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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 55 - Part 1.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • June 18, 1999 


			SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 55 - Part 1.

		jIvo vinayitA sAkshI mukundo'mitavikramah      |
		ambhonidhir-anantAtmA mahodadhiSayo'ntakah   ||

om jIvAya namah
om vinayitre namah
om sAkshiNe namah
om mukundAya namah
om amita-vikramAya namah
om ambho-nidhaye namah
om anantAtmane namah
om mahodadhi-SayAya namah
om antakAya namah

515. jIvah - He who gives true life to His devotees.

om jIvAya namah.

jIvayati iti jIvah (SrI v.v. rAmAnujan).  He helps bhAgavata-s keep
away from committing sinful acts and thereby bringing about their ruin,
and instead makes them lead a life of Bliss by doing service to Him. 
SrI rAmAnujan corroborates this interpretation of SrI BhaTTar by
reference to periAzhvAr - eyiRRiDai maN koNDa endai irAp-pagal Oduvittu
ennaip-payiRRip-paNi koNDAn (5.2.3).  He even made the squirrels do
service to Him and thus enjoy the bliss of kaimkaryam to Him.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the more general interpretation viz. that
bhagavAn is the cause of sustenance of everything - jIvayati prANAn
dhArayati iti jIvah. 

516. vinayitA - a) The Savior.
		b) He who shows the path to everyone.

om vinayitre namah.

SrI BhaTTar derives the interpretation from the root nay, which has teo
meanings - gatau rakshaNe ca - to go or to protect.  SrI BhaTTar uses
the second of the two meanings.  In fact he states that bhagavAn
protects His devotee-s with love and affection and treats them like
princes - rAjakumAra lAlanena rakshati.  SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives the
moving example of Lord rAma's words of concern to sugrIva after his
first fight with vAli, where he was defeated and had to come back.  
rAma says "tvayi ki~ncit samApanne kim kAryam sitayA mama" (yuddha
kANDam) - "Of what use is it to me to get sItA if even the slightest
harm has been caused to you?" - such was the concern and love that he
had for a mere monkey-king.  We have nammAzhvAr's words in tiruvAimozhi
- j~nAlattUDE naDandum ninRum kiDandirundum SAlap pala nAL ugandOr
uyirgaL kAppAnE (6.9.3) -  You show your standing pose, your reclining
beauty, your sitting posture on different occasions to sustain the
lives of those who seek Your protection.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha bases his interpretation using the first
meaning given above for nay viz. to go.  His interpretation is -
sarvasya jagato gatim prAyayitA gater-dAtA ityarthah - He shows the
path to everyone, or gives direction to everyone.

517. sAkshI - The Observer.

om sAkshiNe namah.

BhagavAn is the Observer within every one of us.  uLLuvAr uLLiRRellAm
uDan irundu aRidi - tirumAlai 34 (SrI v.v. rAmAnujan).  SrI BhaTTar's
interpretation is that bhagavAn is so concerned about the welfare of
His devotees that He constantly observes them to make sure no harm
comes to them. 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the interpretation - sAkshAt drashTA
sAkshI - He Who sees things as they truly are, or it can also mean He
who sees things for Himself.  Since bhagavAn is inside us, outside of
us, and is everywhere and in everything, He is the the sAkshI of
everything that happens inside us and outside of us.  SrI vAsishTha has
composed the following Slokam as his interpretation for this nAma -

	sAkshI sa vishNuh sa hi darSano vA drashTA svayam sa hi sUrya cakshuh 
   |
	j~nAnam hi cakshuh r*tamAtrabodhah so'ntargatah paSyati viSvamAtram  
||

SrI Sa~nkara and others who follow his vyAkhyAnam have interpreted
nAma-s 516 and 517 together as one nAma - vinayitA_sAkshI - He who
witnesses or observes the humility of His devotees.  

518. mukundah - He who gives moksha.

om mukundAya namah.

Both SrI Sa~nkara and SrI BhaTTar give the same vyAkhyAnam - muktim
dadAti iti mukundah.  SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives several references to
divya prabandham:  pul eRumbu Adi onRu inRiyE naRpAl ayoddhiyil vAzhum
SarASaram muRRavum naRpAlukku uyttanan (tiruvAimozhi 7.5.1); anRu
SarASara~ngaLai viakundattERRi (perumAL tirumozhi 10.10); viNNulagam
taruvAnAi viraiginRAn (tiruvAimozhi 10.6.3), etc.

Both SrI Sa~nkara and SrI BhaTTar have given reference to the pANini
sUtra 6.3.109 - pr*shodarAdIni yathopadishTam  to support the
derivation of the word mukunda from muktim dadAti - "The elision,
augment and mutation of letters to be seen in pr*shodara etc., while
not found taught in treatises of grammar, are valid, to that extent and
in the mode, as taught by the sages".   

519. amita-vikramah - a) He of boundless valor.
		b) He of the three great strides (tri-vikrama).

om amita-vikramAya namah.

SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is that bhagavAn is the Supporter of all
Realities such as prakr*ti.  He is known by the name AdhAra Sakti -
AdhAra Sakti samj~nasya amUrtasya ca vai vibhoh (SrI paushkara).  SrI
V. N. vedAnta deSikan's English translation of of the vyAkhyAnam for
this nAma by SrI M. V. rAmAnujAcArya is "The Lord is of inestimable
capacity to bear". 

SrI Sa~nkara gives two interpretations for the nAma.  One is based on
vikrama referring to Saurya, which means strength, power, might -
amitam vikramaNam Sauryam asya iti amita-vikramah.  The nAma occurs in
SrImad bhagavad-gItA in Slokam 11.40 - anantavIryAmitavikramastvam Â….,
which is translated by SrI tirukkaLLam nr*simharAghavAcArya svAmi as
immeasurable parAkramam, which stands for  heroism, prowess, courage,
valor. 

The second interpretation SrI Sa~nkara gives for the nAma is based on
the meaning "stride, step, pace" for vikramah, or vikramaNa - amitA
aparicchinnA vikramAstrayah pAdavikshepA asya - He whose three strides,
or steps, were immeasurable.  The reference here is to the tri-vikrama
incarnation. The Lord's steps were so vast, they were indeed
immeasurable. 

 The root kram - pAdavikshepe - to walk, to step, is the basis for the
derivation of the interpretation by SrI satyadevo vAsishTha, which is
the same basis on which SrI Sa~nkara's second interpretation above
rests.  However SrI vAsishTha interprets the nAma as meaning that
bhagavAn has innumerable or countless strides in His manifestations. 
This diversity or extensive manifestation is also reflected in
everything around us -  the Earth, the sky, and the region in between;
rajas, tamas and sattva guNa-s; sun rise, mid-day, and the sunset; 
etc.
 
-To be continued

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan


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