SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
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821) sarvagya: (सर्वज्ञः) (also seen in 454)
bhagavAn knows precisely the strengths and weaknesses of his dear devotees, and also what they can achieve and what they cannot (and graces them accordingly). Therefore, he is called ‘sarvagya:’ – the omniscient.
Etymology: He, who knows fully the strengths and weaknesses of his dear devotees and their capabilities for accomplishment, is called ‘sarvagya:’.
शक्याशक्यादिकं सर्वं साध्यासाध्यादिकं च यः |
भक्तानामनुसन्धत्तॆ स सर्वज्ञ इतीरितः ||
822) sarvathOmukha: (सर्वतॊमुखः)
For such devotees, bhagavAn brushes aside the hard rules like “He can be attained only by this way, and not by any other means”, and provides umpteen ways to attain him; so that the individual soul takes to any of those ways and reaches him. Therefore, he is called ‘sarvathOmukha:’.
bhagavAn declares thus in SrI rAmAyaNa: “He, who has surrendered to another person, shall be protected by that person at any cost – irrespective of the mindset behind the surrender – even if he is an enemy”.
Etymology: He, who can be known (and attained) by the learned ones (noble men – the dear devotees of bhagavAn) by any means – not wanting to abide (limit) by any strict guidelines – is called ‘sarvathOmukha:’.
तत्तन्नियममुत्सृज्य यॊ ज्ञातुं शक्यतॆ बुधैः |
व्याजॆन यॆन कॆनापि स स्मृतः सर्वतॊमुखः ||
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सुलभः सुव्रतः सिद्धः शत्रुजिच्छत्रुतापनः ।
न्यग्रॊधॊदुम्बरॊsश्वत्थश्चाणूरान्ध्रनिषूदनः ॥ ८८ ॥
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823) sulabha: (सुलभः)
bhagavAn is, furthermore, easily accessible. Although he is extremely valuable and cannot be traded for anything, he still appears as the one who can be owned for a small amount of true love. This can be seen in the episode of the hunch-backed woman (thrivakrA), who used to provide sandal paste and other decorations in the court of kamsa. The vishNu purANa hails thus: “She held the robes of gOvindha and invited him to her house”. That is how she took him under her disposal!
Etymology: bhagavAn is called ‘sulabha:’, since he is very easily accessible (by true love alone) to every individual.
सर्वॆषां सुखलभ्यत्वात् सुलभः परिकीर्तितः |
824) suvratha: (सुव्रतः) (also seen in 456)
bhagavAn is called ‘suvratha:’, because he has a firm vow of protecting his devotees who have approached him – be it by any means – at any cost.
This is beautifully shown in SrI rAmAyaNa during the surrender of vibhIshaNa. bhagavAn declares thus: “I give my assurance to every individual (of protecting them at any cost), who approaches me saying they are mine, even if they surrender to me just once. Oh Sugriva! This is my firm vow”.
(NOTE: This SlOka from SrI rAmAyaNa, which is illustrated here by SrI parAsara bhattar, is famously called ‘rAma charama SlOkam’, and the original sloka is given here for the perusal of the reader. The readers are encouraged to approach their AchAryas for a detailed explanation on this SlOka – and the intricacies therein.
The SlOka is as follows:
सकृदॆव प्रपन्नाय तवास्मीति च याचतॆ |
अभयं सर्वभूतॆभ्यॊ ददाम्यॆतद्व्रतं मम ||
Etymology: He, who possesses a firm auspicious vow of protecting his devotees – who have approached him by any means – at any cost, is called ‘suvratha:’.
यॆन कॆनापि विष्टानां सर्वथा परिपालनम् |
दृढं सुष्ठुव्रतं यस्य स सुव्रत उदाहृतः ||
825) sidhdha: (सिद्धः) (also seen in 98)
For such dear devotees who have known him in his true form, bhagavAn is said to be ‘sidhdha:’ – the one who is readily attained without any external efforts.
bhagavAn’s nature of protecting his devotees is not consequential to anything else. Rather, it is his natural trait that can be seen at all times. Thus, he is called ‘sidhdha:’.
Till this divine name, the direct incarnations of bhagavAn have been illustrated.
Etymology: He is called ‘sidhdha:’, who is readily attained without external efforts by his dear devotees who have known his true nature.
