MantraOnNet.com: Vishnu Sahasranaama

(201) Sandhaataa – TheCo-relator,the Regulator, the One who co-relates the actions and their fruits. In fact, the fruit of an action is nothing other than the action itself; the action itself presents as its fruit in a different period of time, maturing under its own Law. This Great Law is the Lord, whom the devotee accepts as “The Giver of all fruits of action”.

(202) Sandhimaan ? The structural engineering of individuality is the mightiest of phenomenon available in nature. The Supreme is the Law and the Law-giver; and the Light of Consciousness functioning in the mind and intellect Itself is the individuality (Jeeva), that comes to suffer the good and bad results of the actions. Thus not only that it is He, who is the Giver of the results but It is He, again. Who is the enjoyer or the sufferer of the results. Hence He is called as the One who is apparently conditioned by the actions that emanate from Him, Sandhimaan, enjoyer (conditioned). In fact, He is the One presiding over and illumining all actions; the very Law of reaction Itself; the ensuing experience in all actions, of all people, at all times. From the stand-point of out existence, with reference to our individual existence, the Divinity in us, for all appearances, seems to be conditioned; this Sandhimaan, the Jeeva in His own Pristine Purity is Maha Vishnu.

(203) Sthirah – Firm, consistent. One who is ever consistent in His nature and One who remains changeless, at all times.

(204) Ajah – Unborn. Ajah is also a term denoting the Creator, Brahmaaji; He who, in the form of Hiranyagarbha, apparently creates the delusory world of plurality is Vishnu.

(205) Durmarshanah ? One who cannot be attacked and vanquished. In the long run, everyone in his own ‘ maturity will have to come and accept and walk the path, f Vishnu?He is the final Goal. In the lesser levels of evolution, the animal-man may deny himself the peace and joy of living the spiritual values, and deluded by the senses and enchanted by the flesh, he may live a life of sense joys and temporary fulfillments. But soon enough irresistibly he will be seeking the “feet” of Vishnu for real happiness and true achievement. His also is the final victory and one can stand apart from Him in a victory over him.

(206) Saastaa ? One who rules over the universe. Not only that He is the Administrator of the laws of the Phenomenon but also He is the Saastaa. He is the One who, through Sastra, with firm hand, instructs and guides us through the righteous path, drives us along steadily to progress in cultural beauty and finally reaches us at the Great Goal of all evolutions: the Seat of Vishnu.

(207) Visrutaatmaa ? The famous term Aatmaa, famous in all the Vedas, Is Vishnu. This term clearly shows that all the thousand terms, used herein, though can be considered for the Saguna worship of Vishnu, represent nothing other than the Pure Self, which is the famous theme of the Hindu Scriptures. Through hundreds of suggestive definitions, this Great Self has been successfully pointed out through declarations of Its Transcendental Nature and through statements of negation indicating what He is not.

(208) Suraarihaa ? Sura =God of the Heaven. Ari=?enemies? Ha=”destroyer”. The Supreme is the destroyer of the enemies of the gods. The sensuous claims of flesh, the mild assertions of the ego, the nocturnal devil desires and passions, are the common enemies of the higher in aspiring to evolve. When invoked with true devotion. He drives away and destroys the inimical negative tendencies, helps the devotee to master himself, is Suraarihaa. Sri Narayan.

(209) Guruh ? The teacher, who initiates seekers into the secrets of the sacred scriptures is called the Guru. Since the Lord, the infinite alone, is the very author and knower of the Vedas, He is the Teacher in all spiritual study. Aatman being the Light, that illumines the knowledge in the teacher, his very capacity to speak and the very ability in the student to hear, understand and comprehend this great Truth, He alone is the Teacher wherever there is any transfer of knowledge.

(210) Gurutamah – The Greatest Teacher; One who had inspired with knowledge and initiated the very Creator Brahmaaji into the knowledge of the four Vedas. The creative mind of the very first Spiritual Master must have received this experience of the Transcendental, initiated by none other than the Supreme Itself. Later on, the Man of Realization might come to help other seekers, and to that extent the following generations of disciples, can no doubt, psychologically believe that the teacher guided them to Truth. But, in fact for all times to come, the final experience of the theme of the Vedas is arrived at only through the final revelation, which has nothing to do with the teacher or the text. Svetaasvatara Upanishad (6-18) says, “He who first Created the Creator (Brahmaa) and imparted in the Vedas.”

The Guru and the scripture, devotion to God, meditation, moral conduct and the religious discipline are all necessary, in as much as, they prepare the bosom of the seeker for the dawn of realization. But the first unveiling is done by the

Infinite alone, and hence, Vishnu, the Self, is the best among the Gurus. Heaviness is called by the same term (Gurutvarn) and in this sense the Lord is indicated here as “that which ii heavier than the heaviest.”

