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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 74 - Part 3.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • June 4, 2002 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 74 - vasu-retAh.

697. vasu-retAh - a) The Source of Luster.
		b) He Who shines like gold in the context of creation.
		c) He Who is the cause or origin of the universe.

Om vasu-retase namah.

Starting from this nAma, up to nAma 786, SrI BhaTTar bases his
interpretations on the kRshNa incarnation of bhagavAn.   SrI v.v.
rAmAnujan has grouped the nAma-s up to 848 under the major title
"dushTa nigraha SishTa paripAlanam - the destruction of dushTa-s and
the protection of the virtuous".  

vasu as a noun can mean a class of deities (deva-bhedah), fire
(analah), a ray of light (raSmi), a rein or halter (vasU), gem (ratna),
wealth (dhana), vishNu, the intelligent or wise (vedhAh), etc. 

The following is from amara koSam:

	deva-bhede'nale raSmau vasU ratne dhane vasu   |
	vishNau ca vedhAh strI tvASIr-hitASamsAhidamshTrayoh   ||  (3-4- 288) 
 

The word retah is derived from the root rI - sravaNe - to flow.  The
term retas is used to refer to the semen or seed, cause, etc.  

a) SrI BhaTTar uses the meaning "luster", related to "raSmi" for the
word vasu -  vasu iti jyotih paryAyah, and the meaning "cause or
source" for the word retas, in his   interpretation for the nAma, and
thus gives the meaning "He Who is the Source of the Divine Luster".  He
is also the One from Whom the other objects including the Sun get their
light.   The nirukti summary for the nAma is -

	vasu Sabdo jyotir-artho retas-tat-kAraNam matam    |
	divya-jyotih kAraNatvAt vasu-retAh prakIrtitah   ||

SrI aNNa'ngarAcArya gives the interpretation for the nAma as "He Who
has His divya tejas as the cause for His incarnations". SrI v.v.
rAmAnujan gives the example of His kRshNa incarnation, where He entered
the garbham of devaki in the form of His jyoti.  

b) SrI Samkara's interpretation is - vasu suvarNam retAh asya iti
vasu-retAh.   This has been translated as  "He Whose essence is gold"
by one translator.  SrI Samkara quotes the following from vyAsa in
support:

devah pUrvam apah sRTvA tAsu vIryam upAsRjat     |
tad-aNDam abhavat haimam brahmaNah kAraNam param   ||

"The Lord created the waters, and cast His Power into them.  It became
the golden Egg, the prime source of Brahma".  As extract of the
description of SrI cinmayAnanda for the above follows:  "In the
beginning of creation were the primeval waters.  In this Ocean the Lord
dropped His Essence and it became a Golden Egg from which brahma, the
Creator, first arose.  Thus, Lord, as the womb of all Creation, is
mentioned in the purANa-s as hiraNya-garbha, the Golden Womb".  

c) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha uses the root vas - nivAse - to dwell, and
derives the meaning that One in Whom the whole universe resides is
vasu.  He uses the meaning "root" or "cause" for the term retah, and
thus gives the interpretation that vasu-retA refers to One Who is the
cause of all things in this universe.

The dharma cakram writer gives the analogy that just as gold serves as
the base material for all gold ornaments, so also He serves as the base
from which all other beings arise.  He shines like gold in the context
of creation.  Just as gold needs to be admixed with a small amount of
copper in order for it to be used in making jewels, so also the joining
together of His vIryam with the moola-prakRti results in the creation
of the universe, with its pa'nca bhUta-s etc.   

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan



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