SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 78 - Part 8.
From the Bhakti List Archives
• November 22, 2002
SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 78 - mA-dhavah. 741. mAdhavah – The Consort of Lakshmi. Om mAdhavAya namah. a) The Consort of MA or Lakshmi b) The Bestower or Propounder of Knowledge about Himself. c) One Who is attained through the madhu vidyA. d) One Who is attained through mauna, dhyAna and yoga e) One Who is born in the race of madhu, a yAdhava f) The nAma that reveals the eternal relationship of the Mother and Father with the rest of the Universe. g) One for whom there is no Lord above The nAma mAdhavah occurs three times (nAma-s 73, 169, and 741). The description below extends the description given under nAma 73, with additional information included. a) mAyAh dhavah mA-dhavah – The Lord or consort of MA or Lakshmi. The concept here is that BhagavAn and SrI are eternally and constantly associated with each other, and inseparable. As if to emphasize this, SrI BhaTTar gives a very detailed explanation for the qualities of MA or Lakshmi under this nAma, rather than dwell on the guNa-s of bhagavAn. In the end, he concludes with one sentence: “The secret about the true nature of SrI is that Lord VishNu gets His Lordship because of His association with Lakshmi”. All this detailed explanation is provided by Sri BhaTTar under the very first occurrence of the nAma, in Slokam 8. SrI BhaTTar gives reference to the Sruti vAkhya-s which establish the interpretation for a start: - hrIScsa te lakshmISca patnyau (purusha sUktam) – Bhumi and Lakshmi are Thy spouses - asyeSAnA jagato vishNu-patnI (nIlA sUktam) – Lakshmi, who is the Ruler of this universe the spouse of VishNu. Then he proceeds to explain the qualities of Lakshmi in the following words: AsyAh svarUpavat nitya-nirmala-rUpatvam, nirupAdhika paramaiSvaryAdi, jagan-mAtRtvam, autpattiko bhagavat-sambandho nitya anapAyaSca ityAdi tattvapareshu Sastreshu amaryAdam | vedeshu tAvat SrI-sUktam, medhA sUktam, uttara nArAyaNam, kaushItakI brAhamaNam ityAdau. “The essential Nature of Lakshmi is described in the Sastras dealing with the Supreme Reality as follows: Her From is eternal and spotless; Her Supreme Rulership is not restricted by any limiting adjunct; Her universal Motherhood, Her natural association with bhagavAn, are all delineated in great detail in the SAstra-s. In vedic literature, the SrI sUkta, SraddhA sUkta, medhA sUkta, uttara nArAyaNa, kaushItakI brAhamaNa and others deal with this subject”. Then SrI BhaTTar gives several references from the purANa-s etc., that speak of the Supremacy of pirATTi, starting with the following reference from SrI vishNu purANa: nityaiva eshA vishNoh SrIr-anapAyinI | yathA sarvagato vishNuh tathaiveyam dvijottama || (vishNu purANa 1.8.17) “This Lakshmi is eternal, the universal Mother, and is ever in union with VishNu. Just as VishNu pervades all things, she also does, O best of Brahmins”. In Brahma PurANa, we have tat Saktih durjayA bhImA vishNu-Saktih iti smRtA | sarva bhUta hRdabjasthA nAnArUpa dharA parA || prANAkhyA mantra-mAtA ca viSvasya jananI dhruvA | devI bhinnA’njana SyAmA nirguNA vyoma eva hi || "Her power is invincible and awe-inspiring and She is considered the power of VishNu Himself. She is the Supreme Being who lives in the lotus-like hearts of all beings of the universe and She is endowed with diverse forms. Her name is prANa or life. She is the Mother of all mantras, and is the eternal Mother of the Universe”. tathaivaikA parASaktih SrIh tasya karuNASrayA | j~nAnAdi shADguNya mayI yA proktA prakRtih parA || ekaiva Saktih SrIh tasya dvitIyA parivartate | parAvareNa rUpeNa sarvAkArA sanAtanI || ananta nAmadeyA ca Sakti-cakrasya nAyikA | jagat carAcaram idam sarvam vyApya vyavasthitA || “Likewise, Lakshmi is His Supreme Power, and She is endowed with the quality of Mercy. She is called the Supreme prakRti and possesses the six qualities, knowledge and others. Lakshmi is the supreme, unique, and eternal Sakti of BhagavAn; She is His second and transforms Herself into diverse forms, high and low. She has innumerable names, and is the head of the Sakti-cakra – the wheel of powers. She stands steady, pervading the entire universe, moving and non-moving”. In SrI LahsmI sahasra nAmam, She is described as follows: mahA-vibhUteh sampUrNa shad-guNya vapushah prabhoh | bhagavad-vAsudevasya nityaiva esha anapAyinI || ekaiva vartate bhinnA jyotsneva hima dIdhiteh | sarva SaktyAtmikA caiva viSvam vyApya vyavasthitA || sarvaiSvarya guNopetA nityam tad-dharma dharmiNI | prANa Saktih parA hyeshA sarveshAm prANinAm bhuvi || SaktInAm caiva sarvAsAm yoni-bhUtA parA kalA || “She is eternal and inseparably associated with BhagavAn vAsudeva, who is the Master of great glory, who is endowed with the six qualities, and who is all powerful. She is like the moon-light of the cool-rayed moon; She is one with Him, yet remains distinct. She pervades the Universe, and is the very embodiment of all Sakti-s. She is endowed with all glory and qualities, and is eternal. Her dharma is the same as that BhagavAn. She is the life-giving Sakti of all beings on earth. She