VISHNUSAHASRANAMA

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First sathakam- 1to 100

Vishnu sahasranama is one of the three jewels of Mahabharatha, the other two being, Bhagavatgita and Sanathsujaatheeya. While Bhagavatgita was expounded by Krishna in the battlefield, Sanathsujaatheeya was told to Dhrtharaashtra by Sanathkumara on being requested by Vidhura.

The Vishnu sahasranama was expounded by Bhishma at the end of Mahabharatha war. Yudhishtira, goaded by Krishna went to Bhishma, who was lying on the bed of arrows waiting for the Uththarayana punyakala to leave his mortal coils. E had the boon of Ichchamrtyu, the power to die whenever he wished. Krishna who gave the discourse of Gita to Arjuna did not advise Yudhishtira Himself but made him go to Bhishma to learn about dharma because He wanted Yudhishtira to learn the greatness of Narayana bhakthi and also to show the world the greatness of Bhishma.

The Lord willed Yudhishtira to ask the questions ‘Kimekam dhaivatham loke’ and ‘Ko dharmah sarvadharmaanaam bhavathah paramo mathah’ in order to elicit the Vishnusahasranama from the mouth of Bhishma, for his own benefit, as it purifies the one who recites aswellas the one ho hears it.

Yudhishtira, after listening to the discourse on dharma from Bhishma, asked him six questions.

3.&4. Sthuvanthah kam, kamarchanthah praapnuyurmaanavaasshubham’, praising whom and worshipping whom men attain happiness?

5.Ko dharmah sarvadharmaanaam bhavathah paramo mathah,’ what is, in your opinion , the best dharma of all?

6.Kim japan muchyathe janthuh janma samsarabhandhanaath,’ meditation on whom leads one to salvation?

Bhishma replies the last question first, ‘Jagatprabhum devadevam anantham purushoththamam’, meditating on the Lord of devas, who is the Master of the world. The infinite being , and the Supreme Purusha leads one to salvation. Jagat denotes the world of sentient and insentient beings. The Lord is called Jagatprabhu as He is the one who ordains salvation as well as dharma. This answers the sixth question fully. Devadevam means ‘Lord of gods,’ devas, including Brahma. He is also Anantha, infinite, which implies desakalavasthuparichchinnarahithathvam , not limited by space, time and form.He is Purshoththama, The Supreme Person as He is ksharaaksharaabhyaam kaaryakaaranaabhyam uthkrshtah, who is above the mutable and immutable, above cause and effect, that is, He is transcendent and imminent. Poornathvath purushah, allpervading and puri sayanaath purushah, indweller of all bodies Pura is the whole universe which is His sarira.

Then Bhishma proceeds to answer the third and fourth questions, ‘By praising and worshipping whom men attain their wishes.’ Sthuvannamasahasrena and thameva archayan nithyam, only through reciting His thousand names and worshipping Him daily men attain their goal, namely, salvation. He is avyaya, changeless and akshayagunasampanna endowed with innumerable auspicious qualities enjoyed always by His devotees sadha anubhavanthyah.

Then Bhishma goes on to say how to worship Him. Nithyam and bhakthya. While nithyam means every moment bhakthya, with pure devotion. The ritual of worship is outlined as dhyaayan, sthuvan, namasyan and yajamaana. Contemplation like continuous drip of nectar, avichchinna amrthadhara is dhyana, namaskaara, bowing down is physical while sthuthi, namasankirthana, singing His praise, is verbal worship. Yajamaana implies atmasamarpana , offering our self to the Lord. This describes the pure worship performed with enthusiasm, endeavouring to please the Lord and to show gratitude for making the devotee His own, however undeserving, through His infinite mercy. This is the bhakthiyoga in a nutshell as outlined in the Vedas and which is shown as the royal path to salvation.

Badharayana(Vyasa) compares bhakthi to a yajna containing all the ingradients of it, direct and indirect. Varnasrama dharma to be followed is the indirect means, aaraath upakaranam , while the inner and outer control, samadhamaadhi, which is essential for a devotee, serves as the direct means, sannipathyopakaarakam, for the successful fruition of the bhaktiyajna. Thus bhakthi is shown to be the best means of salvation. The same idea is emphasized in the Gita by Krishna, Purushah saparam partha bhakthyaalabhyasthvananyayaa.

Then Bhishma goes on to describe Lord Vishnu in two slokas . He is anaadhinidhana, having neither beginning nor an end and hence devoid of the six transformations, shadbhaava, of the finite beings. The six forms to which all beings are subjected to are,jaayathe,takes birth, asthi, exists, viparinamathe, changes, vardhathe, grows, apaksheeyathe, declines and vinasyathe, perishes. He is Vishnu, all pervading, Sarvalokamahesvara, Supreme ruler and hence has the power to fulfil all wishes of those who worship Him. He is lokaadhyaksha, the supervisor of the universe.

Bhishma asserts that by worshipping Him always by sthuthi’sthuvannnithyam’ one becomes sarvaduhkhaathigah, transcends all sorrows. He proceeds to give six more adjectives to the Lord.

1. Brahmanya, one who is known through the Vedas, ‘brahma’ here meaning the Veda.

3. Lokaanaamkirthvrdhana, being the indweller of all, He causes the rise of their glory, or, by his namasankirthana He enters into the heart and makes the devotee illustrious. One who praises the Lord becomes himself praiseworthy.

5. Mahadbhootham, Supreme being Everything in the universe being made up of the five elements belong to Him as the Lord of the universe. As such He needs nothing, avaaptha samasthakaamah It is said in the Mahabharatha that the Lord requires no more than a vessel filled with water, washing of His feet and sweet words. ‘Anyatpoornaadhapaam kumbhaath anyat padhavasechanaath anyatkusalasamprsnaath na chechchathi Janardhanah.’

