SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 106, nAma 992 - pApa nASanaH.
992. pApa-nASanaH ? The Destroyer of sins.
Om pApa-nASanAya namaH.
pApam nASayati iti pApa-nASanaH. It is very interesting to look at
the derivation of the word pApa ? it is derived from the root pA ?
rakshaNe ? to protect. The addition of the affix paH leads to the
word pApaH ? that from which one should protect oneself is pApa, or
sin. SrI vAsishTha gives the derivation for the word pApa as "pAti
asmAt AtmAnam iti pApaH ? That from which one should protect oneself
is pApaH or sin.
SrI BhaTTar explains the nAma by reminding us of the great value of
meditating on bhagavAn's leelA-s. By meditating on the nectar-like
stories of His stealing the butter and curd, by reminding ourselves
of His rAsa-krIDA-s with the gopi-s, etc., the sins in our minds are
removed. In fact, this is one of the ways that bhagavAn annihilates
the internal flaws in the minds of SrI vaishNava-s ? those who
meditate on Him with single-minded devotion. SrI BhaTTar's words
are: atha dadhi-navanItastainya rAsa krIDAdi kathAmRtena pareshAm
pApa-nASanaH | avatAre'pi vaishNavAnAm bAhyAbhyantara Satru-nASanaH
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Even during His incarnations, He annihilates the enemies, both
internal and external, of SrIvaishNava-s (the devotees of vishNu
inseparably associated with SrI or mahA lakshmi). He annihilates the
internal enemies when they meditate on His kalyANa guNa-s, and he
annihilates the external enemies through the divine weapons that he
carries for their protection (which is the substance of the next and
last Sloka)..
SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan explains that ordinary thieves only steal
material objects, but bhagavAn steals the feelings of stealth itself
from the minds of the devotees ? the Stealer of the thought of
stealth itself- cauryasya cauryam jagati prasiddham ? He is well-
known as the Stealer of the very thought of stealth itself from those
who meditate on His leelA-s of stealing butter, curd etc.
SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to nammAzhvAr's tiruvAimozhi pASuram
3.6.2, where AzhvAr refers to bhagavAn by the nama "pApanASan":
mUvarAgiya mUrtiyai mudal mUvarkkum mudalvan tannai
SAvamuLLana nIkkuvAnai taDam kDal kiDantAn tannai
dEva dEvanai ten ila'nkai eri ezhac ceRRa villiyai
pAva nASanai pa'ngayat taDam kaNNanaip paravuminO. (tiruvAi. 3.6.2)
"I beseech all of you people to devote yourselves to the Lotus-eyed
Lord who is the Chief among the tri-mUrti-s, the antaryAmi of rudra
and brahmA, and their Creator. He is the One Who removes the curses
of rudra, brahmA and other gods whenever they get into trouble. He
is the One Who is reclining in the Milk Ocean, and the same One Who
tortured the evil-minded ravAna and his SrI la'nkA to retrieve sItA
pirATTi. He is the Lotus-eyed Lord Who removes all our sins by the
mere contemplation on Him".
Similar thoughts are expressed by periyAzhvAr:
emmanA! en kula daivamE! ennuDai nAyakanE!
nin uLEnAip peRRa nanmai ivvulaginil yAr peRuvAr?
namman pOlE vIzhttu amukkum nATTil uLLa pAvam ellAm
SummenAdE kai viTTo ODit tURugaL pAindanavE. (periAzhvAr
tiru. 5.4.3)
"My Lord! How can I ever describe the great benefit that I have
received because of Your Grace? All the sins that normally push me
down mercilessly to the ground like demons and ghosts, have left me
quietly like prisoners that escape without making any noise and hide
in the bushes".
SrI vELukkuDi kRshNan refers us to the gItA Slokam 4.9:
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvataH |
tyaktvA deham punar-janma naiti mAmeti so'rjuna || (gItA
4.9)
"He who thus knows in truth My divine birth and actions does not get
rebirth after this body; he will come to Me, O arjuna".
