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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 80 - Part 1.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • December 6, 2002 


          

          SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam – Slokam 80 - a-mAnI.

	a-mAnI mAnado mAnyo loka-svAmI tri-loka-dhRt      |
	su-medhA medhajo dhanyah satya-medhA dharA-dharah    ||

om a-mAnine namah
om mAnadAya namah
om mAnyAya namah
om loka-svAmine namah
om tri-loka-dhRshe namah
om su-medhase namah
om medhajAya namah
om dhanyAya namah
om satya-medhase namah
om dharA-dharAya namah.

753. a-mAnI – a) He Who is not proud.
		b) He Who does not mistakenly identify things such as the body with
Atman.
		c) He Who is beyond all measure in all respects.

Om a-mAnine namah.

a) The nAma is derived from the root mAn – pUjAyAm – to honor, to
worship.  mAna means garva (pride), ahamkAra (the feeling of “I”), etc.
– garvo abhimAno ahmakArah (amara koSam 1.7.22).  The word a-mAnI means
One Who has no garva or ahamkAra (na mAno garvo yasya aiti amAnah).  He
is unconcerned about being respected by others – Atma-sammAna bhAva
rahitah (SrI satyadevo vAsishTha), even though He is the prabhu Who is
worshipped by the likes of brahma.   SrI bhaTTar gives the example of
bhagavAn undertaking to be a messenger for the pANDava-s, even though
He had to face indignities in the process.   His being the charioteer
for arjuna is another example of the same guNa of bhagavAn.  For the
good of the world, He does not hesitate to take incarnations even as a
Boar, a Fish, a Form with the face of a Lion, etc.  

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives references to prabandham in support:

mun Or tUdu vAnarattin vAyil mozhindu Â…Â…
Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…. avanE
pin Or tUdu Adi mannarkku Agi peru nilattAr
“innAr tudan” ena ninRAn …                           (periya tirumozhi
2.2.3)

“He became the messenger to the pANDava kings, and let Himself be
referred to as “so-and-so’s messenger”, even though He is the Supreme
Lord”.

 ANDAL describes Him in Her nAcciyAr tirumozhi 11.8 as “One Who is
willing to become mAna ilAp panRi”:

pASi tUrttuk kiDaNda pAr magaTkup paNDoru nAL
mASu uDambil nIr vArA mAnam ilAp panRiyAmÂ…..    

“He shamelessly took the Form of a varAha, with a dirty body and water
dripping all over, just for the sake of retrieving bhU devi who was
lying under the Ocean with fungus growing all over Her….”.  

nammAzhvAr refers to Him as “nADuDai mannarkkut tUdu Sel nambi” in
tiruvAimozhi 6.6.4.

b) SrI SaÂ’nkaraÂ’s interpretation is that He is called a-mAnI because He
has no mistaken notions of Atman in things that are not Atman – anAtma
vastushu AtmAbhimAno na asti asya iti a-mAnI.  

c) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives an additional interpretation using the
root mA – mAne – to measure, to compare with, and gives the meaaning
“One Who cannot be measured (with regard to strength, power, or any of
the other auspicious qualities)”.    The sense conveyed here is that
bhagavAn is a-prameya – Beyond the scope of definition.  

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan


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