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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 71 - Part 2.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • March 22, 2002 


    SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 71 - Part 2. 
 
658. brahma-kRt-brahmA –  The Creator Who created brahmA, the creator of big things.
 
Om brahma-kRt-brahmaNe namah.
 
SrI BhaTTar explains this nAma again using the generic meaning
“big” for the word brahman.  The creator of the world, the
four-faced brahmA, is brahma-kRt because he creates the big
things, namely the worlds.  BhagavAn is the Big One who creates
this brahmA.  So He is called brahma-kRt-brahmA. SrI nammAzhvAr
captures this thought in his pASuram 2.2.4 in tiruvAimozhi (quote
from SrI v.v. rAmAnujan):
 
     dEvum epporuLum paDaikka, pUvil nAn-muganaip paDaitta dEvan emperumAn
 
“This emperumAn created the four-faced brahmA so that he could
create all the other things including all the deva-s, and all the
sentient and non-sentient objects”.
 
SrI Samkara considers “brahma-kRt-brahmA” as two nAma-s,
brahma-kRt, and brahmA.  For brahma-kRt, he assigns the generic
meaning tapas etc. for the word brahma, and thus interprets the
nAma as meaning that He is the Originator of tapas etc.  SrI
cinmayAnanda gives a slight variant – He is brahma-kRt because He
performs the brahma – tapas etc., and abides in tapas.  SrI
baladeva vidyAbhUshaN gives a similar explanation – brahma karoti
brahmacarya lakshaNam tapas carati iti brahma-kRt.  SrI satyadevo
vAsishTha gives the meaning that bhagavAn makes His devotees big,
and so He is brahma-kRt.  Or, He created the four-faced brahmA,
the veda-s, the brAhamaNa-s, tapas, etc. as special
(magnanimous), and so He is brahma-kRt (SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri).
 
For the second part, SrI Samkara gives the interpretation that He
is brahmA the creator.  Since He is the antaryAmi of brahmA the
four-faced creator, He is the real Creator.
 
669. brahma – The Supreme Brahman, parmAtmA.
 
Om brahmaNe namah.
 
This nAma signifies that He is the paramAtmA.  There are two
aspects to this that are brought out by the vyAkhyAna kartA-s: 1)
He is Big, and 2) He makes everything big.  His “Bigness” is
explained in terms of His parattvam in the vyAkhyAna-s of SrI
Samkara and those following him, and the emphasis is placed on
His unlimited kalyANa guNa-s in the vyAkhyAna-s of SrI BhaTTar
and those following his school.  Please refer to the write-up
comparing the different vyAkhyAna-s that was presented in this
series earlier.
 
The root is the same as for the previous nAma-s, namely bRah – to
grow, to increase.  SrI BhaTTar quotes the following in support:
“bRhatvAt brahmaNatvAcca brahmeti parikIrtyate” – He is called
Brahman because He is big, and He also makes others big.  He is
everywhere, He is in everything, He makes everything big, His
guNa-s are big, and He performs all His actions without any other
support and by His mere samkalpam.  He expands the non-sentient
matter into gross and subtle, He sustains these in a form that is
useful for the jIvAtmA-s to enjoy, He sustains the jIvAtmA-s, He
grows them towards their ultimate goal, namely His realization.
He does all these only for the benefit of the jIva-s.  He is big
with countless unsurpassed qualities, by His essential nature, by
the glory of His possessions, etc.  His greatness is such that He
can lift a baddha jIva – an ordinary samsAri – to the level of a
nitya sUri through His Infinite Mercy (SrI v.v. rAmAnujan).
 
SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives the interpretation – bRmhayati
prajAh sva-dayAdRSA iti brahma – He Who enhances His devotees by
His mere Merciful glance (kaTAKsham), is Brahma.
 
SrI Samkara emphasizes His being Great (bRhatvAt), as signified
by His all-pervasiveness, His expanding into everything, etc.  He
quotes from the vishNu purANa (6.7.53) – sattA mAtram, a-gocaram
vacasAm, Atma samvedyam, tad j~nAnam brahma – That which is Pure
Existence, is beyond the reach of words, and can only be
experienced, is Brahma.
 
SrI cinmayAnanda gives the interpretation – bRmhatvAt brahma –
Because He is the Biggest, the Vastest, the All-Pervading., He is
called Brahma.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan


 


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