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vishNu sahasranAmam (6)

From the Bhakti List Archives

‘srini’ Srinivasan Srivilliputhur • March 21, 1996 


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        PB = Translation of srI parAsara bhattar's commentary.
        SA = Translation of srI sankarAchArya's commentary.
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(sl-9)	ISvaro vikramI dhanvI medhAvi vikramaH kramaH
	anuttamo durAdharshaH kRtaj~naH kRtir AtmavAn

74   ISvaraH

	PB:	The Ruler. He is ISvara because He can exercise His Will
		unimpeded, even though His Supreme abode is boundless. Vide-
		"His desires are true and His will also is true",
		"He moves as He likes".

	SA:	The Omnipotent Being.

75   vikramI

	PB:	The most powerful. His very nature dispels even the remotest
		possibility of anything going against His will.

	SA:	The Courageous One (He has unrestrained power).

76   dhanvI

	PB:	He always has his celestial bow (SArNga), appropriate to His
		unrivalled prowess and Glory. This also suggest His possessing
		all the other Celestial Weapons.

	SA:	One armed with a bow. gItA (10.31) says: "I am rAmA among
		who bear weapons".

77   medhAvi

	PB:	The Omniscient. This Omniscience is eternal, natural, boundless
		and appropriate.

	SA:	He who has great intelligence capable of grasping all texts.

78   vikramaH

	PB:	He who moves about on the bird (garuda). Garuda is the
		embodiment of the vedas. He is carried to us by the vedas.
		Vide- "May I attain and bow to that servant of the Lord with
		golden feathers. May that garuda inspire us".

	SA:	He who crosses kramaNa (i.e. transcends samsAra).
		Or, one who has 'viH', bird (i.e. garuda) as His mount.

79   kramaH

	PB:	He is kramaH because He is full to the brim with the eternal
		riches described above. The root 'kRm' in Atmanepada means
		'to widely expand' and hence the name refers to the expanded
		moksha sphere, which is an Ananda form of the Lord".

	SA:	vishNu is called 'kramaH', because He is the cause of
		'kramaNa' or crossing of the ocean of samsAra by the devotees.
		Or, because from Him all 'krama' or the manifestation of
		the Universe, has occured.

80   anuttamaH

	PB:	The unsurpassed as "There is none higher than He". gItA(7.7)-
		"There is nothing greater than Myself, O dhananjaya!".

	SA:	He than whom nothing is greater.
		nArU.(12.3) says: "yasmAt param nAparam asti ki~ncid -
		He whom there is none to excel",
		gItA (11.4) says: "there is none equal to Thee. Where can
		there be any one greater?"

81   durAdharshaH

	PB:	Who is unassailable. As He is firmly and eternally established
		in the paramapada, He is not liable to be affected by time
		or any other factors. Vide-
		"Like the deep ocean, bhagavan is ever inperturbable",
		"He resembles the Ocean by virtue of His profound nature".

	SA:	One whom none (asurAs) can overcome.

82   kRtaj~naH

	PB:	He who is grateful/appreciative (of even the little attention
		paid to Him by humans in the world). Bhagavan says in gItA:
		"Even if one were of wicked ways, if he but worships Me
		exclusively, he must be regarded as righteous. For he is
		rightly resolved".

	SA:	He who know about everything that has been done (kRta) by
		jIvAs. Also one who is pleased with token/simple offerings
		like leaves, flowers, water and fruits, as said in gItA.

83   kRtiH

	PB:	He is Himself that Act. That virtuous act of the jIvAs owes
		its origin to Him who is pleased. Vide-
		"He makes that person do virtuous acts whom He wants to lift
		up fro the material world".

	SA:	He is effort or act of everyone. As the Supreme, He is the
		root cause of every act.

84   AtmavAn

	PB:	The possessor of souls. The souls that do such (virtuous)
		acts are His own property since their essential nature and
		actions are dependent on Him.

