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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 84 - lokasAra'ngah.

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champakam • January 19, 2003 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 84 - lokasAra'ngah.

789. loka-sAra'ngah – a) He Who preached the superficially acceptable 
goals in the world.
		b) He Who grasps the essence of the world like a 
sAra'nga or honeyubee.
		c) He Who is reachable through the essence (sAra) of 
the veda-s, namely praNava.
		d) He Who is the object of devotion (loka-sAra)
                e) He Who is attracted by bhakti
                f) He Who bestows moksham, and He to whom the j~nAni-s are attracted.
                g) He Who has devotees singing His auspicious qualities.

Om loka-sAra'ngAya namah.

a) SrI BhaTTar gives the vyAkhyAnam - "loke yat sAram tat gacchati 
iti loka-Sara'ngah" – He Who preached what was more immediately 
appealing outwardly from the veda-s.  SrI BhaTTar continues that in 
His deceitful role, He taught them that there are only two things to 
worry about:  1. How to enjoy while we live, and  2. How to get 
moksham at the end.   He told them "kurushvam mama vAkyAni yadi 
muktim abhItshTatha" (VP 3.18.5) – "If you want salvation, follow my 
words".   One should go through the entire chapter of SrI vishNu 
purANam 3.17 and 3.18 to have a full understanding of the Buddha 
incarnation.

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives support from nammAzhvAr's tiruviruttam 96:  

	vaNa'ngum tuRaigaL pala pala Akki madi vikaRpAl
	piNa'ngum Samaya'ngaL pala pala Akki, avai avai tORu
	aNan'ngum pala pala Akki nin mUrti parappi vaittAi
	iNa'ngu ninnOrai illAiÂ….

"You created several ways to worship You, including those that 
conflict with, and contradict each other; You created several gods, 
but there is nothing that can equal You".

SrI K. Ve'nkaTasAmi reDDiyAr has written a uRai for this pASuram, in 
which he explains that the reference here is to the different paths 
that He has created for worship for the rAjasic and tAmasic  people, 
including the gods and processes of worship associated with them.

SrI Sa'nkara uses the same meanings as above for the three parts of 
the nAma – loka, sAra, and a'nga, and gives two interpretations:

b)	lokAnAm sAram sAra'ngavat bhR'ngavat gRhNAti iti loka-
sAra'ngah – He Who grasps the essence of the 
world like a sAra'nga or honey-bee.  

c)	He Who is reachable through the sAra or essence of the veda-
s, namely the praNava.   loka-sArah – 
praNavah, tena pratipattavya iti loka-sAra'ngah.  

d) e) SrI satya devo vAsishTha derives the nAma starting from the 
roots lok – darSane – to see, to perceive; sR – gatau – to go; and 
a'ng – to go.  His approach is:  loka – He who is in the purview of 
vision is lokah, or He who shines with different aspects;   sR – 
gatau – to go.  By use of pANini sutra 3.3.17, (sR sthire) the word 
sArah refers to something that moves while remaining fixed;  for 
instance, candana sArah – the essence of sandal.  sthiro bhavati iti 
sArah – One who moves while remaining fixed throughout time is 
sArah.   Choosing the second of the two meanings given for loka, loka-
sAra is interpreted by SrI vAsishTha as  referring to bhakti towards 
bhagavAn (loke sAro bhagavti prema).  He Who is the recipient or 
object of this bhakti, or He Who is attracted by bhakti, is loka-
sAra'ngah – loka sArah  tad gacchati == prApnoti, tat prati AkRshTo 
bhavati iti loka-sAra'ngo vishNuh.

So the two interpretations that SrI vAsishTha gives for the nAma are:

He Who is the object of devotion (loka-sAra), or
He Who is attracted by bhakti

f) SrI satya sandha yatirAja gives the interpretation by viewing the 
nAma as loka-sAh + ra'ngah.  He uses the roots san – dAne – to give, 
and ra'nj – rAge – to be devoted to, in his interpretation.  His 
vyAkhyAnam is:  lokam vaikunThAdi lokam sanoti dadAti iti loka-sAh; 
rajyante j~nAninah atra iti ra'ngah; loka-sAh asau ra'ngaSca iti 
lokasA-ra'ngah – He Who bestows SrI vaikunTham, and He to Whom the 
j~nAni-s are devoted, is lokasA-ra'ngah.

g) The word sAra'nga also refers to a conch shell or a kind of 
musical instrument.  SrI baladeva vidyAbhUshaN takes the word lokA to 
refer to bhakta janAh – the devotees, and sAra'nga as a reference to 
a conch shell or a kind of musical instrument, and gives the 
interpretation for the nAma as "He Who has devotees singing His 
auspicious qualities" – lokA hari-bhakta-janAh Sara'ngA monodvatad 
guNa gAyakA yasya sa loka-sAra'ngah.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan



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