1000 names of Vishnu -[contd 64-75]

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Stanza 64

anivartee nivrittaatmaa samksheptaa kshemakrit-sivahsreevatsavakshaah sreevaasah

sreepatih sreemataam varah.

596. Anivartee –“One who never knows retreat.” During the clashes between the

Good (Devas) and the Bad (Asuras), Narayana never retreats. He is One Who never

turns back from Dharma; for He is its friend and protector.

597. Nivritta-atmaa -One who is fully restrained from all sense indulgences. So

long as the equipments of our experiences-the Body, Mind and Intellect-are

roaming about in their pleasures-among objects, emotions and thoughts-our

attention is dissipated and is not available for the contemplation of the

Higher, the Self. Narayana is the Atman in all, and to reach Him we have to

retire from the fields of our indulgences. Hence, He is indicated as the

“Restrained-Self.”

598. Samksheptaa -The One who absorbs unto Himself the entire universe of

multiplicity during the dissolution-the “Involver.” Narayana presides over not

only the evolution but also is the controller at the involution. In some

readings, we find this term as “ Asamksheptaa”-meaning “One who never abandons

His devotees.”

599. Kshema-krit –“The doer of Good”; One who protects and guides the devotees.

“Kshema” signifies protecting what has been gained, and it includes “ Yoga”

also, meaning “acquiring things not yet gained.” In Geeta, Lord Krishna

promises that “I shall govern both your’ Yoga’ and ‘Kshema’ when you are a

true devotee.”

600. Sivah -Lord Narayana is adored here as Sivah and, at the same time, all

Vaishnavites repeat Vishnu- sahasranaama. Human prejudices have no logic or

reason. Sri Narayana is Siva (auspiciousness) and there is no difference

between the two. “I am the dweller of Vaikuntha, Vishnu. Between us there is no

difference,” so says Lord Siva Himself. Vishnu is the “Purifier” (Siva), as His

names, when chanted, and His form-divine, when meditated upon, become a means

of quietening the mind and sharpening our perceptions of the subtler and the

transcendental.

601. Sreevatsa-vakshaah -One who has the mark, Sreevatsa, upon His divine and sacred chest.

602. Sree-vaasah -The Abode of Sree; the dwelling place of Mother Lakshmi. This

term is dissolved as “Sree”-all glory and riches-ever dwell in His bosom of

love and beauty.

603. Sree-patih -The Lord of Goddess Lakshmi. During the great churning of the

Ocean of Milk, holding a lotus in hand, there rose Lakshmi from it, and She

chose, among all gods, Lord Vishnu as Her Beloved Husband. Hence Narayana is

Sree-Patih, the Lord of Sree. The Svetasvatara upanishad says: “The Supreme

Sakti of Him is declared to be various.” Sree represents the Energy (Paraa

Sakti) in the universe. Lord Narayana is the One Vital Truth that functions

through the Paraa Sakti and gives Her the dynamism to act and to accomplish.

604. Sreemataam-varah: -The best among those who have glory-in-life, (Sree), is

Narayana. Taittireeya Braahmana says, “The Rig, Yajus and Saaman are the

imperishable wealth of the wise”, so Sree has been interpreted here to mean the

Vedas. Lord Narayana is the One who is the Best among those who know the

‘Books’; He being the very Infinite Reality that is the one theme of all the

Vedas. Also Varah can mean “One Who blesses” and thus the term under discussion

yields the meaning, “Vishnu, Who is the Lord That blesses all great students of

the Vedas.”

 

Stanza 65

sreedah sreesah sreenivaasah sreenidhih sreevibhaavanahsreedharah sreekarah

sreyah sreemaan-lokatrayaasrayah.

605. Sree-dah -One who gives Sree to all His sincere and dedicated devotees.

Narayana provides wealth, for all His ardent devotees. He is the River of

Knowledge and Joy for all devoted hearts which are surrendered to Him.

606. Sreesah -The Lord of the Goddess of Wealth, Sree-Mahalakshmi. Her wealth is

‘the ability to nourish.’ Thus She gives to the striving devotee, the mighty and

noble virtues, his inner wealth.

607. Sree-nivaasah -One who dwells and manifests in the good people. Here the

word Sree is to be understood as “those who have Sree in them.” The One Who

abides in purified hearts-wherein the passions and lusts have been removed and

peace, joy, devotion and understanding have arrived. In such people the Self

comes to shine all by Itself.

