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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 88 - aSvatthah.

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champakam • March 23, 2003 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 88 - aSvatthah.

828. aSvattah –  a) He Who has established the impermanent gods for 
performing various functions.
		b) He Who is described as the root of an eternal 
aSvattha tree of samsAra etc.  
		c) He Who eternally rules over the universe that is 
never the same, and keeps constantly changing.
		d) He Who pervades the entire universe in the form of 
the five great elements.  

om aSvattAya namah.

a) SrI BhaTTar's interpretation is based on looking at the nAma as a 
+ Sva  + stha (SrI aNNa'ngarAcArya).  Svas means "tomorrow" (Apte's 
dictionary).  a-Svah then means `not tomorrow', namely `that which is 
impermanent'.   SrI BhaTTar interprets this as a reference to the 
impermanent positions of brahmA, indra etc.  The part sthah refers to 
His being the niyAmaka or Controller of the worlds through these gods 
whose position is transitory – na Svah – anityam, indrAdityAdi padam 
yeshAm, teshu niyAmakatayA tishThati iti a-Svat-sthah or aSvatthah 
using the pRshodarAdi rule, whereby s is replaced by t – or stha by 
ttha.  SrI BhaTTar gives support from SrI vishNu purANam:

	mUrtim rajo-mayIm brAhmIm ASritya sRjati prajAh   |
	ASritya paurushIm mUrtim sAttvikIm yah sa pAlayan  |
	kAlAkhyAm tAmasIm mUrtim ASritya grasate jagat    ||  (V.P. 

"Residing within the body of brahmA, composed of rajo guNa, bhagavAn 
creates the world.  He takes the body of vishNu composed of sattva, 
and protects the world.  Assuming the body of kAla (Siva) composed of 
tamo-guNa, He swallows the Universe".   

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to nammAzhvAr's tiruvAimozhi, where 
AzhvAr describes this aspect of bhagavAn:

	iRukkum iRai iRuttu uNNa  ev-vulagukkum tan mUrti
	niRuttinAn deiva'ngaLAga ad-deiva-nAyagan tAnE   Â….     
(tiruvAi. 5.2.8)

"The lower deities, whom you are wont to worship for many different 
worldly benefits, are like tax-collectors.  They have all been 
established in their positions by my Lord who is daiva-nAyaka, the 
Chief of all gods".     

In one of his interpretations, SrI satyadevo vAsishTha uses the 
concept of time (Svas = tomorrow), and gives the interpretation:  
Svah = kAle, tishThati iti Svatthah, na Svatthah a_Svatthah, kAla 
bahir bhUto bhagavAn vishNuh – He Who is not constrained by time.  
This is why He is called sanAtana – Eternal, Permanent.  He refers to 
the kaThopanishad passage "Urdhva mUlo'vAk Sakha esho'Svatthah 
sanAtanah | tadeva Sukram tad-brahma tadevAmRtam ucyate | (kaTho. 
2.3.1) – "This eternal pippal tree has its root above and branches 
downward.  That is effulgent.  That is Brahman.  That alone is said 
to be immortal".     

b) One of SrI Sa'nkara's interpretations is based on the reference to 
the aSvatta tree – aSvattha iva tishThati iti aSvatthah - that has 
roots hanging from the tree downwards, as well as roots like 
traditional trees.  Because of this, it is described in the gItA and 
in the Upanishads as a tree that has its roots from above, and 
branches below.  

	Urdhva-mUlam adhah SAkham aSvattham prAhur-avyayam    |
	chandAmsi yasya parNAni yas-tam veda sa veda-vit      ||    
(gItA 15.1)

"They speak of an immutable aSvattha tree with its roots above and 
its branches below.  Its leaves are the veda-s.  He who knows it 
knows the veda-s".

The reference to the eternal aSvattha tree here is a reference to 
permanent cycle of samsAra, which is rooted in Brahman, and which 
grows in a continuous flow into the different life forms which 
themselves perish after some time, but the flow continues on.  It 
propagates through the knowledge in the forms of its leaves.  This 
knowledge (veda) consists of both the kAmya karma-s in the form of 
religious rites and sacrifices that promote the tree of samsAra, as 
well as the knowledge that is needed to fell this tree that grows by 
desire etc.  

The Sruti also gives the description of samsAra in terms of the 
aSvattha tree:

   - Urdhva-mUlo'vAk Sakha esho'Svatthah sanAtanah   |   (kaTho. 
2.3.1) – referenced earlier
   - Urdhva-mUlmavAk Sakham vRksham yo veda samprati   (AraNya. 
1.11.5)

c) SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN uses the meaning "prapa'ncam" or "the 
universe" for the word aSvattha, based on the niruktam – SvastAd-
rUpeNa na sthAteti aSvatthah prapa'ncah; sa asya asti nityam 
niyamyata iti arthah – He Who eternally rules over the universe that 
is never the same, and keeps constantly changing.  

d) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives a different anubhavam.  He derives 
the meaning starting from the root aS – vyAptau sa'nghAte ca – to 
pervade, to accumulate.  His interpretation is:  aSnuvate – 
vyApnuvanti viSvam iti aSvAni – pa'nca mahA bhUtAni, teshu 
vyApakatvena sthitah aSvatthah – He Who pervades the entire universe 
in the form of the five great elements. 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan 




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