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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 33.

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Krishnamachari, N (Krish) • June 4, 1998 


			SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 33.

	yugAdi-kr*t yugAvarto naika-mAyo mahASanah          |
	adr*Syo vyakta-rUpaSca sahasra-jit ananta-jit                ||

om yugAdi-kr*te namah
om yugAvartAya namah
om naika-mAyAya namah
om mahASanAya namah
om ad*SyAya namah
om vyakta-rUpAya namah
om sahasra-jite namah
om ananta-jite namah

nAma-s starting from this, up to nAma 313, are interpreted by SrI BhaTTar as
referring to the vata-patra-SAyI avatAra or the incarnation as a Child on
the banyan leaf.  

301. yugAdi-kr*t - The Creator at the beginning of a yuga.

om yugAdi-kr*te namah.

SrI BhaTTar gives the interpretation "yugasya ante'pi Adim karoti" - Even at
the end of a yuga, He makes the beginning of another.  Even at the
dissolution of the Universe, He saves it from the distress of Deluge by
beginning the Universe again; even at the end of the Universe through
pralaya, He begins Creation again.

SrI Sankara gives the derivation yugAdeh kAla-bhedasya kartr*tvAt
yugAdi-kr*t - He is called yugAdi-kr*t because He is the cause of periods of
time such as yuga.  According to SrI cinmayAnanda, Adi here refers to other
divisions of time such as centuries, years, months, days, etc.   

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri suggests that through these divisions of time, like
the day and night following each other, He gives a meaning of continuity to
time which is otherwise a never-ending cakra or circle with no beginning or
end.   The word yuga is derived from the root yuj - yoge - to unite.  He
creates the continuity or connectivity between one yuga and another by
ensuring that the life-forms are re-created according to their karma-s.  A
related alternate interpretation given by SrI Sankara is yugAnAm Adim
Arambham karoti iti yugAdi-kr*t - The Institutor of the yuga etc.  It may be
recalled that there are four yuga-s, kr*ta, tretA, dvApara, and kali.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha interprets yuga as kAla-cakra, Adi as beginning, and
the term yugAdi as referring to the Sun, who is the cause of the division of
time as day and night etc.  He then interprets yugAdi-kr*t as the One who
created the Sun or One who created the kAla-cakra.  

The dharma cakram writer points outs the limited  nature of our body and our
life in this world in the context of this huge, immeasurable, and unending,
kAla or time.  Instead of wasting it on petty goals, and worrying about the
past which is gone or the future on which we have no control, we should
learn to meditate on Him in the present, over which we have control.

302. yugAvartah - He who revolves the yuga-s or aeons.

om yugAvartAya namah.

Avarta refers to revolution or rotation.  SrI BhaTTar's interpretation is
that He is yugAvarta because He makes the kr*ta and other yuga-s go round
again and again with their respective dharma-s.  (It is said that if the
extent of dharma in the society in kr*ta yuga is 100%, that in tretA yuga is
75%, in dvApara yuga is 50%, and that in kali yuga is 25%.  kr*ta yuga is
also called satya yuga based on this).  This rotation is seen in a dimension
where we can relate to it easily in the form of day and night, morning,
afternoon, and evening,  the four seasons with their constant attributes
(rain, snow, heat, etc.,) repeating again and again.

He is not only the Creator of Time as we saw in the previous nAma, but He is
also the Administrator of Time as we see in this nAma.

303. naika-mAyah - He of multifarious wonders.

om naika-mAyAya namah.

This is one of the nAma-s for which the interpretation of SrI BhaTTar and
SrI Sankara are purely based on the respective philosophies (viz.
viSishTAdvaita and advaita respectively) to which they subscribed.

SrI BhaTTar points out that mAyA here refers to knowledge or wonderful
truths, and should not be interpreted as illusion.   He is naika-mAya
because of His innumerable and wonderful exploits.  He gives several
examples to point out the use of the word not as illusion but as truth,
knowledge, etc.  

"mAyAm tu prakr*tim vidyAt" - Know that mAyA is prakr*ti or Primordial
Matter. 
"mAyA vayunam j~nAnam" - all signify knowledge, according to niruktam.
In vishNu purANa, there is mention of Lord vishNu destroying the thousands
of mAya-s of SambarAsura with His discus.  If mAyA here refers to illusion,
then a discus was not needed to destroy it; so obviously here mAyA refers to
real objects.

