SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
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धनुर्धरॊ धनुर्वॆदॊ दण्डॊ दमयितादमः ।
अपराजितः सर्वसहॊ नियन्ता नियमॊ यमः ॥ ९२ ॥
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861) dhanurdhara: (धनुर्धरः)
bhagavAn himself holds a mighty bow in order to protect such devotees who have earlier deviated from the path of yOga, but now desire to come back to him. Therefore, he is called ‘dhanurdhara:’ – the wielder of bow.
This is shown in SrI rAmAyaNa thus:
- “… (Only in order to protect the sages in this forest) I wield this bow”
- “A bow shall be held by kshathriyas, ready to be wielded, so that there is no distress call at anytime”
Etymology: He, who wields a bow at all times in order to remove the obstacles in the path of his devotees who worship him with love, is called ‘dhanurdhara:’.
उपासकानां भक्तॆर्यः प्रत्यूहविनिवृत्तयॆ |
धनुषॊ धारकॊ नित्यं स्वयं स स्यात् धनुर्धरः ||
862) dhanurvEdha: (धनुर्वॆदः)
The other dhEvas and the human rulers also learn the art of archery from bhagavAn through the related scriptures given by him. Therefore, he is called ‘dhanurvEdha:’ – the provider of scriptures for archery.
Etymology: He, from whom even the rulers of dhEvas, manushyas et al obtain the skills of archery through the scriptures provided by him, is called ‘dhanurvEdha:’. This eight lettered manthra benefits in the learning of archery.
सुरॆन्द्राद्याः धनुःशास्त्रं यस्मात् विन्दन्ति स श्रुतः |
धनुर्वॆदॊ ह्यष्टवर्णॊ धनुर्वॆदप्रदायकः ||
863) dhaNda: (दण्डः)
bhagavAn punishes the evil souls through the virtuous rulers who always protect the dharma expounded in the vEdhas. Therefore, he is called ‘dhaNda:’.
Etymology: bhagavAn is called ‘dhaNda:’ since he punishes the evil souls through the virtuous rulers who safeguard the dharma expounded in vEdhas.
वॆदधर्मारिष्टतातिनृपादिमुखतः खलान् |
दण्डनीत्या दण्डयतीत्यसौ दण्डः प्रकीर्तितः ||
864) dhamayithA (दमयिता)
Not stopping with controlling the bad elements through righteous rulers, bhagavAn also controlled the evil minded rAvaNa and others in his own form. Thus, he is called ‘dhamayithA’.
Etymology: The slayer of rAvaNa and other evil minded souls in his own form is called ‘damayithA’.
ताच्छील्यात् रावणादीनां हर्ता दमयिता स्वयम् |
865) adhama: (अदमः)
While bhagavAn controls every soul thus (as seen in the previous divine name), there is none who can control bhagavAn. Thus, he is called ‘adhama:’ – the one who is beyond anyone’s control.
This is hailed thus in SrI mahAbhAratha: “janArdhana can turn the entire world into ashes by his mere thought. But even if the entire world came together, nothing can be done to him!”
Etymology: He who has no controller is called ‘adhama:’.
कश्चिद्दमयिता नास्ति यस्यासावदमः स्मृतः |
866) aparAjitha: (अपराजितः)
While bhagavAn controls all individual souls thus in all aspects, he is himself invincible by anyone, anywhere, anytime and in anyway. Thus, he is called ‘aparAjitha:’ – the invincible.
The scriptures hail thus:
- “…that krishNa, who is invincible…”
- “What is not won by him, who has verily bhagavAn janArdhana – the supreme lord SrI hari who is the supreme master of all worlds – as his minister, protector, and a close confidante?”
Etymology: He, who has no impediments whatsoever from anyone anywhere and anytime while he controls all souls, is called ‘aparAjitha:’.
क्वचित्कदाचित्कस्माच्चित् सर्वतॊमुखशासनॆ |
यस्य प्रतिहतिर्नास्ति स वै स्यादपराजितः ||
867) sarvasaha: (सर्वसहः)
By his orders, bhagavAn makes even other dhEvas eligible of worship by ignorant souls. he is therefore called ‘sarvasaha:’. The root ‘sah’ (सह्) in this context means to bear/hold in position.
Etymology: He who holds all dhEvas (demigods) as fit for worship by ignorant souls is called ‘sarvasaha:’.
मन्दाधिकारिणां सर्वम् आराध्यत्वॆन दैवतम् |
बिभर्ति सहतॆ यस्तु स सर्वसह ईरितः ||
868) niyanthA (नियन्ता)
bhagavAn also stimulates the interests of such ignorant souls to worship the lowly demigods as per their individual tastes, and thus exercises his control over all of them. He is thus called ‘niyanthA’ – the controller.
bhagavAn himself declares thus in the bhagavath gIthA: “Oh arjuna! In whichever form (through whichever dhEvatha) a devotee would desire to come to me, I steady their faith in the same form”
Etymology: He who controls the individual souls by engaging the ignorant souls in worship of the demigods as per their interests is called ‘niyanthA’.
दैवतॆषु च सर्वॆषु तत्तदिच्छां प्ररॊचयन् |
मन्दाधिकारिणॊ यॊsसौ नियन्ता स्यान्नियच्छति ||
869) niyama: (नियमः) (also seen in 163)
When such ignorant souls worship the demigods, it is indeed bhagavAn who manifests as the indweller of such demigods and bestows the fruits of worship such as longevity, wealth etc.
The root ‘yam’ (यम्) gets the ‘ni’ (नि) suffix and ‘ap’ (अप्) adjunct, resulting in this divine name.
bhagavAn himself declares thus in the bhagavath gIthA: “Oh arjuna! Having worshipped the demigods for temporary fruits, the worshipper would beget those fruits from me only – who manifests in the form of their deities”
Etymology: Since bhagavAn bestows the fruits of wealth etc to the worshippers of demigods (by being their indweller), he is called ‘niyama:’.
भॊगादिकं नियम्यास्मिन् लम्भयन् नियमः स्मृतः |
870) yama: (यमः) (also seen in 164)
bhagavAn is the one who conducts the demigods by giving them the power to bestow the desired fruits such as wealth, long life, etc. Thus, bhagavAn is called ‘yama:’.
Verily the god of death – yama – says thus in the vishNu purANa: “bhagavAn vishNu is the one who controls even me”
In this way, bhagavAn controls the souls who are filled with qualities of rajas and thamas.
Etymology: He is called ‘yama:’, who controls even the demigods such as yama et al – who bestow the desired fruits.
यमादीन् यच्छति यमस्तत्तत्फलनियामकान् |
adiyen srinivasa raja ramanuja dasan
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