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SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 42.

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Krishnamachari, N (Krish) • October 22, 1998 


		SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 42.

	vyavasAyo vyavasthAnah samsthAnah sthAnado dhruvah        |
	pararddhih paramah spashTah tushTah pushTah SubhekshaNah  ||  

om vyavaSayAya namah
om vyavasthAnAya namah
om samsthAnAya namah
om sthAnadAya namah
om dhruvAya namah
om parardhaye namah
om paramAya namah
om spashTAya namah
om tushTAya namah
om pushTAya namah
om SubhekshaNAya namah

SrI BhaTTar interprets the next few nAma-s as referring to the aspect of
bhagavAn as dhruva, the Pole Star.

386. vyavasAyah - a) The Pivot (of the planets).
		b) One with a firm and resolute mind, One with True
Knowledge about Self.

om vyavasAyAya namah

atiSayena sIyate (badhyate) asmin jyotiScakram iti vyavasAyah - The circle
of planets is tightly bound and closely fastened to bhagavAn, and so He is
called vyavasAyah.  Space which is the support for the stars and planets is
the body of bhagavAn, and so He is tied to them tightly.

SrI cinmayAnanda refers us to two Sloka-s in the gItA where the term
vyavasAya occurs.  SrI rAmAnuja in his gItA bhAshya (2.41) interprets the
word as referring to "unshakable conviction" (about the true nature of the
self) - vyavasAyo niScayah.   The same interpretation is given in gItA 2.44.
So vyavasAyah can refer to One with a resolute mind, or One who has True
Knowledge of the self. 

387. vyavasthAnah - The basis.

om vyavasthAnAya namah.

The basis for the nAma is the root sthA (sthiti).  vyavasthAnam karoti iti
vyavasthAnah, or asmin vyavasthitih sarvasya iti vyavasthAnah.  One who
establishes everything, or  One on whom the basis of everything resides; or
One who regulates everything in the Universe and the associated functions.
vyavasthA is given the meaning "determination, decision, settlement" in
Apte's dictionary, and vyavasthit means 'established'.  One who determines
everything is thus vyavasthAnah, and One who establishes everything  in
their respective places or positions is vyavasthAnah.  

SrI BhaTTar associates this basis with kAla or time, which is the basis for
everything that happens in this world.  This again is determined by the
movement of the planets, of which dhruva is the pole or the pivot.  SrI
Sankara associates the nAma with bhagavAn being the One who divides and
regulates everyone including the different protectors of the world, various
types of beings, takes care of their survival and sustenance, etc. 

388. samsthAnah - The final end.

om samsthAnAya namah.

sarvam etasmin santhishThate - samApyate iti samsthAnah. One in whom all
things have their ultimate end is samsthAnah.  Another interpretation, given
by SrI v.v.rAmAnujan,  is samApyate iti samsthAnah - One who terminates
everything at some stage is samsthAnah.  

SrI Sankara gives an additional interpretation - samIcInam sthAnam asya iti
samsthAnah - He who has the supreme place.  This is  elaborated by SrI
rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri as referring to the Milky Ocean, the sUrya maNDala, the
heart of the yogis etc., or His position as dhruva in the dhruva maNDala. 

389. sthAna-dah - The Giver of the Supreme Abode.

om sthAnadAya namah.

sthAnam dadAti iti sthAna-dah.  da is "to give".  There are many nAma-s that
end with the affix -da, and all of these can be understood based on this
suffix. Other examples are prANa-dah, mAna-dah, SAnti-dah, SrI-dah,
darpa-dah, sarva-kAma-dah, and svasti-dah.  sthAna-dah is One who gives the
best of the sthAna-s, paramapadam.

SrI Sankara gives a more general interpretation as One who gives status to
the beings as they deserve - dhruvAdInAm karmAnurUpam sthAnam dadAti iti
sthAna-dah.  SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri points out that bhagavAn is the One who
gave the position to dhruva which is unlike all the other stars viz. dhruva
is fixed in position compared to the others who are in constant motion.  