(211) Dhaama ? The Goal; the Sacred destination of a pilgrimage. The Supreme is the Param dhaama, the ‘Supreme Destination?, having reached which, there is nothing more to reach beyond. This Absolute State of Perfection is called the “Peak” (Dhaama). The Sanskrit term Dhaama also means “Effulgence” (Tejas); the Pure Consciousness as the Illuminator of all experiences is considered and glorified as the Light of all Lights etc.

(212) Satyah ? On who is Himself the truth. The difference from the general connotation, we have for the term “That which remains without a change in the past, present and future” is called Satyam. “Truth, Knowledge, Infinite is Brahman”, thunder the scriptures. Brihad Upanishad says, “The Praanas are the truth, and He is the Truth of them.”

(213) Satyaparaakramah – Dynamic Truth Passive truthfulness is the harbour of the fools, the dark den of the cowards; although it is any day better than suicidal untruth and criminal dishonesty The Lord, the Infinite is not only Himself the Truth but He is Dynamic in insisting that Truth shall prevail, not untruth. Not only gravity is a law of nature, itself ever truthful, but it insists that none shall escape its influence or disobey its sway. So too, the Infinite Law of Harmony and Love is an Inevitable Truth persisting with insistence in life The Lord is therefore indicated by the term “Satyaparaakramah”.

(214) Nimishah -The condition of “the eyelids closed” is called Nimishah; the un winking is called Animishah. When the eyes are open, the mind is extrovert; the condition of mental introverted ness is expressed in an unconscious closing of the eyes. When a man is deeply thinking, remembering, contemplating, we find him naturally closing his eyes.

In a state of intense contemplation, when the intellect is turned away from the objects-of-experiences, the bosom ex-

periences the One Divine “Subject” both within and without. The Lord is described here as “with eyes closed”, only to indicate that He is ever rooted in Himself; from Him viewed, there exists nothing other than Himself to constitute the world of-objects.

(215) Animishah ? One who remains unwinking. Whenever we wink both the eye-lids close together and what we are seeing is at least technically veiled from the seer in the eye. The Supreme is indicated here by the term “unwinking?, in the sense that the consciousness is Ever-Knowing. In Sankara’s words, in Chandogya Bhaashya, “there is no cessation of knowing in the knower”

(216) Sragvee ? A garland is called Srak and therefore, the term means One who is constantly wearing a garland of undecaying flowers. The famous garland of Vishnu is called Vaijayantee.

(217) Vaachaspatir-Udaaradheeh ? Vaachaspati is a term given to One who is eloquent in championing the Supreme law of life; and Dheeh means the power of intelligence and Udaaradheeh one who has a “Large hearted intelligence”. One who is not puritanical in his viewpoints. God is not only the Declarer of the Law but He has a large hearted tolerance to appreciate the weakness of the devotee’s heart, suffering under the delusion of Maayaa, and hence, has a great sympathy for the weakness in us. This is expressed in God’s Infinite kindness towards sinners in general.

The laws of spiritual living can be disobeyed for a long time without any tyrannical onslaught unlike the law of physical nature, which is blind and uncompromising- Fire knows no mercy. But Narayana, the Great Vishnu, is kind and considerate while He expresses the Truth of Life eloquently at all times around us. In His Large heartedness, He has enough paternal kindness to overtook our trespasses.

(218) Agraneeh ? One who guides us to the end ? the peak. Also the One, who leads (Agra) the entire pilgrimage?’the Guide. He moves ahead and following His footsteps, keeping Him in our gaze, faithfully following Him, we shall reach the Goal and thus He is called as the leader, Vishnu.

(219) Graamaneeh – One who controls, guides and leads the “Collection”, the “flock” (Graama). In Sanskrit Graama means “a collection of many number of things”.

(220) Sreemaan ? Sree means Light, Effulgence or glory. Consciousness has all these three, and therefore, Sreemaan means the Self, the Lord.

(221) Nyaayah ? The word in its direct meaning is “Justice”. In the spiritual world, it connotes logical arguments (Tarka) and lines of contemplation (Yukti) which help us in arriving at the absolute experience indicated in the Sruti, are together called Nyaaya.

(222) Netaa – The .leader?one who protects, nurtures, nourishes and guides all living creatures in the world. One who is the Superintendent of the machinery of life.

(223) Sameeranah ? One who efficiently administers all movements of all living creatures. In the physical body, all physiological activities are controlled by the five ‘Praanaas* and thus in the form of ‘Praanaas’ He who governs all movements of all living creatures in the universe is Maha Vishnu.