अयत्नसाध्यः सिद्धः स्यात् स्वतत्त्वस्थितिवॆदिनाम् |
826) SathrujithchathruthApana: (शत्रुजिच्छत्रुतापनः)
Thence, bhagavAn’s indirect protection of his devotees – by being the indweller of other select individual souls and vesting his powers with them – shall be expounded.
In doing so, bhagavAn vests his divine effulgence with the valiant warriors like kakuthstha, purukuthsa, et al and thereby burns those evil souls (the opponents of kakuthstha, purukuthsa, et al) who come in the way of dharma. Thus, he is called ‘Sathrujith-chathruthApana:’.
This is clearly expounded in the fourth amSa of vishNu purANa, thus:
“Having mounted on the hump of the bull (indhra, who had taken that form), kakuthstha was infested with rage. He was vested with the divine effulgence of the supreme master of all – SrIman nArAyaNa himself. With that power, he attacked the asuras – who had waged a war against dhEvas – and killed them all”.
The scriptures have also hailed thus: “purukuthsa went to rasAthala (one of the seven worlds, below bhUmi), and slew all the gandharvas (the residents of that world) with the valour that came due to the divine effulgence of bhagavAn”.
Etymology: He, who burns the opponents by vesting his effulgence with select individual souls like purukuthsa, kakuthstha et al (and making them all the more powerful), is called ‘Sathrujith-chathruthApana:’ in one single name.
पुरुकुत्सककुत्स्थाद्यैः शत्रुजिद्भिः स्वतॆजसा |
आप्यायितैरपि परान् यस्तापयति नित्यशः |
अयमॆकपदॆनॊक्तः शत्रुजिच्छत्रुतापनः ||
827) nyagrOdhOdhumbara: (न्यग्रॊधॊदुम्बरः)
bhagavAn is both ‘nyagrOdha:’ (न्यग्रॊधः), as well as ‘udhumbara:’ (उदुम्बरः). Hence, he is called ‘nyagrOdhOdhumbara:’.
He is called ‘nyagrOdha:’ – because he is the one who gives away himself to those humble devotees whom he cannot bypass because of their joined palms in salutation (anjali mudhrA). The word ‘nyagbhUtha’ (न्यग्भूतः) means a lowly/humble soul. The word ‘rudhyathE’ (रुध्यतॆ) means to establish. He makes such humble souls eligible for his divine grace.
The vishNu dharmOththara purANa says thus: “anjali (joining of palms in salutation) is a superior mudhra, which will grant the supreme brahman instantly (meaning, which will please bhagavAn instantly and makes him grant himself)”
Even in SrI rAmAyaNa, it is hailed thus: “I do not see any means of forgiving the mistakes of a wrongdoer other than joining his palms in salutation/surrender (anjali) and thereby being forgiven by lakshmaNa”
Further, he is called ‘udhumbara:’, because he is the master of the divine abode SrIvaikuNtam, as well as SrI mahAlakshmi and all other divine servitors (nithyas and mukthas) – whose superiority is characterized by their residence in that divine abode. The word ‘ambaram’ (अम्बरम्) means sky, and the word ‘udhgatham’ (उद्गतम्) means being superior. Hence, the “supreme sky” (or paramAkASa:) refers to SrIvaikuNtam. These two words are conjoined to result in the word ‘udhambaram’ (उदम्बरम्), in which the ‘a’kAra is replaced by ‘u’kara due to grammatical rules, resulting in the word ‘udhumbara:’ (उदुम्बरः).
When these two names are read together, this divine name means that bhagavAn is the one who can be approached even by the lowest soul in this material world with a simple anjali mudhra, although he is the supreme soul who is served by supreme servitors at his divine abode.
This is hailed thus in the vishNu purANa: “Oh maithrEya! bhagavAn – the primordial creator as well as the supreme soul – is sought by all souls such as gandharvas, avadhUthas, uragas, et al.”
Etymology: He – who readily graces his even the lowly souls who surrender unto him with anjali mudhrA – is called ‘nyagrOdha:’. Furthermore, he – who possesses the supreme abode of SrIvaikuNtam, which is characterized by its being devoid of blemishes associated with the three gunas, as his own – is called ‘udhumbara:’. The ‘u’kAra in this divine name comes from the prushOdhara nIthi (a certain grammatical rule related to usage of syllables). These two divine names are read together as a single name ‘nyagrOdhOdhumbara:’. Therefore, he – who is, by nature, served by superior souls (such as SrI mahAlakshmi, et al) at his supreme abode, and yet is also very easily accessible to even the lowliest souls in this material world – is called ‘nyagrOdhOdhumbara:’.