SrI cinmayAnanda gives references to kathopanishad (yathAkarmam yathASrutam
- 2.5.7), and quotes "karma phala dAtA nArAyaNah" to support SrI Sankara's
interpretation.  The dharma cakram writer gives reference to tirukkuraL to
support the same interpretation -

	"vaguttAn vagutta vagai allAl kODi 
	  toguttArkkum tuyttal aridu".

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha comments that bhagavAn gives the position to the
stars in space, to the devas in the antariksha loka, to the water-living
creatures in the Oceans, etc.  At a lower level, He has even created
appropriate places in our bodies for the refuse that results from the bodily
functions. 

390. dhruvah - The Stationary (Fixed).

om dhruvAya namah.

The root dhru means to be steady.  He conferred a status on dhruva that is
as permanent as SrI vaikunTham.   Since He can make any place as permanent
as His abode viz. SrIviakunTham, the significance here is that He is
everywhere. 

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri comments that bhagavAn conferred on dhruva that
which is only His Nature - viz. the indestructible status, and so dhruva is
bhagavAn Himself.   The dharma cakram writer points out that in the midst of
the cycle of creation and pralaya where everything that has been created
merges in Him and then reappears, He is the only permanent or fixed one, and
so He is dhruva.  SrI satyadevo vAsishTha takes the meaning "certain" for
dhruva, and points out that even though everything except Him in this
Universe is adhruva, by His Nature of dhruvatva He gives a sense of
certainty to everything - thus the rising of the sun and the setting of the
sun are dhruva or certain, birth and death are certain, etc. 

Next begins the story of SrI rAma.  The next 16 nAma-s are interpreted by
SrI BhaTTar in the context of rAmAvatAra.  SrI BhaTTar titles this section
as "The story of SrI rAma which resuscitates even the dead".  SrI
v.v.rAmAnujan points out the "bias" that SrI BhaTTar has for this
incarnation shows in the vryAkhyAnam that he gives for these nAma-s.  The
title is just the beginning.

391. pararddhih - He who is full of noble and auspicious qualities.

om paraddhaye namah.

r*ddhih means vibhUti or manifestation.  parA r*ddhih yasya sa pararddhih -
One who has a super-abundance of auspicious qualities or kalyANa guNa-s.
SrI v.v.rAmAnujan comments that it is not an exaggeration to say that in no
other incarnation do we find the perfection of auspicious qualities as in
the rAma incarnation.  SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri refers us to rAmAyaNa where
some of these qualities are described in Sloka-s 1.1.8 to 1.1.18 by sage
nArada to vAlmIki.   The last two Sloka-s are given here as examples:
    
	"samudra iva gAmbhIrye dhairyeNa himavAniva       |
	  vishNunA sadr*So vIrye somavat priyadarSanah     ||

	 kAlAgni-sadr*Sah krodhe kshamayA pr*thivI samah  |
	 dhanadena samstyAge satye dharma ivAparah             ||

	"rAma has gAmbhIrya like an ocean, dhairya of himavAn, vIrya of
vishNu, the sweet appearance of the moon, anger comparable to that of
pralaya agni, patience of Mother Earth, tyAga of kubera, and satya of dharma
devatA".

SrI rAmAnujan gives an additional interpretation:  pareshAm r*ddhireva
r*ddhih yasya - One who considers para samr*ddhih or the fulfillment of
others as His own.  After crowning vibhIshaNa, Lord rAma felt happy by the
sheer act of fulfilling His word - kr*ta kr*tyah tathA rAmah.  He also
quotes "utsaveshu ca sarveshu piteva paritushyati" - When the citizens are
happy, He feels happy like a father who feels pleasure at the happiness of
the child".      

