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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 82 - eka-pAt.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • December 31, 2002 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 82 - eka-pAt.

778. eka-pAt – a) He Who manifests only a part of His mahimA when He
takes incarnations amongst humans.
		b) He Whose manifestation in the form of this Universe is only
one-fourth of Himself.
		c) He Who is constantly on the look-out  as our Sole Protector (ekapo
+ at)


Om eka-pade namah.  (Both SrI satyadevo vAsishTha and SrI kRshNa datta
bhAradvAj gives the mantra corresponding to this nAma as eka-pAde
namah).  

The word pAda refers to a quarter of anything (one-fourth), or to the
foot.  Generically, the term is also used to ‘a part or a fraction’ of
something.  

a) SrI bhaTTar gives the interpretation that bhagavAn chooses to show
only a part of His greatness when He takes incarnations amongst us. 
(This does not mean that He actually has only part of His mahimA during
the incarnations.  He has His complete and undiminished attributes at
His command, but He just does not invoke them or use them.  This is
revealed in SrImad rAmAyaNam, where Lord rAma emphasizes that He is
only a human – aham mAnusham manye), even though viSvAmitra and others
know His true Nature.  See svAmi deSikanÂ’s description of the six
rahasyaÂ’s of His incarnations in Slokam 17 of SaraNAgati dIpikA, which
has been described previously).

SrI BhaTTar gives the following references:

-	amSAvatAro brahmarshe! Yo’yam yadu kulodbhavah (V.P. 5.1.2) – “O
Brahmarshi! This incarnation of the Lord as kRshNa in the yadu race is
only a small part of Himself”.  
-	AmSAmSena avatIrya urvyAm (V.P. 5.1.3) – “He has come down to this
world only with a part of a part of Himself”.  
-	VishNor-ardham mahA bhAgam putram ikshvAku nanadanam (bAla. 18.12) –
“rAma, the delight of the ikshvAku race, took birth as half the amSam
of vishNu”.  

b) SrI SaÂ’nkara gives the interpretation in terms of the purusha sUktam
passage “etAvAn asya  mahimA  | ato jyAyAgmSca pUrushah  | pAdo’sya
viSvA bhUtAni | tri-pAdasyAmRtam divi  | tri-pAd-Urdhva udait-purushah 
| pAdoÂ’syehAbhavAt punah  | tato vishvaÂ’ng vyakrAmat  | sASanAnaSane
abhi     | “  

In his purusha sUkta vyAkhyAnam, SrI K. SrInivAsa aiyeÂ’ngAr gives the
interpretation that the leela vibhUti which is expressed in His
manifestation through this universe is only a fourth of His mahimA. 
The remaining three-fourths is found in parama padam in His nitya
vibhUti.  The reference to one-fourth and three-fourth here really are
parts of His immeasurable mahimA.  

SrI SaÂ’nkara gives reference to the gItA in support:

	athavA bahunA etena kim j~nAnena tava arjuna     |
	vishTabhAyahamidam kRtsnam ekAmSena sthito jagat   ||  (gItA 10.42)

“But of what use to you is all this extensive knowledge O arjuna?  I
stand sustaining this whole universe with a fragment of Mine (My
power)”.

SrI baladeva vidyAbhUshaN gives the following reference from the smRti:

	aNDAnAm tu sahasrAnAm sahasrAnyayutAni ca  |
	IdRsAnAm tathA tatra koTi koTi SatAni ca   ||

All the thousands of universes together are nothing more than a tiny
part of Him.

c) SrI satya sandha yatirAja bases one of his interpretations by
looking at the nAma as ekapo + at, and using the root at –
sAtatyagamane – to go constantly (atati).  His interpretation is “ekapo
mukhya pAlakah san atati” – He Who is constantly on the lookout as the
Sole Protector.  

The root pA – rakshaNe – to protect (pAti – protects), also suggests
that the nAma can be viewed as meaning that He is the Sole Protector. 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan       

 



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