You are here: SriPedia : Oppiliappan : Sri Venkatesa Ashtotthram | Home Index VarAha : Home Nama List : CD&Donation Credits |
Sri Venkateswara Ashtotthram |
|
Prev :: (pranavam) VishNavE SrI VenkatEsAya nama: - 4 :: Next
|
Guess the name of the perumal and Check the answer |
4. Sri VishNavE 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 Venkatesa in the
BrahmANDa PurANam version
that has been covered already .
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"
|