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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 81 - gadAgrajah.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • December 24, 2002 


      SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 81 - gadAgrajah.

770. gadAgrajah – a) The elder brother of gada.
b)	 He Who was born as a result of mantra.
c)	 He Who pervades those who walk and talk (gada + agra + jah)
d)	 The Foremost among those who created sound (in the form of veda-s)
e)	  He Who keeps the brAhamaNa-s healthy (spiritually)

Om gadAgrajAya namah.

a) SrI bhaTTarÂ’s vyAkhyAnam is that kRshNa is the elder brother of a
child named gada, born to vasudeva after kRshNa.  GadaÂ’s mother is
sunAmA, one of the wives of vasudeva.  

b) SrI SaÂ’nakra sees the nAma as (ni)gada-agrajah, or born as a result
of mantra (as in the case of Lord rAma who was born as a result of
putra kAmeshTi yAgha).  He treats ni as lopa (left out, elided) in this
interpretation – nigadena mantreNa agre jAyata iti “ni” Sabda lopam
kRtvA gadAgrajah.  (gadyate iti gadah, referring to mantra-s).  He also
gives the interpretation “Elder brother of gada” as his second
interpretation.

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri notes that in her letters to kRshNa, rukmiNi
calls Him by this name, gadAgrajah.  

c) SrI vAsishTha gives a different interpretation:  He looks at the
nAma as gada + agra + jah.  For gada, he derives the meaning from gada
vyaktAyAm vAci – to speak;  For agra, he derives the meaning from agi –
gatau – to go; and he uses the meaning jAta – anupavishTa – who enters
or pervades, for the part jah.  Thus, his interpretation for the nAma
is “He Who pervades (in the form the soul) those that speak and those
that walk or move around.  Gadeshu – gadana Seeleshu, agreshu – gamana
Seeleshu, anupravishTo jAta iva pratIyamAno gadAgraja iti vishNor nAma.
 SabdAyamAne, gamanaSIle ca jIvita SarIra eva jIvAtmAnoÂ’vabhAsah
prakASa ityarthah.  

d) Another alternate interpretation by SrI vAsishTha is:  gadAnAm
vyaktam Sabdam kurvatAm manushyANAm agrajah –= jyeshThah = SreshThah –
The foremost and the best among those who have produced sound.  The
reference here is to His revelation of the veda-s.  For this reason, He
is also called vAcaspati.  

e) SrI satya sandha yatirAja, in addition to the interpretation for
gadAgrajah as “the elder brother of gada”, also considers  the
alternate pATham agadAgrajah, and sees the nAma as agada + agrajah. 
Here agada means healthy, without disease, and agraja refers to
brAhmins.  His interpretation is:  agadA nIrogiNo agrajA brAhmaNA
yasmAt iti agadAgrajah – He because of Whose Grace the brAhmaNa-s are
healthy.  The reference can be to spiritual health because of the vedic
chanting.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

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