6. Sarvabhoothodbhava, from whom all beings originate. Al beings owe their existence to Him. So by singing His praise, sthuvan, one gets rid of duhkha rising out of thapathraya, the three kinds of torments, namely, aadhibouthika, caused by other beings, aadhidhaivika, through destiny and aadhyantha due to one’s own mind.

Then Bhishma replies to the question number 5, ‘ What is the best dharma of all?’ He says ‘esha me sarvadharmaanaam dharmo adhikathamo mathah,This in my

Here the word ‘sarvadhrmaanaam’ impliesthe four kinds of dharma laid out in the sastras.

1. Aihika dharma, the actions pertaining to the life in this world. This oncludes the natural duties of a householder.

2.Aamushmika dharma, those performed for the welfare in the life- after, like the yajnas, sacrificial rites, dhana, acts of charity, done for attaining heaven or better life in the next birth.

3. The actions that are undertaken in order to attain salvation , by those who are free from attachment, through yoga and meditation.

4. The path of devotion, through act s of love towards the Lord like kirtana, smarana and padasevana, singing Hi names thinking about Him ad worshipping Him.

The last dharma is extolled by Bhishma as the supreme dharma. Lord Krishna has specified the same in the Gita by the caramasloka, ‘Sarvadharmaan parithyajya maamekam saranam vraja.’ Bhishma says ‘ yadbhakthyaa pundareekashamsthavairarcheth narah esha dharmassanaathanah,’ the worship p of the Lotus eyed Lord is the age old dharma. This is aadhikyena abhimatham, considered the greatest because it can be done without depending on anything or anybody and without disturbing others. The word narah is used to denote that all are qualified to follow Bhakthimarga irrespective of caste creed or sex. As Krishna says in Gita, ‘api chet sudhuraacharo,’ even a man of evil ways is transformed by bhakthi, to which Valmiki and Thirumangai alwar are the examples. The word pundareekaaksha refers to the lotus of the heart in which the Lord resides (asnuthe ithi akshah)

According to Bhagavatha purana, the singing of His names alone will lead to salvation in kaliyuga, ‘kalou namasankirthanam’ and one need not perform the more difficult acts like yajna, thapas, etc. While it is easy to do it is also the most effective because it is rarely done in the kaliyaga. Those who think of the Lord and chant His name are referred to as dhanyaah, blessed ones, by Bhishma.

This dharma, bhakthimarga, is considered to be adhikathama because it is,

2. Free from vyaya and aayaasa, never futile and involves no strain, vyayaayaasarahithathvaath sukakarathvam,

3.Attractive because it is done to please the Lord, who is our inner self, aathmanaatha preenanabhavena aakarshakathvaath,

4.While it is simple and easy it brings forth the greatest benefit of uprooting the misery of samsara which is unbearable and immense, athilaaghave api athiguru dhurvahabhavabaya unmoolana mahaaphalathvaath

5.It is absolutely without adverse effect, even if it is irregular and inconsistent, it brooks no evil.

7.There is no stipulation regarding time and place to pursue bhakthimarga, desakalaanpekshatvaath.

8. Object of worship is such that it wards off all possible impediments. Vishayaprabhaavena nishprathyuhathvath.

Then Bhishma instructs to listen to the thousand names of Hari being expounded. First he praises the Lord as paramam yo mahaththejah. Paramamtheja

refers to the effulgent Self of all. Mundaka Upanishad proclaims ‘thamevabhaantham anubhaathi sarvam thasya bhaasaa sarvamidhamvibhaathi,’ every luminous body shines only being illuminated by the self-effulgent Brahman. Brihadhaaranyaka upanishad mentions the Sun being illuminated by That, ‘yena suryo thapathi thejasedhdhah.’ Paramam denotes samaabhyadhikarahithathvam, there is nothing similar or superior to Him and paramamthejah implies that there is no limit to His brilliance. He is also Paramamthapah , Supreme flame that ignites everything. Thapah thapanaath, means blazing.

Bhishma refers to the Lord as paramam mahath brahma. He is Brahman, the supreme reality. Brhat means large or great and also brahmanathvam, growth or increase. He is great being ananthakalynagunavisishta, possessing infinite auspicious qualities and sarvasakthiman.

Bhishma answers the remaining questions, namely, ‘Kimekam daivatham loke kimvaapyekam paraayanam,’ by saying that Lord Narayana is the paramam paraayanam because He is pavithraanaampavithram and mangalaanaam mangalam and hence daivathaanaamdaivatham. He is pavithraanaam pavithram, purity in the pure things, as the holiness of the water like that of the Ganges is only through His association and He is the auspiciousness, mangalam of the auspicious, mangalaanaam. He is daivathaanaam daivatham, the divinity in the divine beings because He is the creator bhoothaanaam avyayafpitha. Hence He is the paramamparaayanam. This is further elucidated by saying that He is the source of this world into whom it merges back in the end. The reference here is to the upanishadvakya ‘ Yatho va imaani bhoothaana jaayanthi, yene jaathaani jeevathi yasmin abhisamvisanthi thadhvijinjnaasasva thadhbrahma,’ which means ‘ Know that to be Brahman from whom all beings originate, by whom they are sustained and into whom all merge back.’

