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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 88 - Satru-jit-Satru-tApanah.

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champakam • March 20, 2003 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 88 - Satru-jit-Satru-tApanah.

826. Satru-jit-Satru-tApanah -    He Who occupies the bodies of Satru-
jits to torment His devotees' enemies.

Om Satru-jit-Satru-tApanAya namah.

All interpreters other than SrI BhaTTar and those who follow him, 
treat this as two nAma-s:  Satru-jit and Satru-tApanah.   The 
essential meaning of the two interpretations is same –  BhagavAn 
ensures that the enemies of the gods are punished and conquered;  
Either He Himself does this (SrI Sa'nkara's interpretation), as rAma, 
kRshNa, etc. in the case of rAvaNa, kamsa, etc., or He does it by 
entering into someone else with His Sakti (sva-tejasA ApyAyitaih), 
and then accomplishes the destruction of the enemies of the gods (SrI 
BhaTTar's interpretation).  

Thus, SrI BhaTTar treats the nAma as Satru-jit-Satru-tApanah, and 
gives the explanation that (in addition to using His powers directly 
in destroying the enemies of His devotees), He also uses His powers 
by entering into others with His tejas, and then defeats the enemies 
of His devotees as well.  Thus, his interpretation for this nAma is 
that He is Satru-tApanah (Torturer of His devotees' enemies) by using 
Satru-jits (those who conquer their enemies) as His vehicle.  SrI 
BhaTTar gives examples for this interpretation from SrI vishNu 
purANam:

	"para'njayo hi nAma SaSAdasya ca rAjarshes-tanayah kshatriya-
varyah   |  
tac-charIre aham amSena svayameva avatIrya tAn aSeshAn asurAn 
nihanishyAmi" (V.P. 4.2.8);  

"kakutsthah bhagavatah carAcaraguroh acyutasya tejasA ApyAyito 
devAsura sa'ngrAme samastAneva asurAn nijaghAna (V.P. 4.2.11).

	 "With a part of Me, I will descend into the body of 
para'njaya and annihilate the asura-s Myself".  "Then, kakutstha 
(para'njaya), infused with the power of the Eternal Ruler of all 
movable and immovable things, destroyed in the battle all the enemies 
of the gods ".   

 "Â…. Aha bhagavAn Adi-purushah purushottamo yauvanASvasya mAndhAtuh 
purukutsa nAmA putrastam aham anupraviSya etAn aSesha dushTa 
gandharvAn upaSamam nayishyAmi (V.P. 4.3.7)";  "rasatala gataSca asau 
bhagavat tejasA ApyAyita Atma-vIryah sakala gandharvAn jaghAna (V.P. 
4.3.9)".

	"The Adi-purusha and purushottama replied:  I will enter into 
the person of purukutsa, the son of mAndhAtri and yuvanASva, and in 
him I will quiet these iniquitous gandharva-s.".;  "Reaching the 
regions below the earth, and being filled with the might of the 
Supreme Deity, he (purutkutsa) destroyed the gandharva-s".   

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha also gives this as his interpretation, the 
idea of His indirect incarnations,  for the nAma satru-tApanah – 
sarva-suhRdah sAdhUn dvishanti ta eva Satrvah, tAnSca yah sva-
paradatta-Saktibhih mahA-purushaih tApayati iti Satru-tApanah – He 
gives His Sakti to the mahA-purushas, who in turn go after those who 
harm His devotees, and punish them.  

He gives the following support from atharva veda, where this guNa of 
scorching the enemies is referred to:

	dvishas-tApayan hradah SatrUNAm tApayan manah    | 
	dur-hrAdah sarvAs-tvam darbha dharma ivAbhIntsam tApayan   
||   (atharva. 19.28.2)

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj treats the nAma as "Satru-jit-Satru-
tApanah, but gives the interpretation in terms of the two parts:  "He 
Who is Satru-jit and also Satru-tApanah" – "Satayanti utpIDayanti 
dhArmikAn iti Satravah;  tAn jayati iti Satru-jit;  SatrUn tApayati 
iti Satru-tApanah; Satru-jit ca asau Satru-tApanan iti Satru-jit-
Satru-tApanah".  

The interpretation for Satru-jit and Satru-tApanah as separate nAma-s 
by SrI Sa'nkara and his followers is given below: 

Satru-jit:  a) He Who conquers His enemies.
	b) He Who helps us defeat our worst enemy – the identity of 
the body with the soul.
	c) He Who gives His creation the means to defend themselves 
against their enemies.

a) Satrum jayati iti Satru-jit – He Who conquers the enemy is Satru-
jit.  SrI Sa'nkara's interpretation is:  sura-Satrava eva asya 
Satravah, tAn jayati iti Satru-jit – The enemies of the gods are His 
enemies, and He is the Conqueror of those, and so He is Satru-jit.

b) SrI cinmayAnanda sees in this nAma the message that bhagavAn is 
the One who can drive away the worst of all the enemies, that in our 
mind:  "In the bosom of man, his enemies are none other than 
consciousness of his body and the consequent passions of the flesh – 
both objective and subjective.  The seeker feels that these urges in 
him constitute a very powerful team of belligerent forces, and 
against their concerted onslaught he feels helpless".  But when an 
alert seeker turns to nArAyaNa who is in his own heart, all obstacles 
whither away, and thus He is the "Supreme Conqueror of all 
enemies".     In other words, it is the identification of the body 
with the soul that is the worst of our enemies.  Meditation on Him is 
the only means to conquer this enemy, and so He is called Satru-jit.

c) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha comments that bhagavAn displays His guNa 
of conquering the enemy, by giving His creation different means to 
defend themselves, such as the horns for the horned species, the 
nails for the lion etc., and other means for the other species to 
defend themselves.   

Satru-tApanah: a) The Torturer of the foes of His devotees.
		b) He Who destroys the negative tendencies in the 
devotee's heart.

a) SrI Sa'nkara gives the explanation – sura-SatrUNAm tApanAt Satru-
tApanah – The Tormentor of the foes of the gods.  SrI rAdhAkRshNa 
SAstri comments that this act of tormenting the Satru-s is to punish 
the evil-doers  even when they are alive, by meting out severe and 
unbearable punishments to them.  

b) SrI cinmayAnanda continues along the lines of his interpretation 
for the previous nAma, and comments that bhagavAn's nAma "Satru-
tApana" indicates that "When the devotee offers himself at the altar 
of His Feet, He (bhagavAn) burns down all the negative tendencies 
polluting this devotee's heart.  

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan




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