Viṣṇusahasranāma: 300-317

Viṣṇusahasranāma: 300-317

युगाद- िकृत् युगावर्तो नैकमायो महाशनः।
अदृ- श्यो व्यक्तरूपश- ्च सहस्रजित्-- नंतजित् ।।33।।
 

300. Yugādikṛt

The One, who creates periods like Yuga, Kalpa.

(yugādeḥ kālabhedasya kartṛtvād, yugādikṛt)

Time is mythā. We have created a system arbitrarily to calculate time. One Caturyuga is of four yugas, Kaliyuga is of 124,000 years. One year is of twelve months. One month has 30 days. Each day is twenty-four hours. Each hour is sixty minutes. Each minute is sixty seconds. Each second is so many micro-seconds….then nano-seconds…then I do not know where the calculation has reached by now. So what is the truth of time? When we say ‘Devadatta is cooking’ (devadattah pacati), assigning ‘present tense’; at 8 am he is cooking, at 8.30 am he is cooking, at 9 am he is still cooking, still food is not ready and it is time for office. So what is present tense, not to speak of the past and the future. Thus, although time is mithyā, it cannot be dismissed as non-existent like a bandhyāputra or a square-circle,nor can be assigned an existent reality. Like everything else it collapses under scrutiny.

Bhagavān is Kālakṛt, the maker of time. The truth of time is Bhagavān who is timelessness.

ii) Or, one who gives the start to a yuga. He is responsible for the start of the different time[1], hence He is Yugādikṛt.

(yugānām ādim ārambhaṃ karoti iti vā, yugādikṛt)

Due to Mahāviṣṇu’s Grace, I have been able to cover 300 names out of 1,000.

301. Yugāvartaḥ

The One, who keeps the cycle of time turning (āvarta).

One Caturyuga comprises Krtayuga, Tretāyuga, Dvāparayuga and Kaliyuga. The Lord in the form of time sets this cycles of yuga in motion, thus He is yugāvartaḥ[2].

(yugāni kṛtādīni āvartayati kālātmanā iti, yugāvartaḥ)

302. Naikamāyaḥ

The One, who does not have one māyā, but many.

(ekā māyā na vidyate bahvīr-māyā vahati iti, naikamāyaḥ)

The māyā of Bhagavān is not one, but manifold. This is not to be understood as that there are many māyās.[3] He can assume numerous forms of māyā, not only of one. The whole jagat which is manifold, is His magic. Time is not there, still we calculate time. Thus time is not there, yet it is there.

Similarly with space. The term outside and inside is notional. I am in the drawing room preparing this blog, the hospital is outside (I am still inside the hospital). The hospital is in Bangaluru, Bangaluru is in Karnataka, Karnataka is a state within India, which is inside the continent Asia, which is one of the seven continents in this planet the earth, which is one of the six planets besides Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. All these are within our galaxy – the Milky Way (Ākāśa Gaṅgā). And there are so many galaxies like our Milky Way in the expanding universe. Mind boggling. And the whole universe (known and unknown) is inside our head (mind). So where is space?

One can take anything and analyse; finally anything is made up of numerous non-anything. A flower comprises of components which are non-flower. The peacock feather is colourless. The sky is not blue, neither the sea/ocean. The sky is also not dome-shaped. All this that cannot be explained including all that can be explained is all magic, the māyā of Bhagavān. Here māyā means magic, not the traditional meaning of māyāśakti

303. Mahāśanaḥ

The One who is the greatest consumer.

(mahat aśanam asya iti, mahāśanaḥ; kalpānte[4] sarvagrasanāt)

All the beings are afraid of death. This Death is a side-dish (upasecana) for Bhagavān. Kaṭhopaniṣad says – ‘In fact, how can an ordinary person know this Ātmā, for whom the brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya are no more than food, and death is a side-dish! - Ka.Up.-I.2.25). At the time of cosmic dissolution (pralaya) Bhagavān takes back the whole jagat unto Himself. Aśana means food, hence Bhagavān is known as Mahāśanaḥ.

304. Adṛśyaḥ

The One, who cannot be known by any of the five sense organs.

(sarveṣāṃ buddhi-indriyāṇām-agamya- , adṛśyaḥ)

        -               

H- e is not an object of consciousness, He is the subject. He is you. Being an atīndriya viṣaya, He cannot be known, except Śruti pramāṇa.

305. Vyaktarūpaḥ

The One, who is self-evident.

He is called Vyaktarūpaḥ because His gross form as universe can be clearly perceived (vyakta) (sthūlarūpeṇa vyaktaṃ svarūpam asya iti, vyaktarūpaḥ)

ii) Or, One who being self-luminous is clearly perceived by the Yogis.

(svayaṃ prakāśamānatvād yogināṃ vyaktarūpa iti vā)

306. Sahasrajit

The conqueror of thousands (innumerous).

The One who is victorious over innumerable enemies of the devatās in the battle.

(surārīṇām sahasrāṇi yuddhe jayati iti, sahasrajit.)