SrI kRishNan svAmi adds that if we meditate on His birth, we won't be
born again; if we meditate on His drinking His mother's milk in His
birth, we won't have to be born to drink a mother's milk; if we
enjoy His leelA of stealing butter and curd, our sins will be stolen
away by Him; if we meditate on His being bound by ropes by yaSodA, we
won't be bound again in samsAra; such is the greatness of the
thoughts about Him and His leelA-s.
SrI Sa'nkara's vyAkhyAnam is: "kIrtitaH pUjito dhyAyataH smRtaH
pAparASim nASayan pApa-nASanaH" ? He Who destroys the sins of those
who adore Him, meditate on Him, and remember and sing hymns of praise
on Him. He gives support from a work titled vRddhaSAtAtapa:
pakshopavAsAd yat-pApam purushasya praNaSyati |
prANAyAma Satenaiva tat-pApam naSyate nRNAm ||
prANAya sahasreNa yat-pApam naSyate nRNAm |
kshaNa-mAtreNa tat-pApam harer-dhyAnAt praNaSyati ||
"Whatever sins are removed by fasting for a fortnight, are destroyed
by performing a hundred prANAyAma-s. Whatever sins are destroyed by
a thousand prANAyAma-s, are removed in a fraction of a second by
meditating on Hari".
SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives an explanation for how the thought of
bhagavAn's leelA-s is able to wash away one's sins. These thoughts
of bhagavAn's leelA-s have the effect of keeping Him always on our
thoughts, and this is what causes one's mind to be purified. This
is what bhIshma tells yudhishThira at the beginning of the stotra:
tasya loka pradhAnasya jagannAthasya bhUpate |
vishNor-nAma sahasram me SruNu pApa bhayApaham ||
"O king, hear from me the thousand names of vishNu, the Lord of the
Universe, the highest in the worlds; these remove all sins and
fear". The next stanza clarifies that the nAma-s are but
representations of bhagavAna's guNa-s ? yAni nAmi gauNAni vikhyAtAni
mahAtmanaH, and thus, meditation on the names of vishNu, or the guNa-
s of vishNu, leads to the removal of sins in the mind of one who
meditates on vishNu.
SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives support from SrImad bhAgavatam:
nAma sa'nkIrtanam yasya sarva pApa praNASanam |
praNAmo duHkha SamanaH tam namAmi harim param || (bhAga.
12.13.23)
"My prostrations to Lord SrI Hari Whose nAma sa'nkIrtanam leads to
the eradication of all sins, and by worshipping Whom all sorrows are
weakened". This is the last Slokam of SrImad bhAgavatam, and can be
considered the summarizing Slokam of SrImad bhAgavtam by SrI sUta
muNi.
SrI cinmayAnanda summarizes the purport of the nAma in the following
words: "Meditating upon Whom all vAsanA-s (sins) are liquidated.
When an individual, surrendering in love to Him, acts and fulfills
his duties, all his existing vAsanA-s are destroyed, and no new ones
are created. This is the very root in the theory of karma yoga in
the veda-s. Through meditation upon the Self, all sins are dissolved
and totally removed".
In one of his alternate interpretations, SrI satya sandha tIrtha
looks at the nAma as pApanAH + aSnAti ? pApam nayati iti pApanAH
daityAH, tAn aSnAti iti pApaNASanaH. The asura-s are called pApanAH
because they lead in committing sins, and bhagavAn `eats away' or
destroys these asura-s, and so He is called pApanASanaH.
SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN also includes the above thought in one of
his alternative interpretations ? pavitraiH caritaiH SrotRRNAm
nikhila karmya rUpam pApam vivartayan, asurAnAmapi nihatAn Atma
vidyAm nivartya muktim tebhyo yacchat pApanASanaH ? He is called pApa
nASanaH because He removes the sins of those who hear the stories of
His leelA-s; He is calo called pApa nASanaH because He destroys the
asura-s, and in the process, even for them He removes their sins by
redeeming the knowledge about the Self and gets them to moksha.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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