VISHNU SAHASRANAAM

(231) Sampramardanah  -One who persecutes relentlessly men, who are sensuous, evil-minded, and so, fully extrovert in their personality (Raakshasas). In the form of disease, decay, disaster or death That which manifests to annihilate the pride, vanity and conceits of all “animal-men”, as they live drowned in their flesh cravings, low emotions and materialistic values, is the Ultimate Reality-the Supreme Lord Vishnu.

(232) Ahassamvartakah  -One who thrills the day (Ahas) and makes it function vigorously (pravartakah). The one who dynamises the day and lends the enchantment of joy to all living creatures is the Sun. The Mighty Truth, who, in the form of the Sun, gives life to all and lends this energy to them to act, is Vishnu. In the Geeta, Lord Krishna says, “Please understand that I am the Light of the Sun that illumines all earth; and the light and heat in the moon and fire are all mine only.”

(233) Vahnih -Fire. One, who is worshipped at the altar as the God of gods, was Fire in the Vedic period. Invoking the various deities, oblations were poured into the Fire in Vedic ritualism and Lord Fire is entrusted with the duty of conveying the oblations to the appropriate deities Invoked by the devotee.

In short, Vishnu is the Omniscient Lord, who conveys appropriate Karma-phala to the Kartaa (doer) and thus fulfils all actions of everybody, at all times.

234. Anilah –This term has four distinct meanings. All of them are appropriate here. (a) Air (Vaayu); living creatures; (b) “Beginning-less” (Aadi-rahitah); that Truth, from which the concept of time itself has born, must have been there even before time, manifested, and therefore, in terms of our intellectual concept of time, we can only say that He is “Beginningless”; (c) ‘Eater’ of food (Attaa); all experiences that satisfy the inner man is called the “food”, and since all experiences are lived only when illumined by the consciousness, the Supreme, in terms of our experience is called the “Eater” and (d) “The Homeless” since He is All-pervading He is the shelter of all and He is not sheltered by anything.

235. Dharaneedharah -One who supports (Dharah) the earth (Dharanee). The field of our experiences is the earth, and for all our earthly experiences, Consciousness is at once the very substratum and the very Illuminator. In the Light of Consciousness alone, the web of happenings around is held together to provide us with our experiences.

Stanza 26

suprasaadah prasannaatmaa
visva-dhrik- visvablluk- vibhuh
satkartaa satkritah saadhur
jahnur-naaraayano narah.

236. Suprasaadah -One who is full of the Supreme Grace and who, so little, so easily, becomes so entirely satisfied. Even to those who can remember Him, even if it be in a spirit of constant and faithful antagonism, His Grace is readily available. In Bhaagavata we read Pootanaa, who tried to poison Him, Kamsa, who planned to murder Him, or Sisupaala, who falsely accused Him-all of them were ultimately rewarded by the Lord. In the Geeta, He confesses, “with a little am I satisfied, if it is given with sincerity, and with faithful consistency”.

237. Prasannaatmaa -Ever-Pure and All- Blissful Self. The Supreme is ever-pure because, It is untouched by the sorrows lived by matter, when matter is ruled over by its gunas. In Geeta we read that the cause for all the sorrows of the individuality (Jeeva) is the attachment with matter and its various imperfect conditions (Gunas). Since He is untouched by them He is Ever-Pure; and since no identification of matter is in Him, He is all-Bliss.

238. Visvadhrik -As a Mighty Source of all existence in every thing and every being, He is the Supporter (Dhrik) of the total world of all perceptions, all emotions and all thoughts (Visva).

Herein the Supporter and the supported being essentially one, no calamity comes to the Lord by the increase in population. Ocean, the supporter of the waves, can never feel bothered by the stormy surface and the consequent increase in the number of waves.

239. Visvabhuk -The One who enjoys or swallows (Bhuk) all experiences (Visva). The Supreme Consciousness apparently conditioned by the mind and intellect is the experiencer of the joys and sorrows.

The term also means, “the One who absorbs unto Himself all names and forms” at the time of the dissolution (Pralaya) .In the plane of God-consciousness all other experiences, gathered in fields of waking, dream and deep- sleep, are transcended and, therefore, the State of Perfection can be figuratively indicated as “Visvabhuk” the One who swallows all other experiences of plurality”.

240. Vibhuh -One who manifests Himself in an endless variety of forms. Though essentially the Infinite is One, Non-Dual and All-Pervading, the Reality, when viewed through the equipments of mind-and-intellect (Maayaa) seems to have apparently become the pluralistic world. Mundakopanishad (1-6) says, “He is Eternal and Multiform.” Based upon this idea we have in the Puranas, the description of the Lord's incarnations and His play in the world of the many.

241. Satkartaa -One who revels and adores those who are good and wise. His palace is ever lit up with His hospitality and He Himself presides over the loving reception of the righteous.

242. Satkritah  -One who is adored by all good people, not only is He adored and worshipped by great men of wisdom and devotion-as the Sanatkumaaras, Naarada and others-but He is invoked and worshipped consciously by all living creatures. The Upanishad describes every experience of all living creatures as a Yajna in which the stimuli received are the ‘Oblations’ poured at which the inner Consciousness flares up into brilliancy.

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