Then Bhishma extols the greatness of Namasahasra of Vishnu, who is Jagannaatha, and lokapradhaana , the Lord of the universe. The thousand names dispel the fear from sin and they are derived from His gunas, namaani gounaani, and also well known, vikhyaathaani, through the Vedas and also sung by the rsis of lore. Vedavyasa is the chief exponent of the sahasranama as this occurs in Mahabharatha. It is set in anushtup chandha as its metre. The deity referred to is Lord Vasudeva.son of Devaki Thus Bhishma has identified Krishna as Lord Hari. He further clarifies by saying that the seed, bija of the sahasranamasthothra is amrthaamsoodbhava ,namely Krishna. Amrthaamsu means the Moon,as he is supposed to be having rays, amsu of amrtha, nectar and Krishna hails from lunar race. The power of the sthothra is the son of Devaki, who is thrisaama, sung by the three important hymns of samaveda. The purpose of the sthothra is to bring peace, shanthyathartham. These details were given according to the rule that every manthra must have its own rshi, metre, devatha etc.

Then Bhishma offers prayer to the Lord and starts citing the thousand names He is Vishnu, the inner self, from the verb vis ‘to enter.’ He is jishnu, victorious. He is also mahavishnu and prabhavishnu, all pervading creator or cause of the universe, and mahesvara, Supreme Lord. He is anekarupa dhaithyantha, the slayer of various demons. This has reference to His vibhavas, the incarnations, and finally He is Purushoththama, the Supreme being.

Visvam means the universe and the word is derived from the root vis, to enter. Visvam refers to the Lord who is all pervading. Scripture confirms this by texts such as ‘brahmaivedham visvam’, ‘purushah evedham visvam,’ (Mundka up.) all this universe is Brahman or Purusha ,the Supreme Being, ‘sarvam khalu idham brahma thajjalaan,’ (chandhokya up. ) all this is Brahhman because it originated from, sustained by, and merges back into Brahman. So visvam which is the effect of Brahman is not different from Brahman. Thaithreya Upanishad says ‘thatsrshtvaa thadheva anupraavisath;thadhanupravisya sat cha thyatcha abhavath,’ after creating everything Brahman entered in it and became sat and asat. Same idea can be seen in Chandhogya Upanishad in the text ’anena athmanaa anupravisya namarupe vyaakaravaani,’ Brahman entered into all beings and became their real self giving them nama and rupa. Hence visathi ithi visvam brahm.,’

Visvam also means krthsnam, whole or poornam, complete . ( vide Amarakosa) This refers to the Lord who is paripurna, complete due to His innate limitless auspicious qualities which form His svarupa, nature svabhavika anavadhika athisaya gunpavibhavaih paripurnah. This implies fullness and perfection.

He is described as visvam to denote His transcendence and imminence. The transcendence was manifest in His Thrivikramaavathaara when He filled the whole universe and above and His imminence was shown in Nrsimhaavathaara as the whole universe, says Vedantadesika in his Varadarajapanchaasat, was Nrsimhagarbha, had Him as the indweller, who was awaiting to manifest wherever Hiranyakasipu was going to point at. Such is the concern of the Lord towards His devotee that He is prepared to go to any extent to prove them true. He had to prove the word of Prahlada that He is everywhere and also to make true the boon given by Brahma, who is also His bhaktha, to Hiranyakasipu.

It would be interesting to mention here that Desika says ‘Sthambhaikavarjam adhuna api karisa noonam thrilokyamethadhakhilam narasimhagarbham,’ The whole world, except the one pillar out of which the Lord came out even now bears Narasimha within. The Thrivikrama was visvamaya rupa while Nrsimha was vivayonirupa which indicates that everything is in Him and He is in everything. . So the word visvam can thus be seen to refer to the Vamanaavathaara and Nrsimhaavathaara. Similarly the word is interpreted by the learned acharyas to mean the other avathaaraas also.

Mundaka Upanishad says, ‘ brahma vedam visvam varishtam,’ Hence visvam means the veda and has reference to the Mathsyaavathaara I which the Lord assumed the form of a large fish to redeem the veda which was hidden under the sea by Hayagrivaasura. The Varaahaavathaara is also described as ‘mahaavaraaho visvaathma,’ the great boar was none other than the indweller of the universe as its real self.

Reference to Koormaavathaara by the word visvam is through the implication of the aadhikoorma, the ancient tortoise which bears the earth along with aadhisesha. Visvam can also be taken to mean Parasurama as the Lord in His incarnation as Parasurama traversed the whole world during His digvijaya.

Visvam denotes veda which is the authority on dharma. Rama was called vigrhavan dharmah , the embodiment of dharma. So it could very well refer to Ramaavathaara also. Krishnaavathaara, on the other hand, was a poornaavathaara and visvam means poorna, whole. This meaning of visvam is further substantiated by the namas that follow.

‘Vishnuh vyaapthou, one who pervades the whole universe. Veveshti vyaapnothi krtnsm chcraacharam ithi vishnuh This denotes desakalaparichchinna rahithathvam, not being limited by place time or form. As this word is also derived from vis, to enter it mans the one who pervades everything by entering into it. ‘ Yasmaathvishtamidham sarvamthasya sakthyaa mahaathmanah; tasmaadhevochyathe vishnuhviserdhaathoho pravesanaath.’ (Vishnupurana) Besides all that is explained with reference to visvam is applicable to Vishnu also.

Vashat is the indeclinable usually used at the end of a sentence in the sense of khathana , narration or exclamation. After having explained the all pervasive quality of the Lord by visvam and Vishnu the all pervasiveness ,vyaapthi is differentiated from the common sense of the term as in the case of akasa by this nama, vashatkara. Not only He pervades all but they are also in His control ‘Sarvam vasam karothi ithi vashatkaarah.’

The three names that followed elaborate the first, namely, visvam. He is the Lord of the past, bhootha, future, bhavya and the present, bhava as He has the control over the time and nor vice versa. He sustained, sustains and will sustain the universe. Prbhuh denotes His power which is independent of time.