392. parma-spashTah - He whose greatness is explicit.

om parama-spashTAya namah.

spashTa (pratyaksha, dr*shTA) pAramyah parama-spashTah.  His greatness is
explicitly obvious.  SrI BhaTTar refers us to rAmAyaNa - vyaktamesha
mahA-yogI paramAtmA sanAtanah - (yuddha kANDam - 114.4).  These are
mandodari's words when she sees rAma after He slays rAvaNa in the
battlefield.  Similarly, tArA, vAli's wife, recognizes rAma's divine nature
as soon as she sees Him - tvam aprameyaSca durAsadaSca.....manushya
dehAbhyudam vihAya divyena dehAbhydayena yuktah (rAmAyaNa 4.24.31-32).  Lord
rAma's only goal and firm determination (mahA-yogi) in this incarnation was
protection of the world, and His greatness can be clearly cognized by means
of direct perception.  sumitrA's words are:  "sUryasyApi bhavet sUryah" - He
shines even brighter than the Sun, and He is the One who gives brightness to
the Sun.   Other references to Lord rAma's explicit greatness are His being
called "pumsAm dr*shTi cittApahAriNam", "rUpa samhananam lakshmIm tadr*Sur
vismitAkArAh", etc. 

The dharma cakram writer points out that it is this explicit greatness that
caused bharata to throw away the kingdom that was offered to him and instead
be devoted to rAma, lakshmaNa to serve rAma for 14 years without food and
sleep, and  hanumAn to surrender to rAma as soon as he met him and serve Him
for the rest of his life.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives an independent interpretation based on the
root spaS - to bind ( spaSati - badhnAti), and gives the meaning "One who
binds everything in a superb way" for parama-spashTa.  The example of the
complex human body, which retains its beautiful appearance in spite of its
internal complexity, is given as an example.  He gives the following quotes
in support:  asya spaSo na nimishanti (rg 9.73.4), divah spaSah pracaranti
(atharva 4.16.4), etc.  

393. tushTah - He who is full of happiness.

om tushTAya namah.

Instead of being in SrIviakunTham where only a chosen few could be with Him,
He decided happily to choose dasaratha, a human, as His father, and be born
in this world so that He was within reach of everyone.  When the deva-s
appeared before Him in His rAma incarnation and praised Him as bhagavAn, He
told them that He was happy to consider Himself as a human, the son of
dasaratha - AtmAnam mAnusham manye rAmam daSarathAtmajam.  As we saw before,
He is one who was happy like a father of an accomplished child when His
citizens were happy - piteva paritushyati, and who attained unbounded joy by
just fulfilling His word to vibhIshaNa and crowning him as the king of lankA
- pramumoda ha. 

SrI Sankara interprets the nAma as referring to His being The Supreme Bliss.

SrI cinmayAnanda explains that He is tushTa - One who becomes happy even
with the smallest of offerings.  He refers us to 

"patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktyA prayacchati    |
	  tadaham bhaktyupahr*tam aSnAmi prayatAtmanah                ||

	"I accept even if one offers some leaf or flower, fruit, or spoon of
water, happily, if it is offered in love".

The dharma cakram writer points out that bhagavAn is tushTa because He is
not subject to the pains and pleasures that other beings are subject to.
rAma did not feel instant happiness when He was going to become king, nor
was He sad when He was asked to go the forest for 14 years.  kr*shNa only
smiled when gAndhAri cursed that the yAdava race should come to an end
forever.  bhagavAn is only the witness to all events, and is not influenced
in any way by any event, which for the outsiders is deemed good or bad,
happy or sad etc.  This nAma should teach us that the proper way to realize
bhagavAn is to be tushTa always, and be witness to the events around us but
not be attached to them, and train to be a yogi - santhushTah satatam yogI. 

