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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 67 - Part 1.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • March 6, 2001 


				SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 67.

	udIrNah sarvatas-cakshur_anISah SASvata-sthirah     |
	bhUSayo bhUshaNo bhUtir_aSokah Soka-nASanah    ||

om udIrNAya namah
om sarvatas-cakshushe namah
om anISAya namah
om SASvata-sthirAya namah
om bhU-SayAya namah
om bhUshaNAya namah
om bhUtaye namah
om a-SokAya namah
om Soka-nASanAya namah

630. udIrNah - a) He Who visibly manifests Himself through His
incarnations.
		b) He who is superior to all beings
		c) He who elevates His devotees to His level.

Om udIrNAya namah.

a) SrI BhaTTar interprets this nAma and the subsequent few nAma-s as
describing the arcA form of bhagavAn.   In this context, he interprets
the nAma "udIrNah" as "ullasitah" which means "shining, bright,
becoming visible" and gives the meaning "He has a pleasing and splendid
form that is clearly visible to the eyes of the devotee".

b and c) SrI Samkara's interpretation is "sarva bhUtebhyah
samudriktatvAt udIrNah" - He who is superior to all beings.  

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha derives the words starting from the upasarga
"ut" and the root Ru - gatau - to go, and gives the meaning - One who
is above all beings.  Alternatively, he says that the nAma can signify
that He is udIrNah because He lifts everyone up.  SrI kRshNa datta
bhAradvAj essentially gives the same explanation - ut - abhyudayam,
Rccahati - prApayati sma eva sadaiva svASritAnAm iti udIrNah.  Thus, he
also derives the nAma from ut, and the root R - to go, and gives the
meaning that bhagavAn is called udIrNah because He lifts up His
devotees so that they reach Him. 

The dharma cakram writer illustrates at different levels how bhagavAn
is superior in all respects.  In sheer size of His form, He permeates
everything, and everything is His body, so there is no one who has a
bigger form than Him.  In superiority of Power, we know through His
incarnations that there is no one superior to Him in His Power.  In the
area of controlling indriyas and mind, bhagavAn is the yogISvara, and
there is none superior to Him in this aspect also.  In the area of Love
to everyone, bhagavAn demonstrated that there is none equal to Him in
this aspect by His leelA-s in gokulam.  When it comes to knowledge,
there is nothing more to know for one who has known mahA vishNu; since
He is the ultimate in knowledge.  Thus, no matter what aspect one looks
at, there is nothing superior to Him.  This nAma should reveal to us
this great and at the same simple Truth, and thus lead us to meditate
on Him.

631. sarvataS-cakshuh - a) He Who is visible to the eyes of all.
		b) He who has eyes everywhere, and sees everything through His
consciousness.

Om sarvatas-cashushe namah.

a) SrI BhaTTar:  He is sarvataS-cakshuh because He is visible to the
likes of even ordinary people like us.  He has been visible to the
people of His time when He took incarnation as rAma, kkRshNa, etc., and
He is visible to us today in the form of arcA mUrti in the temples and
in our houses.  This again supports His being chinna-samSayah as we saw
in nAma 629.  He delights His devotees with His complete darSanam.  

b) SrI Samkara:  He is sarvataS-cakshuh because He has eyes everywhere,
and thus sees everything through His consciousness.   Sarvatah sarvam
sva-caitanyena paSyati iti sarvatS-cakshuh.  Through His caitanyam
which is natural to Him, He sees everything always.  The Sruti says -
He has eyes on all sides - viSvataS-cakshuruta viSvatas-pAt  (SvetASva.
3.3).   

632. anISah - a) He Who is not the Master. 
 b) He Who has no one above Him as the Master.

Om anISAya namah.

a) SrI BhaTTar:  He is called anISah since when it comes to His
devotees, He does not assert or display His rulership, and instead, is
completely subservient to them.  We already saw several examples of
this in our explanation of the nAma 627 - vidheyAtmA.  SrI v.v.
rAmAnujan presents this idea more graphically by pointing out that
bhagavAn becomes dependent on the likes of us to bathe Him and feed Him
in His arcA form!  PeriAzhvAr describes this act of His becoming
dependent on His devotees thus - AycciiyAgiya annaiyAl anRu veNNei
vArttaiyuL sIRRamuNDu azhu kUtta appan (tiruvAi. 6.2.11).  He just puts
up a show of weeping and crying to show how subservient He is to yaSodA
at the very thought that she may get angry at the remote suggestion
that He may be involved in any reported incident of butter being
stolen. 
b) SrI Samkara:  He is called anISah because He has no one above Him as
His Master - na vidyate asya ISa iti anISah.  He quotes from the Sruti
- na tasya ISe kaScana - nArAyaNa. Upa. 3.2.   SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri
gives the additional example - na tasya kaScit patirasti loke na ceSilA
- SveTASva. 6.9. 

The dharma cakram writer points out that the lesson to take from this
nAma is that one who is devoted to bhagavAn has bhagavAn Himself under
his control, and so devotion will lead one to the state where there is
no one who will be a master of the bhakta.  This is the greatness of
devotion or bhakti.  

633. SASvata-sthirah - He Who is eternally existent and steady.

Om SASvata-sthirAya namah.

SASvata means eternal, always, and sthirah means stable.  

SrI BhaTTar:  He assumes the various forms of the images (arcA forms)
which continue to exist for ever and which are directly perceptible to
the eyes, at all times.  SrI BhaTTar quotes from the sAttvata samhitA -
bimba AkRtyA AtmanA bimbe samAgamya avatisThate - "He assumes a form
similar to that of the image (fashioned by us), enters into it and
remains there".  The reference here is to the arcA mUrti-s.  

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj also interprets the nAma in terms of
bhagavAn's vAtsalyam to His devotees - He is eternally stable in His
vAtsalyam to His devotees.  His vyAkhyAnam is:  SASvat bhava iti
SASvato nityah |  sa ca asau sthira iti SASvata-sthirah - nityam
svASrita vAtsalya pratishThitah |

SrI Samkara:  Even while being Eternal, He is also unchanging and
stable - SaSvat bhavannapi, na vikriyAm kadAcit upaiti iti
SASvata-sthirah.

The dharma cakram writer points out that when our mind is involved with
things that change, our likes and dislikes are also changing.  For
example, if we get attracted to a body that is young, we lose the
attraction when the body becomes older.  But if we involve our mind
with paramAtmA, who is never changing, there is no question of our
changing constantly between likes and dislikes.   One who involves his
mind in the Supreme Self also attains eternal and stable piece,
knowledge, and love.  The likes of us who have an impermanent body and
live in this impermanent world can attain permanent peace and permanent
joy by meditating on the etrnal and stable Self - the SASvata-sthirah. 
This is the significance of this nAma.

-To be continued.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
 







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