ॐ विश्वं विष्णुर्वषट्कारॊ भूत-भव्य-भवत्प्र्भुः
भूतकृत् भूतभृद्भावॊ भूतात्मा भूतभावनः
१
Om visvam vishnur-vashatkaaro
Bhoota-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuh
Bhoota-krit bhoota-bhrit bhaavo
Bhootaatmaa
bhoota-bhaavanah 1
पूतात्मा परमात्मा च मुक्तानां
परमा गतिः
अव्ययः पुरुषः साक्षी क्षॆत्रञॊ
अक्षर ऎव च २
Pootaatmaa paramaatmaa cha
Muktaanaam paramaa gatih
Avyayah purushah saakshee
Kshetrajno akshara eva cha 2
यॊगॊ यॊगविदां नॆता प्रधान-पुरुषॆश्वरः
नारसिंहवपुः श्रीमान् कॆशवः पुरुषॊत्तमः
३
Yogo yoga-vidaam netaa
Pradhaana-purushesvarah
Naarasimha-vapuh sreemaan
Kesavah purushottamah 3
(5) BHOOTHA-KRITH: Maker
of all fundamental elements (Five fundamental elements: Space, Air, Fire, and
Water & Earth).
(6) BHOOTHA-BHRITH:
Supports or sustains all beings.
(7) BHAAVAH: He who is
pure Existence. He is Himself all the fundamental elements. He supports or sustains
all of them. He gives them power and make them discharge their assigned duties.
(8) BHOOTHAATHMAA &
(9) BHOOTHA-BHAAVANAH: He manifests Himself as all the existence. We worship
the Paramaatma as he is the inner being (antharaathmaa)
of all the fundamental elements. (Bhaavayathi
ithi bhaavah)
(10) POOTAATHMAA: He whose
nature is purity.
(11) PARAMAATHMAA: He who has none equal to, or greater than Him.
The Supreme Self. He is beyond cause and effect, eternal, pure, absolute
consciousness, and free. (GITA: XV-17) He is other than, and different from all
high beings.
(12) MUKHTHAANAAM
PARAMAA GATHIH: He who is the highest goal of those who have attained release
from rebirth.
(13) AVYAYAH: He who is
unchanging. Vyayam naasthi – There is
no shortage or decay in Him. This name refers to both the Paramaathmaa as well
as the mukhthaathma (those who have
attained release from rebirth.)
(14) PURUSHAH: He who
fills all beings and dwells in them from the beginning, granting their prayers.
Bhahudhaanaath purushah: He who gives immensely, e.g. clothes, food, water etc.
Puri sayanaath purushah : He who resides in all the entities in the universe.
Puraannaathvaath purushah: He is the oldest (and yet becomes new for our enjoyment.)
Poornnathwaath purushah : He is perfect. He is not deficient in anything. Om poornamadah poornamidam -
The Divine is infinite and whole. (Shanti sloka from Isha Upanishad.)
(15) SAAKSHEE: He
witnesses every happening in the universe.
(16) KSHETRAJNAH: He who
resides in our bodies. (Gita XIII -2)
(17) AKSHARAH: EVA CHA -
He who neither waxes nor wanes in His qualities or in His appearances.
Kshetrajnah and Aksharah
are identical metaphysically and their difference is relevant only relatively.
(18) YOGAH: & (19)
YOGA-VIDAAM NETAA: (Samathvam yoga uchyathe) - Equanimity is called yoga. According to GITA: II-48, Sri Bhagavan told Arjuna “Perform actions remaining
in yoga, abandoning attachment, and
considering alike successes and failures”. Since the Supreme God is experienced through yoga
, He is known as yogah.
Another meaning of yoga – apraapthasya praapanam yogam (Receiving those which were previously
not obtained.) God is the leader of those who know him as yogah. These persons are called yoga-vidh.
(20) PRADHAANA-PURUSHA-EESVARAH:
Pradhana represents the 24 principles/ origins of the fundamental elements etc.
Purusha represents the jeevatma (individual
soul.) Isvara is the Master of both Pradhana and Purusha.
(21) NAARASIMHA-VAPUH:
He who manifested Himself in the Man-lion body. This is the fourth avataara
(incarnation) of Vishnu. Thus the first incarnation specifically mentioned in
the Saharanama is that of Narasimha.
(22) SREEMAN: He who is
inseparably united with Sree or
Lakshmi.
(23) KESAVAH: He who has
lovely hair. Or He who destroyed the asura
(demon) Kesi in His incarnation
as Krishna.
(24) PURUSHOTTAMAH: He
who is the most high among beings. GITA:
XV – 18 “As I transcend the Kshara (the perishable) and Akshara (non-perishable), I am called Purushottamah in the Vedas and in common language.”
In the Brahma-Soothra , if one understands
fully the purport of the first four Soothras, one can be considered as having
known all the remaining Soothras. Similarly, if one understands fully the
purport of the first three Slokas of the Sahasranama, one can appreciate that
the names specified in the remaining Slokas stand covered within these three
Slokas: The following Slokas are all explanatory
of the first three. These three slokas
declare the glories of the Gayatri as
well as those of the ashtakshara manthra
(Om Namo Narayanaya)
(The first four names of
the Sahasranama were posted in this blog on 15 July 2011).
