646. Trilokātmā त्रिलोकात्मा

Triloka means three worlds, as mentioned in Gayatri mantra. The three worlds are bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and svaḥ. He is the Self in all the three worlds. Gayatri mantra also talks about seven worlds and even in those seven worlds, He is the Self. Without Him, nothing can exist in any of the worlds.

The three worlds, bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and svaḥ can be compared to the three states of consciousness - active, dream and deep sleep sates. He continues to prevail in all the three states as He is omnipresent. Though the mind is inactive during deep sleep state, He is present even in that state, as without Him, the body will die.

647. Trilokeśaḥ त्रिलोकेशः

He is the Lord (Īśa) of the three worlds mentioned above. This nāma says that He is not only the Soul, the creative power in the three worlds, but also He is present in the grosser side of these worlds.

This nāma says that He is not only the cause of creation but also the effect. Brahman is not only the cause, generally known as Puruṣa; He is also the effect known as Prakṛti. Both cause and effect originate from Him. Hence, He is adored as the Lord of the three worlds or the three states of consciousness.

648. Keśavaḥ केशवः

Repetitive nāma 23.

Kesara (Very rarely the word kesara is used. Generally it is used as keśara) means the hair of eye brows. As Keśavaḥ has been explained in detail in nāma 23, this nāma states that He has beautiful eyebrows. Number of nāma-s describe His beautiful eyes.

There is another explanation. It is said in Harivamsa that Śiva had told Viṣṇu that “ka” means Brahman and “Īśa” means the Lord of all beings (as discussed in the previous nāma) hence, He is adored as Keśava.

649. Keśihā केशिहा

He destroyed a demon by name Keśi; hence He is adored as Keśihā.

650. Hariḥ हरिः

Since He destroys the sins of His devotees, He is worshiped as Hari. Merits and sins are accrued through one’s actions. For every bad action, sins accrue and every good action, merits accrue. As long as is one continues to live with attachments, desires, etc, results of his actions accrue as karmas. Nobody can escape from this. But, if an aspirant surrenders to Him through his mind, not by statements or affirmations, further karmas do not accrue as he performs all his actions only on His behalf. This aspirant by practice becomes a yogī and performs all actions like any other person, but his mind is pervaded by His thoughts only. He remains perpetually connected to Him. For such yogī-s, He ensures that they do not accrue further sins and hence He is called Hari.

Protection by Lord is different from sustenance. Sustenance is common to everyone. But the Lord protects those who have surrendered unto Him. They are special to Him and He is special to them. He protects those who have surrendered unto Him, but He continues to sustain everyone based on their karmic impressions. Protection is His Grace and sustenance is His compassion. Without His Grace, liberation is not possible.

651. Kāmadevaḥ कामदेवः

Kāma means desire, longing, etc. This is with regard to materialistic life. If a true devotee desires wealth, He grants him wealth. But, a sincere devotee will not ask for any material wealth. He will seek only His lotus feet.

Kāma also means puruṣārtha, which comprises of dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa. Dharma means the desire to follow the virtuous path in life. Artha means wealth, which can be either material wealth or spiritual wealth. Material wealth is also sought by some of the advanced aspirants to do charity. As per dharma śāstra-s, charity can be given to those who deserve it.  Kāma means either desire for spiritual knowledge or worldly knowledge. The fourth one is mokṣa, the desire for liberation, cessation from transmigration, which is always painful. These four can be interpreted either materially or spiritually as above.

This nāma says that He is the One, who fulfils the desires of His devotees.

652. Kāmapālaḥ कामपालः

Kāmapāla means the gratifier of human desires. This nāma is in confirmation of the previous nāma. Those who seek material wealth are not considered as true human beings, as the human birth is the penultimate state to become one with the Brahman, where one should all possibilities to get liberated. A person cannot attain liberation through prayers. Prayers will set the trend for spiritual upliftment. Pursuing spiritual path alone leads to union with the Brahman. The one who stands united with the Brahman is called a Yogī, where the individual soul unites with the Brahman. In other words, jīvātma (individual soul) unites with Paramātma (Supreme Soul). The Yogī has to remain in his body till all his karmas are exhausted. Once his body is fallen, the soul merges with Him and the individual identity of his soul is lost for ever.

653. Kāmī कामी

Kāmin means spiritual liquor, which can be interpreted as the spiritual essence. In other words, He is the essence of all that exist in the universe, which is also known as the Brahman. It is like a tiny seed giving rise to a huge tree. Seed is the essence and the tree is His manifestations.

The one who has kāma is called Kāmī. Kāma can be explained here as His desire arising out of His Free Will. He has inherent love for His devotees without them asking for anything from Him. This is what this nāma conveys. He cannot be attained by performing sacrifices and rituals.

654. Kāntaḥ कान्तः

Repetitive nāma 296.

He is like a magnet to His devotees. He attracts beings towards Him and makes them to think about Him. He is ready to offer them liberation by pervading their minds, provided they surrender unto Him. If the mind has too many thoughts, He cannot be contemplated effectually. As He is in the form of Pure Consciousness, He can be realized only if the mind is not too crowded with materialistic thoughts. In order to make men think about Him, He attracts them towards Him like a magnet attracting iron pieces.

655. Kritāgamaḥ क्रितागमः

Repetitive nāma 739.

This nāma is explained in uttarabhāga (verse 19) of this Sahasranāma, which says:

yogo jñānaṁ tathā sāṁkhyaṁ vidyāḥ śilpādi-karma ca|
vedāḥ śāstrāṇi vijñāna-metat sarvaṁ janārdanāt||

योगो ज्ञानं तथा सांख्यं विद्याः शिल्पादि-कर्म च।
वेदाः शास्त्राणि विज्ञान-मेतत् सर्वं जनार्दनात्॥

Yoga, intellect, discriminative philosophy (sāṃkhya philosophy), knowledge, arts, Vedas, śāstra-s, spiritual knowledge all originated from Janārdana (Viṣṇu).

This nāma not only emphasises the above, but also includes āgama, which means tantra śāstra-s or established procedures and precepts.

656. Anirdeśyavapuḥ अनिर्देश्यवपुः

Repetitive nāma 177.

He is beyond descriptions and conceptualizations. He is omnipresent. If He has shapes and forms, He can be described. He is the essence of the universe as seen in nāma 653. Then, how can He be described? He is the innermost soul in all the beings. All the beings that are in different shapes and forms represent Him. The entire universe is pervaded by Him.

Kaṭha Upaniṣad (I.ii.20) explains this as, “aṇoḥ aṇīyān mahataḥ mahīyān ātmā”, which means Self is smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest.  He is so subtle and is deeply hidden in the middle of heart in a cave and all the Yogī-s search Him within.

Ancient sages and saints have given Him names and forms to help us to contemplate on Him. There are different stages in a devotee’s progression. First He adores a name or a form. He develops love for the form that He adores. He begins to contemplate Him through His mind. Perpetual devotion makes him to meditate on Him. The devotee begins to realize Him in the form of Light. When he intently concentrates on the Light within, he enters the state of Bliss. Thus he is setting a stage for himself to merge with Him ultimately during his life time or after his death. A devotee who always remains attached to His shapes and forms will never have the benefit of human birth, through which alone liberation is possible.