Bhoothani karothi ithi bhoothakrth, creator. ‘Sarvaani bhoothaani svathanthram srjathi’ unaided He creates out of Himself, implying that He is the material and efficient cause. The Upanishad (chandhogya) proclaims, ‘Sadheva soumya idhamagra aaseeth ekemeva adhvitheeyam’ in the beginning, that is, before creation, sath alone existed one only, without a second . Here the word ‘sath’ means Brahman ,the absolute reality, Narayana for the bhaktha. That alone existed eva aseeth. So there could be no efficient cause, like the potter who creates a pot, other than the Lord. It is further ascertained that sat alone existed ekameva and without second, adhvitheeyam, which rules out any material cause such as clay as in the creation of a pot. So it follows that the Lord is the material and efficient cause of the universe.He is not only the creator but also the annihilator, as bhoothakrth also means bhoothaani krnthathi, annihilates. He annihilates all beings at the time of pralaya. So this nama implies both srshti and samhaara While The next one refers to the sustenance.

He is bhoothakrth when He turns creator and also when He is the annihilator. He is bhoothabrth when He is the sustainer and nourisher. The trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are the different aspects of the Lord. When He manifests sathvaguna He is the protector, Vishnu. When He assumes rajoguna He is the creator Brahma. He turns into Siva ,the annihilator taking up thamoguna.

Bhaavah is existence. The Lord is existence itself. This has reference to the creation of four kinds of beings, andaja, birds and other beings born out of egg, svedhaja, insects and flies, born from vapour or sweat, udbijja plants that come out of seeds and jaraayuja animals and humans born from the womb. Bhaava not only includes the living beings but existence in general, sentient and insentient as everything owes its existence to Him.

The self of all. The universe is His sarira, body of which He is the self being the antharyaamin, indweller. ‘Esha tha aathmaa antharyaamyamrthah’ (Brhadhaaranyaka up.)

He creates everything and gives them existence, bhoothaani bhaavayathi and saththayaa sthaapayathi. It also means He makes them flourish and grow, vikaasayathi,pushpyathi, vardhayathi vaa..

The word can be split in two ways, to mean ‘the pure self of all,’ poothascha asou atmaa cha taken as a karmadhaaraya compound, and ‘one whose self is pure,’ poothah aathmaa yasya saha when construed as a bahuvrihi compound. But the former meaning alone is applicable here as the Lord is the self of all and pure. As the imperfections of the body do not adhere to the soul, the imperfections of the world which is His sarira, do not affect the Lord, its soul.

He is not only poothaathma and sarvabhoothaathma but also Paramaathma. Allbeings are ensouled by Him and He is their real self. This has denotation to Brahman who is nithya shudhdhabhudhdhamukthasvabhaava.

maamupethya thu kountheya punarjanma na vidhyathe, “after reaching me there is no more birth.” So this nama denotes the paramapraapyathva, that the ultimate goal is the Lord.

No one is sent away from Him once they approach Him. Na veeyathe asmath ithi avyayah. It also means that He is immutable as vyaya denotes vikara , change. The term avyaya is used in vyaakarana,grammar, to refer a word which never changes according to gender number or case. ‘Sadhrsam thrishu lingeshu sarvaasu cha vibhakthishu vachneshu cha yat na vyethi thath avyayam

The verb san means ‘to give’ and puru means bahu, much Puru bahu sanothi ithi purushah, the one who gives much is called purusha and the Lord is Purusha because He gives all. The other meaning of the word is the Self. Purou sethe ithi purushah, one who dwells in the body. Puri is the sarira and the Lord is the indweller of the world which is his sarira as its aathman. Vide: purusha suktha ‘purusha evedhmsarvamyadbhootham yachchabhavyam.’ This word can also be taken to mean the annihilator as puru could mean the universe which He annihilates syathi’

Aksha means indhriya, sense organ. Akshena saha saaksham, with indhriya. .Sakshi is the one who perceives through the indhriyas, that is, the Self, without whom the eyes cannot see, ear cannot hear and hence the word denotes the Lord who is the perceiver of all, being the Self of all.

Kshethra is the sarira, so called because it declines with time, kshayathi ithikshethram. Kshethrajna is the one who understands the nature of the kshethra, or the controller of it, the Self. ‘Idham sariram kountheya kshetramithyabhidheeyathe’- Gita. So the Lord who is the real Self is the kshethrajna.

Kshara means waning and akshara is the one who remains the same for ever The Lord is akshara as the joy that is experienced by His devotees and the free souls by enjoying His nearness and service never wanes like a stream of honey that never stops. That is why He is called ‘Araavamudhan’, ever flowing nectar in tamil.

Akshara could also be taken to mean all pervading sarvam asnothi,vyaaonothi.

The integration of mind and intellect is yoga, mansah dhiyascha ekeebhaavah yogah. The Lord is termed as yoga, which is actually the means of attaining Him. Both the upaaya, the means and the upeya, the end , are the Lord Himself as without His grace He cannot be attained. Krishna says, 'dhadhaami budhdhi yogam, I give him the resolve to do yoga, who resorts to me.

The Lord leads, those who know, that yoga is the means of attaining Him. Yogam jaananthi ithi yogavidhah, those who know yoga, and He is their Netha, one who leads.

Pradhaana stands for the insentient nature which is constituted of the three gunas Sathva, Rajas and Thamas. Every thing in this world is made up of these three gunas. Physical body is the product of the five elements, which are the evolutes of thaamasaguna, mind and indhriyas are the evolutes of sathvaguna while rajoguna acts as a catalytic agent for the two gunas to combine and form the universe. Purusha is the sentient individual self, jiva, who is ever free but feels bound by identifying himself with Pradhaana, through ignorance and realises his true nature through jnana. The Lord is called Pradhaanapurushesvara, the overlord of both Pradhaana and Purushaa, because both function according to His will , who is their Niyantha , controller. The sruhi says that the sun, the wind and all forces of nature obey His command.