608. Sree-nidhih -One Who is the treasure- house (Nidhih) of Sree. Vishnu, being

the All-Full and Perfect, all glories draw themselves from Him alone. Even

Sree-Maayaa --can play Her games only when She draws Her vitality from

Narayana, the Self.

609. Sree-bibhaavanah –“One Who is a Distributor of Sree.” Vishnu provides each,

according to his merit, the wealth, both inner and outer. Sree Narayana is the

Law behind actions and so He is the Dispenser of the fruits- of-actions.

610. Sree-dharah -Lord always carries Sree in His bosom. In short, Atman, the

Self, is never divorced from Its omnipotence and All-Fullness.

611. Sree-karah -One Who confers Sree upon His devotees who remember Him

continuously, reflect upon His nature and meditate upon His Glories.

612. Sreyah -Narayana is Moksha-Liberation. He is the Way and the Goal. He gives

to His devotees the total liberation from all their physical passions, emotional

agitations and intellectual restlessnesses.

613. Sreemaan –One Who possesses all Glories, Riches, Capacities and Beauties.

He who is the owner of all Sree; the abode of all Its Splendour.

614. Lokatraya-asrayah -The Shelter for the three worlds. The Substratum for the

three worlds-of-experiences (waking, dream and deep-sleep). If the Self, the

Consciousness, were not in us, no experience would ever be ours. Narayana is

this “objectless awareness.”

 

Stanza 66

svakshah svangah sataanando nandirjyotirganesvarahvijitaatmaa vidheyaatmaa

salkeertischhinnasamsayah.

615. Svakshah -Brilliantly “Beautiful-Eyed”. is Vishnu.

616. Svangah –“Beautiful-Limbed.” Most hand- some form, captivating the hearts

of all His loving devotees.

617. Sataanandah -One who divides Himself into the infinite Jeevas, manifesting

through the different equipments and experiences in all of them. “Of infinite

varieties of Joys”: gained through the individual equipments from each one’s

appointed field of things and beings.

618. Nandih –“Infinite Bliss” is the nature or Vishnu as the Supreme Self. Thus

by this term, Nandih, He is called.

619. Jyotir-ganesvarah -The Lord of the luminaries in the Cosmos is Narayana.

He, as the Self, gives light to al! brilliant things in life. The Sun, itself,

receives its light borrowed from the Infinite, Ever-Effulgent Self.

Kathopanishad describing the Self as the Light or Consciousness declares, “When

He shines all else shines after Him.”

620. Vijitaatmaa -One who has conquered the sense-organs. That devotee who is no

more a slave to his sense-organs comes to experience the necessary mental quiet

with which Narayana, the Self, can be apprehended.

621. Vidheyaatmaa -One who has come to live under the command of the Higher Self

or One Who is ever available for devotees to command in love. Some read this as

“A- Vidheya-Atmaa” -in which case it declare$ that Narayana is “One Who is of

Unfathomable Nature-Divine.” One who obeys none, but all obey His Will is “ A-

Vidheyaatmaa.”

622. Sat-keertih -Of Pure Fame is Narayana. He is the husband of Sree and therefore He is famous.

623. Chhinnasamsayah -One, whose doubts are ever at rest, or solved. Doubts

regarding the Supreme can be only so long as we try to experience and

comprehend Him with our Intellect. He is the very subjective vitality in the

Intellect. So, on transcending the Intellect, the seeker can “become” the Self

in a non-mediate experience, intimate and immediate. Once having become the

Self, there cannot be any spiritual doubts. Therefore Narayana, the Self, is

known as “The One in whom all doubts are resolved.” In Geeta, Arjuna admits

that all his doubts were cleared.

 

Stanza 67

udeernah sarvataschakshuraneesah saasvatasthirahbhoosayo bhooshano bhootirvisokah sokanaasanah.

624. Udeernah –“The Great Transcendent.” He is the Infinite beyond all finitude,

beyond all limitations and change, and therefore, beyond decay. Transcending all

equipments of our experiences, as the Self in all, Sri Narayana revels as the

Immutable Transcendental Reality, the sole substratum for the entire universe

of forms and actions.

625. Sarvatah-chakshuh –“One Who has eyes everywhere.” Geeta declares Truth, the

Pure Consciousness, as “Hands and legs everywhere, eyes-face-mouth everywhere.”