न्यग्भूतैः प्रणतैः स्वानुग्रहौन्मुख्यॆन रुध्यतॆ |
यॊ व्यवस्थापयतॆ नित्यं न्यग्रॊधः स उदाहृतः ||
गुणत्रयादुद्गतं यत् परमं धाम चाम्बरम् |
यसॊदुंबर एषः स्यात् उः पृषॊदरनीतितः ||
न्यग्रॊधॊदुम्बर इति ह्यॆकं नाम प्रकीर्तितम् ||
अत्युच्छ्रितानां सॆव्यॊ यॊsप्यतिनीचानुवर्तनः |
न्यग्रॊधॊदुम्बरः स स्यात् दशार्णः सर्वसिद्धिदः ||
828) aSvaththa: (अश्वत्थः)
Thereafter, bhagavAn’s indirect way of ruling the world through other dhEvas – who are also subservient to him, and who also constitute his divine body – is explained.
dhEvas like indhra et al are called ‘aSva’s, because their existence is not eternal. They are all present today, but their position tomorrow (position of indhra, Siva, brahmA, et al. after a certain period of time) is not guaranteed. The word ‘Sva:’ (श्वः) means ‘tomorrow’. Those who do not have it with them are called ‘aSva’s. Since he indwells them to control all entities, he is called ‘aSvaththa:’.
The vaishNava dharma says thus: “bhagavAn indwells the ‘rAjasika’ four faced brahmA and carries out the job of creation – thereby creating all beings. He then takes the ‘sAthvika’ form of ‘purusha’ (nArAyaNa himself, as seen in the beginning of Sri vishNu sahasranAma chapter) and protects all entities therein. Finally, he takes on the ‘thAmasika’ form of rudhra or Siva and destroys the entire creation”.
Etymology: He – who indwells even the individual souls like indhra and other dhEvas (who are merely deputees in their respective portfolios), and thereby controls the entire creation – is called ‘aSvaththa:’.
अनित्यमिन्द्रादिपदं यॆषां तॆष्वपि तिष्ठति |
नियामकत्वॆनॆत्यॆवम् अश्वत्थ इति कीर्तितः ||
829) chANUrAndhranishUdhana: (चाणूरान्ध्रनिषूदनः)
Being the indweller of indhra and other dhEvas, bhagavAn destroys the lowly demonic wrestler named ‘chANUra’ (this is different from the chANUra who was killed by krishNa). Thus, he is called ‘chANUrAndhranishUdhana:’.
The word ‘sUdh’ सूद् (to slay) gets the ‘sha’kAra (षकारः) by grammatical rules, thereby resulting in the word ‘nishUdhana:’.
Etymology: He, who slew the demonic wrestler named ‘chANUra’, is hailed by the sages as ‘chANUrAndhranishUdhana:’.
चाणूराख्यासुरं यॊsरिं मल्लं सूदितवानसौ |
प्रॊच्यतॆ मुनिभिर्नित्यं चाणूरान्ध्रनिषूदनः ||
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सहस्रार्चिः सप्तजिह्वः सप्तैधाः सप्तवाहनः ।
अमूर्तिरनघॊsचिन्त्यॊ भयकृद्भयनाशनः ॥ ८९ ॥
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830) sahasrArchi: (सहस्रार्चिः)
bhagavAn has vested thousands of rays – which are beneficial to the creatures at large due to their inherent quality of heat which is useful in cooking/digesting/ripening, drying, burning, lightening, etc. Therefore, he is called ‘sahasrArchi:’ – the one with thousands of effulgent rays.
Sri paushkara samhitha says thus: “Know the visible sun and the moon as verily the eyes of that supreme soul, who is called by the name ‘agnishOmAthmA’ (अग्निषॊमात्मा)”.
bhagavAn also declares thus in the bhagavath gIthA: “That effulgence which is seen in the sun, and which lights up all the worlds, and the effulgence that you see in other luminous entities like the moon, fire, et al – shall be known as verily my own effulgence (vested with them for a certain purpose)”.
Etymology: He, by whom thousands of effulgent rays are vested with the sun – which help in various tasks such as drying, etc, is called ‘sahasrArchi:’.
सूर्यॆ सहस्रमर्चींषि शॊषणादिषु हॆतवः |
अभिविष्टानि यॆनासौ सहस्रार्चिरिति स्मृतः ||
adiyen srinivasa raja ramanuja dasan
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