SrI Sankara gives the interpretation that this nAma refers to His assuming
many forms of illusion.  

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha derives the meaning from the root mA - mAne - to
measure, and gives the interpretation that this nAma means that He has
innumerable dimensions to Him.  


304. mahASanah - He who is a voracious eater.

om mahASanAya namah.

mahat aSanam yasya sah mahASanah.  The root is aS - bhojane - to eat.  The
reference here is to His swallowing the seven worlds.  

Recall the pASuram "ulagam uNDa peru vAyA".  Also we have from tiruvAi mozhi
-
 "kArEzh kaDalEzh malai Ezh ulagu uNDum
                 ArA vayiRRAnai aDa~ngap piDittEnE" - 10-8-2.

SrI Sankara refers to His act of consuming everything during the time of
pralaya.   

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives another additional derivation for this nAma
based on aS - vyAptau sa~nghAte ca - to pervade, to accumulate.  So in
addition to the meaning that His food is huge, he also gives the alternate
interpretation that His pervasion or vyApti is large or extensive.  

305. adr*Syah - He Who cannot be seen.

om adr*SyAya namah.

BhagavAn's acts are inscrutable.  In mahAbhAratam, we have

	katham nu ayam SiSuh Sete loke nASam upAgate    |
	tapasA cintayanScApi tam SiSum nopalakshaye       || (vana parva -
191-94)

	"When the entire world has met with destruction, how come this child
is alive and lying down  (on a leaf)?   Even though I try to understand this
through the power of my austerities, I am unable to understand the true
nature of this child".

SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to nammAzhvAr - "katkilI unnaik kANumARu aruLAi
- tiruvAi mozhi 7.2.3.  katkilI here means One who cannot be seen through
our normal vision.   In the upanishad-s we have "adreSyam agrAhyam
agotram...."  (muNdakopanishad 1.1.6),  "adr*Syam avyavahAryam agrAhym
alakshaNam...SAntam Sivam advaitam..." (mAnDUkya 1.7).  

The dharma cakram writer points out that He is adr*Syah because He cannot be
recognized through the five senses, nor by logical analysis.  For that
matter, it is only His Grace that can make Him be realized.

306. vyakta-rUpah - He of a manifest form.

om vyakta-rUpAya namah.

His celestial form is easily visualized by the sages such as mArkaNDeya.

	atasI-pushpa samkASah SrI-vatsa kr*ta lakshNah      |
	sAkshAt lakshmyA iva AvAsah sadA pratibhAti me ||  (bhArata - vana
188.96)

	"He, who is like the blue lily flower in color, and who is adorned
by the SrIvatsa mole, appears to me always as the abode of Lakshmi".

	tasya tAmra-talau tAta! caraNau supratishThitau         |
	sujAta-mr*du-raktAbhih a~ngulIbhih alamkr*tau       ||
	praNatena mayA mUrdhnA gr*hItvA hyabhivanditau ||  (bhArata - vana
188.13)

	"O Dear! His two feet with red surface adorned by the lovely soft
and red toes, were firmly placed on my head when I bowed with bent head and
worshipped Him".

Notice that just in the previous nAma we had seen Him to be adr*Sya, and now
we encounter Him as vykata-rUpa.  The difference is that in the previous
nAma we saw that He cannot be seen through the normal means of perception.
In the current nAma we see that He is easily perceived by His devotees who
have transcended the influence of the five senses.  SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri
points out that the ca in the Slokam - vyakta rUpaSca - indicates that even
while being adr*Sya, He is of vykata-rUpa or manifest form to His devotees,
through so many incarnations etc.

The dharma cakram writer points out that the previous nAma revealed vishNu's
attribute which is beyond our perception, and the current nAma reveals His
attribute of being present in everything as antaryAmi.

307. sahasra-jit- The Conqueror of thousands.

om sahasra-jite namah.

SrI BhaTTar interprets the 'thousands' here as referring to thousands of
aeons or Time which He conquers by being in yoga-nidrA while everything else
is dissolved in pralaya.   SrI Sankara interprets it as referring to His
conquering thousands of enemies or asura-s in battle. 

308. ananta-jit - One whose victory is endless, limitless, countless.

om ananta-jite namah.

He is ananta-jit because He has everything that exists under His control.
In every incarnation He alone wins in the end.  SrI BhaTTar gives the
interpretation that His mahimA or greatness is beyond comprehension.  

-dAan kr*shNamAcAryan