SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 65 - Part 1.
From the Bhakti List Archives
• January 28, 2001
SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 65 - Part 1.
SrI-dah SrI-Sah SrI-nivAsah SrI-nidhih SrI-vibhAvanah |
SrI-dharah SrI-karah Sreyah_SrImAn loka-trayASrayah ||
om SrI-dAya namah
om SrI-SAya namah
om SrI-nivAsAya namah
om SrI-vibhAvanAya namah
om SrI-dharAya namah
om SrI-karAya namah
om Sreyah-SrImate namah
om loka-trayASrayAya namah
612. SrI dah - The Giver of Glories.
om SrI-dAya namh.
As mentioned in the beginning of the explanation for nAma 608, SrI
BhaTTar continues to interpret the nAma-s up to 619 in terms of
bhagavAn's inseparable association with pirATTi. For the current nAma,
his explanation is that bhagavAn is the Giver of glory to lakshmi in
the form of supreme love which is eternal, fresh, and spontaneous. The
SrI that He gives lakshmi is makes her declare "agalagillEn iRaiyum"
(SrI v.v. rAmAnujan). SrI bhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is: nitya nUtana,
nir-vyAja praNaya rasa Sriyam tasyai dadAti iti SrI-dah. That is to
say, He is Her life itself. He gives references to SrI vishNu purANam
1.9.144 - vishNoreshA anapAyinI - She is ever inseparable from vishNu;
yuddha kANDam 121.19 - ananyA hi mayA sItA bhAskareNa prabhA yathA -
(rAma's words) - SitA cannot be without Me even as the Sun and its
luster cannot be separated from each other; sundara KANDam 21.15 -
(SitA's words) - ananyA rAghaveNAham bhAskareNa prabhA yathA - Just as
radiance cannot be separated from the Sun, I cannot be separated from
rAma.
If SrI is taken to mean wealth, then the interpretation is that He is
the Giver of wealth to His devotees. This is SrI Samkara's vyAkhyAnam
- Sriyam dadAti bhaktAnAm iti SrI-dah. SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam
centralizes this to the case of SrI Herself - He is the One who gives
Her the quality of SrI, just as She is the One who gives Him the
pUrNatvam. The idea is that the two are One inseparable tattvam.
Since bhagavAn is the Giver of wealth, the question arises: What kind
of wealth should we seek? The dharma cakram writer clarifies this.
There are two kinds of wealth. One is called preyas and the other is
called Sreyas (this has been explained in a previous write-up as well).
Preyas is the search for material wealth, and Sreyas is the search for
spiritual wealth. This is dealt with in detail in kaThopanishad. We
should learn to worship vishNu with the interest in seeking Sreyas, and
not preyas, even though bhagavAn will bestow whatever the seeker seeks.
The lesson to take from this nAma is that we should seek Sreyas in
this life by worshipping vishNu, as the means for attaining mukti.
In summary, the nAma illustrates that He is the Giver of wealth to His
devotees, and He is the Giver of the attribute of SrI to lakshmi, just
as She is the Giver of pUrNatvam to Him, and thus the two are one
inseparable tattvam. PerumAL and pirATTi are like the Sun and its
prabhA or luster.
613. SrI-Sah - a) He Who is the ISa or Lord of SrI.
b) He Who has SrI as His Ruler.
SrI + ISah = SrI-Sah. Here again the inseparable Oneness of the
tattvam of bhagavAn and pirATTi is reflected. SrI BhaTTar gives
reference to the description of lakshmi as:
"AdAvAtma guNatvena bhogya rUpeNa vigrahe |
AdhAraka svarUpeNa dAsI bhAvena vA sadA || "
"lakshmi is ever with bhagavAn either as His innate qualities in His
Transcendental Form, or in a delightful form in His body, or as His
support by Her essential nature as a devout servant". SrI v.v.
rAmAnujan explains this as: "pirATTi is in the form of His auspicious
qualities in His Transcendental Form, as His beauty (saundaryam) in His
divya ma'ngala vigraha form, and as His Support as well as servant", as
described in the SrI pA'ncarAtra samhitA. She is also His Ruler in
that He does not act without consent and approval from Her - SrI ISAh
asya sa SrI-Sah.
SrI v.v. rAmAnujan points to the nAma SrI-patih (nAma 610) in this
context.