Vishnu, as the Consciousness, is the One Self That sees through all eyes in the

world, hence He, through all eyes, sees everywhere at all times. If He is not,

the eyes are blind; when He is the indweller. The eyes then see-therefore, all

eyes are only His.

626. Aneesah –“One Who has none to lord over Him.” The Supreme Lord is He.

Mahanarayana upanishad says, “None rules over Him.”

627. Saasvata-sthirah –“One Who is ever Eternal and Stable”-never changing, thus

permanent (Eternal) and ever-the-same (Stable). The body changes, the mind

modifies, the intellect grows into new dimensions-but the Consciousness that

illumines them all with Its Light of Knowledge is ever-the-same through

childhood, through youth, in middle years and old-age. It is the Changeless

throughout, hence Eternal and ever-the-same with- out any change.

628. Bhoosayah –“Resting on the Earth” is the word-meaning of this term, so it

may signify One Who rested on the shores of the ocean, on His Way to Lanka-

referring to Sri Ramachandraji. Or, one who slept (on) the Earth-meaning the

Lord is Bhoo-Pati, the Husband of the Mother Earth. Or, its intention may also

be: “One in whom the world rests” at the time of dissolution.

629. Bhooshanah –“One Who adorns the world”: physically with the infinite

beauties of His Creation; emotionally He gives love and other finer instincts,

and intellectually He is the One behind all great, noble and beautiful thoughts

which have enriched human life, history and culture. Lord Narayana, in His

various Incarnations, has also glorified the world.

630. Bhootih -One who is the Pure “BE”-ness or Existence. “ Bhooti” also means

Glories (Aisvarya), so He is One Who is the treasure-house of all Glories.

631. Visokah -Narayana is sorrow-less; grief- less. He is the Self, transcending

all matter vestures. At the body-mind-intellect level there are agitations and

so there are sorrows. He is beyond them all, so He, as the Absolute Reality, is

indicated as All-Blissful. Disturbances of sorrow or grief can never molest His

nature of Infinite Bliss--ever contented, ever desire-less.

632. Soka-naasanah -The destroyer of all sorrows for His devotees. One who lifts

the suffering ego- sense out of its meaningless identification with the

changing, pain-breeding, equipments and gives it the true wisdom of Its Divine

Nature. To those who truly worship “To them I shall be, err long, a Saviour

from the Ocean of Samsar”, promises Lord Krishna in the Bhagavat Geeta.

 

Stanza 68

archishmaanarchitah kumbho visuddhaatmaa visodhanahaniruddhoapratirathah pradyumnoamitavikramah.

633. Archishmaan –“The Effulgent.” As Pure Consciousness, Narayana is the Source

of all Light. The Kathopanishad confirms this when it declares, “There, neither

the sun nor the moon, nor the stars nor the lightning, has any effulgence; how

then can this Fire-light illumine It? By Its Light alone, all else in the world

is illumined.”

634. Architah -One who is constantly worshipped by His devotees. Even Brahmaaji

(The Creator) and Siva (The Destroyer) are worshipping Sri Narayana (The

Preserver). Hence this term, “The Worshipped” for Lord Vishnu.

635. Kumbhah –“The pot.” The Lord, the Self, is called as “the pot” because just

as things are contained within a pot, so the whole universe rests within Him,

the “Container” and “Sustainer.” Everything and every happening is within Him

alone.

636. Visuddha-atmaa –“One Who has the purest Soul.” When the Self is cleansed of

all passions and thought agitations, in that uncontaminated purity It is

realised. Therefore, the Lord, the Self, is called the Pure Atman, completely

bereft of all equipments and their passions, all disturbances from desire. One

who is beyond the “Three Gunas,” Trigunaateetah, meaning one who transcends all

the Vaasanaas that generate the three moods constituting the entire phenomenon,

Maayaa.

637. Visodhanah –“The Great Purifier.” The One, meditating upon whom all

vaasanaas get exhausted and the personality purified from these desires,

becomes free of all its accustomed, existent agitations. He who is the very

Source of Purity; who lends purity even to the sacred-places. By remembering

Him, the human heart becomes cleansed of its sins, immaculately swept of all

consequent feelings of restlessness.

638. Aniruddhah -Of the four manitestations (Vyoohas) of Vishnu, the Aniruddha

manifestation is indicated here. The four Vyoohas are: (I) Vaasudevah; (2)

Samkarshanah; (3) Pradyumnah; and (4) Aniruddhah. The term can also mean “He

Who is invincible by any of His enemies.”

