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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 34.

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Krishnamachari, N (Krish) • June 19, 1998 


		SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 34.

om ishTo'viSiSishTah SishTeshTah SikhanDI nahusho vr*shah        |
krodha-hA krodha-kr*t kartA viSva-bAhur_ mahI-dharah                 || 

om ishTAya namah 
om avSishTAya namah
om SishTeshTAya namah
om SikhanDine namah
om nahushAya namah
om vr*shAya namah
om krodhaghne namah
om krodha-kr*te namah
om kartre namah
om viSva-bAhave namah
om mahI-dharAya namah

309 - ishTah - a) One who is liked by everyone.
		b) One who is worshipped in ishTi or sacrifice.

om ishTAya namah.

He is ishTa because He is liked by everyone and this is because He is the
Supreme Bliss.  The dharma cakram writer emphasizes that there is nothing
else that is worth liking and going after, because nothing else is Permanent
Bliss.  We should learn to convert the desire that we have for material
objects to the desire for understanding AtmA, and ultimately to the desire
for paramAtmA. 

The second interpretation is self-explanatory, and is related to the term
ishTi which means sacrifice.

310. aviSishTah - a) He who is impartial to everyone.
		b) He who cannot be distinguished.
		c) He who has no equal.

om aviSishTAya namah.

He protects everyone just as a mother protects all of her children without
partiality.  Another interpretation is that He is aviSishTa because  He
cannot be distinguished by virtue of the fact that He is the antaryAmi in
everything.

It is unclear from the sources I have on whether SrI BhaTTar had interpreted
309 and 310 together as one nAma - aviSishTah ishTah - meaning He is one who
does not distinguish between beings and treats them all alike like a mother
her children.  Two of the four sources I have that follow SrI BhaTTar's
vyAkhyAna treat the two toegether as one nAma.

In the versions which treat these as two nAma-s, there is a further
variation for nAma 310 - viSishTa instead of aviSishTa - One who is Special
and Unique - One who is the noblest and most sacred.  This version is used
by SrI cinmayAnanDa. 

311. SishTeshTah - a) He who is dear even to eminent persons.
		b) He who dearly loves the eminent persons

om SishTeshTAya namah.

a) SishTAnAm ishTah SishTeshTah or b) SishTA ishTA asya iti SishTeshTah.
SrI Sankara gives reference to bhagavad-gItA - "priyo hi j~nAnino atyartham
aham sa ca mama priyah (7.17)" - I am dear to a j~nAni beyond description;
and he is also very dear to Me.  A j~nAni here refers to one who has
realized that the one goal that is worth striving for is He, and nothing
else;  thus, by his very nature, the only thing dear to him is BhagavAn.
SrI v.v.rAmAnujan gives reference to tiruppAvai - "veLLattaravil tuyil
amarnda vittinai uLLattukkoNDu  munivargaLum yOgigaLum". 

312. SikhanDI -  a) He who has the plume (or effulgence) of Lordship
		b) He who wears a peacock feather

om SikhanDine namah.

The word SikhanDa means a tuft of hair or the plume of a peacock.  SrI
BhaTTar uses the meaning  'crest'  to mean that He is at the crest or peak
of Lordship.  SrI Sankara gives the interpretation that this nAma refers to
Lord Kr*shNa as a cowherd boy, with the peacock feather in His head. 

313. nahushah - One who binds (the jiva-s by His mAyA).

om nahushAya namah.

nahyati iti nahushah.  SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri gives the interpretation that
He binds all beings through His beauty and soulabhyam.  SrI satyadevo
vAsishTha interprets this to mean that He binds (controls) all beings and so
He is nahushah.  This binding extends in the world we observe even to the
different parts of the body being bound appropriately so that they function
as a unit.  So also the different planets are bound together so that there
is order.

314. vr*shah - a) He who drenches (those who are scorched by the heat of
samsAra).
		b) He who showers His devotees with all that is asked for
		c) He who is the embodiment of dharma.

om vr*shAya namah.

The word is derived from the root vr*sh - to drench or to shower.  He also
showers whatever is asked for on His devotees, and so He is vr*shah in that
sense as well - kAmAnAm varshaNAt vr*shah - SrI Sankara.  He also gives the
following verse from mahAbhArata -

	vr*sho hi bhagavAn dharmah smr*to lokeshu bhArata         |
	naighanTuka padAkhyAnaih viddhi mAm vr*sha ityuta      ||   (SAnti
parva 330.23)

	"O arjuna! vr*sha is explained by the lexicographers and likewise
known in this world as sacred dharma.  Hence know Me as vr*sha".   Thus,
vr*sha and dharma are synonyms.

SrI BhaTTar interprets the next 8 nAma-s as referring to paraSurAma or
bhArgava rAma incarnation.