SrI BhaTTar also refers us to SrI sanatkumAra samhitA 113, describing
lakshmi as the Ruler of bhagavAn: - "pum pradhAna Isvara IsvarI" -
lakshmi is the Ruler of the individual souls, or prakRti, and of the
Ruler Himself.
SrI Samkara interprets the nAma as meaning that He is the Lord of
wealth - Sriya ISah SrISah.
The nAma can thus be understood as illustrating that bhagavAn is the
Lord of all wealth, and He is also the Lord of lakshmi, who in turn is
His Ruler as well.
614. SrI-nivAsah - a) The Abode of lakshmi
b) The Support of lakshmi.
c) He who dwells in purified hearts.
d) He who resides where lakshmi resides.
om SrI-nivAsAya namah.
This nAma occurred earlier as nAma 185 (Slokam 20). The gist of the
vyAkhyAnam for the nAma in Slokam 20 is included here.
a) In Slokam 20, SrI BhaTTar interprets the nAma based on the incident
of bhagavAn churning the Milky Ocean. lakshmi emerges from the Ocean
and takes Her place on His vaksha-sthalam, with the declaration as
captured by nammAzhvAr: "agagillEn iRaiyum enRu alarmEl ma'ngai uRai
mArban (tiruvAi mozhi 6.10.10)". SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives several
references: paSyatAm deva devAnAm yayau vaksha sthalam hareh (SrI
vishNu purANam); en tiru vAzh mArvar (tiruvAimozhi 8.3.7); malindu tiru
irunda mArvan (mUnRAm tiruvantAdi 57); tiru ma'ngai ta'ngiya Sir mArban
(nAcciyAr tirumozhi 8.4). SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri describes the
inseparable oneness of bhagavan and pirATTi in terms of pirATTi being
the amRta creeper that surrounds bhagavAn who is like the kalpa vRksham
- yato lakshmIs-tato harih.
SrI Samkara bhAshyam for the occurrence of this nAma in Slokam 20 is:
yasya vkashasi anapAyinI SrIh vasati sah SrI-nivAsah - He in whose
vaksha-sthalam SrI always resides is SrI-nivAsah.
SrI cinmayAnanda describes SrI as connoting "all Glory and power,
faculties and strength, to be good and to perform creative acts of
righteousness". She is found to never reside permanently in any
bosom, except that of Lord vishNu. Even great sages and saints in
recorded history have come to compromise the perfection in them. The
only place where imperfections never enter to molest the serene essence
is the seat of Eternal Perfection, which is the bosom of nArAyaNa.
Hence mahA vishNu is indicated as SrI-nivAsa - The Permanent Abode of
lakshmi.
b) In the current Slokam, SrI BhaTTar interprets the nAma in terms of
the Oneness of bhagavAn and pirATTi - He is the contiguous support of
lakshmi - note the word nitya in the vyAkhyAnam - divya vallyA iva
kalpa drumah tasyAh nitya aupaghnah SrI-nivAsah.
c) SrI Samkara bhAshyam in the current instance of the nAma is:
SrImatsu nityam vasati iti SrI-nivAsah - He who dwells in devotees who
are endowed with SrI or virtue. SrI cinmayAnanda gives the
interpretation that SrI here refers to those who are pure at heart,
wherein the passions and lusts have been removed, and peace, joy,
devotion, and understanding reside. BhagavAn lives in the hearts of
these, who are here referred to as SrImAn's, or those who have SrI in
them.
d) SrI anantakRshNa SAstri gives the explanation that bhagavAn resides
where SrI resides, which is suggestive of the togetherness of bhagavAn
and pirATTi. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri quotes: yato lakshmIs tato harih.
Under Slokam 20, SrI cinmayAnanda explains the nAma as referring to
bhagavAn being the Permanent Abode of all auspicious qualities, unlike
in the case of everyone else, whom She blesses for a brief period of
time with a tiny part of some aspect of auspiciousness. Please see the
detailed description under Slokam 20.