307. Anantajit

The One, who is victorious over every being everywhere.

The Lord being endowed with all powers is victorious at all times over everything.

(sarvāṇi bhūtāni yuddhakrīḍādiṣu sarvatra-acintyaśaktitayā jayati iti, anantajit)

इष्टो विशिष्टः शिष्टेष्टः- शिखंडी नहुषो वृषः।
क्रोध- हा क्रोधकृत् कर्ता विश्वबाहु: महीधरः।।34।-
 

308. Iṣṭaḥ

The most desirable.

The one, who is dear to all because He is Ānanda-svarūpa.

(paramānanda- -ātmakatvena priya, iṣṭaḥ)

ii) Or the one who is worshipped in the yajñas (iṣṭis).

(yajñena pūjita iti vā, iṣṭaḥ)

309. Aviśiṣṭaḥ

The One, who has no distinctive attributes.

ii) One who resides within all.

(sarveṣām-antaryāmitve- na, aviśiṣṭaḥ)

310. Śiṣteṣṭaḥ

The One, who is desired by the śiṣṭas.

(śiṣṭānāṃ- = viduṣām iṣṭaḥ, śiṣteṣtaḥ)

ii) Or, One to whom the Knowing Ones are dear. Bhagavadgitā says: “Among these, the jñāni, always united (to Me), his devotion resolved in oneness, is distinguished because I am very much dear to him, and he is also dear to Me. ‘teṣāṃ jñānī nityayukta ekabhaktir-viśiṣyate  priyo hi jñānino’tyartham-ahaṃ sa ca mama priyaḥ || -Bh.Gi.-VII.17. (śiṣtā iṣtā asya iti vā….iti bhagavad vacanāt)

iii) (śiṣṭair-iṣṭaḥ = pūjita iti vā, śiṣṭeṣtaḥ)

311. Śikhaṇḍī

The One, decorated with peacock feathers.

(śikhaṇḍaḥ kalāpo’lankāro asya iti, śikhaṇḍī yato gopa-veṣadharaḥ)

Śikha- ḍa means feather of a peacock. One who has used it as a decoration for His crown in His Kṛṣṇa avatāra.

 (This is avatāra-specific)

312. Nahuṣaḥ

The One who binds.

He binds all beings by māyā.

The Sanskrit root ‘nah’ means bondage.

(nahyati bhūtāni māyayā yato nahuṣaḥ; ‘naḥ’ = bandhane)

313. Vṛṣaḥ

The One, who rains blessings.

(kāmānāṃ varṣaṇāt vrṣaḥ = dharmaḥ)

The one who is of the form of Dharma. Mahābhārata Śānti Parva says –

vrṣo hi bhagavān dharmaḥ smṛto lokeṣu bhārata |

naighaṇṭuka-padākhyānai- r viddhi māṃ vṛṣam uttamam ||

314. Krodhahā

The destroyer of anger.

The Lord eradicates anger in virtuous people.

(sādhūnāṃ krodhaṃ hanti iti, krodhahā)

315. Krodhakṛt-kartā

The One who causes krodha or anger.

(asādhuṣu krodhaṃ karoti iti, krodhakṛt)

ii) Or, One who is the kartā or creator of the universe. (kriyata iti karma jagat, tasya kartā – ‘yo vai bālāka eteṣāṃ puruṣāṇāṃ kartā yasya vai tat karma sa veditavyaḥ’ – Kauṣitaki Upaniṣad.-IV.18)

iii) Or, One who is the Kartā or destroyer of asuras who are evil-doers.

(krodhakṛtāṃ daityādīnāṃ kartā chedaka iti ekaṃ vā nāma)

316. Viśvabāhuḥ

The One, who has His hands everywhere.

(viśveṣām ālambanatvena, viśve bāhavo asya iti viśvato bāhavo asya iti vā)

To support the entire visva comprising numerous beings and things, Bhagavan has (as though) His arms/hands spread everywhere. Thus He is viśvabāhuḥ. Śvetāśvatara says - ‘viśvabāhuḥ viśvatobāhuḥ’ - Śv.Up.-III.3 “viśvabāhuḥ viśvatobāhuḥ - Śv.Up.-III.3)

317. Mahīdharaḥ (also 369)

The One, who sustains the earth.

(mahīṃ pūjāṃ dharaṇīṃ vā dharati iti, mahīdharaḥ)

‘Mahī’ means earth because it is vast and sustains numerous beings. And Bhagavān sustains the earth, i.e. everything.

ii) ‘Mahī’ also means worship (pūjā). Bhagavān receives the worship (‘mahī’ (pūjā) of the devotees, hence He is Mahīdharaḥ.

***

Swāmin- ī Ātmaprajñānanda Saraswatī is a Vedāntācāryā and Vyākaraṇācāryā. She teaches Vedānta and Pāṇini in Ārsha Vidyā Vikāś Kendra at Bhubaneswar. She is the author of three published books - Nomenclature of the Vedas, Ṛṣikās of the Ṛgveda, and Om: The Sound Symbol.