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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 32.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • May 20, 1998 


			SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 32.

		bhUta-bhavya-bhavan-nAthah pavanah pAvano'nalah     |
		kAmahA kAma-kr*t kAntah kAmah kAma-pradah prabhuh   ||

Om bhUta-bhavya-bhavan-nAthAya namah
Om pavanAya namah
Om pAvanAya namah
Om analAya namah
Om kAma-ghne namah
Om kAma-kr*te namah
Om kAntAya namah
Om kAmAya namah
Om kAma-pradAya namah
Om prabhave namah

291. bhUta-bhavya-bhavan-nAthah - The Lord of all in the past, present 
and future.

Om bhUta-bhavya-bhavan-nAthAya namah.

This nAma is very similar to nAma 4 - bhUta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuh.  SrI 
Sankara distinguishes
the meanings of the two nAma-s by interpreting the first one as "The 
Lord of Past, Present, and Future", or that He is beyond time, and the 
current one as "The Lord of all beings in the Past, Present, and 
Future".   In other words, the first interpretation refers to His being 
Timeless, and the second refers to His being the Lord of all beings in 
all time.

292. pavanah - He who moves about (Wind).

Om pavanAya namah.

Pavata iti pavanah.  SrI BhaTTar gives the interpretation based on the 
root pavi - to move about.  He moves about in all places at al times 
with no constraints.  The wind's ability to do this is but a fraction of 
His ability in this regard.   pavatAm pavanah asmi (gItA 10-31) - Among 
those that move about, I am the wind. 

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the meaning for this nAma as One who is 
Pure, and for the next nAma he gives the interpretation that in addition 
to His being Pure (pavanah), He also purifies everything else - 
pAvanah).     

293. pAvanah -  He who purifies everything.

Om pAvanAya namah.

pAvayati iti pAvanah.  pAvanah sarva-lokAnAm  tvameva raghu-nandana -  
Oh Scion of raghu race!  You alone are the purifier of all the worlds - 
rAmAyaNam - uttara kANDam - 32.9.  The power of Ganges to purify anyone 
from all sins is because of its contact with His Sacred Feet.  We have 
in SrI vishNu sahasranAmam "pavitrANAm pavitram yo mangalAnAm ca 
mangalam - He is the Purest of the pure, and the Most Auspicious among 
those that are auspicious".  SrI v.v.rAmAnujan gives the reference from 
tiruvAi-mozhi (2-8-5) - devAdi-deva perumAn en tIrthanE - tIrthan here 
means Pure.  Another reference he has given is - karam nAngudaiyAn pEr 
Odi tIrthakarar Amin (iraNDAm tiruvandAdi - 14) - Let us become pure by 
chanting the name of the One with Four Hands.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha points out that it is mahA-vishNu's pAvana Sakti 
that is at play when the effect of the poison of a crab bite is removed 
from the body of a person by dropping the juice of red chile in the ears 
of that person.  He gives several other examples as well.

294. analah - One who is never satisfied (in His Mercy or dayA).

Om analAya namah.

alam means "to be satisfied".  analam is the condition of never being 
satisfied.  SrI v.v.rAmAnujan gives reference to periya tiruvantAdi - un 
aDiyArkku en Seyvan enRE irutti nI (53) - "Always thinking about what 
You can do next for Your devotees".   He is the One who helped draupadi 
during her time of distress and then forever felt that He did not do 
enough for her because He did not personally appear in the palace when 
she called for Him, and when He ultimately departed for SrI vaikunTham, 
still felt that He was indebted - r*Nam pravr*ttam idam me hr*dayAt 
nApasarpati.  

analam literally refers to fire (since fire is never satisfied, and will 
keep consuming more and more things if left uncontrolled).  A certain 
amount of heat is necessary in the body for the body to continue alive.  
Since He is the fire that supports life in the body, He is called anala. 

The insatiable nature of His dayA has been sung by SrI deSika in dayA 
Satakam, where we find that no matter what great sins we have committed, 
His dayA will consume (forgive) all those when we surrender to Him with 
devotion and sincerity.   The hunger of His dayA will not be easily 
quenched even by the enormous sins committed by us, and He will forgive 
all these if we adopt the simple step of SaraNAgati to Him (Slokam 29 of 
dayA Satakam).   He is like the fire that will burn all our sins without 
limit.  So He is analah in this sense as well.

295. kAma-hA - The Destroyer of desires.

Om kAma-ghne namah.