	SA:	One established in His own greatness, i.e. requiring no
		other support than Himself. ChU. (7.24.1) says:
		"What is that in which, O bhagavan, That is established?
		In His own greatness itself".
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(sl-10)	sureSaH SaraNam Sarma viSva-retAH prajA-bhavaH
	ahaH samvatsaro vyAlaH pratyayaH sarva-darSanaH

85   sureSaH

	PB:	The Lord of all the Gods (brahma and other devAs); He
		directs and controls them in their functions. Brahma says:
		"By the Grace of bhagavan acyuta, I have become the creator;
		and by His wrath, rudra became the destroyer. That acyuta
		is the cause of the sustenance(of this Universe)".

	SA:	The Lord of suras or devas. Or, it can also mean the the
		greatest of those who bestow good (suraH can be split as
		suH=good and rA=bestow gift).

86   SaraNam

	PB:	The Refuge (for all). People who take refuge in Him could
		dwell in Him for ever. Vide-
		"nivAsaH SaraNam suhRt. gatinArAyaNaH - nArAyNa is the abode,
		the refuge, friend and the goal of attainment".

	SA:	He who removes the sorrows of those in distress (ArthAH).

87   Sarma

	PB:	Supreme Bliss/Highest Object to be realized. The suffix
		'manin' denote the sense of happiness. Vide-
		"sarvagandhaH sarvarasaH - He is all taste, all smell",
		"ka brahman kham brahman - brahman is (Supreme) Happiness,
		brahman is the ether",
		"Anando brahman - brahman is Bliss".

	SA:	He is Supreme Bliss.

88   viSva-retAH

	PB:	He who is the cause and creator (of all). This explains how
		He is SaraNa and Sarma. viSvam is due to His action. All
		karmendriyas and j~nanendriyas are given by Him for doing
		service (kainkarya) at His feet. Vide-
		"All the seven praNas come out of Him".

	SA:	The Seed/Cause of the Universe

89   prajA-bhavaH

	PB:	He is the repository of all beings who are endowed with all
		sAdanas by Him for being near Him and doing service.

	SA:	The Source of all beings.

90   ahaH

	PB:	He who does not abandon anyone. gItA (6.4) says-
		"No one who does what is good, dear friend, ever meets a sad
		fate".

	SA:	The Luminous One (there is absolutely no darkness in Him).

91   samvatsaraH

	PB:	He lives for the uplift (of awakened souls). gItA (10.10)-
		"I extend that gnanayoga to them by which they reach Me",
		"I lift them up".

	SA:	As He is kAla-swarUpa vushNu (Time is a form of vishNu), He
		is samvatsara or year.

92   vyAlaH

	PB:	He who accepts (the devotees) with out stretched arms.
		rAmA says: "AnayaInam harisreshTh dattamasyAbhayam maya -
		O! chief of monkeys, bring him (vibhIshaNa) here, for I have
		extended protection to Him".

	SA:	He is vyAla because He is ungraspable like a snake.

93   pratyayaH

	PB:	He is pratyayaH since one places confidence in Him. For
		He makes all have confidence in him. Vide-
		"That Diety who reveals knowledge about Himself".
		kRshNa tells yudhiStira in sabha parva of mahAbhArata:
		"If you have confidence (pratyaya) in Me, entrust bhIma and
		arjuna to me to be taken to jarAsandha's place".

	SA:	One who is of the nature of consciousness (praj~na or pratIti)
		"praj~nAnam brahma- brahman is pure consciousness"(AitU 3.5.3)

94   sarva-darSanaH

	PB:	He who displays all (His glory) to them (who have faith
		in Him). Vide-
		"To him alone the Supreme shows His Self".

	SA:	One with eyes everywhere. As the Lord has assumed all forms,
		the eye-sight of all beings are His.
		"viSvataS cakshuH- One with eyes everywhere" (SvetU. 3.3),
		"viSvAksham- One endowed with all senses" (nArU. 13.1).
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S. G. Srinivasan                email : sgsrini@u.washington.edu
Graduate Student
Dept. Of Mater. Sci. & Engg.
Room 204, Roberts Hall, BOX 352120
University Of Washington        Phone : (206)-632-1083 (H)
Seattle, WA 98195-2120                  (206)-685-3851 (W)
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