAma is, and there is no rAma where kAma is” .  This nAma
signifies to us that every part of bhagavAnÂ’s Form is such that it
evokes extreme devotion on the devotee.  One should go through some of
svAmi deSikanÂ’s stotra-s such as  SrI bahgavd-dhyAna sopAnam, SrI deva
nAyaka paÂ’ncAsat,etc., to appreciate the truth of this statement as
svAmi deSikan has the anubhavam of emperumAn.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan


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