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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 76 - Part 4.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • August 9, 2002 


    SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 76 - a-dRptah, a-parAjitah.

719. a-dRptah - a) He Who is not proud Himself.
Or    dRptah -b) He Who is ever happy; c) He Who is proud.

Om a-dRptAya namah.

SrI BhaTTar gives his vyAkhyAnam using the nAma a-dRptah first,
followed by the vyAkhyAnam for the nAma as dRptah as an alternate.  
SrI Samkara uses dRptah in his vyAkhyAnam.  

a) SrI BhaTTar's interpretation for a-dRptah is - "One Who does not
become proud".  In His kRshNa incarnation, even though He did many
great things, He never became proud, because of His majestic nature.  
SrI BhaTTar quotes the following in support:

	evam vidhAni karmANi kRtvA garuDa-vAhanah    |
	na vismayam upAgamat pArameshThyena tejasA   ||  (mahA. SabhA. 51.28)

"Even though He did so many great things like these, He never became
proud, because of His majestic nature".

He is "nanadagopan kumaran", in other words, One Who is an obedient Son
to His father. (SrI v.v. rAmAnujan). 

SrI vAsishTha's anubhavam is that bhagavAn is a-dRptah (One Who is not
proud) since He never violates any of His commandments under any
circumstances, even though He is the Ultimate Controller of everything.
  
b) dRptah - He Who is ever happy.

SrI BhaTTar's interpretation if the nAma is taken as dRptah, is that He
is delighted with the love and care given by yasodA and nandagopa -
yasodA-nanda-lAlana dRptah.  He is "yasOdai iLam Si'ngam" (SrI v.v.
rAmAnujan). SrI Samkara gives the interpretation that He has the nAma
dRptah because He is ever blissful/satisfied, and is immersed in His
true nature which is Pure Bliss - svAtmAmRta rasAsvadanAt
nitya-pramudito dRptah.  

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj interprets the nAma as "nityam harsha
mayatvAt dRptah", and "garva rahitatvAt a-dRptah" - "He is dRptah
because of His eternal Blissful nature", and "He is a-dRptah because He
is devoid of pride". 

c) dRptah - He Who is proud.  SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri follows this line,
and gives the interpretation that bhagavAn is proud as the Fighter for
dharma.  

SrI vAsishTha: He is dRptah  - dRpyati iti dRptah - One Who causes us
to wonder as to who created all these worlds etc, (dRp - harsha
mohanayoh).  This is what causes the wise to seek the Ultimate Cause of
everything, and thus releases them from sorrow.   This dRptah-adRptah
combination is analogous to His nAma-s vi-Sokah and Soka-nASanah,
tadejati tan-naijati (ISAvAsya upanishad), etc.  

720. dur-dharah - a) He Who is difficult to control (as child kRshNa).
	b) He Who cannot be constrained by the evil-minded (duryodhana).
	c) He Who is difficult to be held in concentration (except by those of
trained mind).
	
Om dur-dharAya namah.

The word dharah is derived from the root dhR - dhAraNe - to hold, to
bear, to support;  The word duhkhena is interpreted in the sense of
"with great difficulty or trouble".  Thus, the meaning of the nAma
dur-dharah is "One Who can be held in one's mind only with great
difficulty", or "One Who is difficult to control and be held down
physically (as child kRshNa)".  SrI BhaTTar uses the latter meaning and
interprets the nAma in terms of kRshNa's childhood leelA-s.  The other
vyAkhyAna-kartA-s use the former meaning to illustrate the difficulty
of meditating on Him and realizing Him except by those with trained
minds.

a) SrI BhaTTar's interpretation is - "bAla leelAdiprasa'ngeshu
matta-mAta'ngatvAt tAbhyAm dur-dharah durvAra-ca'ncala ceshTitah" - He
(Child kRshNa), in His sportive activities in His childhood, was
uncontrollable by yasodA and nandagopa, like an elephant in ruts.  SrI
BhaTTar quotes the support from vishNu purANam (5.6.15):  yadi Saknoshi
gaccha tvam ati-ca'ncala-ceshTita - "O Thou of naughty acts! Now run
away if Thou canst" (yasodA's words to kRshNa after He was tied to a
mortar).   SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives support from divya prabandham: 
"kaDainda naR-pAlum tayirum nee piRandaduvE mudalAgap peRRaRiyEn
empirAnE!", veNNaik kuDattai uruTTi iLam piLLai kiLLi ezhuppi kaNNaip
puraTTi vizhittu kazhagaNDu Seiyum pirAnE!", "kanRinai vAlOlai kaTTi
kanigaL udira eRindu, pin toDarndu ODi Or pAmbaip piDittuk koNDATTinAi
pOlum nin tiRattEn allEn nambi!" (all from periAzhvAr's neerATTam).

b) In another sense, the nAma can be interpreted to mean that bhagavAn
cannot be restrained by the evil-minded people under any circumstance. 
SrI BhaTTar gives the following supports:

	imam hi puNDarIkAksham jidhRkshanti alpa-medhasah     |
	paTenAgnim prajvalitam yathA bAlo yathA'balAh           ||   (bhAra.
udyoga. 129.16)

"These men of little knowledge want to seize and bind Him just as a
weak boy or girl think of keeping under control the blazing fire with a
piece of cloth". 

	dur-grahah pANinA vAyuh duh-sparSah pANinA SaSau    |
	dur-dharA pRthivI mUrdhnA dur-grahah keSavo balAt    || (bhAra. Vana.
309.28)

"The wind cannot be caught by hand, nor can the moon be touched by the
hand, nor the Earth be supported by the head of a man; so also, keSava
cannot be caught by force".   

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri refers to kRshNa showing His viSva rUpam like an
uncontrollable elephant under rut when duryodhana tried to bind kRshNa
in his court.  

c) A third interpretation for the nAma is that bhagavAn is beyond the
grasp of anyone except through intense concentration and meditation
extending over several births, and in this sense also He is dur-grahah.

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri indicates that dhAraNa is an a'nga of yoga that
is between dhyAna and samAdhi, and is attained only after practicing
dhyAna over several births.  SrI Samkara gives this interpretation, and
quotes the gItA in support:

	kleSo'dhika-taras-teshAm avyaktAsakta-cetasAm    |
	avyaktA hi gatir-duhkham dhavadbhir-avApyate    ||   (gItA 12.5)

"Greater is their trouble whose minds are set on the Unmanifest; for,
the path of the Unmanifest is very hard for the embodied to tread". 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the derivation "duhkhena dhartum Sakhyo
dur-dharah" - One Who can be realized only with great difficulty.   SrI
kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives the interpretation - duhkhena AyAsena
dhriyate hRdaye a-samAhita-mAnasaih iti dur-dharah - He Who can be held
only with great difficulty by those who do not have a collected and
composed mind.  

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan


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