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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - sloka 16.

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Krishnamachari, N. • November 7, 1997 


			SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - sloka 16.

	brAjishNur bhojanam bhoktA sahishNur jagadAdijah          |
	 anagho vijayo jetA viSvayonih punarvasuh
||

Om bhrAjishNave namah
Om bhojanAya namah
Om bhoktre namah
Om sahishNave namah
Om jagadAdijAya namah
Om anaghAya namah
Om vijayAya namah
Om jetre namah
Om viSvayonaye namah
Om punarvasave namah


143.  bhrAjishNuh - One who is effulgent.

Om brAjishNave namah.

	bhrAjata iti tacchIlo bhrAjishNuh - One who has the habit of
being effulgent.  The name is derived from the root bhrAjr* and the
pANini sutra 3.2.138 - bhuvasca - which states that the afix ishNuc in
the sense of "the agent having such a a habit etc." comes after the
verbs such as bhU, bhrAjr* etc.  SrI Bhattar points out that it is the
nature of bhagavAn to show Himself to His worshippers. 

	An author by name satyadevo vAsishTha, who has written a
detailed vyAkhyAna for Sri vishNu shasranAma in samskr*t in this
century, points out that the radiance in the sun, the moon, etc. arise
only because they derive it from the effulgence of vishNu.  

	Sri rAdhAkr*shNa Sastri points out that we see objects because
of the light that makes them visible, and we see the light only because
it gets scattered by the objects.  But bhagavAn is Pure Effulgence
without any association with any object, and this is why the
non-devotees don't see Him, though He makes Himself visible to His
devotees. 

	The yajurvedic passages given to support the interpretation for
this nAma are:

	"brahma surya samam jyotih"; "suryo jyotir-jyotih surya" etc.

144.  bhojanam - One who is the object of enjoyment.

Om bhojanAya namah.

	taih bhujyate - sukhena anubhuyate iti bhojanam - bhagavAn is
bhojanam because He is enjoyed with pleasure by His worshippers.

	bhojanam also means literally food or the means of sustenance.
Even though in nature one object becomes the means of sustenance of
another object, He is the one who maintains this balance and sustains
everything.  The vedAntic interpretation for bhojanam is the collection
of all objects of enjoyment by the sense-organs.  He makes the objects
of this world fit for enjoyment, and He also becomes the object of
enjoyment Himself when His devotee overcomes the desire for the material
objects of enjoyment and longs for Him.

145.  bhoktA - The Enjoyer.

	Om bhoktre namah.

He Himself is the Enjoyer since He enjoys the things offered by His
devotees like nectar.  In gItA we have 

"patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktyA prayacchati       |
   tadaham bahktyupahr*tam aSnAmi prayatAtmanah                   ||
(gItA 9.16)

"If a devotee offers to me a mere leaf, flower, fruit, or water with
sincere devotion and love, I accept it as invaluable treasure."

Or He is the bhoktA for all the sacrificial offerings irrespective of
the deity to whom the offering is made - aham hi sarva ya~jnAnAm bhokta
- gItA 9.14.

146.  sahishNuh - The Forgiver.

Om sahishNave namah.

	The word is derived from sah - to put up with, forgive.  Note
the grammatical rule quoted for bhrAjishNu earlier - the affix ishNuc is
added to indicate one having a habit etc.  Thus it is His Nature to
forgive.   We have the yajurvedic mantra "saho'si saho mayi dhehi".

	sah also means to suffer patiently.  He is sahishNu because He
suffers patiently , in His perfect detachment, all that is happening
around.  He is just a mere witness.  He continues to support this world
without ever getting impatient - nAkshastapyate bhUribhArah - r*gvedic
manta.

	sahate also means conquers, and Sri Sankara uses this meaning
and interprets this nAma as meaning that bhagavAn is sahishNu because He
conquers daitya-s such as hiraNyAksha.

	In SrI Bhattar's vyAkhyAna, the vyuha forms are covered up to
the above nAma.  .Starting with the next nAma, he interprets the guNa-s
as reflecting those of the vibhava form of vishNu, the second of the
trinities.

147.  jagadAdijah - He who was born at the beginning of the Universe.

Om jagadAdijAya namah.

	jagat +_ Adi + jAtah = jagadAdijah.  

	Before the world got created, one who had the ability to create
the world had to exist.  Thus bhagavAn existed before the world was
created.  SrI chinmayAnanda points out that this is the manifestation of
bhagavAn as HiraNyagarbha,  the form where the world of all objects is
submerged after pralaya and before the manifestation of the gross world
emerges out.  This is the manifestation of bhagavAn as the virAt Atma.  

	That vishNu was the first-born among the gods is supported by
the following from mahAbhArata -

	"gatiSca nastvam pUrvajo jagatah prabhuh           |
	   rakshArtham sarva-bhUtAnAm vishNustvam upajagmivAn      ||
(MB Udyoga 12.11)

	"Thou art our refuge;  Thou art the first-born amongst the gods.
Thou art the Lord of the Universe.  Thou didst assume the role of vishNu
for the protection of all the worlds."

148.  anaghah - One who is Sinless, Un-contaminated.

Om anaghAya namah.

	aghah pApam na vidyate asmin iti anaghah.  Though He resides in
the midst of the samsAra in His incarnations, He is untainted by sins.
Because He is unattached, He is not contaminated by the effects of any
actions.  Several passages in the sruti-s refer to this attribute -
suddham apApaviddham - yajur 40.8, na puNya pApe mama (kaivalya 22),
etc.

149.  vijayah - Victory Incarnate.

Om vijayAya namah.

	vividham viSesheNa vA jayati iti vijayah - One who wins over
everything in different and special ways.  He is sat, cit, and Ananda
rupa, and thus controls everything including the prakr*ti and jiva-s.
Or He excels in everything - ~jnAna, vairAgya, aisvarya, etc.

	SrI Bhattar points out that He is vijaya because He controls
everything that happens in this world, including the creation and
destruction, which are performed by Brahma and Rudra with His help and
guidance - "tad_AdarSita panthAnau sr*shti samhAra kArakau - Guided by
Him in the right way, Brahma and Rudra carry out the task of creation a
d destruction (MB moksha 169.19).

150.  jetA - The Conquerer.

Om jetre namah.

	sarvam jagat sa jayati iti jetA.   He is jetA because nothing
ever can happen that is not His will.  All the other gods act His will.
One who has satyam as His sthira guNa never has any failure or defeat.
He is satya kAma, satya samkalpa, etc.

151.  viSva-yonih - The Cause of the Universe.

Om viSva-yonaye namah.

	viSvasya - sakalasya yonih - kAraNam viSva-yonih.  Another
interpretation is that He is viSva-yonih because He has the world as His
Cause, i.e., He manifests Himself in various incarnations because of the
condition of this world.

152.  punarvasuh - One who lives again and again as the antarAtmA of all
His creations.

Om punarvasave namah.

	He is the antarAtmA of all the other gods whom He creates for
different functions, beginning with rudra and brahma.  In moksha dharma
in mahAbhArata we have indra saying to rudra -

	"tavAntarAtmA mama ca ye cAnye dehi-samjnitAh - He is the Inner
Soul of yourself and myself as well as those who are called the Released
Souls" - MB moksha 179.4.

	It can also mean that He is punarvasu because He recreates the
world with the sun, moon, etc., the same way all over again after each
pralaya - 

	"sUrya candramasau dhAtA yathA pUrvam akalpayat          |
	   divam ca pr*thivIm cAnthariksham atho svah
||  r*g 10/190/3)

-dAsan kr*shNamAchAryan