He removes the desires in worldly matters in the minds of His devotees.  
SrI cinmayAnanda gives an analysis of why it is necessary that desire 
should be destroyed.  When desire arises, there are two possibilities - 
either the desire is fulfilled, or it is not.  If it is fulfilled, the 
result is the desire for more -  greed.  If it is not fulfilled, the 
outcome is anger and frustration.  So for inner calm, desire needs to be 
destroyed, and it is only His Grace which can cause this to happen.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives a very nice explanation for this nAma.  
Someone who has successfully climbed a very high hill will not desire to 
conquer a smaller hill.  So also, one who has developed a desire for the 
paramAtmA will not desire anything less or anything else.   He is 
kAma-hA in the sense that desire in Him will automatically destroy the 
desire in lesser objects.

296. kAma-kr*t - One who creates desirable things, and also fulfils the 
desires.

Om kAma-kr*te namah.

He fulfils whatever is desired, be it towards bhoga or moksha.  SrI 
satyadevo vAsishTha gives the explanation - kAmAn karoti pUrayati iti 
kAma-kr*t - One who fulfils the desires.  It is natural that a person 
with less wealth goes to a person with more wealth for fulfilling his 
need.   The only one who can ultimately fulfil the desires of anyone is 
the One who has everything, vishNu the kAma-kr*t.  kAma-kr*t can also 
mean One who creates desires; in this sense, He creates the good 
desires, just as He destroys the undesirable desires (kAma-hA).  

Perhaps the above concepts are very succinctly expressed in the quote by 
the dharma cakram writer from mANikka vAcakar " vENDattakkadu aRivOy nI, 
vENDa muzhudum taruvOy nI, vENDum pariSu onRu uNDu enil aduvum undan 
viruppanRE".   He also quotes tirumangai AzhvAr in this context - kulam 
tarum Selvam tandiDum, aDiyAr padDum tuyar Ayina ellAm nilam taram 
Seyyum nIL viSumbum aruLum aruLODu peru nilam aLikkum,  nalam tarum 
Sollai nAn kaNDu konDEn nArAyaNA ennum nAmam.   He gives the lesser 
objects to those who desire this, and the very utterance of His nAma can 
gives moksham also.

297. kAntah - He who is charming.

om kAntAya namah.

This nAma will re-occur as nAma 660 later.  kAnta also means attraction.  
In tamizh, this word is used to refer to magnet.  The dharma cakram 
writer describes the different kinds of attraction, involving the five 
senses, as well as the attraction involving thought and the one 
involving good behavior or character.  BhagavAn is kAntah because He is 
the One responsible for all the different types of attractions, and in 
addition He is also attractive in every one of these. 

298. kAmah - The Lovable (or manmatha).

om kAmAya namah.

People in this world are after dharma, artha, kAma or moksha.  For all 
these four, He is the one who is sought after.    The dharma cakram 
writer points out that those who desire wealth or physical objects and 
are after sensuous attraction lower themselves, whereas those who desire 
bhagavAn elevate themselves.  Those who desire the ultimate liberation 
know that the most desirable is bhagavAn vishNu.  kAma also refers to 
manmatha, whos is considered the god of desire.  manmatha's ability to 
be desirable is but a fraction of bhagavAn's.

299.  kAma-pradah - The Grantor of wishes.

om kAma-pradAya namah.

He grants the wishes of those who desire Him as well as those who are 
after trifles.  For those who desire nothing other than Him, He fulfils 
their desire by being in their mind constantly.  He makes Himself 
available in any form that is desired.  In kaThopanishad we have "eko 
bahUnAm yo vidadhAti kAmAn (2.5)" - The One who fulfils the desires of 
the many. 

300. prabhuh - One who has the supreme power to attract the minds of all 
towards Himself; One who surpasses all in being.

om prabhave namah.

SrI BhaTTar gives the vyAkhyAnam that He is prabhuh because He has the 
power to attract everyone's mind towards Him through His extreme 
loveliness.  SrI Sankara bhAshyam for this nAma is prakarsheNa bhavanAt 
prabhuh - One who surpasses all in being.  The dharma cakram writer 
gives examples of how bhagavAn surpasses all in being:  by not slipping 
from the right path (acyuta),  by always having the indriya-s under 
control (hr*shI-keSah), by establishing dharma over adharma (paritrANAya 
sAdhUnAm vinASAya ca dushkr*tAm), by being the destroyer of the evil 
asura-s (madhu-sUdana, keSi-sUdana, kamsa cANUra mardana, etc.)...

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan









 

















 







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