Naarasimhasvarupa is the combination of jnanasakthi and kriyasakthi, that is, Brahmasakthi and kshathrasakthi, of knowledge and power. This form is assumed for the purpose of protection of His devotees. Being Sathyakama and Sathyasankalpa, of true wish and will, He can assume any form at His will and He put on the man-lion form to prove the words of His devotees, namely, Prahladha, who proclaimed that the Lord Narayana is everywhere, in a pillar as well as a blade of grass, and Brahma ,who has given the boons to Hiranyakasipu which He had to respect.

The name Naarasimhavapuh is followed by Sreemaan to denote that whatever form the Lord takes He is always accompanied with Sree. The man-lion form was not fierce but full of beauty and charm that fascinates the heart of His devotees. This is the implication of the word Sreeman.

Kam means water and also happiness, sukham. As water in the form of rain is conducive to bring happiness The lord is the Isvara of both, Kasya isah. The particle va is added to denote possession.

The other meaning of the word is , a is Vishnu, ka is Brahma and isa denotes Rudra, the trinity who are the amsa, modes of the Paravasudeva, Lord Narayana The particle va is added to imply that they are under His control, vasa.. Kascha ascha isasha kesaah, thaan vaathi, sargaadhi kaaryaartham, The Lord Narayana activates them towards their functions of creation, sustenance and annihilation.

The commonly construed meaning of the word is however , the one possessing abundance of lovely locks of hair as kesa means hair, or the slayer of the demon Kesi, kesinam vaathi hinasthi.

Since the reference in the previous words is to Narasimha The word kesa may be taken to mean His luxurious mane.

He is the Supreme self, being the Self of all. Purusheshu utthamah, the word purush here meaning the individual soul and not the species of human beings, since the Lord cannot be classified under any category. So the word cannot be derived as purushaanaam utthamah, the highest among humans. The word Utthama has special connotation as will be indicated later.a

He is omniscient, sarvjnah, perfect and complete, poorna, and all pervading, sarvam thena vrtham.

Removes evil from the world which is His sarira. Svasarirabhoothaanaam asubhamapi srnaathi. He is also the annihilator, srnaathi hinasthi sarvaah prajaah samhaarasamaye, at the time of Pralaya. This is the reason the word is used to denote Rudra , the annihilator.

He is auspicious, Shubhaavahah. He is pure being not contaminated by the three gunas that constitute the universe, nisthrygunyathayaa sudhdhathvaath sivah. He is also siva as ‘seeng’ means sleeping, sethe ithi sivah, and He is the Supreme self, who is unknown to the worldly and hence appears to be sleeping. He is also called siva as He eradicates evil. Samyathe anena kasmalm ithi sivah

Firm and steady, sthira He stands, thishtathi and hence He is sthaanuh. He stands firmly to grace His devotees, dhrdaanugrahah. Just as the branches and the leaves of a tree moves but the trunk remains unmoved the Lord is the staunch support of this world of moving objects.

He is the ultimate cause of all beings, bhoothaanaam aadhih, from whom all emenate.

Nidhi means abode or receptacle. Nischayena sarvam sarvadha aasmin nidheeyatha ithi nidhih, sa eva avyayah, everything is deposited in this always and it is immutable. The Lord is the permanent abode of all beings, the safe deposit for His devotees. Swami Desika says in his Vairaagya panchakam, naasthi pithraarjitham kimchi tna mayaa kimchidhaarjitham asthi me hasthisailaagre vasthu paithaamaham dhanam, ‘I do not have any ancestral wealth nor have I earned any, but I do have a treasure at the top of the hasthisaila which is my heritage, ‘ meaning the Lord Varadharaja of Athigiri, Kaancheepuram.

To the devotees the Lord is the greatest wealth more than which they do not desire anything else. We can recall here the words of Thyagaraja who said, ‘ nidhitsalasukhamaa raamuni sannidhi sevaa sukhamaa nijamuka palgu manasa’ He is also a nidhi in the sense that everything is deposited in Him during the time of deluge.

This word is not used in the common meaning of ‘being born’ as in kumbhasambhava, ‘born in a pot’, which denotes the sage Agasthya, but in the sense sameecheenah bhavah, well manifest. He manifests Himself when necessary as Krishna says in the Gita, ‘sambhavaami aatma maayayaa,’ ‘thadhaathmaanam srjaamyaham,’ that He will manifest Himself when needed.

Bhaavyathe, satthaarupena prathishtaapyathe jagath anena ithi Bhaavanah. The universe owes its existence to Him. He is also the saviour as He removes the ills of the samsara and firmly establishes the jiva in Him. Also He is the distributor of the fruits of action, karmaphala, to all. Bhokthruunaam phalaani bhaavayathi.

He is the supporter of all. Bharanaath bhartha. He sustains all beings and apportion the fruits of their actions, sarvaan bhibharthi, theshaamkrthe yathaarham bhojyam dhadhaathi.

He is the source of all beings while He Himself has exalted existence, prakarshah bhavah. The purusha suktham has the sentence ajaayamaano bhahudhaa vijaayath, the unborn becomes many.

He remains the supreme power even when He comes down as His incarnations. Prakarshena bhavathi ithi prabhuh.

Supreme ruler. Esvarah sarva bhoothaanaam hrddhese Arjuna thishtathi,bhraamayan sarvabhoothaani yanthraarudaani maayayaa, the supreme ruler stands in the heart and makes all beings revolve around in maaya as though in a wheel.