(224) Sahasra-Moordhaa -One who has endless

number of heads. All living creatures are His manifestations and He Himself is the One who has become the many. Therefore all heads are His, just as in a factory the proprietor considers all the employees as his own ‘hands’. Here the term Sahasra means innumerable.

(225) Visvaatmaa ? The very Soul of the Universe; the very inner Essence in all living creatures.

(226) Sahasraakshah ? In describing the macrocosmic form of the Lord we have an endorsement of this declaration in the Bhagavad Geeta.

(227) Sahasrapaat ? In the Purushasookta of the Rig-Veda, the same .terms are used in describing the Infinite Form of the Mighty Truth: ?The Purusha is thousand-headed, thousand-eyed, and thousand-footed.”

The “many heads” (224), “many eyes” (226), “many legs” (227), together indicate that, through all these equipments of thinking (head), of action (leg) and of perception (eyes), the Thinker, the Doer and the Seer, the One Infinite Consciousness expresses everywhere, in all forms, at all times, and He is Lord Vishnu.

(228) Aavartanah – One who is the Unseen Dynamism behind the ever-whirling wheel-of time upon which play the endless drama of birth and death. The repetition (Aavartanam) of these changes is the experience of Samsaar, and the One mighty Lord, in whose presence alone the factors of matter start their thrilled dance of decay, is indicated here (Aavartanah) as “the Great Power behind the continuity of change in the world of phenomena”. In the Geeta, Bhagavan says, “0 Arjuna, the Lord dwells in the heart of all, and spins, through His Maayaa, all layers of personal ties as though the universe is a complicated machinery.”

(229) Nivrittaatmaa ? The pure Self, which has retreated totally (Nivritta) from all Its identifications with matter. In short, Maha Vishnu is the Pure Self. ever Immaculate and totally Free from all the sorrows of the constant modifications taking place apparently in the Prakriti.

(230) Samvritah – One who is completely veiled from the recognition of the “Perceiving-feeling-thinking entity”, the ego (Jeeva). The Self is veiled away from direct experience of all Jeevas. This intellectual state of non-apprehension (Aavarana) creates the agitation (Vikshepa) which is the cause for the misapprehensions of Truth as the sad and sorrowful world of imperfections. Thus veiled,* lies the Truth today to the seeker, and that Glorious spiritual Centre is Vishnu.

(231) Sampramardanah ? One who persecutes relentlessly men, who are sensuous, evil-minded, and so, fully extrovert in their personality (Raakshasas). In the form of disease, decay, disaster or death That which manifests to annihilate the pride, vanity and conceits of all “animal-men”, as they live drowned in their flesh cravings, low emotions and materialistic values, is the Ultimate Reality?the Supreme Lord Vishnu.

(232) Ahassamvartakah ? One who thrills the day (Ahas) and makes it function vigorously (pravartakah). The one who dynamises the day and lends the enchantment of joy to all living creatures is the Sun. The Mighty Truth, who, in the form of the Suit, gives life to all and lends this energy to them to act, is Vishnu. In the Geeta, Lord Krishna says, “Please understand that I am the Light of the Sun that illumines all earth; and the light and heat in the moon and fire are all mine only.”

(233) Vahnih – One, who is worshipped at the altar as the God of gods, was Fire in the Vedic period. Invoking the various deities, oblations were poured into the Fire in Vedic ritualism and Lord Fire is entrusted with the duty of conveying the oblations to the appropriate deities invoked by the devotee.

In short, Vishnu is the Omniscient Lord, who conveys appropriate Karma-phala to the Kartaa (doer) and thus fulfils all actions of everybody, at all times.

(234) Anilah ? This term has four distinct meanings All of them are appropriate here. (a) Air (Vaayu); living creatures; (b) “Be~in~ing-less” (Aadi-rahitah), that Truth from which the concept of time* itself has born, must have beei there even before time, manifested, and therefore, in terms o our intellectual concept of time, we can only say that He is “Beginningless”; (c) ‘Eater’ of food (Attaa); all experience that satisfy the inner man is called the “food”, and since al experiences are lived only when illumined by the consciousness the Supreme, in terms of our experience is called the “Eater” and (d) “The Homeless” since He is All -pervading: He is the shelter of all and He is not sheltered by anything.

(235) Dharaneedharah ? One who support (Dharah) the earth (Dharanee). The field of our experience! is the earth, and for all our earthly experiences. Consciousness is at once the very substratum and the very Illuminator. In the Light of Consciousness alone, the web of happenings aroun( is held together to provide us with our experiences.

(236) Suprasaadah ? One who is full of the Supreme Grace and who, so little, so easily, becomes so entirely satisfied. Even to those who can remember Him, even if it be in a spirit of constant and faithful antagonism. His Grace is readily available. In Bhaagavata we read Pootanaa, who tried to poison Him, Karnsa, who planned to murder Him, or Sisupaala, who falsely accused Him?all of them were ultimately rewarded by the Lord. In the Gita, He confesses, “With a little am I satisfied, if it is given with sincerity, and with faithful consistency”.

