SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 78 - Part 9.
From the Bhakti List Archives
• November 24, 2002
SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 78 - bhakta-vatsalah. 742. bhakta-vatsalah – a) Affectionate towards the devotees. b) He Who goes to the devotees who makes offerings to Him through yaj~na c) He Who takes the devotees to Him, who are dear to Him like a calf to the cow om bhakta-vatsalAya namah. The term bhakta is derived from the root bhaj – sevAyAm – to serve, to honor (bhajati bhajate sevate iti bhaktah - kASakRtsna dhAtu vyAkhyAna 1.695, referenced by SrI satyadevo vAsishTha). Thus, one who serves, honors, praises, etc., is a bhakta. The word vatsalah is derived from the word vatsa, which by itself means calf. However, by pANini sutra 5.2.98, the addition of the affix lac after the word vatsa gives it the meaning “love” – vatsa amsAbhyAm kAma bale. Thus, the word vatsala means kAmavat, snehavat, etc. – one who is in love, one who is friendly. Bhakta vatsalan in thus One Who is affectionate towards His devotees. a) SrI BhaTTar’s anubhavam is that this nAma brings out the special attitude of BhagavAn towards His devotees, who are eager to cultivate the relationship with Him as Master and kinsman (i.e., as bhakta-s towards Him). SrI BhaTTar comments that His joy of having attained His bhakta-s is so great, that He forgets all other desires – tal-lAbha sambhrama vismRta anya-kAmah. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan elaborates on the term vatsalah, or vAtsalyam of BhagavAn towards His devotees. As mention earlier, vatsa refers to a calf. Vatsalah also refers to affection, of the kind that a cow shows towards its calf. The cow licks and removes any dirt or other material that may be found on the body of the calf, on in other words, it treats even the blemishes on its calf as bhogyam for itself. BhagavAn’s love towards His devotees is similarly one of ignoring their faults, and enjoying their devotion instead. SrI rAmAnujan gives two examples. - When Vidura was offering worship to kRshNa at his house, he was totally immersed in looking at Lord kRshNa with devotion and affection, and he was peeling off the outer layer of the banana, and giving the peeled skin to kRshNa for eating instead of giving the peeled fruit by mistake. Lord kRshNa was so immersed in His devotee that He did not also realize that the skin was what He was being given, and He also ate the skin as a bhogya vastu, because it had been offered with the utmost devotion. - When BhIshma was lying on the death-bed of arrows and meditating on Lord kRshNa, the Lord just informed the fellow pANDava-s: “The Lion of men is lying there, just thinking of Me and meditating on Me”, and having said that, He Himself was lost on the thought of His bhakta and forgot Himself and His surroundings. b) In addition to giving the above interpretation (bhakteshu vAtsalyavAn), SrI satya sandha yatirAja gives two other interpretations for the nAma. One of these is based on the meaning “cooked rice or food” for the term bhakta (see the explanation for bhakta vilocanan in the nAcciyAr tirumozhi posting for pASuram 12.6). In this interpretation, SrI satya sandha yatirAja looks at the nAma as bhaktavat-salah, and gives the interpretation “bhaktam annam yeshAm asti iti bhaktavanto yaj~na kartAro brAhmaNAn, tAn prati salati gacchati iti bhaktavat-salah” – He Who goes to the devotees who make offerings to Him through yaj~na (the root sal – to go, to move is used for the interpretation of the second part, salah). c) The other interpretation given by SrI satya sandha yatirAja is “bhaktA eva vatsAh, tAn lAti iti bhaktavatsa-lah” – He Who takes the devotees to Him, who are dear to Him like a calf to the cow”. (The root lA – AdAne dAne ca – to take, to obtain, is used in this interpretation). The dharma cakram writer compares the relationship between BhagavAn and us to that between the mother and the child. The mother has selfless affection to the child, and the child trusts the mother solely and exclusively for its survival. A true devotee will be like the child towards the mother, and BhagavAn is of course like the Mother towards all. -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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