4. Sri VishNavE SrI VenkatEsaaya nama
:
Salutations to the Lord , who pervades every thing
in the universe
without any exception ( sarva gatha: prathi
vasthu poorNan ).
This is the 31st Naama of SrI Venlatesa in the
BrahmANDa PurANam version
that has been covered elsewhere:
This is a tirunAmam which is
sanctified with universal acceptance--by the venerated Shruti,
the ItihAsAs and the
PurANas.
The Shruti, for instance, is full of
adulatory references to this Lord--
"VishNO: nukam veeryANi pravOcham"
etc.
The Celestials are unable to take
their eyes away from the glorious form of this Emperuman, says
the Shruti--"tat VishNO: paramam
padam sadA pasyanti sooraya:"
The lotus feet of this VishNu are
incredibly sweet and secrete the nectar of liberation
and Bhagavat anubhavam--"VishNO: padE
paramE madhva utsa:"
It is this Emperuman who is the
personification of all sacrifice or Yagyam --"YagyO vai VishNu:"-- and
irrespective of which dEvatA the Yagya is addressed to, it is VishNu who
receives it (Havis) and responds by showering the desired boon on the
performer.
Etymologically, this great tirunAmam
indicates one who pervades all--"visati iti VishNu:". When the Narayana anuvAkam
tells us that the Lord pervades all that one sees and hears (and those one can't
too)--"antar bahischa tat sarvam vyApya Narayana: stittha:"--it is to this
VishNu that it refers to . For, at the end of the anuvAka, it is to VishNu that
the prayer is addressed--
"Narayanaya vidmahE VAsudEvAya
dheemahi, tannO VishNu: prachOdayAt".
He is the Lord of Seven Hills, the
adhi dEvatA of all mountains--"VishNu: parvatAnAm adhipati: sa mA avatu" (JayAdi
mantram).
It is Vishnu who is responsible for
demigods winning their battles against inimical forces, be it Indra or
Rudra--"Indrasya yujya: sakhA". In RudrA's war with the asurAs in the TripurAs,
it is VishNu who serves as the arrow and destroys the TripurAs which caused such
terror to the inhabitants of all the worlds.
The Divine Consort too is identified
as the Empress of all worlds, sentient and non-sentient, because of Her
association with VishNu--"asyEsAnA jagatO VishNu patnI". Mother Earth too is
adulated as VishNu's mahaishI--"MahIm dEvIm VishNupatnIm ajUryAm".
It is this VishNu who took the ten
magnificent avatArAs for protection of the sAdhUs and destruction of evil. The
Shruti eulogises the Trivikramavatara time and again as but a leelA of
VishNu--"TrEdhA VishNu: vichakramE"
Sri Vishnu is the repository of all
valour, bravery and maniliness and triumphs over all other deities,
especially Rudra, says the Srimad Ramayana--"adhikam mEnirE
VishNum"
Though there are any number of
SahasranAma stOtrAs, the mere mention of the word "SahasranAmam" indisputably
refers only to Sri VishNu SahasranAma. It is this Lord who is the One of a
Thousand Names ("PEr Ayiram udayAn") and the other tirunAmAs in this
stotram are but expansions and elaborations of this sacred name. It is He who is
the Infinite, without a beginning and an end--"anAdi nidhanam VishNum" and the
Lord of all Worlds and dEvatAs-"Jagat prabhum dEva dEvam". He is the only one among thirty three crore
dEvatAs, who is fit for adulation and veneration--"tamEva cha archayan
nityam...dhyAyan stuvan namasyamscha yajamAna: tamEva cha". Of all forms of
worship, it is that of VishNu that is the greatest--
"ArAdhanAnAm sarvEshAm VishNO:
ArAdhanam param".
It is to this unparallelled Ultimate,
to this matchless warrior, this personification of mercy and compassion, that
the gem among PurANAs ("PurANa Ratnam") is devoted--Sri VishNu PurANa.
It is this PurANa that all the
VEdAntins, irrespective of their particular school of thought, whether they be
advaitins, visishtAdvaitins or dvaitins, draw upon for inspiration, to expound
their ideas. It is this PurANa that is hailed as the best among its class, a
SAtvika PurANa whose every syllable is worth its weight in gold.
Apart from being the subject matter
of the Shruti, Smritis, the ItihAsAs and the PurANAs, this tirunAma is also
enshrined in a potent mantra, the Shadaksharam, which is counted among the most
magnificent of Bhagavath mantrAs, along with the ashtAksharam and the
DvAdasAksharam.
According to Sri Nammazhwar, this
Emperuman is lotus-like all over: His holy feet, His broad and beautiful eyes,
His soft and munificent palms--all of these are soft, reddish and radiant like a
lotus--"vittilangu sem sOthi tAmarai pAdam kaigaL kaNgaL". Swami Desikan too
concurs with this assessment--"TAmarai dhAtu niram koNdaaaa mEnian" (Panniru
TirunAmam). His tirumEni is glowing and huge like a mountain--"vittilangu karum
sudar malayE tiruvudambu". And on this huge mountain, there is the incongruous
sight of the Sun and the Moon being present simultaneously, the brilliant
Sudarsana Chakra and the PAnchajanya Shankha with its soft, white lumuniscence.
It is this Emperuman who confers upon His votaries glory and bliss equal to His
own--"tan mayyam AkkinAn vallan EmpirAn VittuvE".
More than anything else, it is this
Lord who gives us our glorious identity as "VaishNavA"s.
This Emperuman holds as weapons four
"kalappai" (plough) in His hands and represents the tirumAN that we wear
on
the right part of our stomach. He
protects us from the northern side--"VishNum chaturhalam vandE padma kinchalka
sannibham"
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