SrIvishNu sahasranAmam – 45 (Names 441 to 450)

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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

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