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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 73 - Part 7.

From the Bhakti List Archives

Narasimhan Krishnamachari • May 26, 2002 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 73 - puNya-kIrtih, an-Amayah.

693. puNya-kIrtih - He Whose kIrti or praise is also purifying (in
addition to Him being the Purifier).

Om puNya-kIrtaye namah.

SrI BhaTTar interprets the nAma as signifying that His kIrti is
purifying when it is sung by His devotees;  in other words, nAma
samkIrtanama by His devotees, which involves singing His kIrti,
purifies the devotee, and so He is called puNya-kIrtih.   SrI BhaTTar
gives several references that indicate the purifying nature of His
praise.

	nAma samkIrtanam pumsAm vilAyanam anuttamam    |
	maitreya! aSesha pApAnAm dhAtUnAmiva pAvakah   ||  (vishNu purA.
6.8.20)

"Maitreya! Just as fire purifies the metals, the unequalled recitation
of the names of bhagavAn,  which have unsurpassed greatness, destroys
all sins of man".  

	avaSenA'pi yan-nAmni kIrtite sarva-pAtakaih   |
	pumAn vimucyate sadyah simha-trataih mRgairiva    ||  (vish. PurA.
6.8.19)

"Those who, even without being aware of it, pronounce the name of
bhagavAn are freed from their sins the same way a deer is freed from
the attack of the beasts when they run away on hearing the roar of a
lion nearby".

   dhyAyan kRte yajan ya~jnais-tretAyAm dvApare'rcayan   |
   yadApnoti tadApnoti kalau samkIrtya keSavam ||  (vish. PurA. 6.2.17)


"By the mere mention of the name of bhagavAn, a man in kali yuga
attains the same fruits that one obtained in the kRta yuga by abstract
meditation, in the tretA by sacrifice, and in the dvApara yuga by
adoration".   

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives reference to ANDAL's tiruppAvai pASuram
"mAyanai" - vAyinAl pADi manttinAl Sinndikka pOya pizhaiyum pugutaruvAn
ninRanavum tIyinil tUSAgum (pizhai here refers to our sins or pApam).  
The dharma cakram writer gives the additional reference to "nalam tarum
Sollai nAn kaNDu koNDEn nArAyaNA ennum nAmam". 

SrI Samkara also gives the interpretation that this nAma signifies that
He has kIrti which brings purity to people- puNyam Avahati asya kIrtih
nRNAm iti puNya-kIrtih.  SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri seems to draw a
connection between the previous nAma and the current nAma.  SrI Samkara
interprets the previous nAma as  referring to His being a puNyah or
Purifier in the sense that mere thoughts about Him by the devotee lead
to the purification of the devotee -   smRtimAtreNa kalmashANi
kshapayati iti puNyah.  In order to have this smRti of Him, one should
first realize His greatness.  The current nAma provides this basis,
namely His fame, which induces thoughts about Him in the devotee, which
then leads to the smRti of bhagavAn.  Thus, His kIrti has the effect of
being a purifier (this nAma), just as His smRti is (the previous nAma).
   
SrI cinmayAnanda explains that whoever glorifies Him becomes holy, and
so in this sense His glory is purifying.  

694. an-Amayah -  a) He Who removes the disease of samsAra.
		b) He Who is beyond pain or suffering - internal, external,
karma-related, etc.

om an-AmayAya namah.

The root from which this nAma is derived is mI - himsAyAm, to die, to
perish.  The term Amayah refers to disease or sickness.  He Who is
beyond disease or sickness is an-Amayah.    

a) SrI BhaTTar gives the interpretation that He is called an-Amayah
because He is the adversary for the worst Amayah, namely the disease of
samsAra, in His devotees - samsAra mahA-vyAdhi virodhI.   samsAra is
considered a disease because it is an obstacle to the power of
enjoyment of the glory of bhagavAn.   SrI BhaTTar quotes from
chAndogyopanishad and indicates that those who have realized the true
nature of samsAra declare that "they are full of disease" - "vyAdhibhih
paripUrNo'smi (chAn. 4.10.3).   nammAzhvAr refers to Him as "vani tIr
marundu" (tiruvAi. 7.1.4) - reference from SrI v.v. rAmAnujan.

b) SrI samkara gives the interpretation that He is called an-Amayah
because He is free from all ills produced by karma - internal or
external.  SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives the derivation - na Amayo
rogo yasya iti anAmayah divya-ma'ngala vigrahah - His divya ma'ngala
vigraham is beyond any kind of disease or illness.   His Nature is of
pure unstained divine essence, and He is thus beyond the mental
restlessness or physical pangs that constantly haunt us because of our
karma (SrI cinmayAnanda).  

The following summary from dharma cakram is educational and
informative:  "Disease is whatever causes discomfort to the body or
mind.  The body is sthUla and the mind is sUkshma.  When the sthUla
body feels suffering, it impacts the sUkhsma mind, and the reverse is
also true.  Since jIvan is associated with the body and mind, the pain
felt by either is felt by the jIvan or soul also.  BhagavAn is beyond
all these, and so He is an-Amayah".  

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan


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