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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 89 - sapta-jihvah.

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champakam • March 29, 2003 


    SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 89 - sapta-jihvah.

831. sapta-jihvah – The seven-tongued.

Om sapta-jihvAya namah.  

sapta refers to the number seven.  jihvA means tongue in general, 
also to the "tongue of fire".  It is in this late sense that the 
interpreters have explained the nAma in general.  agni or fire is 
considered to have seven tongues, and bhagavAn in the form of the 
sacrificial fire accepts the sacrificial offerings and takes it to 
the different gods.  
    
SrI BhaTTar quotes the paushkara samhitA in support:

	tad-vaktra-devatAnAm ca huta-bhuk parameSvarah    |
	mantra-pUtam yad-AdAya hutam Ajya puras-saram   |
	brahmANDa bhuvanam sarvam santarpayati sarvadA   ||   

"The Supreme Lord in the form of huta-bhuk (fire) carries to the gods 
the offerings that are sanctified by the mantra-s and made in a 
sacrifice along with clarified butter, and thereby always pleases the 
entire Universes".

a) SrI BhaTTar notes that fire is considered to have seven tongues 
named kAli, karAli, manojavA, sulohitA, sudhUmravarNA, sphuli'ngini, 
and viSvaruci, and they have been allotted the duties of nourishing 
the gods, receiving the oblations, and carrying them to the 
respective gods.   

SrI Sa'nkara gives the muNDakopanishad passage in support:

kAlee karAleeca manojavA ca sulohitA yA ca sudhUmravarNA  |
sphuli'nginee viSva-rucee ca devI lelAyamAnA iti sapta-jihvAh   ||  
(muNDa. 1.2.4)

"kAli, karAli, manojavA, sulohitA, sudhUmravarNA, sphuli'ngini, and 
the brilliant viSva-ruci are the seven flaming tongues".  One 
translator translates this as "The seven quivering tongues of fire 
are:  The black one, the terrific one, swift as the mind, the very 
red one, of purple color, emitting sparks, and all-shaped goddess".   

Other references to the seven tongues of agni found in the Sruti are:

   - divas-cd-agne mahinA pRthivyA vacyantAm te vahanayah sapta-
jihvAh   |  (Rg. 3.6.2)
   - sapta te agne saamidhah sapta-jihvAh   |  (tait. sam. 1.5.3)

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri notes that the tongues of fire that accept the 
offerings are known differently depending on whether the karma is a 
sAttvic, rAjasic, or tAmasic:  The seven flames are known as hiraNyA, 
kanaka, raktA, kRshNA, suprabhA, atirkatA, and bahu-rUpA in a sAttvic 
karma, padma-rAgA, suvarNA, bhadra-lohitA, SvetA, dhUminI, and kAlikA 
in a rAjasic karma, and kali, karali, etc., in a tAmasic karma.  He 
also notes that the devatA-s associated with the seven tongues are 
the deva-s, pitR-s, gandharva-s, yaksha-s, nAga-s, piSAca-s, and 
rAkshasa-s.  

b) In addition to the interpretation in terms of the seven tongues of 
agni, SrI vAsishTha gives an alternate interpretation, in which he 
takes the reference to "seven" as a reference to "many" – sapta iti 
aneka upalakshaNam aneka-prakAra jihvam vidhatta iti.  In this 
interpretation, his anubhavam is that just as He has several tongues, 
He has also equipped His creation with several types of tongues for 
the different species.  He observes that as the offerings in the homa 
feed the agni with its seven tongues, the food consumed by the 
different species through the tongue, along with the prANa vAyu, is 
transmitted to feed the jATharAgni;  thus, what the veda talks of 
(feeding the fire through the different tongues), is nothing 
different from what happens in real life, and so veda is not talking 
anything but real life happenings – bhavati lokena samo vedo vedena 
ca samo lokah.

SrI cinmayAnanda suggests that the "seven tongues of flame" conveys 
the idea that the Light of Consciousness in us beams out through 
seven points in the face – two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the 
mouth.  As intelligent beings, powers of perception, metaphorically, 
flame out through each one of them, illumining the world for us.  The 
one in our heart, SrI nArAyaNa, Who totally manifests as the seven 
distinct tongues-of-flame is classified here in the language of 
lyrics as sapta-jihvah. 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan





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