639. Apratirathah -One who is never challenged by any enemies and who has no

enemies to even threaten Him. Sri Narayana is without enemies; in His loving

Presence they are vanquished.

640. Pradyumnah –“Very Rich.” Lord is Lakshmi-Pati and, in His benevolence, He

gives riches and mighty glory to His devotees. Pradyumnah can also be the third

of His four manifestations as Vyoohas.

641. Amita-vikramah -Of immeasurable Prowess is Sri Narayana. The Self, the

Supreme, is Omnipotent and none can stand against Him. It can also mean, “One

who has un-measurable steps” exhibited in His Divine performance in His Vamana

Incarnation.

 

 

Stanza 69

kaalaneminihaa veerah saurih soorajanesvarahtrilokaatmaa trilokesah kesavah kesihaa harih.

642. Kaalaneminihaa -The slayer of the Asura, Kaalanemi. “Kaala” means ‘Time.’

The Self is the ‘destroyer of time’ as It is beyond the intellect and ‘time’ is

but a concept of the intellect only.

643. Veerah –“The Heroic Victor.” One who is ever victorious.

644. Saurih -Born in the Soorasena-clan, in Jagannaath-which, in the Puranas, is

called the Utkala country. Also, Sauri can indicate the One who has invincible

prowess always.

645. Soorajanesvarah –“The Lord of the valiant.” Sri Narayana, the fountain-head

of irresistible might. He is invoked by the victorious, and is the Source of

strength from which even lndra and others draw their vigour.

646. Triloka-atmaa –“The Reality, the Self of the three worlds.” The

‘three-worlds’ are the three ‘fields of experiences’: the waking, the dream and

the deep-sleep. As the Pure Consciousness, in the Light of which the

waker-dreamer- sleeper comes to experience all the ‘three-worlds,’ the Self,

Sri Narayana is called “The Atman of the three-worlds.”

647. Triloka-eesah –“The Lord of the three-worlds.” Lord is One in whose

presence all activities take place; in Whose absence all activities cease. He

is called the Lord, the Great Proprietor. When life, the Self, manifests in a

body, all experiences take place; when life is extinct, all activities cease.

Hence Lord Narayana is the Self, the spark of Existence in all creatures.

648. Kesavah -Generally it is meant to describe Lord Krishna as “One Who has

long hairs.” But Kesas are the rays of the Lord that illumine the Sun, Moon and

such other effulgent things of the Cosmos. “The rays of mine that illumine (the

Sun, etc.) are called Kesas. Therefore. the wise Brahmins call Me, Kesava.”

Also’ Ka’ means Brahmaa, the Creator and ‘Eesa’ means Siva, the Destroyer. Both

of them have sprung from Vishnu, the Preserver, hence He is called Kesavah.

649. Kesihaa -One Who destroyed the Asura called Kesi.

650. Harih -The Lord is called “The Destroyer.” He, it is, who destroys the

false values and the inner conflicts created by man in his own life and in his

consequent discordant contact with the world around him. These confusions and

sorrows created by man, for man in life, due to his own ignorance of his own

divine nature, is called Samsaara. Lord Narayana is the Destroyer of this

Samsara-sorrows in His devotees.

 

Stanza 70

kaamadevah kaamapaalah kaamee kaantah kritaagamahanirdesyavapurvishnurveeroananto dhananjayah.

651. Kaamadevah –“The Beloved Lord.” One who is a seeker must necessarily get

charmed by the Glory of Sree Narayana, and by the influence of this captivating

love He is to be worshipped. Thus One Who is to be loved and worshipped by the

seekers who strive for the four “aspirations-in-life”-Purushaarthas. There is

also this meaning for the term: “The One Who is Pradyumnah”-since Pradyumna-

form is an incarnation of Kaama (Love).

652. Kaamapaalah –“The Fulfiller of Desires of all His true devotees.” Those who

in their sincere attitude and love for Him alone are surrendered unto Him, their

hearts’ inner longings are satisfied by Him. The same idea finds similar but

varied interpretation in that Koomapaalah can imply “One Who had taken the

incarnation of Balarama,” for Balarama is called as the “Wielder-of-the-plough”

(Hala-ayudhah) or as Kaamapaalah. Thus it can also mean “Protector (Paalah) of

His devotees” (Kaama, meaning the ‘Desired Ones’).

