Vishnusahasranama

April 10, 2006

good. In the form of pain and agitation, sorrow and death, it is He, who is the

Controller, Damanah, of all negative tendencies in everyone’s Heart. (191)

Hamsah -One of the great declarations of the Vedas is: “I am Brahman” (Aham

Brahmaasmi). Here the term I, the first person singular used, denotes the

supreme. Self functioning through the conditionings.” This individual concept

is called jeeva. Thus I, the Jeeva (Aham), once detached from the

conditionings, IS essentially nothing other than He, the Lord (Sah). This

experience that Aham is Sah is the very God-consciousness and therefore,

Vishnu, the Supreme State of Realization is declared as Hamsah. (192) Suparnah

-Parna means wings; Suparna means that which has beautiful wings-bird. “A pair

of white- winged birds extremely friendly sit on one and the same tree; one

cats the fruits, the

other eats not and gazes on”. Thus traditionally in the Upanishads, the

Suparnas suggest the Jeevaatmaa and the Paramaatmaa sitting on the same tree

(body): one (Jeeva) eats the fruits (of actions) and the other (the Self)

merely gazes on (Saakshee). Vishnu is this All-experiencing Principle of

consciousness. (193) Bhujagottamah -The sacred serpent named in the puranas as

Ananta. “ Among the serpents I am Ananta,” says Krishna: -(Geeta Ch. 10, St.

29). (194) Hiranyanaabhah -He, who supports at His navel, the creator,

Hiranyagarba. The meaning for this term as given by some is “the One who has

the navel region beautiful in its golden hue” must fail, in the context of the

thoughts in the stanza, to appeal to all seekers. (195) Sutapaah -One who has

glorious Tapas. Consistent creative

thinking is called tapas. For this, mental concentration is unavoidable. Mind

cannot have consistent concentration unless it can have a perfect control over

the sense-organs. Even when the mind is withdrawn from the sense-organs, it

must have a consistent intellectual ideal to concentrate upon. In the

Upanishad, we read: “He thought and through thought, He created all this”.

(196) Padmanaabhah -One who supports at His navel the very seat of all

creative-power. We have described this term earlier (48). According to Sankara,

here the term may mean one who has a navel region which in its rounded beauty,

is as charming as the lotus flower . (197) Prajaapatih -The Lord of the

creatures. Since all creatures have emerged from Him, the living creatures are

His children (Prajaa) and He is their Pati. The term Pati has a

direct meaning: ‘father’. Thus Vishnu, as the only source from which all

creatures have emerged out, is called as Prajaapatih.

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