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SrI vishNu sahasaranAmam - Slokam 54 - Part 2.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • June 14, 1999 


			SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 54 - Part 2.

510. vinayah - a) The Subduer.
		b) He who leads well.

om vinayAya namah.

SrI BhaTTar vyAkhyAnam is vinIyante damyante iti vinayah - He who
subdues.  He gives the example of the subduing of mArIca by Lord rAma
through His valor.  Or because He causes the evil-doers to have modesty
(vinayam) by punishing them, He is vinayah. 

SrI cinmayAnanda observes that the direct meaning of the word vinayah
is "He who shows supreme humility".  Here it means "He who humiliates
those who are unrighteous".  He also gives an alternate interpretation
- vi-nayah, where nayah refers to He who leads (netA etc.)., and
vi-nayah refers to the Lord who leads well the seekers steadily through
the path of truth and righteousness. 

511. jayah - a) He who is conquered.
	b) He who is victorious.

om jayAya namah.

SrI Sa~nkara bhAshyam is samastAni bhUtAni jayati iti jayah - He who is
victorious over all beings.  

SrI BhaTTar gives the first interpretation.  The nirukti description
for SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is Asritaih jIthate yasmAt vidheyokriyate
jayah - One who has been conquered by the devotees and who acts
according to their wishes.  SrI v.v. rAmAnujan comments that even
though the interpretation that He is one who has jaya SrI with Him can
be given, SrI BhaTTar's choice of his interpretation is to bring out
the dominant guNa-s of bhagavAn such as souSIlyam.   SrI BhaTTar gives
examples of this quality of Lord rAma from SrImad rAmAyaNa -
"Aj~nApyo'ham tapsvinAm" - "I am to be commanded by the sages - i.e., I
am at their disposal" (bAla. 3.37); tato nArAyaNo vishNuh niyuktaih
sura-sattamaih - Then nArAyaNa was directed by the great gods (bAla.
16.1).

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha observes that jayah connotes bhagavAn being
everywhere, in everything, controlling everything, having conquered
everything and everyone, being unconquerable ever by anything, etc.

The dharma cakram writer explains the context of being victorious for
our day-to-day life - the lesson we should learn from this nAma.  There
are always two aspects to our character - acquiring and practicing
qualities that are conducive to our realization of bhagavAn, or
indulging in activities that are contrary to this.  Being subservient
to wealth, committing even heinous crimes in order to acquire and
accumulate wealth, going after name and fame instead of devoting our
life in kaimkaryam to bhagavAn, etc. are some examples of the latter. 
rAvaNa, duryodhana, etc. were examples of characters who fell prey to
their inferior instincts in their lives.  The victory that we should
aim for is over the base instincts that will result in our defeat in
our effort to cross the ocean of samsAra.  For real victory in this
life, we should develop and practice characters such as kindness
towards others, sacrifice for the welfare of others, vairAgyam, bhakti,
etc.

512. satya-sandhah - a) He whose promises are always true.
		b) He of firm resolve.

om satya-sandhAya namah.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the meaning pratij~nA or promise to the
word sandhA.  Thus satya sandhah means He whose promises are always
true.  SrI BhaTTar quotes Lord rAma's words to sItA pirATTi about this
aspect of bhagavAn's guNa - 

	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".

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives reference to nammAzhvAr in tiruvAimozhi 9.10.6
- nALum tan meyyarkku meyyanE - always true to His true devotees.  SrI
rAmAnujan comments that bhagavAn was not only true to His devotee
prahlAda, but He became true (i.e., made His appearance) to even His
adversary hiraNyakaSipu in the process (poyyanukkum meyyan!). 
BhagavAn's own words to SrI rAmAnuja as conveyed in SaraNAgati gadyam -
rAmo dvir-nAbhibhAshate, and anr*tam nokta pUrvam me na ca vakshye
kadAcana  - come to mind.   Instances of daSaratha keeping his word to
kaikeyi, dharmaputra going to the forest and undergoing aj~nAtavAsam
just for the sake of fulfilling his word, the story of hariScandra,
etc. are examples of great people caring to keep their words.   This is
why they are great, and dear to bhagavAn.  