653. Kaamee -One who has fulfilled all His desires. Desire is an expression of

an inherent sense of in- completeness-and this insufficiency unto oneself is

called ignorance of the Self. The non-apprehension of Reality gives rise to

endless misapprehensions of the same. Sree Narayana is the Self, the Reality,

and so all non-apprehensions must end in Him, then no desires can ever remain

in Him demanding fulfilment. He is “One of fulfilled desires” ...Some

commentators give just the opposite explanation, since the term Kaamee in

Sanskrit can also mean “One who has desires.” Here it would mean that Lord

Vishnu is the Supreme Reality who “desired to create” the world of plurality.

The Upanishads roar: “He desired” (Sah akaamayata). The creative urge in the

Supreme is that

which expressed as the apparent illusion of a playful creation of multiplicity

and the endless varieties in them.

654. Kaantah –“Of Enchanting-Form;” “Supremely-Handsome;” the “Beauty of Beauty

itseIf.” In all His Incarnations we find Him described as extremely charming

with His Grace and Beauty. In Sanskrit the term Kah means the Creator,

Brahmaaji. In this sense, therefore, Kaantah can suggest “One Who destroys even

the Creator during the dissolution.”

655. Kritaagamah -The author of the Scriptures (Aagamas). Sruti and Smriti form

the Aagamas. Or in perfect harmony with the preceding term where Lord is termed

as the destroyer of even the Creator at the time of deluge, some commentators

have again interpreted this term as “The One Who is the inaugurator of the

Krita-Yuga.” This means the Lord is One into Whom the world dissolves and from

Whom the world rises up again.

656. Anirdesya-vapuh –“Of Indescribable Form;” “Of Indefinable Nature.” Since

the Lord transcends the Elements and is the very cause for the three Gunas- as

the pure Self, expressing Itself through the body, mind and intellect of man-it

becomes impossible to describe or define His Form.

657. Vishuh –“All-Pervading.” One who pervades the entire Visvam. In His

Visvaroopa-Form in Geeta XI we have from Arjuna a description of the dazzling

wonderment of Him as “ All-pervading.”

658. Veerah –“The Valiant;” “The Courageous- the One of heroic exploits.” The

root’ ‘Vi’ often means creation, radiance existence, involution or motion. One

who has a1l these powers is called Veerah.

659. Anantah -“Infinite; Endless.” That which is unconditioned by

Time-Space-Substance is ‘Infinite.’ None can discover the end or such a Truth.

Conditioned things will all have an end-a change from one condition to another.

The Infinite is totally unconditioned, so unlimited, and naturally, therefore,

changeless. Hence Narayana is Infinite.

660. Dhananjayah -One who had gained through his conquest and his prowess vast

wealth for the enrichment of his country. From his various campaigns, Arjuna

had brought great wealth to the land. In Geeta, Lord Krishna says: “I am

Dhananjaya, among the sons of Pandu.

 

Stanza 71

brahmanyo brahmakrit brahmaa brahma brahmavivardhanahbrahmavid braahmano brahmee

brahmajno braahmanapriyah.

661. Brahmanyah -One who is a great friend of Brahman. The term Brahman includes

in its connotation the Sastra, Tapas, Vedas, Truth, Knowledge, etc. Sree

Narayana is a protector and friend of all these. Here Brahman means Jeeva-a

friend of all individuals.

662. Brahma-krit -The One Who performs the Brahman-meaning the one who lives in

Truth, who abides in Tapas, etc. He is the author of Brahman as enumerated in

the explanation of the preceding term.

663. Brahmaa –“Creator.” As the total Creative- power, it is Narayana Who

functions as Creator through Brahmnaji.

664. Brahma –“The Biggest, the Vastest, the An- Pervading.” Upanishads

thunderingly declare the Brahman to be “Existence-Knowledge Infinite.” The

Knowledge which lifts all false perceptions of differences, pure in all its

aspects, ever beyond the grasp of the senses, and that which can be experienced

only in one’s own Self, is called Brahman.”

665. Brahma-vivardhanah –“One who increases the Brahman.” Here, of course, the

term Brahman means “Austerities, Vedas, Truth, Knowledge.” These are increased

in one who has earned the Grace of Sree Narayana through total surrender and

constant devotion.

666. Brahma-vit –“One Who knows Brahman.” The meaning here is one who has

intuited the Vedas and their full commentaries. In Geeta (XV) we listen to the

Lord declaring that: “I alone am the Author of the Vedas and the Knower of the

Vedas.” Brahman alone can “know” Brahman just as the “dreamer” can never

survive to know the “waker.” The knower-of-the-waker is the “Waker” alone.

