(140) Chaturbhujah –“One who has four hands”. It is famous that Maha Vishnu has four hands and they carry the Conch, the Discus, the Mace, and the Lotus. According to the Puranas, these four are used by the Lord in maintaining Dharma among mankind. The ‘Conch’ calls man to the righteous path that directly leads to Peace and Perfection, the Divine Vishnupada. Very many of us in the enchantment of the immediate sense-joys refuse to listen to the small inner voice of conscience, the sound of the Paanchajanya-conch, and so He wields the ‘Mace’ and we come to suffer small calamities and tragic jerks in our smooth existence -communal, social or national. If still the individual is not listening to the call of the ‘Conch’, the wheel-of-time, Chakra annihilates the entire. The call and the punishment are all only to take man towards his Ultimate Goal, represented by the “Lotus” in His hand.

Subjectively Vishnu is the Self within, who manifests as the four-armed ‘subtle-body’ to serve as the Eesa of the gross physical structure, in all its actions and protect it with existence. The “Subtle-body” as the inner-equipment (Antah-Karana) functions as four mighty powers -mind, intellect, chit and ego. Chit is the ‘Lotus’, intellect is the ‘Conch’, ego is the ‘Mace’, and mind is the ‘Discus’. All these four are wielded by the One Infinite Blue-bodied Narayana, clothed in His ‘yellow garb’, manifesting to maintain and sustain the world of good and evil. Since the Self functions thus in a four-fold pattern, Vishnu has the appellation, “the four-armed Lord.”

Satanza 16

bhraajishnur-bhojanam bhoktaa
sahishnur- jagadaadijah
anagho vijayo jetaa
visvayonih punarvasuh.

(141) Bhraajishnuh -Self-Effulgent Consciousness illumines everything; and it is not borrowing Its Light from any other source. “It is the Light of lights that illumines even darkness”-(Geeta Ch. 13, St.18). And the Upanishad is equally vehement and declares: “There the sun has no light nor the stars nor these lightnings; how little then can this fire! By its Light alone all these are illumined.

(142) Bhojanam -The immediate meaning of the term is food, viz. eatables. In philosophy it has a wider implication and the term “food” cannotes the entire field-of-objects experienced or enjoyed by the sense-organs. The world-of-objects projected by the sense-organs, the inner psychological play and this world-of-matter constituting the field-of-plurality, all together is comprehended by the term Maayaa. Thus cathodox commentators reduce this term ‘Bhojanam’ to the contents and functions of Maayaa. Taittireeya Upanishad (2-7) says: “He is indeed the Essence (Rasa)”.

(143) Bhoktaa -The “Experiencer” Not only the world-of-objects is essentially nothing but the Spirit, Lord Vishnu, but even the very instruments-of -experiences and their ultimate joys and sorrows, are all illumined for us by the Lord- of-Lakshmi. The Pure Self, expressing through the gross, the subtle and the causal bodies, becomes the waker, dreamer and deep-sleeper, experiencing all happenings, good and bad, as the individuality in that living person. Consciousness, Purusha, identifying with and functioning through matter (Prakriti), comes to experience the endless modifications that are born out of Prakriti. The Self in Its Infinite nature is actionless and yet in Maayaa seems to function and becomes the Enjoyer or Sufferer of the actions of matter.

(144) Sahishnuh -One who is capable of patiently suffering, in his perfect detachment, all that is happening around, is a sahishnuh. Whatever happens to the reflections of the Sun, the Sun in the cosmos is unaffected by them, and with reference to his reflections we can call him a Sahishnuh, the Sun is a mere “witness” of his own endless reflections.

The term has also got two more meanings in Sanskrit as ‘Forgiver’ or ‘Conqueror’. Vishnu is one who forgives us readily all our trespasses, and conquers for us all the inimical forces in our inner personality.

(145) Jagadaadijah -One who had born (Jah) in the very beginning (aadi) of the world (jagat) is called Jagadaadijah. At the time of dissolution (Pralaya) when the entire gross and subtle bodies go to lie absorbed in the Total Causal-body, the world, in Pralaya, lies merged in Eesvara. Before the gross world-of-plurality emerges out there should be a condition of subtle manifestation of it in the form of thoughts. Thoughts constitute the mind-intellect; when the Infinite functions through this Total Mind-intellect, It is called as Hiranyagarba the womb of all objects, it is from the Hiranya garba-state, the manifestation of the gross world emerges out, when the lord comes to play as a Virat Aatmaa. Maha Vishnu is the one who was born before the world of gross bodies, therefore it is indicated here that he is the “Womb-of all- objects” in the world, the Hiranyagarba-the very creator.

(146) Anaghah -Agham means sin (Paapa), impurities (mala); and therefore, Anaghah means One who has no imperfections and who is not affected by the good and bad Vaasanaas left over in the personality as a result of the wilful actions. He is the Uncontaminated (Aliptah) .The Light of Consciousness is the Illuminator of the mind, and so the peace of virtue or the agitations of the sin cannot affect the Illuminator -the Illuminator being always different from the illuminated. Chandogya Upanishad (8-1-5) says: “He is free from Sin”.

(147) Vijayah –“The Victorious”. One who realizes the Self can thereafter stand apart from the thraldom of matter, Victorious over the tyrannies of the flesh, feelings or facts. Thus, the Seat of Self is the Seat of Victory over matter. The Peace and harmony of the Self can never be assailed by the noisy hordes of the world of plurality. Vijaya is the name also of Arjuna and the Lord Himself says, “Among the Pandavas, I am Arjuna” - Geeta Ch. 10, St. 37.

(148) Jetaa –“Ever Successful”. In all undertakings He alone wins; One who never knows any defeat or failure. Upanishad says: “Truth alone wins, never falsehood”.

(149) Visvayonih -It can be interpreted in two ways as (a) He who is the Cause of the universe or (b) He who has the world as His Cause. The former is clear to those who have so far followed the commentary, and to them the latter may be a very confusing statement. From the standpoint of the Puranas, it is logical. The Self has manifested as the various Incarnations from time to time because of the condition of the world, and therefore, Visvam is the cause for His manifestations.

(150) Punarvasuh -One who comes to live again and again in various equipments of living organisms is Punarvasuh: