Monthly Archives: October 2019

SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

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<< Part 44

441) nakshathranEmi: (नक्षत्रनॆमिः)

Since bhagavAn guides the constellations, he is called ‘nakshathranEmi:’. The root ‘nee’ नी (to guide) gets the ‘mi’ (मिः) adjunct, resulting in the word ‘nEmi:’.

The vishNu purANa says thus:

“Since bhagavAn sets the constellations – which are like fire globules – into motion by cycles of wind and thus effects those constellations, he is called ‘pravaha’. Thus, he spins all the celestial bodies such as moon, sun, and other planets. All the celestial bodies including the constellations – which are thus set into motion by bhagavAn – finally revolve around him in a cycle”.

Etymology: He who guides the glorious stellar constellations by spinning them (setting them into motion), and whom the constellations come around in such motion is called ‘nakshatranEmi:’.

यॊ नक्षत्रात्मकं चक्रं ज्यॊतीरूपमनामयम् |
नयति भ्रामयति यं भ्रमन्तमनुयाति तत् |
नक्षत्रनॆमिः स ज्ञॆयॊ नवार्णॊ भ्रमनायकः ||

442) nakshathrI (नक्षत्री)

The vishNu purANa hails thus: “The stellar form of bhagavAn that is called as ‘SimSumAra’ in the skies is supported by nArAyaNa himself who resides in the heart of that constellation.”

Thus, since bhagavAn supports SimSumAra chakra, he is called ‘nakshathrI’.

Etymology: He whose divine form is the glorious SimSumAra constellation in the sky (or in other words, he who supports the SimSumAra chakra) is called ‘nakshathrI’.

शिंशुमाराकृतिः प्रॊक्तं यद्रूपं ज्यॊतिषां दिवि |
तद्यस्यास्ति स नक्षत्री सप्तार्णॊ लॊकपावनः ||

443) kshama: (क्षमः)

As detailed till now, since bhagavAn bears the weight of all worlds with utmost ease, he is called ‘kshama:’.

The vishNu purANa hails thus: “Since bhagavAn bears all the constellations, he is called ‘pravaha’”.

Etymology: He who bears the weight of all worlds with ease is called ‘kshama:’.

अनायासॆन निखिलं भारं च भुवनस्य यः |
सहतॆ स क्षमः प्रॊक्तः षडर्णः क्षान्तिदायकः ||

444) kshAma: (क्षामः) (also repeated in 858)

During the intermediate deluge (called ‘naimiththika praLayam’), when all other stars are gone, this constellation remains in a subdued state. Hence bhagavAn in the form of SimSumAra is called ‘kshAma:’. The root ‘kshai’ क्षै (reduction) gets the ‘ma:’ (मः) adjunct, resulting in this divine name.

The vishNu purANa hails thus:

“The four great stars in the SimSumAra do not die at deluge”

“Oh maithrEya, at the time of intermediate deluge, only the regions upto the dhruva maNdala get destroyed and would be submerged under water”

Etymology: Since the SimSumAra consisting of four stars near dhruva maNdala stays on in a subdued state even during the intermediate deluge when all other stars are destroyed, bhagavAn is called ‘kshAma:’.

अवान्तरलयॆ कैश्चित् क्षीणस्तारागणैः सह |

क्षामॊ ध्रुवसमीपस्थः चतुर्नक्षत्रसंयुतः ||

445) samIhana: (समीहनः)

Thereafter, since bhagavAn always engages all the creatures in this creation in their respective designations, he is called ‘samIhana:’.

The thaiththirIya AraNyaka says “All entities keep going around you (for their respective positions)”

The udhyoga parva of mahAbhAratha hails thus:

“That purushOththama – the best among all entities – sets in motion all of the earth, sky, heaven, and all other entities in this creation, as if this a mere sport for him”

Etymology: The one who re-engages every entity in their respective designations at the beginning of creation is called ‘samIhana:’. He is the one who sets every entity in action.

