215. Animiṣaḥ अनिमिषः

This nāma conveys the opposite meaning to the previous nāma. This nāma says that He does not wink His eyes. If it is taken to describe the jīvātman within, then it means that the Self within always remains awake, even in the third level of consciousness, the deep sleep state. The Self is beyond all the stages of consciousness. He neither sleeps nor remains awake, confirming His state of remaining without any modifications.

216. Sragvī स्रग्वी

Srag means the possessor of garland. Viṣṇu wears a garland called vaijayanti in His chest, which is made up five gems. These five gems represent the five tanmātra-s (rudimentary subtle elements like sound, touch, etc). Because Viṣṇu is wearing the garland of vaijayanti, He is addressed as Sragvī.

217. Vācaspatir-udāradhiḥ वाचस्पतिर्-उदारधिः

Vācaspati refers to the god of speech; udāradhi means sagacious or highly insightful. Sound originates from the Śabda Brahman and hence, He is revered as god of speech. The second part of this nāma refers to His insightfulness, which can be explained to mean that the Brahman needs enormous insight to carry out creation, sustenance and dissolution.  

After having discussed about the origin of tanmātra-s in the previous nāma from which gross elements evolve, this nāma says that sound (one of the tanmātra-s) originates from Him. The importance of sound is highlighted here as Vedas are modifications of sound. The second of part of the nāma praises His acumen.

218. Agraṇīḥ अग्रणीः

He is the One, who leads His true devotees to higher spiritual realms. The highest spiritual realm is Viṣṇu’s abode, which can be reached only through liberation. To attain liberation, one has to cross several impediments. Spiritual pursuit begins with acquiring knowledge and ends with realizing the Brahman within.

219. Grāmaṇiḥ ग्रामणिः

Grāmaṇi originates from the word grāma and in this context grāma means the collection of human beings or the entire humanity, including plant and animal kingdoms. Viṣṇu leads all the beings and arrange them in an orderly fashion. This nāma is an extension of the previous nāma. Previous nāma said that He leads His devotees to liberation. This nāma talks about the origin of such devotees. They are the one who have meticulously followed the path shown by Him.  

220. Śrīmān श्रीमान्

Repetitive nāma-s at 22, 178 and 613.

He is radiant. Brahman alone is Self-illuminating. This illumination is explained in Kaṭha Upaniṣad (II.ii.15) which says that when the Brahman shines, everything else follows. By His light alone luminaries like sun and moon are lighted. This Light also prevails in all of us. Those who are able to realize this Light within are called as Self-realized persons.

221. Nyāyaḥ न्यायः

Nyāya means justice. Viṣṇu is the sustainer of the universe through law of karma, which is also known as the Law of the Lord. Law of karma is based on the theory ‘what is sown is reaped’. Law of karma is the justice system of the Lord and Viṣṇu upholds this justice system, and hence He is called Nyāyaḥ.

222. Netā नेता

The universe is described as a machine, and He is the operator of the machine. Every action of the universe is fully automated and purely depends upon the theory of interdependency. For example, if the distance between the two planets is affected, it will lead to a disastrous collision in the cosmos. Take, for example, a man. He has to depend on various sense organs to do an act. Eyes have to see and pass on the information to the mind; if the mind is in doubt, it refers to intellect; mind conveys its decision to organs of action such as hands and legs to complete an act. If any of these organs function without dependent on others, the act cannot be carried in a proper manner. Without His presence, the universe cannot even exist, leave alone its functioning. Brahman though is the cause for all actions, does not partake in any of the actions. He merely witnesses all the actions that unfold in the universe. He is witnessing because He has already arranged everything in orderly fashion as per nāma-s 219 and 221.

Therefore, this nāma says that He is the cause (the operator) for all the activities of the universe.

223. Samīraṇaḥ समीरणः

Samīraṇa means ‘causing movement because of air’. This nāma says that Viṣṇu causes movement of all the beings by infusing prāṇa. The formation of a fetus also happens only due to prāṇa. The physical body dies only due to the escape of prāṇa. It is only due to prāṇa, a life is created, sustained and destroyed.  

Taittirīya Upaniṣad (I.i.1) explains this. “śaṁ no viṣṇururukramaḥ| namo brahmaṇe| namaste vāyo|tvameva pratyakṣaṁ brahmāsi| शं नो विष्णुरुरुक्रमः। नमो ब्रह्मणे। नमस्ते वायो।त्वमेव प्रत्यक्षं ब्रह्मासि।”. This means, ‘Viṣṇu who walks with long strides (the well known three long steps in His Vāmana avatar) bless us. Salutation to the Brahman (this salutation confirms that Viṣṇu is the Brahman). Salutation to Vāyu, you are none other than Brahman. I declare you as the explicit evidence of the Brahman.’ The Upaniṣad says that Vāyu is also the Brahman. This saying of the Upaniṣad categorically affirms the omnipresent nature of the Brahman, which is subtly conveyed through this nāma.

224. Sahasramūrdhā सहस्रमूर्धा

Mūrdhan means a head in general and sahasra generally means thousand and contextually means infinite. This nāma says that any act that happens in the universe gets noticed by the Brahman. If one thinks that his actions go unnoticed, it is not true. Every action of everyone gets noticed by the Brahman and also gets recorded in his/her karmic account. That is why, Brahman is declared as omnipresence. Without Brahman being present in the form of an individual soul, no life can exist. This truth is conveyed through this nāma.  

This is also explained in Puruṣasūktaṁ, which says, “sahasraśīrṣā puruṣa” which means the Puruṣa (the Brahman) has thousand heads. Kṛṣṇa also says in Bhagavad Gītā (XIII.13), “sarvato'kṣiśiromukham सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम्”, which means having eyes, heads and faces in all directions.

225. Viśvātmā विश्वात्मा

Brahman is the cause of the universe. Viśva in this context refers to the universe. Ātma is the soul. There are various light fittings but to illuminate them, electricity is required. Ātma is like electricity. Electricity is invisible like Ātma and electricity is potent like Ātma. Thus, electricity becomes the cause for illumination. In the same way Ātma becomes the cause of the universe. Without electricity, lights cannot burn and without Ātma or the Self the universe cannot exist. In the individual plane, a body cannot exist without the Self within and in the universal plane, the universe cannot exist without the omnipresence of the Self.