315. krodha-hA  - a) He who gave up His anger.
		b) He who destroys the anger in sAdhu-s.

om krodha-ghne namah.

krodham hanti iti krodha-hA.

SrI BhaTTar's interpretation:  At the mere request of KASyapa mahArshi, He
gave up His anger which had previously resulted in the destruction of 21
lineages of kshatriya-s.  SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives reference to divya
prabandham in support of this interpretation:  

	"mazhuvinAl avani araSai mUvezhu-kAl maNi-muDi poDi paDuttu udirak
kuzhuvAr punalil kuLittu ven-kopam tavirndavan" - periya tirumozhi 8-1-6.

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri points out that this nAma indicates that BhagavAn
can control His anger just at the mere thought of controlling it.  In His
incarnation as Lord rAma, we find that He became intensely angry at times
(rosham AhArayat tIvram - 3-30-19), (krodhasya vaSameyivAn - 6-59-136), but
only He can also get rid of this anger at will in an instant.

A lesson applicable in this context to real life is given by the dharma
cakram writer who quotes SrI paramahamsa on how to handle situations which
may require one to be angry - "Hiss but don't bite".    In other words, do
not ever let your anger get to a point where you cause harm to others.  

 SrI Sankara's interpretation:  He is krodha-hA since He helps the sAdhu-s
to overcome anger.  Anger is a result of unfulfilled desires, and when
desire is overcome, anger is also overcome.

316.  krodha-kr*t - He who developed anger.

om krodha-kr*te namah.

In HIs incarnation as paraSurAma, He got angry at kArta-vIrya and his
kshatriya race and destroyed 21 generations of them, before giving up His
anger as mentioned in the previous nAma.

SrI Sankara gives the meaning that He creates anger in people who are wicked
or bad -asAdhushu krodham karoti iti krodha-kr*t, and they cause their own
destruction because of this anger.  

317. kartA -  He who slays.

om kartre namah.

Continuing his interpretation of the sequence of nAma-s as describing
paraSu-rAma incarnation, SrI BhaTTar interprets this nAma as referring to
the slaying of kArta-vIrya.  SrI Sankara gives the meaning that He is kartA
or Creator of the Universe - kriyata iti karma jagat tasya kartA.  

SrI Sankara gives the interpretation for 316 and 317 as individual nAma-s,
and also suggests that the can be considered as one nAma together  -
krodha-kr*t-kartA - One who destroys those who demonstrate anger viz. the
asura-s.  For the purposes of accounting for 1000 nAma-s, 316 and 317 as
treated as one nAma in SrI Sankara bhAshyam, and as two in SrI BhaTTar's
vyAkhyAnam. 

om krodha-kr*t-kartre namah.

The interpretation in this case is krodha-kr*tAm daityAdInAm kartA chedaka
iti ekam nAma.  SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the interpretation - krodham
karoti iti krodha-kr*t krodha-kr*tam kr*ntati chinatti hanti vA sa
krodha-kr*t-kartA.

318. viSva-bAhuh - He who has arms for the good of the world.

om viSva-bAhave namah.

Bhagavan uses His arms for removing the thorns (evil-doers) for the good of
the world.  Hence He is is called viSva-bAhuh.   Again the context in which
SrI BhaTTar interprets the nAma is with respect to paraSurAma incarnation,
and thus the reference here is to the destruction of 21 generations of
rAkshasa-s.

SrI Sankara gives the meaning in a more general sense.  He is viSva-bAhu
since He has arms that are endless in number to support the world, and
extend everywhere for the same cause.   In SvetASvatara upanishad, we have
reference to viSvato-bAhuh ( 3.3).  Everything depends on Him, and in this
sense also He is viSva-bAhuh.  Thus, He has infinite arms for both
destroying the evil-doers (SrI BhaTTar), and for helping His devotees (SrI
Sankara).  In both cases, His actions are always for the good of the world.

The dharma cakram writer points out that as we use our hands in performing
our karma-s, BhagavAn performs the acts of creation, protection, etc. of the
world, and in this sense He is viSva-bAhu.  The nAma should also remind us
that these hands of ours are for doing good to others.

319. mahI-dharah - The Supporter of the world.

om mahI-dharAya namah.

mahIm dhatte iti mahI-dharah.  He supports the world by removing the
evil-doers or wicked people in the world.

SrI Sankara bhAshyam is that mahI means both pUjA (mahatva) and earth.  He
is mahI-dhara because He accepts the offerings from devotees or because He
supports the world.  SrI cinmayAnanda gives an example to explain the
meaning of 'support'.  This is like the cotton supporting the cloth, the
gold supporting the ornament, or the clay supporting a clay pot.  In this
sense, His supporting the world is the same as saying that the world and He
are inseparable and same, and the world is one of His manifestations.

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan