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Sri vishNu sahasranAmam - nAma 86 to 95.

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Krishnamachari, N. • September 17, 1997 


					Sri VishNu SahasranAmam 86 to 95.

86.  sure(s)ah - a) The Lord of all the other gods.
		b)  The best among those who can bestow their devotees' desires.

	a) SurANAm I(s)ah sure(s)ah.

	The word sura means one who can fulfil the desires of the devotees
(sushThu rAti - dadAti - iti surah.  He is sure(s)a because He created
the other gods (sura) such as Brahma and Rudra and conferred on them the
functions for which they are responsible. 

	b) su rA Isah - Best among those who can bestow blessings on their
devotees.   su - (s)obhanam,  rAti - dadAti, Isah - Their Lord or the
The Best.  Thus sure(s)a means the best among those who can fuflfil the
desires of the devotees.  Sriman nArAyaNa is the only one who can fulfil
the ultimate desire of the devotees - that of moksha.

87.  (s)araNam - The Refuge.

	According to amarako(s)a, (s)araNam means protection as well as home -
(s)araNam vadha rakshitror grha rakshaNayorapi.  BhagavAn is the
Ultimate Refuge to those who are in misery - ArtAnAm Arti hantAram.  He
is the also the final Goal or the Destination - nivasishyasi mayyeva ata
Urdhvam na sam(s)ayah;  the one who realizes Him comes to live in Him.
Sri ChinmayAnanda points out that He is not only the Home for those who
have realized Him, but in pralaya time He is the home for all beings.

88.  (s)arma - One who is Bliss, the Highest Goal to be attained.

	Amarako(s)a gives this word as an alternative (i.e., with the same
meaning) as prIti, sukha, etc.  In the vyAkhyAna for amarako(s)a,
LingAyasurin gives the following derivation - (s)rNAti duhkham iti
(s)arma - One who destroys or removes the sorrows.   Both Sri Sankara
and Sri Bhattar give the meaning "Bliss".  ParamAnanda rUpatvAt (s)arma,
and sukham paramprApyam iti (s)arma, respectively.  I could not find the
root word for the nAma from the dictionary.   Sir William-Monier's
dictionary speculates that the name is probably derived from (s)ri. 

89.  vi(s)varetAh - The seed for the Universe.

	retas means seed.  Vi(s)vam kAryam asya iti vi(s)varetA, or vi(s)vasya
kAraNatvAt vi(s)varetA.

The name denotes that He is the seed from which the tree of life has
sprung forth.  Later on, in nAmas 118 and 151, we will see that He is
the also the vi(s)vayoni where the seed develops and takes full form.
In other words, everything results from Him and exists because of Him.
Sri Bhattar notes that the purpose of His creation is for His service
and His service only.  In vishNu tatva, we have the following -

	"vicitrA deha sampattih IsvarAya niveditum         |
	  pUrvameva krtA brahman! Hasta-pAdAdi samyutA  ||

	"Brahman!  This wonderful wealth, namely body, associated with hands,
legs, etc., has already been created by me with a view to enable beings
to use them in the service of the Supreme."

90.  prajAbhavah - One from whom all beings have originated.  

	In nAma 70, prajApati, we found that prajA can refer to those special
births (prakarsheNa jAyante) such as the nitya suris.  So here
prajAbhava can refer to the general interpretation that prajA refers to
all beings, or more specifically that He created all the other suris or
Ever-Free Angels.  Sri rAdhAkrshNa SAstri points out that while normal
evolution starts with primitive forms and evolves to higher forms,
BhagavAn deiced to create the higher forms such as Brahma first, and
then the forms that are not as accomplished, such as all the animals,
the humans, etc., later.

91.  ahah - a) One who never forsakes anyone.
		b)  One who is like the Day that awakens people from ignorance.
		c)  One who does not destroy His devotees.

	The first interpretation is based on "na hInah asya asti iti ahah -
There is no one who is abandoned by Him.  The second interpretation is
based on the traditional meaning of the word aha - day.  The third
interpretation is derived by a-ha, where ha means destroy; One who does
not destroy is a-ha.

92.  samvatsarah - He who lives for the uplift of His devotees.

	This name repeats again as nAma 423.  The meaning is derived from the
root vas - to live.  samuddharaNAya samvasati iti samvatsarah.    The
term samvatsara is also used to denote the year, and hence another
interpetation for this nAma is that BhagavAn is Time itself.

93.  vyAlah - a) One who accepts the devotees - e.g., vibhIshaNa.
		b)  One who is beyond grasp such as a vyAla - a serpent, an elephant,
a tiger, etc.

	Sri Bhattar gives the first interpretation based on the root lA - to
take or accept.  VyAla also means a serpent, a mad elephant, a vicious
tiger etc.  BhagavAn is vyAla because He is slippery like a serpent to
grasp, or beyond grasp like a huge elephant.  Or He is impossible to be
controlled by the demons, like a mad elephant - vyAlavat bhujangavat
gajavat grahItum a(s)akyatvAt vyAlah.

94.  pratyayah - One who can be relied upon.

	PratIyate asmin iti pratyayah - One in whom we can place confidence.
In the sabhA parva in mahA bhArata, we have

	"yadi te hrdayam vetti yadi te pratyayo mayi       |
	  bhImasenArjunau (s)Ighram nyAsabhUtau prayaccha me    ||   (20.7)

	"If your heart understands me, and if you have FAITH in me, place BhIma
and arjuna immediately at my disposal".

95.  sarvadar(s)anah - a) One who shows all His grace to His devotees
		b)  The All-seeing.

	Sri Bhattar interprets dar(s)ana to mean He shows everything, and (S)ri
(S)ankara interprets this word to mean He sees everything.  Great indeed
are the ways great minds see and enjoy the BhagavAn in many different
ways!  Sri Sankara gives the following reference to the sruti -

	"vi(s)vata(s)cakshur vi(s)vAksham - One who has eyes on all sides - One
who has a Universal eye". (taittirIya AraNyaka 10.1, 11).

	(S)rI ChinmayAnanda gives the following reference to GItA -
sarvato'kshi (s)iromukham - One who has eyes and heads everywhere.  

-dAsan krshNamAchAryan


	





	


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118, 151