SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 107 - Additional Comments.
As I started on the write-up for Slokam 107, I received the following
feedback from a devotee:
"In texts that are organized and ordered (i.e. texts that are not
randomly organized), the final portions are often reserved for
summary or conclusive statements. Do any of the commentators
explain why the final Sloka of nAmas is reserved for the Lord's
weapons? Or, are the nAmas randomly organized, so that the final
verse of nAmas has no more special significance that the other nAmas?"
The current write-up is an effort to address this comment. The
answer to the question of whether the nAma- are a random collection,
or whether there is any organization to the nAma-s, is answered
easily. I have reproduced one paragraph from the Introduction that I
wrote for the current series several years back:
"In his commentary on Sri vishNu sahasra nAmam, SrI BhaTTar has
beautifully traced a thread of connectivity in the sequence of the
1000 nAma-s as they occur in the stotram. He has identified an
organization and structure in the composition that refers to the
guNas of the Lord in the five manifestations in which He has revealed
Himself to us, as described in the pA'ncarAtra Agamas. These
manifestations are: para, vyuha, vibhava, arcA, and antaryAmi. Thus,
for instance, SrI BhaTTar has noted that the first 122 nAma-s in the
stotram describe the qualities of the Lord in his para vAsudeva form.
The next set of nAma-s describe the vyuha forms etc. Thus the nAma-s
as they occur in the stotram are not just a random collection of nAma-
s, but have a beautiful thread of organization and structure to them.
SrI BhaTTar has identified 44 such manifestations of BhagavAn in his
exposition. Sri Srinivasachariar, in his editorial introduction to
SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam published by LIFCO, (1967), describes this
beautifully as an arrangement of the petals of a rose 44 layers deep,
or a step of stairs with 44 steps leading to the enjoyment of the
Supreme. I will not go into the enumeration of these 44 forms at this
stage, but will identify these as we go along. The enumeration and
the corresponding Slokas can be found in the LIFCO publication".
It is the unique contribution of SrI BhaTTar's commentary that he has
identified this connectivity or organization in the sequence of the
nAma-s. No other commentator has identified this thread of
connectivity in the sequence of nAma-s. This connectivity and
organization have been pointed out through the series of subsequent
postings after the above Introduction was written.
Having thus answered the question of organization, and noted that
there is definite organization and structure to the sequence in which
the nAma-s have been strung together by bhIshma, we now look at the
question of significance of the reference to bhagavAn's Ayudham-s in
the final Slokam 107. In other words, why, of all the possible
endings for the stotram, did bhIshma choose to sing the praise of
emperumAn with His divine weapons to conclude the stotram?
Perhaps the best reason for including a description of bhagavAn with
His weapons as the concluding Slokam, can be best appreciated by
understanding why He bears the weapons to start with. In the
viSisTAdvaita tradition, two anubhavam-s are given for His bearing
the weapons. One is that they are part of His adornments. The
second, and the one that is relevant in the current context, is that
He is carrying them for the protection of His devotees against the
asura-s etc. After singing His guNa-s of saulabhyam and sauSIlyam
through 992 nAma-s, SrI bhIshma perhaps sees it fit to point out that
all these guNa-s of bhagavAn are purely for the benefit of His
devotees, and that He stands ready, carrying His most ferocious
weapons, ever ready to protect His devotees at all costs.
Protection of the devotees is the primary and only concern of
bhagavAn. Everything He does, including His functions of Creation,
is for the protection of the jIva-s. It is this aspect of bhagavAn's
commitment to Protection of His devotees that is signified in this
concluding Slokam of the stotram, and that is revealed to us by
presenting Him with His ferocious weapons. The devotees themselves
enjoy these weapons as adornments on His divine tirumEni, and at the
same time, these weapons are the objects of terror in the hearts of
the most ferocious enemies of the devotees (hiraNyakaSipu, rAvaNa,
SiSupAla, etc.).
In his vyAkhyAnam for the nAma akshobhyaah, SrI BhaTTar describes the
vratam of bhagavAn in protecting His devotees ? to the point that He
won't even mind forsaking His dear brother lakshmaNa, or separating
from sItA pirATTi. His vyAkhyAnam, taken from the write-up for the
nAma akshobhyah, is ? prapanna abhaya dAna dArDhyAt sva-mahimnA'pi
akshobhyaH ? He Who cannot be shaken from the firm vow that He has
taken to protect those who have surrendered to Him; this vow of His
cannot be shaken even by His own Great Self". One is reminded of
the words of bhagavAn found in SaraNagati gadyam of bhagavad rAmAnuja:
anRtam nokta pUrvam me na ca vakshye kadAcana - I have never uttered
an untruth before, and will never utter one ever.
rAmo dvir-nAbhibhAshate ? rAma never talks with two tongues
sakRdeva prapannAya tavAsmI ca yAcate |
abhayam sarva bhUtebhyo dadAmyetad vratam mama || (yuddha. 18.33)
"It is My vow to protect unconditionally from every living being,
anyone that surrenders to Me even once, or seeks my protection
saying "I am your servant"".
sarva dharmAn parityajya mAm ekam SaraNam vraja |
aham tvAsarva pApebhyo mokshayishyAmi mA Sucah || (gItA 18.66)
"Completely relinquishing all Dharma-s, seek Me alone for refuge. I
will release you from all sins. Grieve not".
