SrI vishNU sahasra nAma - phala Sruti - Conclusion.
This posting
formally concludes this project on SrI vishNu sahasra
nAma that adiyEn
started on May 7, 1997. Little did aDiyEn expect at
that time that it
would take close to 10 years to complete. Whatever
little adiyEn knows
about our sampradAyam, is completely owed to this
effort over a period of
10 years. It was of immense benefit to me in
taking me a tiny bit closer
to the life's ultimate goal. In our
sampradAyam, our AcAryan is our Lord
in real life. Today is the
SatamAna utsavam (centenary celebration) of our
great AcAryan SrImad
tirukuDanthai ANDavan, and aDiyEn is delighted to
present this
concluding write-up with the sweet memories of the few
moments in my
life when aDiyEn was blessed with his kaTAksham, and place
this work
at the Lotus feet of asmad AcAryan SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA
deSikan.
=====================================
imam
stavam bhagavato vishNor-vyAsena kIrtitam |
paThed-ya-icchet purushah
Sreyah prAptum sukhAni ca || (21)
"That person, who desires to obtain
supreme bliss and the pleasures
of the world, should read this stotra of
bhagavAn vishNu sung by the
great sage vyAsa".
SrI bhaTTar's
comment can be summarized thus: "This stotra sings the
praise of Lord
vishNu, possessed of unlimited greatness. The one who
praises him through
this stotra is none other than Sage veda vyAsa,
who has drunk this
greatness in full, and who has no shortness of
words to describe that
greatness. This gem of a Hymn has the
greatness of the One who is praised
as well as the one who is
praising Him. This world that is filled with
destitution, is
eminently qualified to benefit by the chanting of this
Hymn, which is
capable of redeeming this world from its destitution. Thus,
everything is perfect about this hymn ? the person who is sung, the
person who sings, and the beneficiary who is qualified to benefit by
singing His praise. Therefore, any person desirous of supreme Bliss
or
material pleasures, whoever he may be, can resort to it". Some
of the
original words used by SrI bhaTTar in giving his summary above
are: `stava
ratnam' to describe the vishNu sahasra nAma
stotram, `mahA dAridRyam idam
jagat' to describe the deplorable state
of this world which is straying
away from dharma, `nirviSa'nkah
sevatAm' ? the benefits will be attained
without any doubt. The
Sloka itself declares that both Sreyas (denoting
moksham), and the
lesser pleasures (sukhAni ca) are attained by the
chanting of this
Hymn.
SrI Sa'nkara provides the following
commentary for the Sloka: "imam
stavam ityAdinA sahasra SakhAj~nena
sarvaj~nena bhagavatA
kRshNadvaipAyanena sAkshAt nArAyaNena kRtam iti
sarvaireva arthibhih
sAdaram paThitavyam sarva phala siddhaya iti
darSayati" ? By the
verse beginning with `imam stavam', bhIshma indicates
that this hymn
is composed by the revered kRsh dvaipAyana, the omniscient,
the
knower of the thousand branches of veda, who is nArAyaNa Himself, and
hence this hymn is to be recited by all with faith, in order to
achieve all the ends.
viSveSvaram ajam devam jagatah
prabhavApyayam |
bhajanti ye pushkarAksham ne te yAnti parAbhavam ||
(22)
"The Lotus-eyed bhagavAn is the birthless Supreme Deity, the Ruler
of
the Universe, and the Cause of the creation and destruction of the
Universe. Those who sing His praise will never meet with disrespect
or
discomfiture of any kind".
We will first look at SrI Sa'nkara's
commentary for this last Slokam,
and conclude with SrI bhaTTar's words of
conclusion.
SrI Sa'nkara stresses the importance of worshiping Hari
for the
fulfillment of all that is desired, for the removal of all
deficiencies in all karma-s performed with benefit as the objective,
etc. He then points out that worship of Hari will bestow moksham
itself ? release from the bondage of samsAra. He concludes by
dedicating his bhAshyam at the Lotus Feet of Hari.
He gives the
following Sloka-s in support of his vyAkhyAnam:
pramAdAt kurvatAm
karma pracyavetAdhvareshu yat |
smaraNAdeva tad-vishNoh sampUrNam syAt iti
Srutih || (garu.
PurA. 230.50)
"The Sruti-s say that any acts that
have been carelessly performed,
such as irregular procedures in sacrifices
etc., are rendered perfect
by meditating on vishNu". (Note the Slokam ?
"kAyena vAcA manasA ?
nArAyaNayeti samarpayAmi" .that is always chanted at
the conclusion
of any karma by the followers of any sampradAyam of the
Hindu faith).
SrI Sa'nkara quotes another Slokam from
vyAsa:
AdareNa yathA stauti dhanavantam dhanecchayA |
tathA
ced-viSvakartAram ko na mucyeta bandhanAt ||
"If one praises the
Creator of the Universe with the same ardor with
which one praises a rich
man to get wealth from him, would not one be
relieved from the bonds of
samsAra?"
SrI Sa'nkara concludes his vishNu sahasra nAma bhAshyam with
the
following Sloka of his own:
sahasra nAma sambandhi vyAkhyA
sarva sukhAvahA |
Sruti smRti nyAya mUlA racitA hari-pAdayoH
||
"This commentary of sahasra nAma which brings happiness to all, and
which was written consistent with the Sruti, smRti and nyAya, is
dedicated to Hari (laid at His Feet)".
SrI bhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is:
"evam svabhAvata eva samasta-dvandva-
pratidvandvi ?sakala kalyANa
guNAkaram, prapanna pArijAtam,
puNDarIkAksham, lakshmI-patim, bhagavantam
bhajamAnAnAm sa eva
sarvasvam iti, tad-sampado vAcAm agocarAh | kutah
sAmsArika-
paribhava-prasa'ngah iti paryAptayati ? visveSvaram iti ||
"
bhagavan nArAyaNa, the Consort of lakshmI and the Lotus-eyed Lord,
is
by nature opposed to all kinds of unwelcome things (like happiness
and sorrow, good and evil), and is the mine of all auspicious
qualities. He is like the celestial pArijAta tree for those who have
resorted to Him. They consider that He alone is their wealth.
Therefore the riches and well being of those people are beyond
words.
This being the case, where is there any occasion for them for
dishonor or
disgrace?
Sage vyAsa concludes the Hymn with the oath repeated twice:
"na te yAnti parAbhavam ?.. na te yAnti parAbhavam"
"NEVER DO
THEY MEET WITH ANY DISRESPECT?.
NEVER DO THEY MEET WITH ANY DISRESPECT".
SrI bhaTTar concludes his bhagavad guNa darpaNam with the following
asmAkam atra ca paratra'nca sarva duhkham
unmIlya sampadam aSesha
vidhAm vidhAya |
SrI ra'ngarAja mahishI sa ca vaishNavAnAm
sa'ngAt
sukham saha jayena sadA kriyAstAm ||
"May both SrI ra'nganAyaki, the
Queen Consort of SrI ra'ngarAja,
along with SrI ra'ngarAja, root out all
the distress here and
hereafter, confer wealth of all kinds on us, and
always bless us with
the company of the devoted SrI vaishNava-s, happiness
and victory.".
SrI kRshNArpaNamastu ? Dedicated in all humility to
Lord kRshNa.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan