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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 77 - Part 2.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • August 31, 2002 


       SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 77 - mahA-mUrtih,
dIpta-mUrtih.
	  
723. mahA-mUrtih - a) He of Immense form.
	b) He Who is immensely worthy of worship.

Om mahA-mUrtaye namah.

a) SrI BhaTTar explains that His body is immense because it is the
resort for everything in the entire Universe.   He gives reference from
the gItA as support:

	ihaikastham jagat kRtsnam paSyAdya sa-carAcaram     |
	mama dehe guDAkeSa! yacchAnyat drashTum icchati    ||   (gItA 11.7)

"guDAkeSa! See now the whole Universe with all the things moving and
non-moving, in one corner of My body, and you may also see (in My body)
anything else you wish to see (because everything is part of  My
body)".  SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri refers us to gItA 11.13, which
describes arjuna's seeing the whole Universe in His body:

	tatraikastham jagat-kRtsnam pravibhakta-manekadhA   | 
	apaSyat deva-devasya SarIre pANDAvas-tathA   ||   (gItA 11.13)

"There (in that form) arjuna beheld the whole Universe, with its
manifold divisions gathered together in one single spot within the body
of (Lord kRshNa) the God of gods".

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives reference to tiruma'ngai AzhvAr's peria
tirumozhi, where AzhvAr describes perumAL's mahA mUrti form -
aLattarkku ariyAi - beyond measure.  If this whole Universe is but a
tiny part of His body, one can only try to imagine His true mahA mUrti
form.  

b) SrI kRshNa datta bhArdvAj interprets the word mahA as "pUjanIya", or
worthy worship, instead of "big" in size.  His interpretation is -
mahatI pUjanIyA mUrtih AkRtih yasya iti mahA-mUrtih.  

The dharma cakram writer comments that the mahA mUrti form of bhagavAn
illustrates a few points:  a) It illustrates unity in diversity.  Even
though each embodied soul has its body, all are ultimately dependent on
Him, and are part of His body.  b) BhagavAn's body includes sRshTi
(creation), sthiti (existence), as well as samhAram (destruction).   In
order for one life to live, another life is destroyed.  In order to
realize Him, sAdhanA is required, and for this a body is required.  All
these functions are happening in Him because these are essential for
the jIva-s to ultimately evolve towards Him and realize Him.  The
embodied souls do not realize Him because of the screen they have
created between Him and them through their karma-s.  When they refine
their minds through several births and divert their minds towards Him,
He will bless them with His anugraham, and they will see His mahA mUrti
form and beyond.  

724. dIpta-mUrtih - He with a shining form.

Om dIpta-mUrtaye namah.

dIptA a-prAkRta tejomayI mUrtih AkArah yasya iti dIpta-mUrtih - He Who
has a form which shines exceptionally.  SrI BhaTTar observes that
anything in this Universe which shines is only because it gets its
shine from Him.  He quotes the gItA Slokam 10.41 in support:

	yad-yad vibhUtimat sattvam SrImad-Urjitameva ca    |
	tat tadevAvagaccha tvam mama tejo'mSa sambhavam   ||

"Whatever being is possessed of power, or of splendor, or of energy,
know that as coming from a fragment of My power".    Sri rAdhAkRshNa
SAstri gives reference to kaThopanishad - tameva bhAntam anubhAti
sarvam (2.2.15) - While shining by Itself, It also illuminates
everything else.    SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives references to divya
prabandham in support:  nandAda kozhum SuDarE! e'ngaL nambI (peria
tirumozhi 1.10.9); oLi maNi vaNNan (tiruvAimozhi 3.4.7) - describing
His dIpta mUrti character or guNa.

SrI Samkara's vyAkhyAnam is that He is called dIpta-mUrtih because He
is the incarnation of Wisdom    
(dIptA j~nAna mayI mUrtih yasya iti dIpta-mUrtih),  or because He
assumes the radiant form at His own will (svecchayA gRhItA tejasI
mUrtih asya iti vA dIpta-mUrtih).  SrI cinmayAnanda gives reference to
gItA 11.12, where sa'njaya describes the splendor of Lord kRshNa to
dhRtarAshTra - divi sUrya-sahasrasya bhavedyugapadutthitA - If a
thousand Suns were to blaze simultaneously in the sky, the splendor of
this is only a fraction of the splendor of that Mighty Being. 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha uses the term dIpta not only in the sense of
resplendence, but also in the sense of "explicit", and not hidden.  
Thus he comments that unlike the humans who sometimes tend to hide what
they do from others, bhagavAn does not have a need to hide anything
from anyone.  He gives the example of a woman who is to deliver a baby,
the signs of which are explicit right up to the time of the baby's
delivery.

The dharma cakram writer distinguishes between two types enlightenment:
 the enlightenment of the objects externally through the sunlight, and
the enlightenment of the mind through knowledge.  BhagavAn enlightens
everything externally in the form of the Sun, and He enlightens us
internally through our minds.  The bad acts in the external world
invariably take place when the Sun is out, and when it is dark.  It is
the external light of the Sun that keeps crime away.  Similarly, the
internal light is needed for keeping the mind clean, and keeping
negative thoughts away.  The gAyatrI mantra is one way that bhagavAn
has provided for inducing and enlightening the mind.  The significance
of this nAma is to realize that bhagavAn controls everything in this
world both externally and internally by being the antaryAmi of
everything, and cultivating our mind to seek Him who enlightens our
minds. 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan


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