601. Śrīvatsavakṣāḥ श्रीवत्सवक्षाः

Next twelve nāma-s (till 613) begin with Śrī.

Śrīvatsa is a mark in the chest of Viṣṇu, which is considered as very auspicious.  Vakṣas means chest. It is also said that it is the place where His consort Lakṣmī resides. Though the Lord Himself is an embodiment of auspiciousness, the presence of Lakṣmī makes His form more auspicious. This is further explained in the next nāma.

602. Śrīvāsaḥ श्रीवासः

He is the abode of His consort Lakṣmī. Śrī always refers to Goddess Lakṣmī. She is full of auspiciousness, riches and grace.

603. Śrīpatiḥ श्रीपतिः

Lord is the Consort of Śrī, i.e. Lakṣmī. During the churning of the ocean, Śrī appeared from the ocean and chose Viṣṇu as Her Consort.

Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (VI.8) explains Śrī as the power of manifestation. It says, “parāsya śaktirvividhaiva śrūyate” referring to Parāśaktī, (referring to Śrī) the manifestation of the universe.  

604. Śrīmatām-varaḥ श्रीमताम्-वरः

He is Supreme among gods and goddesses like Brahmā and others. This nāma underlines His status as the Brahman, who has no comparison.

Mata means considered and vara means most eminent. Based on this, it can be explained that He is the most eminent among those who have the riches of Vedas. Śruti says that the Vedas are the ultimate wealth of learned men.

Vara also means blessings and in this context, the nāma says that Lord Viṣṇu blesses all those who have the knowledge of Vedas, which are considered as the most auspicious wealth. All the Vedas are derived from the cosmos and in earlier times, Vedas were taught through guru-disciple relationship verbally. Vedas have both gross and subtle meanings.

605. Śrīdaḥ श्रीदः

He gives wealth to His devotees. He has many superior gifts as per nāma 603. There are two types of devotees. The first type is where His devotees get involved only in rituals and invoke His Grace for material well being. The other type is where His devotees desire to have a vision of His auspicious feet Paramapada. The subtle meaning of Paramapada is final liberation. He offers them liberation.

606. Śrīśaḥ श्रीशः

He is the Lord or the Consort of Śrī. Lakṣmī never leaves Viṣṇu. She resides in His own body as Śrīvatsa as per nāma 601.

Pārvatī is seated in the left lap of Śiva and Lakṣmī resides in the chest of Viṣṇu. Śiva gives His left half to His Consort Śaktī.  They are setting examples of mutual understanding and respect in marital life.

607. Śrīnivāsaḥ श्रीनिवासः

Śrīnivāsa means the Abode of Śrī, which is Lord Viṣṇu Himself. Śrī also means prosperity, royal dignity, etc. He resides in those who are endowed with such attributes.

Good thoughts lead to a clean mind and a clean mind is the predominant domicile of Brahman. When the entire mind is pervaded by His thoughts alone, He offers the aspirant emancipation. There are several stages before final emancipation. First He uses these advanced aspirants to inculcate spiritual knowledge and declares them as Gurus. He heals other devotees through them by endowing them with divine powers. When they perform these duties without ego and selfishness, final liberation is offered to them. A number of aspirants fail during this testing period and are made to reborn.

608. Śrīnidhiḥ श्रीनिधिः

Śrīnidhi means receptacle of beauty, which is on three counts. One, Goddess Lakṣmī who resides in His chest is an embodiment of beauty. Two, Viṣṇu is the source of dharma śāstra-s and He meticulously follows them. Three, He is also the source of all Vedas, as Vedas originated from His breath. All this enhances His beauty hence, He is adored as Śrīnidhi. Bhīṣma, even in his death bed could see all these inherent qualities of Kṛṣṇa and adores Him as Śrīnidhi and sets an example of true devotion.

609. Śrīvibhāvanaḥ श्रीविभावनः

Vibhāvana means creation or causing to appear and Śrīvibhāvana means that He makes a person rich according to his karmic account. Her sustains the universe through the Law of Karma, which is also known as the Law of the Lord.

Impressions of good thoughts accrue as good karmas and impressions of negative thoughts accrue as bad karmas. These two types of karmas cannot be adjusted against each other. One has to undergo both the types of karmas separately. Karma is responsible for making a rich man pauper overnight and making a pauper rich in no time. Law of karma is different from devotion. Even great saints and sages are made to suffer because of Law of Karma. Accrual of karmas can cease only if one completely surrenders unto Him. Till then, Law of Karma operates in every human being.

This nāma says that He endows riches, both material and spiritual, depending upon one’s karmic account.

610. Śrīdharaḥ श्रीधरः

He is the holder of Śrī, Goddess Lakṣmī, who manifests in the form of the universe. This nāma subtly conveys that He holds the universe in Him. In other words, He pervades the entire beings as the soul, without which, existence is not possible for both animate and inanimate beings.

611. Śrīkaraḥ श्रीकरः

He is the bestower of auspiciousness.

In some places we visit, we find inexplicable happiness and we would like to stay in that place for a longer time. This is due to the presence of His Grace and auspiciousness. It does not mean that everyone in the place is highly devoted.  But surely it means that those who are present do not have negative thoughts. When we visit some other places, we would not like to stay for long and a sort of inexplicable mental depression will set in. These are the places where only evil and negative thoughts and feelings prevail. Though He is omnipresent, He has not bestowed His Grace. Therefore, one should develop the habit of cultivating good thoughts, compassion and love for others. In other words, one should develop love for the universe as a whole.  In such places, He showers His Grace without asking for it.

612. Śreyaḥ श्रेयः

This nāma deliberates further on the previous nāma-s. Śreyas means final emancipation. This does not come that easily. Mundane devotion does not offer final emancipation, which happens in successive stages, as discussed in the previous nāma-s. He is the One, who offers final liberation, subject to the condition that the aspirant becomes perfectly fit to have His Grace and to become one with Him.

613. Śrīmān श्रीमान्

Mān means to honour and Śrī is used here as honorific prefix.

Possible explanation: At this point, Bhīṣma became too emotional as he developed overwhelming love for Kṛṣṇa which made him to fumble for appropriate words and this made Him to adore Kṛṣṇa as Śrīmān, which means there is no word except this to glorify Him. This nāma is nothing but the verbal expression of true love.