is the source of all Sakti-s and is the sublime element in all”. yasmAt lakshmyamSa sambhUtAh Saktayo viSvagAh sadA | kAraNyatvena tishThanti jagatyasmin tadAj~nayA || tasmAt prItA jaganmAtA SrIh yasya acyuta-vallabhA | suprItAh Saktayah tasya siddhim ishTAm diSanti ca || “All the Saktis that have emanated from Lakshmi are always pervading the entire Universe. They remain, under the command of SrI, as the cause. Therefore, when Lakshmi, the Mother of the Universe and the beloved consort of Bhagavan Acyuta is pleased with someone, these Saktis themselves highly pleased, bestow prosperity which one desires.” After this detailed description of Lakshmi’s qualities, SrI BhaTTar points out that this subject is more fully dealt with in vaishNava smRti and other dharma SAstra-s. rAmAyaNa also declares the greatness of Lakshmi in the Sloka in bAla kANDam (4.7): - kAvyam rAmAyaNam kRtsnam sItAyAh caritam mahat – “The entire epic poem of rAmAyaNa is but the glorious story of sItA”. SrI BhaTTar concludes his vyAkhyAnam for the nAma mAdhava in its first occurrence in Slokam 8 (nAma 73), by elaborately dwelling on the qualities of Lakshmi, and then ending with one line for mA-dahva, where he attributes the greatness of mAdhava to His association with SrI: “SraddhayA devo devatvam aSnute – Lord VishNu gets His Lordship because of His association with Lakshmi. This is the secret about the true nature of SrI”. Under nAma-s 169 and 741, SrI BhaTTar gives alternate explanations for the nAma mA-dhavah, but these a couple of sentences each in length, compared to the very elaborate description above that he has given for the first occurrence of the nAma in Slokam 8 (nAma 73). It is clear that SrI BhaTTar’s thoughts are about our Mother SrI in his anubhavam of the nAma mA-dhava for the Lord. b) The Bestower of Knowledge (mA – The vidyA or knowledge of Hari; dhava – Lord, Preceptor, Propounder) For the nAma mA-dhava in Slokam 18 (nAma 169), both SrI Samkara and SrI BhaTTar give the interpretation in terms of His being the Propounder (dhavah) of the mA vidyA – the knowledge of Hari. They both quote the support from the harivamSa: mA vidyA ca hareh proktA tasyA Iso yato bhavAn | tasmAt mA-dhava nAmAsi dhavah svAmIti Sabditah || (3.69.4) “The knowledge about of Hari is called mA. Thou art the Master of that knowledge. Therefore Thou art known as mAdhava. It has been stated that dhava means “Lord””. SrI cinmayAnanda elaborates further on the above. He Who helps introspection and meditation in the seeker is Madhava. SrI BhaTTar gives additional support from the mahAbhArata: madhu vidyA avabodhatvAt dhAvatvAt-vA Sriyo’niSam | maunAd-dhyAnAcca yogAcca viddhi bhArata mAdhavam || (mahA. 3.69.4) There are three explanations that are given in the above Sloka for the nAma mAdhavah. c) first is that since He is cognized through madhu vidyA, He is called mAdhavah (madhu vidyA is referenced in chAndogya Upanishad 3.1, bRhadAraNya upanishad 2.5); the second explanation is that He is the Lord of SrI (the explanation discussed in detail under a) for this nAma); d) and the third one is that because He is recognized through dhyAna, mauna, and yoga, He is called mA-dhavah. The dharma cakram writer explains mauna, dhyAna, and yoga further. Mauna results in the control of the indriya-s; dhyAna focuses the mind in the thought of the Atma tattvam, and yoga solidifies and consolidates this thought on a permanent basis. e) Under the current nAma, both SrI Samkara and SrI BhaTTar give the interpretation that He is a scion of the Race of the Madhus, and therefore has the name mAdhavah (madhu kulodhbahavAt mAdhavah, or madhu kule jAtatvAt mAdhavah). f) Another explanation given by SrI BhaTTar for the nAma is that this nAma is an illustration of the togetherness of SrI and BhagavAn as Mother and Father of all of us. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan comments the importance of this special relationship of bhagavAn and pirATTi to the world, and their togetherness always, in the protection of the jIva-s. It is of because of the Mother’s nearness that bhagavAn forgives the countless apacAra-s committed by the cetana-s. It is in this sense that it is important for all of us that He is “agalagillEn iRaiyum enRu alrmEl ma’ngai uRai mArban” (tiruvAi. 6.10.10), and She is always with Him. g) SrI tirukkaLLam nRsimha rAghavAcArya in his gItA bhAshya, has given another interpretation – mA dhavah yasya sa mAdhavah – He for Whom there is no Master. Since there is no one above Him in any sense, and since He is the Lord of everyone and every thing in all the universes, He is called mA-dhavah. -dAsan kRshNamAcAryan __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus – Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com -------------------------------------------------------------- - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH - To Post a message, send it to: bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com Group Home: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bhakti-list Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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