स्वस्याधिकारॆ सर्वान् यः समीहयति सृष्टिषु |
समीहनः स विज्ञॆयस्त्वष्टार्णः कार्यदायकः ||

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यज्ञ इज्यॊ महॆज्यश्च क्रतुः सत्रं सतांगतिः ।
सर्वदर्शी निवृत्तात्मा सर्वज्ञॊ ज्ञानमुत्तमम् ॥ ४८ ॥
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446) yagya: (यज्ञः) (also repeated in 971)

Having begun to hail bhagavAn’s glories by saying “…that glorious abode – the third world – where dhruva is situated, is called by the divine name ‘vishNu padham’” etc, the vishNu purANa continues to expound the divine forms of bhagavAn in the dhruva maNdala, clouds, rain, etc in a hierarchy, and finally comes down to ‘yagya’, its limbs and its fruits by saying “This is the divine land of enjoyment of the fruits of yagya. yagya is well established in this place”, “The consumer of havis (agni) is nurtured by feeding him with ghee oblations”, etc. Thus, bhagavAn’s divine form of yagyna is being hailed, and hence he is called as ‘yagya:’ (yagya:).

The root ‘yaj’ यज् (to worship) gets the nang (नङ्) adjunct per grammatical rules, resulting in this divine name.

The vEdhas openly declare “vishNu himself is yagyna”.

Etymology: Since bhagavAn is worshipped with yagyas, he is himself called ‘yagya:’.

यज्ञाराध्यतया यज्ञः |

447) ijya: (इज्यः)

bhagavAn accepts worship from lower mortals who desire for mundane benefits (such as wealth, etc) in the form of lower demigods such as indhra and others. Thus, he is called ‘ijya:’ – the one who accepts worship through rituals in the form of demigods.

It is said thus in the SAnthi parva of SrI mahAbhAratha: “Whoever worships the manes, demigods, brAhmaNas, and agni shall indeed be worshipping verily that vishNu who is the indweller of every soul”.

bhagavAn also says thus in the bhagavath gIthA: “Oh arjuna, whoever worships the other gods (demigods) would also be worshipping only me (as I am their indweller), but against injunctions (which say that everyone should worship bhagavAn only)”

The vishNu purANa says “That supreme soul vishNu is indeed worshipped by an entity only by following the varna-ASrama principles; there is nothing that pleases bhagavAn other than this”.

All these statements and more show that he is worshipped even for lower material desires through indhra and other demigods.

Etymology: He who is worshipped with various rituals is called ‘ijya:’.

इज्यः कर्मभिरर्चितः |

448) mahEjya: (महॆज्यः)

Furthermore, bhagavAn directly accepts the pure worship of his dear devotees who have no other desire than uniting with him. Hence, he is called ‘mahEjya:’ – the one who is worshipped directly by his dear devotees.

bhagavAn himself describes the mindset of such pure hearted devotees in the bhagavath gIthA thus:

“Those pure souls who submit the fruits of all actions unto me, whose minds are firmly rooted in me alone, and who worship me and meditate upon me….”

He also instructs arjuna in the battlefield thus:

“arjuna, give up the fruits of all actions (submit them unto me), and with a pure heart with no mundane desires or sense of ‘mine’ (mamakAra), go and fight the war”.

Etymology: He who is worshipped greatly is called ‘mahEjya:’. In other words, he who is directly and fondly worshipped by devotees desiring only his union is called ‘mahEjya:’.

इज्या हि महती यस्य स महॆज्य उदाहृतः |

449) krathu: (क्रतुः)

The five mahayagyas (to please five entities such as the god, manes, sages, fellow human beings and animals and the like), aupAsana (औपासन) and other yagyas making up the seven pAka yagyas (involving sacrifices with cooked materials), agnihOthra (अग्निहॊत्र) and other forms of the seven haviryagyas (involving oblations in the fire), the seven types of oblations (सप्तसंस्थाः) such as agnishrtOma (अग्निष्टॊम) etc which are generally termed as ‘yagyn’s, etc are collectively called ‘krathu’s. Since bhagavAn is worshipped through such krathus, he is himself called ‘krathu:’.

The word krathu comes from the fact that such yagyas involve performance of some prescribed actions.

Etymology: agnishtOma and other sacrifices consisting of the ‘saptha-samsthA’ and other such sacrifices are collectively called ‘krathu’s. Since bhagavAn is worshipped through such sacrifices, he is called ‘krathu:’.

अग्निष्टॊमादयः सप्तसंस्थाः क्रतव ईरिताः |
आराध्यः क्रियतॆ तैरित्यसौ क्रतुरुदीरितः ||

450) sathram (सत्रम्)

The type of sacrifice conducted for a long duration involving many yajamAnas (performers of rituals) is called ‘sathram’. Since bhagavAn is worshipped through ‘sathram’s at all times and therefore attained by all such worshippers, he is called ‘sathram’.

The word ‘sath’ (सत्) gets the ‘thra’ (त्र) adjunct, resulting in this divine name.

