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    SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
      
        SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 107 - 
      nAma-s 998, 999. rathA'nga-pANiH, akshobhyaH.

998. rathA'nga-pANiH ? He Who is armed with the wheel in His hand.

Om rathA'nga-pANaye namaH.

rathA'ngam, cakram pANau yasya iti rathA'nga-pANiH.- He Who has the 
discus in His hand.  SrI vAsishTha gives the following derivation:  
The word ratha is derived from the root ramu ? krIDAyAm ? to play, to 
sport; by the application of the uNAdi sUtra 2.2, the affix kthan is 
added, leading to the word ratha ? chariot (ramate = krIDati yasmin 
yena vA rathaH).  The word a'nga is derived from the root agi ? to 
go.  rathah a'ngati yena tad rathA'ngam ? That which makes the 
chariot go is rathA'ngam or wheel. 

In one interpretation for this nAma, the reference is to the wheel or 
discus in His hand.  We studied the nAma cakrI (nAma 995), and one 
might feel that there is redundancy between the two nAma-s.  SrI 
BhaTTar points out that in nAma 995, bhagavAn being the Possessor of 
the Ayudham or weapon was described, whereas in the current nAma His 
readiness for action (having the cakra ready in His hand for release) 
is described, and thus there is no repetition.  It is His readiness 
for action at all times that is enjoyed in the current nAma.  In 
periya tiruvantAdi-87 this readiness is described by nammAzhvAr 
as "eppozhudum kai kazhalA nEmiyAn" ? He Who has the discus that 
never leaves His hand.  

Another interpretation given for the nAma is  a reference to the 
incident where bhagavAn jumped from the chariot and rushed towards 
bhIshma during the mahA bhArata war with the wheel of the chariot in 
His hand, just to make the promise of His devotee bhIshma come true, 
even when it involved His breaking His own promise not to take to 
weapons during the war.  SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan reminds us of this 
incident in explanation of this nAma.  

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri refers us to bhIshma's own description of this 
incident:

   sva-nigamam apahAya mat-pratij~nAm Rtam adhikartum avapluto 
rathasthaH |
   dhRta ratha caraNah abhyayAt calatguH haririva hantum ibham 
gatottarIyaH  ||  (bhAga. 1.9.37)

   "Giving up His promise not to take arms in the battle, and just to 
fulfill my promise that I will make Him take arms, He who had 
ascended the chariot jumped down and rushed towards me with the haste 
that made the earth shake, like a lion that was rushing to kill an 
elephant".

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN also gives the interpretation in terms of 
bhagavAn bearing the wheel of the chariot in order to fulfill the vow 
of His devotee ? bhakta pratij~nA pratipAlakatAm ati-SlAghyatvAt 
punarAha rathA'ngapANiriti bhIshmam prati pradarSitam etat.

999. akshobhyaH ? He Who is unshakable.

Om akshobhyAya namaH.

We studied this nAma earlier in Slokam 86 ? nAma 807.   Please refer 
to that write-up for additional insights on bhagavAn's akshobhyatvam.

SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the following derivation for the nAma:  
The nAma is derived from the root kshubh kshobh ? sa'ncalane ? to be 
agitated or disturbed.  The application of pANini sUtra 3.1.124 ? R-
halor-Nyat, results in the word kshobhyah, giving the sense of 
SakyArthe arhArte vA - `one who is capable of', and `or one who is 
fit to be'.. Thus, khshobhyah means `one who can be agitated, 
perturbed, shaken', and akshobhyaH means "One who cannot be shaken' - 
na kshobhayitum = sa'ncalayitum Sakyah akshobhyah.

SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam 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".

The write-ups for the nAma satya-sandhah (Slokam 54), acyutah etc., 
give ample support to His akshobhyatvam.
                         
SrI Sa'nkara's interpretation is ? ata eva aSakya-kshobhaNa iti 
akshobhyaH ? `thus equipped with the various weapons, He is said to 
be unassailable".  In other words, SrI Sa'nkara associates the 
unassailability with the previous nAma-s describing His weapons.

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri's anubhavam is that bhIshma is describing the 
Lord whom He saw for 10 days in the battlefield through these last 
few nAma-s (rathA'nga pANiH - the previous nAma, and akshobhyah ? the 
current nAma).   SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN gives essentially the 
same interpretation ? tyakta Sastro'pi kshobhayitum gharshitum a-
SakyatvAt akshobhyah.

Another anubhavam of His being unshakable, is given by SrI 
cinmayAnanda through the following words:  "One Who cannot be 
exasperated by anyone, by any act or acts, however blasphemous they 
may be; One Whose peace and calm cannot be stormed out by any 
happening in his outer world; Ever-peaceful.  The term suggests 
Infinite patience, love and kindness towards man and his frailties".

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)




 
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