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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 75 - Part 6.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • July 16, 2002 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 75 - san-nivAsah, su-yAmunah.

711. san-nivAsah - The Abode of the saintly.

Om san-nivAsAya namah.

The word nivAsah is derived from the root vas - nivAse - to dwell. 
nivAsa refers to a place of dwelling or a resting place.  SrI BhaTTar
gives the interpretation that bhagavAn has this nAma because He is the
abode of rest for great saints like Sanaka, even though He has assumed
the human form and the actions of ordinary human beings.  PeriAzhvAr
refers to this guNa of perumAL as "Ayar puttiran allan arum daivam"
(peria. tiru. 1.1.7);   in tiruvASiriyam (1), nammAzhvAr describes His
being worshiped by Sivan, ayan, indiran, etc. - "Sivan, ayan, indiran
ivar mudal anaittOr daivak kuZhA'ngaL kai tozhak kiDanda tAmarai undit
tanip-perum nAyaka" (references from SrI v.v. rAmAnujan).  SrI
rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives the support from rAmAyaNa, where tArA praises
rAma as "nivAsa vRkshah sAdhUnAm ApannAnAm parA gatih" (kishkindA.
15.19).  SrI BhaTTar gives the reference from vishNu purANam, where
akrUra describes his anubhavam of sanandana and other seers meditating
intensely on bhagavAn:

	sanandanAdyair-munibhih siddha yogair-akalmashaih    |
	samcintyamAnam tatrasthaih nAsAgra nysta-locanaih   ||    (vish. PurA.
5.18.42)

"(SrI kRshNa in gokulam) is the object of meditation for sanandana and
other seers, who remain there, who are flawless, who have attained
perfection in yoga and who do the meditation with their eyes fixed at
the tip of their nose".   

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha takes "sat" to mean "those that are permanent
and unchanging" - (satAm - vinASa rahitAnAm, pravAhato nityAnAm,
Apralaya sthAyinAm), and gives the interpretation that this nAma
indicates that He is the dwelling place of all these jIva-s who are
eternal, and who do not go through the cycle and birth and dealth (the
nitya sUri-s), and He also dwells in them (loka lokAntarANi nija
sattAyAm vAsayantam, teshu vA vasantam iti bhAvah).  

712. su-yAmunah - a) He with the delightful sport in the yAmuna river.
		b) He Who is attended by the good yAmuna-s.
		c) He Who has beautiful collyrium in His eyes.
		d) He Who lifts up and protects the jIva-s during the time of
pralaya.

Om su-yAmunAya namah.

The term yAmunah has been interpreted by SrI BhaTTar as "One who is
associated with the river yamunA".  YAmunam also means a kind of
collyrium that is applied to the eye;  some interpreters have used this
meaning as the basis for their interpretation.

a) SrI BhaTTar gives the interpretation "He with the delightful sport
in the yAmuna river" - Sobhanam pAvanam manoharam yamunAsambandhi
jala-krIDA pushpAcaya rAsa-krIDAdi yasya iti su-yAmunah - "He is
su-yAmunah because of all of His activities that are connected with
yamuna, activities which are pure, auspicious and fascinating like
water-sport (in its waters), culling of flowers (on its banks), and
dance with the gopis (on its sands)".  SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to
"tUya peru nIr yamunait turaivan" (tiruppAvai).  Because of association
with Lord kRshNa, yamunA is considered sacred even now.  nAthamunigaL
is said to have looked for any left-over from the divine gopi-s on the
banks of the yamunA river. 

b) SrI Samkara interprets the term yAmuna to refer to the gopa-s who
lived on the banks of the river yamunA (yamunA sambandhinah yAmunah); 
since Lord kRshNa was surrounded by the good yAmuna-s such as devaki,
vasudeva, nanda, yasodA, balabhadra, subhadrA, and others, He has this
nAma su-yAmunah.  SrI cinmayAnanda comments that these yAmuna-s were
not just keepers of cows, but were indeed the keepers of the milk of
knowledge of the upanishads.  He quotes from nArAyaNIyam in support:

	tAruNyAramya ramyam parama sukha rasa svAda romA'ncitA'ngaih 
	AvItam nAradAdyaih vilasat upanishad sundarI maNDalaiSca   ||  
(nArAyaNIyam daSaka 100.1)

"(I behold) the form of a divine boy, attractive with the advent of
adolescence and surrounded by nArada and others with their limbs
covered with hairs standing on end at the taste of the Bliss Supreme,
and by that bevy of charming maidens of the form of shining
upanishads".

c) SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj uses the meaning "a type of collyrium"
for the term yAmunam, and gives the interpretation "sundaram yAmunam
nayana a'njanam yasya iti su-yAmunah" - He Who has beautiful collyrium
decorating His eyes.  

d) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha uses the root yam - uparame - to lift up, as
the basis for his interpretation.  He gives the meaning "yacchati,
uparamayati - He who lifts up", to the word yAmunah.  His
interpretation is thus - Sobhano yAmunah su-yAmuno vishNuh - One Who
lifts up (the souls) in an auspicious way (during the time of pralaya)
- bhagavAn vishNuh mahApralaye svakIyayA vyavasthayA kArya kAraNa rUpam
idam samastam viSvam yacchati, pariNatam uparamayati, Samayati.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan


    



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