Similarly, the individualised ego conditioned by the equipments of Body, Mind

and Intellect experiences the Brahman only when it has transcended the

entanglements of matter-and then the ego is no more a Jeeva but “becomes

Brahman.” Thus the Higher is experienced only by the Higher. Sree Narayana is

the Brahman-and therefore, He alone is the Knower of Brahman.

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667. Braahmanah -One who has realised that the pluralistic world is a mere

superimposition upon the Brahman caused by an error of judgement, and who

experiences the Supreme Consciousness of the One Reality is a Braahmanah. His

duty is to convey this knowledge to others with a pure missionary zeal and a

higher proselytising enthusiasm. By mere accident of birth one does not become

a Braahmanah. Visvamitra and others through their Tapas and Divine Experience

had reached the status of Brahmin-hood, so we read in the Puranas. Narayana

manifests as such mighty men of realisation, serving their generations through

their teachings.

668. Brahmee –“One Who is with Brahma.” The term Brahma meaning as before

–“Austerities, Vedas, Truth and Knowledge-divine.”

669. Brahma-jnah -One who lives ever in Brahman, and so “knows” the nature of

the Brahman. He, the Lord, being the very Brahman, no one knows His nature as

He Himself can. The “waker” alone knows the waking- the “dreamer” and “sleeper”

can never realise and experience the waking-state until they “become” the

“waker.”

670. Braahmana-priyah -One who is the beloved or and One Who is the lover of

true men of full realisation, the Braahmanas. Not the caste, but the men of

supreme experience-divine. The Lord is dear to them, and they too are dear to

Him.

 

Stanza 72

mahaakramo mahaakarmaa mahaatejaah mahoragahmahaakraturmahaayajvaa mahaayajno mahaahavih.

671, Mahaakramah –“Of Great-Step.” Directly we are reminded of the

Vamana-Incarnation when the Lord measured the three worlds by His three steps.

It also indicates the root meaning of the term, Vishnu-”The one who has the

long stride-meaning, “ All-pervading.” Since He is All-pervading, He reaches

everywhere earlier than all others.

672. Mahaakarmaa –“One Who performs great deeds.” The creation, the dissolution,

the protection and the spread of the Knowledge-of- Truth, all these are indeed

great undertakings. He alone performs them, through Maha- Purushas who have

surrendered themselves unto Him-those who, in total surrender, have indeed

become one with the Lord in love and being.

673. Mahaatejaah –“Of Great Resplendence.” The Upanishads glorify Him in that

even the Sun, Moon, the stars and fire have no light of their own. By Him they

shine, the Giver of Light to all. In the Geeta, the Lord insists that “The

Supreme is the Light of all lights, beyond all darkness” and again He asserts,

“Understand that Light in the Sun by which the whole world is illumined, and

that Light in the Moon and in the fire to be My own Light.” Here the Light of

Consciousness, the Self, is indicated.

674. Mahoragah –“The Great Serpent.” Uraga means serpent In Geeta, Bhagavan says

(Among the nagas, the many-hooded serpents, I am Ananta.) Ananta is the

five-headed Great Serpent also called Sesha, upon which the Lord Vishnu

reclines. Again in Geeta the Lord says (Among the serpents I am Vasuki),

Mythologically, this is the serpent adorning Lord Siva's ring finger, Though so

small as to become a ring for the Lord, it was this Vaasuki who offered himself

as the great rope in churning the milky ocean. This paradox reminds us of the

Upanishadic declaration (Smaller than the smallest and greater than the

greatest).

675. Mahaakratuh –“The Great Sacrifice.” The Supreme cannot be experienced

without the greatest sacrifice, the total sacrifice of the Ego, the

jeeva-Bhaava. The Great Sacrifice indicates traditionally the Asvamedha Yaaga.

There- fore, some commentators explain this term “as one who is of the very

form of Asvamedha Yaaga.”

676. Mahaayajvaa –“One Who had performed Great Yajnas.” In the Rama-Incarnation,

He had performed Asvamedha- Yaaga. He is the One, by Whose Grace, all

“Sacrifices” are fulfilled successfully. One who performs sacrifice properly

and faithfully is called Yajvaa.