Etymology: The sacrifices that are conducted for long durations such as for several months by several yajamAnas are called ‘sathra’s. Since bhagavAn is worshipped through such sathras and therefore becomes their final goal, he is called ‘sathram’.

अनॆक यजमानॆ च दीर्घॆ मासादि चॊदितॆ |
सत्रॆ तैराराध्यतया सत्रं स्यात् सीदतीति सः ||

adiyen srinivasa raja ramanuja dasan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

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SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

Full Series

<< Part 43

431) artha: (अर्थः)

bhagavAn is verily the goal of attainment for all true devotees who are full of true knowledge. Thus, he is called ‘artha:’ – the wealth.

The root ‘ru’ ऋ (goal) gets the ‘than’ (थन्) adjunct, resulting in this divine name.

bhagavAn himself declares thus in bhagavath gIthA: “The truly knowledgeable soul surrenders unto me saying ‘vAsudhEva is everything’”

Etymology: The one who is attained as the only goal by ‘paramaikAnthin’s (परमैकान्तिनः) who have otherwise completely given up all of the other three desires (viz. dharma, artha and kAma) is called ‘artha:’.

परमैकान्तिभिर्नित्यम् एषणात्रयवर्जितैः |
स्वयं प्रयॊजनतया प्राप्यमाणॊsर्थ उच्यतॆ || 

432) anartha: (अनर्थः)

The ignorant souls desiring material benefits would not approach bhagavAn for his sake, but they approach him only for lower material benefits. Thus, he is also called ‘anartha:’.

Such ignorant souls approach bhagavAn only for the sake of gaining material wealth from him.

This is as hailed in the scriptures thus:

• “kubEra seeks wealth from me…”
• “Devotees of bhagavAn can be classified into three categories based on the type of fruits they desire from him (gaining material wealth, liberation from samsAra, and purely his service)”.

Etymology: Since bhagavAn is not sought unconditionally by the less fortunate seeker of material benefits, the learned men call him ‘anartha:’.

(In other words, since bhagavAn is sought with the sole intention of gaining lower material benefits, he is called ‘anartha:’)

अर्थार्थिनाsल्पभाग्यॆन निर्व्याजं नार्थ्यतॆ यतः |
तस्मादनर्थ नामाsसौ वॆदविद्भिः प्रकीर्तितः ||

433) mahAkOSa: (महाकॊशः)

Although bhagavAn keeps giving abundantly to everyone at every time, since his wealth never diminishes, he is called ‘mahAkOSa:’ – the one with tremendous treasure.

The immense treasure that he possesses consists of various nidhis such as ‘Sankha nidhi’, ‘padhma nidhi’, etc. (famously called ‘nava nidhis’), high mountains (such as mahAmEru – which is a golden mountain with a diamond peak), and other similar things.

Etymology: He whose treasury is filled with immense wealth made of the great Sankha, padhma and other nidhis, and high mountains (such as mEru) is called ‘mahAkOSa:’.

शङ्खपद्मादिनिधयॊ महान्तॊ रॊहणॊ गिरिः |
कॊशा भाण्डगृहा यस्य महाकॊशः स उच्यतॆ ||

434) mahAbhOga: (महाभॊगः)

The experience of lower material benefits is also given by bhagavAn only. Hence he is called ‘mahAbhOga:’.

bhagavAn declares thus in the bhagavath gIthA: “Thereafter, he begets all material desires as ordained by me”

Etymology: He from whom the experience of great materialistic desires born out of lowly wealth is also born is called ‘mahAbhOga:’. He is indeed the one who grants all the desired wealth.

अर्थसाध्यः कामभॊगॊ यस्मादॆषां महानिति |
महाभॊगः स विज्ञॆयॊ ह्यष्टार्णश्चिन्तितार्थदः ||

435) mahAdhana: (महाधनः)

Since bhagavAn possesses immense wealth sufficient to bestow immeasurably even upon the greediest person in this creation, he is called ‘mahAdhana:’.

prahlAdha hails this attribute of bhagavAn thus:

“People like marIchi, dhaksha, and others begot the fruits of righteousness, wealth and other material desires infinitely, as bestowed by bhagavAn”.

Etymology: Since bhagavAn always possesses inexhaustible wealth that can be bestowed even upon the greediest person immeasurably, he is called ‘mahAdhana:’.