(237) Prasannaatmaa – Ever-Pure and All Blissful Self. The Supreme is ever-pure because. It is untouched by the sorrows lived by matter, when matter is ruled over by its gunas. In Geeta we read that the cause for all the sorrows of the individuality (Jeeva) is the attachment with matter and its various imperfect conditions (Gunas). Since He is untouched by them He is Ever-Pure; and since no identification of matter is in Him, He is all-Bliss.

(238) Visvadhrik ? As a Mighty Source of all existence in every thing and every being. He is the Supporter (Dhrik) of the total world of all perceptions, all emotions and all thoughts (Visva).

Herein the Supporter and the supported being essentially one, no calamity comes to the Lord by the increase in population. Ocean, the supporter of the waves, can never feel bothered by the stormy surface and the consequent increase in the number of waves.

(239) Visvabhuk – The One who enjoys or swallows (Bhuk) all experiences (Visva). The Supreme Conscious’ ness, apparently conditioned by the mind and intellect is the experiences of the joys and sorrows.

The term also means, “The One who absorbs unto Himself all names and forms” at the time of the dissolution (Pralaya). In the plane of God-consciousness all other experiences, gathered in fields of waking, dream and deepsleep, are transcended and, therefore, the State of Perfectior can be figuratively indicated as “Visvabhuk”” the One who swallows all other experiences of plurality”.

(240) Vibhuh ? One who manifests Himself in an endless variety of forms. Though essentially the Infinite is one, non ?dual and all pervading, when through the equipments of mind-and-intellect (Maayaa) seems to have apparently become the piviralistic world. Mundakopanishad says, “He is Eternal and Multiform.” Based upon this idea we have in the Puranas, the description of the Lord’s incarnations and His play in the world of the many.

(241) Satkartaa ? One who revels and adores those who are good and wise. His palace is ever lit up with His hospitality and He Himself presides over the loving reception of the righteous.

(242) Satkritah ? One who is adored by all good people, not only is He adored and worshipped by great men If wisdom and devotion?as the Sanatkumaaras, Naarada and others?but He is invoked and worshipped consciously by all living creatures. The Upanishad describes every experience of all living creatures as a Yajna in which the stimuli received are the ‘Oblations’ poured at which the inner Consciousness flares up into brilliancy.

(243) Saadhuh ? 0ne, who functions strictly according to the righteous code of living is a Saadhuh Atman, the Self, is the Mighty Presence, which apparently lends intelligence and capacity to inert matter. The Supreme Saadhu is Vishnu Himself.

(244) Jahnuh ? Leader of men; the One who leads all creatures along the path of an inexorable law?the law of action and reaction, the rhythm of Karma. Irresistibly, the good is led, by his own subjective disharmony, dashes to reach a hell made by Himself for Himself.

245. Naaraayanah – This simple sacred word has an endless number of direct and indirect meanings, imports and suggestions, and Vyasa seems to have explored almost all its possibilities.

(246) Narah – Thee Guide : One who guides all creatures strictly according to their actions is none other than the Ancient (Sanaatana) Self.

(247) Asankhyeyah ? Sankhyaa means number; Asankhya numberless. Asankhyeyah is one who has numberless names and forms. The infinite variety of this and beings that constitute the manifested Universe are His Own Form, and hence He is indeed numberless, whom expresses Himself as the Universe. In the 11th Chapter Geeta, we see through Arjuna’s eyes the Cosmic Form of Lord. Of boundless forms on every side with numberless an stomachs, mouths and eyes?neither end nor middle, I beginning do I see, 0 Lord of the Universe.

(248) Aprameya-Atmaa ? Prameya = Pramana Vishaya anything that can be known through any of the “Sources-of-knowledge? direct or indirect. Atman, the Self

cannot be apprehended by the intellect through any of the known “Sources-of-Knowledge” (Pramaana) and so He called as Aprameya. One who has this nature is the Self Aprameya Atmaa, Sri Narayana.

(249) Visishtah ? The One who transcends ever thing, in His Glory is the Supreme (Visishtah). Something that is other than the three bodies, something other than the five kosas, something definitely different from the finite world ( perishable things is the Infinite Self?which cannot be define in terms of either the waking or the dream or the sleep conditions. The Self is something other than all these: This Supreme-most Truth is Maha Vishnu.

(250) Sishtakrit ? One who governs; One who is the Law Maker and the Law that governs the universe. The goal of His. administration is the protection of the goo( (Sishtah). Maha Vishnu is the Governor of all, and the Protector of the good.