677. Mahaayajnah –“The Great Yajna,” In Bhagavat Geeta, the Lord in describing

His Immanence in the world says to Arjuna: “I am among the Yajnas, the Japa-

Yajna.” Lord Narayana Himself is the greatest Yajna- therefore, in devotion

approach Him and gain His Grace. The Japa Yajna is glorified by the Lord as the

greatest sacrifice because it is both the essential means of all other Yajnas

and transcends them all as an end in itself, by maintaining a constant stream

of the same divine thoughts in the mind.

678. Mahaa-havih –“The Great Offering.” The yajna is He; the very things offered

to the sacred fire, the Havis, are also He. Geeta tells us, “We offer to Brahman

that which is Brahman, in the fire which is Brahman, and the act of offering is

also Brahman.”

 

Stanza 73

stavyah stavapriyah stotram stutih stotaa ranapriyahpoornah poorayitaa punyah punyakeertiranaamayah.

679. Stavyah –“One Who is the object of all praise”-meaning, One Who deserves

all our praise but One who has none top praise, he is praised by all and he

praises none. The jeeva invokes him; the self, the atman, never invokes the

ignorant jeeva.

680. Stava-priyah –One who is invoked through the loving chants of the devoted

hearts. When a devoted seeker melts away in singing the praise of the lord, his

physical, mental and intellectual preoccupations with objects, emotions and

thoughts silently roll away from him. In such quiet moments they rise above

their present nature and explode into the realms of experiences of the higher

state of divine consciousness – Sree Narayana.

681. Stotram –“The hymn.” A glorious hymn, that describes the lords divine

nature, itself is he, as the words lift the singer into the experience of the

supreme nature of the truth. It is infallible if the singer of the Hymn has

full devotion and ardent aspiration to realise him. “Naama” and “Naamee” are

one and the same in experience.

682. Stutih –“The act of praise.” The very noble, divine “act of invoking the

lord” is by his grace alone.

683. stotaa –“One who adores or praises.” The true devotee, singing the divine

hymns is also of the nature of supreme peace, love, beauty, goodness- the

divine qualities attributed to the lord in whom he dissolves through his

songful identification. Such a devotee in this at–one–ment with Him, the lord

praises again and again as “He is the one dear to Me.”

684. Rana-priyah –“Lover of Battles.” Hence we see sree Narayana ever carrying

his mace and discuss in order to destroy the vulgar and thus protect the

decent. Here “battle” is the constant struggle for evolution.

685. Poornah –“The Full.” The infinite is ever the same. Though things are

apparently emerging out of it, still the supreme remains irreducible and

without a change. Lord Narayana is Ever-Full with is own glories and powers;

One who is full with all the wealth, inner and outer, the supreme lakshmi-pati.

686. Poorayitaa –“The Fulfiller.” Lord Hari fulfils, surely, all the desires and

demands of his true devotees.

687. Punyah –“The truly–Holy.” When the devotee’s heart is filled with

remembrance of the glorious from divine and infinite nature and supreme of the

lord Vishnu, he then, in that very moment, removes all sin from his devotee’s

heart. The lord is Auspiciousness itself, so where he is invoked, all

inauspiciousness must immediately retire.

688. Punya-keertih –“Of Holy frame.” He is gloriously renowned as the holy one.

Whoever glorifies him becomes himself holy. All the unholy animal passions in

the devotee are routed and beaten back when his heart is wholly in tune with

the lord’s Glory and Form.

689. Anaamayah –One who has neither the mental or physical diseases. Of pure

unstained divine essence is his nature. He is not involved in karmas, thus the

resultant of the karmas which visit us in terms of mental restlessness or

physical pangs, never touch Him.

 

Stanza 74

manojavasteerthakaro vasurtaah vasurpradahvasuprado vaasudevo vasurvasumanaah havih.

690. Manojavah –Fleet as the mind is the Lord’s movement. He is anxious to run

and reach the devotee to remove his suffering and ignorance. All-pervading is

the lord, thus he is faster than all those who run after him – and wherever

they reach, the supreme, He, in the form of existence, is already there.

691 Teerthakarah –“The Teacher of the Teerthas” The term, Teertha” means

vidyaas. Sree Narayana is the author of the Vidyaa, or auxiliary Sciences

Therefore, “One Who is the most ancient Teacher of all Vidyaas and Tantras.”