He is the source of happiness. ‘sam’ means sukham. Sam sukham bhaavayathi ithi sambhuh. ‘ Visvaaksham visvasambhuvam’- Narayanasuktham

The word aadhithya generally refers to the Sun. there are twelve aadhithyas with respect to the twelve months of the year. Aadhitya means the son of adhithi, the mother of devas, adhithyaah apathyam pumaan aadhithyah. The word can also be derived as aadhatthe (rasaan bhuvah rasmibhih) ithi aadhithyah, one who brings essence of life on earth by his rays or as aadhatthe bhaasam jyothishaam, one who gives light to other luminous bodies. In this sense the word can be ascribed to the Lord as He is the giver of life and light and He was also manifested Himself as the son of adhithi in His incarnation as Vamana which is why He is known as Upendhra, brother of Indra. Thameva bhaantham anubhaathi sarvam thasya bhaasa sarvamidham vibhaathi, all luminous bodies shine because of His light, says the Upanishad. That He is the real Self of the Sun is expressed in the sruthi as, ‘ya esha anthraadhithye hiranmayahpurushahdhrsyathe and ‘dhyeyah sadhaa savithrmandalavarthi,’ The Purusha seen in the Sun is of golden hue and He is to be meditated as being at the orb of the Sun.

Pushkara means anthriksha, sky, kamalam, lotus and udhakam, water. Pushkaraaksha may be taken to mean pushkare aksheeni yasya sah, one who has eyes above, that is one who has eyes everywhere, denoting the omnipresence of the Lord. When pushkara is taken to mean lotus pushkaraaksha means the one with lotus like eyes.

Upanishad on describing the Purusha of golden hue seen inside the orb of the Sun (see the previous nama – ya esha antharaadhitye----) says thasya kapyaasam pundarikam iva akshinee. Here an interesting incident related to Ramanuja is worth mentioning. Ramanuja was at first a disciple of Yaadhavaprakaasa, an advaitin. When Yadhavaprakasa explained this passage he gave the meaning for kapyaasam as the hind parts of a monkey which pained Ramanuja and brought tears to his eyes. When questioned about this Ramanuja explained that the word kapyaasam really means a lotus brought to bloom by the Sun., kapi should be derived as kam pibhathi , one who drinks water, that is the Sun who dries up water by his rays and aasam means blossoming. So the word should be derived as kapeh aasam pundarikam, the lotus blossoming from the Sun’s rays, and not as lotus red like the hind parts of the monkey. So the sentence means that the Purusha who is seen in the orb of the Sun has eyes like full blown lotus which means Lord Narayana who is synonymous with Brahman in visishtaadvaita.

As all the sound originated from the Lord, who is pranavasvarupa He is Mahaasvana the great sound. Mahaan cha asou svanascha ithi mahaasvanah. Or Mahaan svanah sabdah yasya sah , the sound of whom is greatest of all. When He blew His conch, Paanchajanya, at the outset of the Mahaabhaaratha war, it made His enemies shake with fear. The Paanchajanya represents the Omkara, the origin of all sounds, the Naadhabrahman.

He has neither beginning nor end. Aadhih, janma na vidhyathe ithi anaadhih, aadhih nidhanam, vinaasam cha na vidhyathe asya ithi anaadhi nidhanah

He is the karmaphalavidhaatha, one who apportions the fruits of actions to all.

The verb ‘dhaa’ means ‘to create’, dhadhaathi, ‘to sustain,’dharathi, ‘to bestow,’pushnaathi and the Lord is called dhaathurutthma nothing is sustained without Him. The word dhaathu also means the mutual attraction of the planets, grahaanaam parasparam aakarshanam and also the gravitational force of the earth which enables everything in the world to be in its place is called dhaathu. As both the subtle and gross universe is ssustained by the Lord He is called dhaathurutthamah, the supreme supporter of all. Moreover due to His jnana , bala , aisvarya shakthi thejas and virya which constitute the aspects of Bhagavan, He is called Dhaathurutthamah, jnanabalaadhiktiyaahdhaarayantha ithi dhaathuh..

Aprameya means immeasurable. The common means of cognition are, prathyaksha, perception, anumana, inference, upamana, comparison and sabda, verbal testimony which consists of veda or word of a reliable person. The Lord is not cognizable by perception, which is possible only through the sense organs because they get their cognizing ability only from Him So pratyaksha , direct cognition is not possible as He is atheendhriya, beyond sense cognition. Neither is He cognized through inference as there is no linga, sign by which He can be inferred. For instance when we see smoke coming out of a mountain we infer the presence of fire there. Smoke is the linga in other words hethu, for the anumana of fire. There is no such linga because He is not perceptible as fire. Since He is incomparable upamana is also out of question.

Is He perhaps known through Vedas as they are considered as the sole source of knowledge of Him as He is termed vedavedhya? No, because He is beyond the limitation of language. Upanishad says’ yatho vacho nivarthanthe apraapya manasaasaha’, the speech returned without finding Him along with the mind Then what is the purpose of Vedas? They serve as a guideline to find Him but do not show Him as such. Vedantadesika says in his Yaadhavaabhyudhaya, ‘ ekaikagunapraanthe sraanthaah nigamavandhinah yathaavath varnane asya,’ that is, the Vedas became fatigued in describing even one attribute of the Lord on their attempt to describe Him in His entirety. So He is aprameya, pramaanaih pramaathum na sakyah.

Hrsheeka means indhriya. Hrsheekaanaam isah , He is the master of the indhriyas, sense organs, which become effective through His power. Hrsha also means rasmi, rays and hrshaah iva vyaapthaah kesaah, one whose hair is abundant and luxurious.

Padmam is lotus, nidhi, wealth and sankha, conch. The earth is called padmam as it was created from water in the beginning of creation and likened to a lotus. Prthivi naabhou yasys sah, denotes the Lord who has the universe in his navel. The wellknown meaning of the word as the one who sports lotus from His navel also has the same connotation as He is the cause if Brahma who is the creator.