SrI Sa~nkara gives the derivation satyA sandhA (samkalpah or
priatij~nA) asya iti satya-samkalpah - He who has firm resolve and
determination that always becomes true.  Both SrI R. anantakr*shNa
Sasti and SrI cinmayAnanda quote the following from purANa, but I am
unable to locate the reference:

	"Heavens might fall, earth might crumble down, the Himalaya-s might be
crushed, the ocean might become dry, but My word uttered shall never
become vain".

513. dASArhah - a) He who is worthy of gifts.
		b) He is worthy to be possessed as a gift.
		c) He who was born in the race of daSArhah i.e., the yAdava race.

om dASArhAya namah.

The nAma is derived from the root dASr* dAne - to give away, and arhah
meaning deserving.   Thus there are two interpretations given.  The
first is that He is fit to be worshipped through offerings of gifts,
and the second is that He is fit to be aimed for as the ultimate gift. 
SrI Sa~nkara has given the interpretations a and c, and SrI BhaTTar has
given all three interpretations.  SrI BhaTTar explains that He is fit
for us to offer our selves to Him, or alternately, He considers His
Supreme Self fit to be offered to His devotees.  Along the lines of
interpretation a), SrI cinmayAnanda observes that bhagavAn is fully
competent to receive all the offerings made with devotion in the
ritualistic sacrifices.   The third interpretation is based on bhagavAn
kr*shNa being born in the daSarha clan or tribe of the yAdava race.  

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to nammAzhvAr - enadu AviyuL kalanda peru
nal udavikkuk kaimmARu enadu Avi tandu ozhindEn ini mILvadenbadu uNDE
(tiruvAimozhi 2.3.4) in support of SrI BhaTTar's interpretation along
the lines of a) referring to His being fit for our Atma samarpaNam.  An
example of where bhagavAn sees it fit to give His gift to the devotees
is the mohini incarnation where He bestowed the nectar that He Himself
churned out of the milky ocean to the deva-s who wanted it.  BhagavAn
is "perumakkaL uLLuvar tam perumAn" (tiruvAimozhi 3.7.4) - He who
resides inside the great people who chant His name, where He is sought
as the gift by these great people.

In support of the interpretation a), the dharma cakram writer observes
that bhagavAn is fit for our offerings over anyone else, since He
accepts all our offerings including our sins, and if we offer our
karma-phalan to Him, He relieves us of all the effects of our karma and
bestows mokhsa on us.

514. sAttvatAm-patih - The Lord of the sAttvata-s.

om sAttvatAm-pataye namah.

SrI BhaTTar gives a detailed derivation of the word sAttvata starting
from the word sat meaning either Supreme Brahman or the quality of
sattva.  sattvAn is one who knows brahman or one who is possessed of
the quality of sattva.  sAttvata signifies the act of a sattvAn in
knowing brahman or in acquiring the quality of sattva or the scriptures
followed by a sattvAn.  sAttvata-s are thus bhAgavata-s.  Since
bhagavAn is the Lord of the sAttvata-s or bhAgavta-s, He is
sAttvatAm-patih.

The yAdava race is also called the sAttvata race.  Since Lord kr*shNa
is the Lord of the yAdava-s, He is called sAttvatAm-patih.  

Another interpretation, given by SrI Sa~nkara and those that follow his
vyAkhyAnam, is that bhagavAn is sAttvatAm-patih since He is the Leader
of those who follow the tantram called sAttvatam, the scriptures which
are essentially sAttvic in nature.  SrI cinmayAnanda observes that the
path of the sAAttvata-s is single-pointed meditation upon the form of
Lord vishNu with absolute devotion.  For this reason, the pA~ncarAtrins
are also called sAttvata-s.  SrI P. B. aNNa~ngarAcArya svAmi explains
that this nAma refers to bhagavAn being the Originator of the
pA~ncarAtra system and thereby being the Protector of the sAttvata-s or
bhAgavata-s.

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan


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