अनिरूप्यातिकृपणप्रदॆयं धनमक्षयम् |
अस्यैवास्तीति सततं स महाधन ईरितः ||

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अनिर्विण्णः स्थविष्ठॊ भूः धर्मयूपॊ महामखः ।
नक्शत्रनॆमिर्नक्षत्री क्षमः क्षामः समीहनः ॥ ४७ ॥
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436) anirviNNa: (अनिर्विण्णः) (also repeated in 893)

As explained previously, even after giving away lowly material wealth immensely to the seekers, although bhagavAn repeatedly tries to attract such souls towards him thereafter, the ignorant souls would never turn towards him easily due to their strong desires in lowly material benefits. Yet, bhagavAn never gives up. He tirelessly tries again with great earnestness (like a greedy soul working hard to amass wealth) to bring them into his fold. That tireless exertion of bhagavAn itself results in his eternal engagement with these worlds (repeated cycles of creation, sustenance and destruction). Thus he is called ‘anirviNNa:’.

The vishNu purANa glorifies this attribute of bhagavAn thus: “The eternal cycles of creation, sustenance and destruction of all these worlds are verily due to the tireless attempts of bhagavAn in bringing all souls into his fold”.

Etymology: He is called ‘anirviNNa:’ who is constantly occupied in the eternal cycles of creation, sustenance and destruction (without the least bit of despondence).

अनिर्विण्णॊ जागरूकॊ जगद्व्यापारसन्ततौ |

437) sthavishta: (स्थविष्ठः) (also repeated in 53)

Thereafter, the non-depressed tireless efforts of bhagavAn in bringing people into his fold are illustrated famously in the uththama anuvAka of svAdhyaya brAhmaNa as well as in the vishNu purANa. From this divine name, the stellar form of bhagavAn as ‘SimSumAra’, which is a constellation in the shape of a crocodile is hailed.

Since bhagavAn – in this form – is expansive as ‘SimSumAra’, he is called ‘sthavishta:’.

The vishNu purANa says thus: “The SimSumAra chakra is verily the divine form of bhagavAn – our Lord”.

Etymology: Since bhagavAn always manifests in the SimSumAra chakra form as a stellar constellation in an expansive form, he is hailed as ‘sthavishta:’. He is the one who cleanses us of all our sins.

शिंशुमाराकृतितया तारारूपॆण सर्वदा |
स्थौल्यात् स्थविष्ठः सम्प्रॊक्तः सप्तार्णः पापनाशनः ||

438) bhU: (भूः)

Being in association with the dhruva star, since the SimSumAra chakra acts as the support for all entities, bhagavAn (in the form of SimSumAra chakra) is called ‘bhU:’ – the support.

The vishNu purANa says “At the end of that constellation (SimSumAra) is the dhruva star located”.

Etymology: Since the SimSumAra chakra supports every entity due to its relation with dhruva star, bhagavAn in that form is called ‘bhU:’. He is the one who grants all the desired wealth to his devotees.

औत्तानपादिसम्बन्धात् सर्वाधारतया तथा |
भवतीति च भूः प्रॊक्तॊ भक्तानां भूतिदॊ मनुः ||

439) dharmayUpa: (धर्मयूपः)

Since bhagavAn bears the dharma thathvam in a prime position as his head, he is called ‘dharmayUpa:’. The root ‘yu’ यु (to unite) gets the ‘pa’ (प) adjunct with a dhIrgha swara in the root, resulting in the word ‘yUpa’.

The scriptures support thus:

• “Dharma takes shelter in his head”
• “His head is verily dharma”, etc.

Etymology:  Since bhagavAn bears the entity of ‘righteousness’ as verily his head at all times, he is called ‘dharmayUpa:’.

उत्तमाङ्गतया धर्मतत्वं यौतीति सर्वदा |
धर्मयूपः समाख्यातॊ ह्यष्टार्णॊ धर्मदायकः ||

440) mahAmakha: (महामखः)

Since the ‘yagya’ itself is a limb of bhagavAn – which is also an auxiliary tool for the practice of dharma, he is called ‘mahAmakha:’.

This is since the scriptures say “yagya is itself known to be verily the dharma”.

Etymology: Since ‘yagya’ itself – which is most revered due to its being the embodiment of dharma – is the limb of bhagavAn, he is called ‘mahAmakha:’. He is the one who supports every soul in its righteous actions.

धर्मदॆहतया पूज्यॊ यज्ञॊsस्यावयवॊ यतः |
ततॊ महामखः प्रॊक्तॊ ह्यष्टार्णः कर्मकारकः ||

adiyen srinivasa raja ramanuja dasan

archived in http://divyaprabandham.koyil.org

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.org