Amara is the one who is immortal . Na mriyathe ithi amarah, that is the devas. The Lord is their prabhu, master to whom they owe their existence and power.

Karma is action. Visvam karma yasya sah, who is the agent of all actions. Visa can be taken to mean nikhilam, all. If it is construed to mean the universe then the word visva karma it would mean the one whose action resulted in the universe, meaning the creator.

Manyathe, jaanaathi, knows sarvam ithi manuh, knower of all. Manana also means sankalpa, will and He is satyasankalpa He is manuh. Upanishad says ‘thadhaikshatha bahu syaam prajaayeya, It willed to become many.’ The Lord has created the universe out of aminute part of His will. ‘Naanyo athah asthi manthaa manthro vaa’ There is no greater will or manthra other than Him (Brhd. Up.) As He is pranavasvarupah He is Manuh.

Thvashtaa means chiseller. ‘tvakshath’ means chiseling. Like a carpenter the Lord gives name and Formby chiseling every being into man, bird and beast etc.that is, He gives shape to the world of beings, both sentient and insentient. He created everything and having created, entered into it to give it name and form, says Chandhogya Upanishad, anena aathmanaa anupravisya naama rupe vyaakaravaani.

He is exceedingly huge sthoolathamah as the whole universe is his sarira. There is no end to His amplitude, Naasthyanthe vistharasya me, (Bhagavatgita)

Dhruvah means firm and unchanging, sthirathvaath dhruvah. The word sthavirodhruvah taken together will mean all pervading, sarvavyaapakathvam.

He is not cognized by the senses which includes the mind. Indhriyaih graheethum na sakyah. The speech returned not being able to reach Him along with the mind, yatho vaacho nivarthanthe apraapya manasaa saha.(taitt.up.)That which is not seen, not grasped, not heard is Brahman. (mund.up.)

He is eternal, ever engaged in creation, sustenance and annihilation of the world.

The meaning of the word Krishna is give in the Mahabharatha, Udhyogaparva thus. ‘krshi’ stands for the earth, krshirbhoovaachakah. The particle ‘na’ is nirvrthivaachakah, bliss through emancipation. As the krshikarma, ploughing makes the earth ready to bear the seed and to yield its wealth. So too, the Lord ploughs through the mind to make it worthy of enjoying the bliss of union with Him, who is exceedingly delightful, nithaanthena nirvrthah krishnah. Hence, says Mahabharatha, Lord Vishnu has acquired the name Krishna. In Bhagavatha however the name was explained as karshanaath krishnah, one who attracts.

Thardhih means himsaakarma, destruction. He is prathardhanah, extraordinary annihilator as He destroys the whole universe at the time of Mahapralaya, the great deluge. ‘Aththaa charaachara grahanaath,’ says Vyasa in Brahmasuthra. He is the devourer of all beings.

He has the threefold world as His abode. Kakubh means the direction. The three directions referred to are, urdhvam, up, adhah, down and thiryag, horizontal, which includes the whole universe. As splendour is an alternative meaning for kakubh the name can be taken to mean the three pairs of gunas or bhagas as they were called, that constitute the three vyuhas of Bhagavan, Sankarshana, Pradhyumna and Anirudhdha. Jnana and vairagya are attributed to Sankarshana, Aisvarya and virya to Pradhyumna and yasas and shree to Anirudhdha while all the six that denote the status of Bhagavan are attributed to Vasudeva the Supreme Godhead.

The Lord is called Mangalam param , the utmost in auspicious and beneficial things. That which destroys evil and provides a continuous flow of good by mere remembereence of it, is Mangalam and hence Brahman, synonymous with Narayana is auspiciousness itself.

He is the controller . Sarvabhoothaniyanthrthvaath. Being the inner self of everything He activates them.

The Lord gives life, praanam dhadhaathi,as well as praanaan dhyathi, takes away life in the form of Kaala. Time.

He is the life and soul of all. Pranithi ithi praanah, ujjivanahethuh. Brahman is mentioned as praanasya praanah in Kenopanishad

Extremely praiseworthy. Jyeshta means biggest or eldest. The Lord is the biggest as He pervades everywhere and He is the oldest, purushah puraanah as per the sruthi 'sadheva soumya idham agra aaseeth ekameva advitheeyam' In the beginning, that is before creation, 'sath' alone was existing one only, without a second, says Chandhogya Upanishad. The words' Sath, Tath and Brahman are synonymous.

Most prominent among the praise worthy. Together the two names jyeshta and sreshta mean first and the best.

Paathi rakshathi ithi pathih. Pathi means one who protects. Prjaanaam pathih prajaapathih Protector of the Universe. Prajaah besides subjects and children also means prakrshtayaa jaayanthe, those who are special creations which means the nityasuris like Garuda, Vishvaksena etc. Prajapathi is the one who is their master, that is the Lord.

1. Haryathim dhravathaam praapya, melts and becomes liquid from solid state and hence gold is called hiranya.

2. Haryathe kaamyathe janaih, it is desired by the people and hence it is called hiranya.

Hiranyam garbhe yasya, saha hiranyagarbhah The Lord is called so because He is the source of all wealth. He is also likened to gold because He is nirdhosha, faultless and niravadhya,blameless.He resides inside the cosmic egg, hiranyaanda, as its essence.

3.Hitham ramaneeyam vaa hiranyam, that which is desirable and benificial, the abode of eternal beauty and good means Vaikunta which is paramamdhaama,supreme abode. He is thasya madhyavarthi, indweller of Vaikunta and hence He is hiranyagarbha.