SrI veLukkuDi kRshNan points to the incident where sItA tries to
persuade rAma not to bear arms while in the forest, but to follow the
path of penance instead. Lord rAma's response is that He had given
His word to the Rshi-s in the forest that they will be protected from
the rAkshasa-s at all costs, and that He won't swerve from His word
even if it involves losing sItA and lakshmaNa:
apyaham jIvitam jahyAm tvAm vA sIte sa-lakshmaNam |
na tu pratij~nAm samSrutya brAhmaNebhyo viSeshatah || (AraNya.
10.19)
"O sItA! I would rather give up My life, or even you and lakshmaNa,
than break My promise, especially that which has been made to
brAhmins".
Lord rAma reinforces His commitment to protect anyone who
approaches Him with sincerity, during vibhIshaNa SaraNAgati:
mitra bhAvena samprAptam na tyajeyam katha'ncana |
dosho yadyapi tasya syAt satAm etat agarhitam ||
(yuddha. 18.3)
"I will not forsake anyone who has approached Me with a feeling of
true love, even if this person has any faults. This is the conduct
that will be considered blemish-less by elders".
Thatg is the level of commitment of bhagavAn to the Protection of His
devotees.
BhagavAn's supreme commitment to the Protection of His devotees is
sung by nammAzhvAr and other pUrvAcArya-s over and over again.
BhagavAn is in fact the One responsible for Creation, Protection and
the Destruction of all things. But Protection is the driving force
for His functions of Creation and Destruction as well. His
fundamental nature is one of protection. He performs creation and
destruction only as acts that are directed towards protection.
kAkkum iyalvinan kaNNa perumAn
SErkkai Seidu tan undi uLLE
vAitta tiSai-mugan indiran vAnavar
AkkinAn deiva ulagugaLE. (tiruvAimozhi
2.2.9)
This pASuram states that kaNNa pirAn has, as His nature, the function
of protection. Because this is His nature, He protects all the jIva-
s in His stomach at the time of pralaya, but it is really
protection. This `destruction' again, is a prelude to creation that
is in the welfare of the jIva-s, by giving them another opportunity
to attain Him by giving them a body and all the comforts to enjoy,
and is thus really protection in truth. BhagavAn is the One who
creates brahmA first from the brahmANDam that emanates from His
navel, and then gives him the power to create all other things, and
thus He is the true Creator through brahmA also. Similarly, brahmA
creates rudra, and bhagavAn remains as the antaryAmi of rudra, and
enables him to perform the function of `destruction', the function
that He has entrusted to rudra. It is bhagavAn's nature to protect
the jIva-s. This is what He considers more important than the
functions of destruction and creation. These other two functions are
done only to facilitate the protection of the jIva-s, so that
ultimately the jIva-s will attain moksham, and join Him in SrI
vaikunTham for ever. The Supreme Deity (perumAn) takes incarnations
for the primary purpose of protection, because this is His very
nature (kAkkum iyalvinan). Note Lord kRshNa's declaration ?
paritrANAya sAdhUnAm, vinASAya ca dushkRtAm ? For the protection of
the good, and the destruction of the evil. Protection is mentioned
first, and destruction only follows as the next function in
importance. Like removing the weeds so that the intended grains can
grow, destruction of the evil is only for the protection of the
good.
The first set of words in AzhvAr's pASuram ? kAkkum iyalvinan, refers
to the function of protection, which is His nature. SErkkai Seidu ?
The second set of words, refers to the function of destruction. This
is subservient to the function of protection. It is for the purpose
of protecting the jIva-s from being destroyed during the pralaya,
that He saves everything in His stomach at the time of pralaya, even
ensuring that they do not bump into each other and suffer any
damage. AkkinAn ? The third function in this sequence, namely
creation, is dependent on the previous step, that of samhAram, which
again was meant for protection.
In order of importance, protection is the most important. By
saying "kAkkum iyalvinan AkkinAn", AzhvAr emphasizes that the main
purpose is protection, and creation is only a means of protection ?
giving a body to the jIva-s so that they can expend their karma-s and
attain Him. By saying "SErkkai Seidu AkkinAn", AzhvAr clarifies that
Serikkai Seidal or destruction is again a prelude to "Akkal' or
creation.
svAmi deSikan captures the gist of this pASuram as "rakshNAya
avatIrNam" ? BhagavAn takes incarnations solely for the purpose of
protection. The destruction of rAvaNa, hiraNyakaSipu etc., really
result in their attaining moksham ? the ultimate protection, even
though we only see them as `killing of rAvaNa or hiraNyakaSipu'.