The nAma "SrI-nivAsah" thus signifies that
- SrI lives in His vaksha sthalam inseparably (SrI referring to
pirATTi),
- He lives in those who are blessed with SrI or virtue (SrI referring
to the virtue in the devotees of bhagavAn)
- BhagavAn is the permanent Abode of all auspicious qualities (SrI or
virtue residing in Him always in full)
614. SrI-nidhih - a) He who has lakshmi as His wealth.
b) He in whom all wealth resides.
c) He who is the treasure house for SrI.
a) nidhi means wealth. Ho who has SrI as His wealth is SrI-nidhih.
SrI BhaTTar's anubhavam is that SrI has been placed in bhagavAn like a
gem-studded jewel in a casket. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri describes that
SrI is the personification of all His Sakti, and He treasures her and
protects her in His vaksha-sthalam and keeps her protected with His
pItAmbaram. She is the incarnation of all Sakti, and He is the resort
where all Sakti resides.
b) SrI Samkara gives the interpretation - sarva Saktimaye asmin akhilAh
Sriyoh nidhIyanta iti SrI-nidhih - He who is the resort of the entirety
of wealth, as He is all-powerful.
c) SrI cinmAyananda interprets the nAma as "He who is the nidhi for
SrI", and notes that He is All-Full and Perfect, all glories draw
themselves from Him alone. In this sense, SrI also draws her vitality
from Him, and He is thus the nidhi of SrI.
The dharma cakram writer explains the meaning behind the nAma as
follows: SrI refers to all that is good. As bhagavAn has declared -
He takes incarnations to protect the good and destroy the evil -
paritrANAya sAdhUnAm vinASAya ca dushkRtAm. This nAma indicates His
protecting SrI - the incarnation of all that good and virtuous. This
nAma teaches us that just as the good part of the food that is consumed
is converted into blood etc. and the bad part is discarded as waste, we
should retain what is good around us and discard what is not good.
Meditation on this nAma of vishNu with this understanding of the
meaning of this nAma will give us this ability.
The nAma SrI-nidhih thus means:
- He has SrI as His treasure
- SrI has Him as her treasure
- He is the resort of all wealth
615. SrI-vibhAvanah - a) He who owes His greatness to lakshmi.
a) He who bestows greatness on all according to their karma.
b) He who makes lakshmi's fame (vivhavam) known to everyone.
SrI BhaTTar gives the reference to sage vAlmIki - aprameyam hi tat
tejah yasya sA janakAtmajA (AraNya. 37.18) - "The tejas or splendor of
SrI rAma, who has sItA as His pirATTi, is beyond all measure". These
are the words of mArIca to rAvaNa. ANDAL dramatically describes the
extent of trouble He went through to get pirATTi - uNNAdu uRa'ngAdu oli
kaDalai UdaRuttu peN Akkai AppuNDa SelvanAr (nAcciyAr tirumozhi 11.6).
peN here refers to pirATTi who has no one to compare with.
b) SrI Samkara gives the interpretation that He is SrI-vibhAvanah
because He gives various forms of prosperity to all according their
karma-s - karmAnurUpeNa vividhAh Sriyah sarvabhUtAnAm vibhAvayati iti
SrI-vibhAvanah.
c) SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives the interpretation that He is
SrI-vibhAvanah because He spreads the fame of lakshmi by proudly
displaying His association with lakshmi, and by bestowing blessings on
all devotees through His association with lakshmi.
The dharma cakram writer explains in simple terms the complimentary
nature of perumAL and pirATTi. The analogy he gives is that when
wealth is in someone's possession who does not use it for anything
good, it is wasted. Neither the wealth of this person acquires fame,
nor does the possessor of this wealth. The dharma cakram writer gives
the example of a poor man who got seven jars of gold, six of them full,
and the seventh half full. He was taken by greed that the seventh jar
was only half full, and so started living a life with the aim of trying
to get the seventh jar filled up, and in the process suffered even more
in poverty than before he got the gold jars. This is not the purpose
of getting wealth. Instead, there are those who get wealth and then
use it to help those in need. They attain fame because of their
wealth, and their wealth also becomes famous because it is used for the
right purposes. BhagavAn has the wealth in the form of SrI
(mahAlakshmi), and He bestows all His devotees with blessings according
to their karma, and so He gets His fame. SrI gets the fame since the
wealth that He has because of His association with her is being used
for protecting dharma. Thus, the mutually complimentary nature of
bhagavAn and pirATTi is conveyed in this nAma, as in other nAma-s of
this group.
- To be continuedÂ…..
-dAsan
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