692 Vasuretaah –“He Whose Essence is Golden.” In the beginning of Creation were

the primeval waters Into this One Ocean the Lord dropped His Essence and it

became a Golden Egg from which Brahmaa, the Creator, first arose Thus Lord, as

the womb of all Creation is mentioned in the Puranas as “Hiranyagarbha,” the

Golden Womb

693 Vasupradah –“The Free-Giver of Wealth” Inn this context, Vasu means

“Worldly-Wealth”- money, property, grains, possessions, progeny Lord Vishnu who

nourishes and maintains all beings with the wealth of His consort, Sree Laksmi,

distributes and patronises His devotees very liberally

694. Vasupradah -Again, the same term as we read above, but here if means “The

Giver of Salvation” Liberation (Moksa) is the greatest wealth-whom He chooses,

Moksha is gained by him alone.

695. Vaasudevah –“The son of Vasudeva,” Lord Krishna. Or “One Who is Vaasu and

Deva” “Vaasu” means “One who dwells in all creatures as their ego-centric

individuality (Jeeva-raopa).” ‘Deva' means “One who revels” Therefore, this

name for Lord Krishna has the appropriate meaning “One who revels in every

living creature as the Jeeva-entity in each”.

696 Vasuh –“The Refuge for all.” The One Who dwells within, veiled behind

Maayaa, the mind The mind projects this play of things, beings, emotions and

thoughts. The world is the shadow-show round the Pure Consciousness Lord

declares in Geeta: “I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all

beings.” Thus He alone is the Refuge, for there is no other existence. “All

have emerged out from Me, exist in Me and must come back to Me.”

697. Vasumanaah -One who is attentive to, and, therefore, concerned with every

object and being in this world: “Omnipresent.”

698. Havih –“The Oblation.” That which we offer unto Him is also permeated by

Him-there is nothing other than He, Himself, the same everywhere, in all

places, at all times. In Geeta, Lord insists that the “oblations” are nothing

but Brahman.”

Stanza 75

sadgatih satkritih sattaa sadbhootih satparaayanahsooraseno yadusreshthah sannivaasah suyaamunah.

699. Sadgatih –“The goal of good and noble seekers.” Lord Narayana is the

Spiritual Goal to be reached. “The Good” here means those who know the

existence of Brahman, for the Upanishad says: “If a person knows ‘Brahmaji

exists,’ then the wise call him ‘good.”

700. Sat-kritih –“One Who is full of Good Actions.” Lord Hari is the One Who

maintains the rhythm of creation and the logic of its preservation. Even

through His destructive activities, there is creation only for the sake of the

individual and for the good of the world. All His actions are totally in

harmony for the establishment of Peace.

701. Sattaa -The Lord is the “One without a second,” and, therefore, remains

ever the same, without any differences of genus, species or in Itself.”

702. Sad-bhootih –“One Who has Rich Glories.” The term ‘Glories’ means wealth,

power, happiness Or “One who has taken different kinds of Incarnations,”

exhibiting in all of them the glories of the Supreme. So immeasurable are the

Lord’s Glories that even all these splendours scarcely reveal His Divine Might.

Him, whom even the Devas know not; only the Yogis in meditation come to perceive

His Eternal Glory.

703 Sat-paraayanah –The Supreme Goal for the “Good” who pursue the path of

Truth. Here the “Good” means those who are the Knowers of Brahman.

704 Soora-senah –“One who has heroic and valiant armies” The Incarnations as

Rama and Krishna are indicated here in whose armies there were valiant people

like Hanuman and Lakshmana, Arjuna, Bheema and others.

705. Yadusreshthah –“The Best among the Yadava clan.” The Glory of the

Yadavas-Lord Krishna, Who was an Incarnation of Sree Hari.

706. Sannivaasah –“The Abode of the Good.” The great souls of realisation come

to live in Him, the Self; drowned in God-Consciousness, they beam out from that

Abode their divinity all around. Bhagavan in Geeta says: “My devotee thus

knowing (realising the Truth, the jneyam, seated in the heart of all) enters

into My Being.”

707. Suyaamunah -One who is attended by the righteous Yaamunas-meaning Gopas who

live on the Yamuna banks. In a metaphysical sense, these Gopas are not the

keepers of ‘cows,’ but the keepers of the sacred milk of Knowledge-Upanishads.

"Gurur Brahma Gurur VishnuGurur Devoh Maheshwar;Gurur Shakshat

ParambramhaTashmai Shri Gurur Veh Namah"May the Merciful Sri Sai Baba always

shower His grace on us and our families and remove our problems and anxieties

by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and happiness with peace of

mind.Sai bhakt,Deepa Hdebu7366

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