394. pushTah - He who is full of noble qualities.

om pushTAya namah.

pUrNatvAt pushTah.  He is complete in every respect, and so there is no room
for likes and dislikes, wants and desires.  The dharma cakram writer refers
us to vaLLuvar referring to bhagavAn as "vENDUdal vENDAmai ilAn".
Meditating on the significance of this nAma will lead us to move towards
this state where we overcome likes and dislikes.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha extends this meaning to also suggest that He is
pushTa because He keeps all his creations fulfilled by making available the
means for them to be fulfilled - pushNAti iti pushTah.  

395. SubehshaNah - He who has auspicious eyes.

om SubhekshaNAya namah.

We have seen the nAma-s padmanibhekshaNah (346) and aravindAkshah (348)
earlier.  SrI BhaTTar refers us to ayodhyA kANDam - 

	"yaSca rAmam na paSyettu yam ca rAmo na paSyati       |
	  ninditah sa vaset loke svAtma'pi enam vigarhate            ||
(ayodhyA 17.14)

	"Whoever has not seen rAma or whomsoever rAma has not seen, that
person stands condemned by all people in this world, and even his own self
condemns him".

SrI v.v.rAmAnujan refers us to amalanAdipirAn - kariyavAgip-puDai parandu
miLirndu SevvariyODi nINDa ap-perivAya kaNgaL, sung by tiruppANAzhvAr.
subhRUh Ayata tAmrAkshah sAkshAt vishNuriva svayam - He with such beautiful
brows and bright long red eyes - He is none other than vishNu, is the praise
of the citizens of ayodhyA.  hanumAn describes rAma to sItAdevi as "rAmah
kamala patrAkshah sarva sattva manorathah - where he describes the greatness
of seeing His eyes as well as being seen by His eyes.  sItA pirATTi herself
describes Her Lord rAma thus - tam padma daLa patrAksham .. dhanyAh paSyanti
me nAtham - Those who are blessed see the beautiful lotus-like eyes of my
nAtha.  

SrI Sankara elaborates on the power of the beauty of His eyes thus:

	"IkshNam darSanam yasya Subham Subhakaram narANAm, mumukshUNAm
mokshdam, bhogArthinAm bhogadam, pApinAm pAvanam, sarva sandeha viccheda
kAraNam, hr*daya-granther vicchedakaram, sarvakarmANAm kshpaNam, avidyAyASca
nivartakam sah SubekshaNah".

	"His mere sight is so auspicious and bestows good on all beings;  it
gives moksham to the spiritually minded, enjoyments to those that desire
them, cleanses sinners, removes all doubts, burns up all the karma-s, and
removes all ignorance".

He quotes the Sruti "bhidhyate hr*daya-granthih chidyante sarva samSayAh
kshIyante cAsya karmANi tasmin dr*shTe parAvare" (muNDakppanishad 2.2.8) -
The knots of the heart are cut....

SrI rAdhAkr*shNa SAstri gives us several references to the Sruti.  IkshANam
also refers to the determination by bhagavAn that He will become many from
One.  This samkalpam became the auspicious decision which resulted in the
creation of this Universe.  Since He is the One with the Subha IkshaNa or
samkalpa, He is SubhekshaNa.  SrI SAstri gives the following quotes to
support this interpretation:  tadaikshata bahu syAm prajAyeyeti (chAndogya
6.2); sa Ikshata lokAnnusr*jA iti (aitareya 1.1.1); sa IkshAm cakre (praSno
6.3); seyam devataikshata hantAhamimAh tisro devatA anena jIvena
AtmA'nupraviSya nAmarUpe vyAkaravANi (chAndogya 6.3).

The dharma cakram writer points out several examples of individuals who
benefited by the mere sight of bhagavAn falling on them.  arjuna asked Lord
kr*shNa to bless him with His Merciful glance; as soon as this happened, all
of arjuna's doubts were cleared, and he realized the true nature of his soul
immediately.  guha, hanumAn, paraSurAma, and Sabari are just among some of
the examples of people who gained immensely from the mere sight of Lord
rAma. 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan