VISHNU SAHASRANAMA MEANING 563 - 570

563. Ādityaḥ आदित्यः

Repetitive nāma 39.

It is one of the names of Lord Viṣṇu. In His incarnation as Vāmana, He was born to Kaśyapa and Aditi and hence known as Āditya.

Ṛg Veda (IX.114.3) refers to seven parameters of the world.

सप्त दिशो  नानासूर्याः सप्त होतार ऋत्विजः।

देवा आदित्या ये सप्त तेभिः सोमाभि रक्ष न इन्द्रयेन्दो परि स्रव॥

sapta diśo  nānāsūryāḥ sapta hotāra ṛitvijaḥ|

devā ādityā ye sapta tebhiḥ somābhi rakṣa na indrayendo pari srava||

Meaning of the above verse: Seven are the parameters of the world (six of space and one of time), with numerous suns; seven are ministrant priests, and seven are the divine sons of the mother Eternity. With all of them, O, Divine Elixir, may you protect us. O! Divine Bliss, may You continue to flow for the Self.

Generally, Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dakṣa, Aṃśa, Sūrya or Savitṛi are considered as the seven Āditya-s. They represent energies of Lord Viṣṇu, through which He sustains the universe.

564. Jyotirādityaḥ ज्योतिरादित्यः

He is the brilliant sun.

Chāndogya Upaniṣad (I.6.6) explains this. It says, “There is a Deity within the orbit of the sun, who is seen by yogī-s. His whole body glitters like gold, even His toe nails. He has a bright golden beard and bright golden hair.”

This nāma subtly conveys the brilliance of the Self. Lord Viṣṇu is compared to the sun, because the world exists only due to energy of the sun. Such materialistic comparisons are made to make a spiritually ignorant persons to understand the Self illuminant Brahman. Sun, moon and other luminaries draw light only from the Brahman. In the same way all the beings exist only because of the Self.

565. Sahiṣṇuḥ सहिष्णुः

Sahiṣṇu means patiently enduring. The whole universe is made up of dyads like hot and cold, fire and water, active state and sleep state, etc. These dyads are in opposites. Brahman not only creates these opposites, but also endures them when they manifest as the material world. The material world is full of opposites. Gravitational force is a perfect example. All the planets are held in their respective places due go gravitational force. They are the countervailing forces in action, to sustain the world. If these energies are not countervailing in nature, the world cannot be sustained. For example, if there is fire, it can be doused by water. If the countervailing effect is not available, the world will be annihilated by fire.

This nāma highlights this aspect of the Brahman.

566. Gatisattamaḥ गतिसत्तमः

Gati refers to the course of the soul through numerous forms of life, transmigratory conditions of a person. In other words, it refers to rebirths of a soul. Sattama means most respectable and virtuous.

This nāma subtly conveys the final liberation of a soul from saṁsāra or transmigration. A soul is the replica of the Brahman which gets afflicted due to spiritual ignorance. It gets deluded by duality and illusion. At one point of time, a soul has to reach Brahman and merge with Him, from whom it originated. When one is able to transcend the effects of māyā, the Power of the Brahman, he gradually realizes preliminary states of the Brahman to ultimately become one with Him.

567. Sudhanvā सुधन्वा

Sudhanvan means excellent bow. Lord Viṣṇu holds a bow called Śārṅga and this is referred here as Sudhanva.

There is a reference to this bow in 108^th verse of this Sahasranāma. However 108^th verse does not form part of the 1000 names.

वनमाली गदी शाङ्गी चक्री च नन्दकी।

श्रीमान् नारायणो विष्णुर् वासुदेवोऽभिरक्षतु॥

vanamālī gadī śāṅgī cakrī ca nandakī|

śrīmān nārāyaṇo viṣṇur vāsudevo'bhirakṣatu||

It is also said that this bow represents sensory system of the body. If sensory organs are controlled, mind becomes quiet. Absence of multiple thoughts processes in the mind leads to a calm mind where the Self is realized. He helps His devotees to overcome sensory afflictions, in order to attain liberation.

568. Khaṇḍaparaśuḥ खण्डपरशुः

Khaṇḍaparaśu means destroying enemies with an axe.

In His incarnation as Parasurāma, He used this axe to conquer the enemies of mankind, the sensory afflictions. Mind gets corrupted only through sensory organs as long they are attuned with the material world. In order to pursue the spiritual path, one has to look within, where soul is placed, thereby disconnection the material world. Meditation is the ideal path to reach this goal. There are different types of meditation. The best practice is to perpetually contemplate on Him.

569. Dāruṇaḥ दारुणः

Dāruṇa means dreadful, frightful, etc. As the sustainer of the universe, He does hesitate to become dreadful to the wrongdoers, generally called demons. He incarnates when the balance between virtues and sins tilt towards the latter.

Enemies are of two types, external and internal. External enemies are those who violate the code of conduct prescribed by dharma śāstra-s. Internal enemies are desires, attachment, anger, etc. They induce the mind to get sunk into the depths of material world, which in turn cause huge karmic impressions. As a result, one continues to have transmigration. Understanding this is called spiritual knowledge.

570. Draviṇapradaḥ द्रविणप्रदः

This nāma is an extension of the previous nāma. The previous nāma said that He does not hesitate to destroy the sinners on the grosser side and evil thoughts on the subtler side. This nāma says that He bestows the desired wealth for His devotees. Desired wealth is nothing but the desire to attain liberation.

To explain this through dvaita or dualistic point of view, when a devotee moves towards Him by one step, He reaches out to the devotee by two steps. He always waits for the right kind of devotee, to offer him liberation. When a devotee in his deepest stretch of imagination opts to attain liberation, He immediately moves towards the devotee and on His own, grants him liberation. What the Lord needs is only the initial impetus by the devotee. This first step is a mere thought to attain liberation. After all, Lord Viṣṇu is an embodiment of compassion.