We have the well-known Slokam from the jitante stotram that declares
that everything that bhagavAn possesses including His divine weapons,
is for the benefit of His devotees:
na te rUpam na cAkAro
nAyudhAni na cAspadam |
tathA'pi purushAkAro
bhaktAnAm prakASase || (jitante. 1.5)
"Neither Your divya Atma svarUpam, nor Your divya ma'ngaLa vigraham,
nor for that matter Your weapons, or Your own SrI vaikunTham, are
for Your benefit (they are all for Your devotees' benefit, and thus
You are not independent, but You are the possession of Your
devotees). Even so, You shine as the Supreme Being".
Having thus understood that the concluding Slokam of the vishNu
sahasra nAma stotram emphasizes the concern of Protection that
bhagavAn has for His devotees by mentioning His divine form with His
weapons, a very logical question that can arise in some people's
minds is: "Obviously emperumAn can destroy His devotees' enemies
merely by His Will power. Why does He have to carry weapons to
destroy these sinners?"
To understand this, let us look at nammAzhvAr's pASuram (tiruvAi.
4.8.1):
ERu ALum iRaiyOnum, tiSai muganum, tirumagaLum
kURu ALum tani uDamban, kulam kulamA asurargaLai
neeRu Agum paDiyAga nirumittu, paDai toTTa
mARALan kavarAda maNimAmai kuRai ilamE. (tiruvAi. 4.8.1)
Many of bhagavAn's kalyANa guNa-s are to be enjoyed in this pASuram;
however, let us look at the following in the current context:
- kulam kulamA aSurargaLai neeRu Agum paDiyAga nirumittu, paDai
toTTa mARALan ? He is also the One who made the decision through His
mere Will that the wicked asura-s who were enemies of His devotees
will be destroyed without trace, by numbers upon numbers, and Who
used His weapons to destroy them.
The key words to note are `nirumittu' (having decided in His mind),
and paDaai toTTa (He Who then used His weapons to destroy them). So
bhagavAn has made up in His mind that the asura-s will be destroyed
without trace. But how does He accomplish this ? not just by His
sa'nkalpam alone, but though the use of His weapons. Here is the
anubhavam by our pUrvAcArya-s:
nirumittu ? sankalpittu: emperumAn is also One Who could have
destroyed the asura-s, who were enemies of His devotees, through a
minute fraction of His Infinite Will power. But instead of
destroying them thus with His Will power alone, bhagavAn chooses to
use His weapons to kill them. He would have destroyed them through
His Will power alone if they were showing enmity only towards Him;
but instead, they were showing enmity towards His devotees, and this
is something that He could not tolerate. So He became angry, and
used His weapons to destroy them. Through his choice of words,
AzhvAr shows that bhagavAn will not tolerate any offense to His
devotees ? He will not tolerate bhAgavata apacAram.
kulam kulamA asurargaLai nIrAgum paDiyAga nirumittu paDai toTTa ?
refers to His veeryam - one His six primary guNa-s.
mARu ALan ? He Who considers the enemies of His devotees as His own
enemies; He Who literally exchanges His position with that of the
devotee, and destroys their enemies. Note Lord kRshNa's refusal to
eat in duryodhana's place, just because the later was an enemy of the
pANDava-s; in other words, He considered the enemy of the pANDava-s
as His own enemy ?
dvishad-annam no bhoktavyam dvishantam naiva bhojayet |
pANDavAn dvishase rAjan mama prANA hi pANDavAH ||
Thus, bhagavAn's weapons are a sign of His ardent desire to protect
His devotees. By singing bhagavAn's Form with His weapons in the
last Slokam, bhIshma wants to brings out this guNa of bhagavAn,
namely His commitment to protect His devotees against all forces
opposed to His devotees.
SrI BhaTTar reflects the intensity of bhagavAn's commitment of
protection of His devotees through His superb choice of words: `at
all times, in all places, by all means, ` etc. In fact, SrI BhaTTar
extends this commitment to protect the devotees, not only to
bhagavAn, but to the divine weapons as well ? who are all nitya-sUri-
s who have taken the forms of His divine weapons. Let us look at his
commentary:
- SrI BhaTTar gives his summary at the conclusion of the last
nAma sarva-praharaNAyudah ? He Who has all the weapons that act
against evil. He elaborates this further, and the translation of
this explanation is: "He has also numberless other divine weapons
befitting Him which are powerful enough to uproot completely the
distress of His devotees who are rooted in Him ? weapons that have
taken a vow as it were, in a long sacrifice to protect at all times
at all places by all means, and in all ways those who have resorted
to Him; which have unlimited power, which are like ornaments to Him
and which help Him to discharge His duties as the Supreme Lord of the
Universe". As we will see below, bhagavAn's main function in His
leelA is the protection of the jIva-s. All His kalyANa guNa-s, and
everything He possesses, are for the benefit of the devotee.
Just as there is no limit to bhagavAn's kalyANa guNa-s, there is no
limit to the enjoyment of His kalyANa guNa-s as well. And there is
no limit to the extent to which He will go in ensuring protection of
His devotees. It is hoped that the significance of the concluding
stotram of SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam, with a reference to bhagavAn's
form bearing His ferocious weapons, is thus understood in terms of
His most important guNa ? Protection of His devotees at all costs,
under all circumstances, in all places, at all times, to quote SrI
BhaTTar.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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