Maayaah dhavah. Maa means Lakshmi. Dhava is master or lord or husband. The name is also interpreted thus: Mounena dhyaaenena yogena cha jnaathum yaha arhah. The One who can be known through jnana, dhyana and yoga.'Mounaath dhyaanaath cha yogaath cha viddhi bhaaratha maadhavam'- Mahabharatha.

Madhu and Kaitabha were supposed to have sprung from the karnamala earwax of Vishnu and tries to devour Brahma and Lord Narayana killed them.The real significance of this is that Karna meaning ear, stands for sruti, hearing that is vedas.karnamala denotes vedaninda, censure of the vedas. So Madhu represents the demonic quality of boycott of the scriptures and the indulgence in sensual pleasures. Madhu is called an asura because this sensual enjoyment revels in all beings, asushu, praanishu ramathe ithi asurah. The Lord is called Madhusudhana as HE kils the carnal instinct by reviving the awareness of the vedas

One whose stride ,krama, is extraordinary.Visishtam kramanam asya ithi. This refers to His sarva vyaapithvam as Thrivikrama. The word vikrama also meansshouryam, valour. Wherever valour is manifest that is due to the power of the Lord.

'Vi' means a bird. Vinaa kramanm asya ithi vikramah.He who moves about on a bird, that is Garuda, who is also known as vedaathmaa or vedasvarupa. The Lord is said to have thrayeemayakramana, known through the vedas. This is the significance of Garudavahana. He is also called thrivikrama because He strode the Universe as Thrivikrama Vichakrame jagatvisvam thena vikramah

He is all pervading. Sarvathra vyaapakathvaath kramah In the sense of treading, krama, He treads everywhere.

He is unsurpassed. ' yasmaath param naa paramasthi kimchith.'-Taitt.Up. The word 'utthamah' means the highest . The Lord is called anutthamah because There is no oe higher than Him. 'Avidhyamaanah uththamah yasmaath sah.'

Unassailable and cannot be overcome.Unfathomable like the ocean. Overpowers the wicked on all sides.' Dushtaan aasamanthaath dharshayathi.' Invincible. Dharshayithum na sakyah.

Krtham jaanaathi ithi krthajnah. The Lord is krthajna because He knows everything that is done by all and He knows and acknowledges even a little act that stands in favour of those who are in transmigratory existence propelled bytheir own doingdue to the beginningless ignorance.He knows the acts of merit and sin of all beings.He gtives release even if one offers trivial thin gs like a leaf or flower because He expevts only the offering of the heart as could be seen in the episode of Kuchela.That is krthajnatha giving back much more than what is offered.

He is established in His own greatness.' Sa bhagavah kasmin prathishtithah ithi, sve mahimni.'-Chandogya Upanishad. Also He is the possessor of souls. aathmaanah asya asthi ithi. The jivas belong to Him and dependent on Him. the sesha- seshi bhava.

Shobhanam raathi ithi surah. Devas are called sura because they confer , raathi, benifits, shobhanam, to mortals. The Lord is the master of suras through whose power only they are able to act.

He is the refuge of all and He destroys evil, dhutithaani seeryathe anena ithi .

He is the prabhava , source from which all emerge. Sarve prajjaah yatsakaasaath udbhavanthi.

Na jahaathi ithi ahah, He never forsakes anyone. Avidyaayaaha avabodha hethuh, ithi ahah He wakes up jivas from avidya. He is the means of knowledge.'Ahah' means 'day.' The Lord is called ahah because He is prakaashaathmaka, luminous like the day.

He is the Time, divided into season, year, transit of the planets,stars and other divine entities because they all have Him as their substratum. samvasanthi asmin grahanakshathrarthudevathaah ithi samvathsarah. Also He abides in the enlightened souls in order to elevate them from the samsaara. Prabhuddheshu samuddharanaaya samvasathi ithi samvathsarah.

The verb 'laa' means aadhaana, to take. Viseshena laathi, aathmasaath kuruthe ithi vyaalah. The Lord appropriates the enlightened and makes them His.

'vyaala' also means a cobra and a wild elephant. He circles His devotees like a cobra and brings them into His fold. Like a wild elephant which uproots everything that obstructs its way, the Lord uproots all the obstacles on the path of His devotees to enable them to reach Him.

Pratheeyathe asmin ithi prathyayah. One who can be relied upon. He makes all to have confidence in Him. Pratheethi also means visvaasah, faith or confidence.

Na jaayathaithi ajah. One who is never born. Even in His incarnations He does not have birth but only manifests Himself, 'aathmaanam srjaamyaham.'-Bhagavatgita.

'ajaayamaano bahudhaa vijaayathe, one who is never born manifests in various forms.'- Purusha suktham.

'Na jaatho naiva jaaye aham na janishye kadhaachana kshethrajnassarvabhoothaanaamthasmaadhaham ajah smrthah, I have never been born nor I am born now . I will never take birth being the inner self, kshethrjna of all. Therfore I am known as ajah,'- Mahabharatha.

Since the roor 'aj' means to throw the Lord is aja as Heremoves all obstacles of His devotees.

He is the Lord of all. Sarvasya Isvarah. Also He is called sarvesvara since He comes to those who surrender to Him whether they are able or weak to overcome their tardiness or timidity to approach Him.' Asnuthe ,approaches, ithi isvarah.

He is attainable through Hi sown nature and not through effort.'Naaham yajnena thapasaa na dhaanena na chejyayaa bhkthyaathvananyayaa sakyah'- Bhagavat gita.

He is the ultimate goal to be reached through all means, saadhana. Sarvaih upaayaih ayameva saadhyathe, thus differentiating Him from ashtasiddhi, the eight kind of powers attained through yogic practices.

He is sarvasya aadhih, origin of all. The word aadhi can also derived as aadhatthe, grhnaathi,ithi aadhih, sarvam aadhatthe ithi sarvaadhih