881. Raviḥ रविः

Ravi means Sun, also known as Sūrya (nāma 883). Apart from providing the requisite energy, the sun also provides other means of nourishments such as bringing in rain, etc to the earth.

Rig Veda (I.50.7) praises sun like this: “paśyañjanmāni sūrya | पश्यञ्जन्मानि सूर्य” which means beholding mortals, O Sun.

In Bhagavad Gītā (X.21) Kṛṣṇa says, “I am the radiant sun amongst the luminaries.”

Sage Agastya taught Lord Rāma a hymn called “Ādityahṛdayaṁ” in praise of the Sun god to conquer His enemies. The fourth line of this hymn says, “ādityahṛdayaṁ puṇyaṁ sarvaśatruvināśanam आदित्यहृदयं पुण्यं सर्वशत्रुविनाशनम्” which means that by reciting this hymn all enemies would be destroyed. Enemies here not only mean external enemies, but also internal enemies such as mind, intellect and ego. As long these three, known as antaḥkaraṇa are afflicted, realizing Him is not possible.

This nāma adores Him as Sun God. Several Upaniṣad-s cite Sun as an example to describe Brahman.

882. Virocanaḥ विरोचनः

Virocana means illuminating. When sun is cited as an example for the Self-illuminating Brahman, nothing needs to be said about the illumination of Brahman. The illumination of Brahman cannot be seen either through biological eyes or though contemplation. The true illumination of Brahman, His brightness, His radiance, etc are beyond comprehension. Sun is only a minuscule of His brightness.

Kaṭha Upaniṣad says that from His Light alone, luminaries such as sun, moon, stars, fire, etc shine. Therefore, this nāma reaffirms His exclusive quality of Self-illumination.

883. Sūryaḥ सूर्यः

This is the Vedic term for sun and often used in Vedas in conjunction with Agni, Varuṇa and Indra. This nāma talks about His acts of creation and sustenance.

Sun is a typical example to describe Brahman. Sun performs all the acts of Brahman – creation, sustenance and dissolution – though in a limited plane, for example earth. Without the rays of the sun, creation and sustenance are not possible in the planet earth. If the sun shines with intent heat, it becomes the source of destruction. Hence, sun is often compared to Brahman to enable us to understand the qualities of Brahman. These examples are necessary, as Brahman is the subtlest and beyond normal human discernment.

Bhīṣma describes Kṛṣṇa as the sun through different nāma-s, as he was able to see Kṛṣṇa in His full glory. Bhīṣma was fumbling for words when the Lord Himself stood before Him. This can be experienced when one goes to temples with scores of desires, but on entering the sanctum sanctorum, he loses his focus on his desires and becomes one with the idol. This is the typical example of true devotion.

884. Savitā सविता

The sun just before its rise is called Savitā or Savitṛ.

The famous Gāyatrī mantra is in Rig Veda III.62.10. The next verse of Rig Veda III.62.11 says, “devasya saviturvayaṁ vājayantaḥ puraṁdhyā देवस्य सवितुर्वयं वाजयन्तः पुरंध्या” where the sage seeks wealth, wisdom, knowledge from the Creator. Therefore, this nāma explicitly discusses about the act of creation by Him. Manifestation of the universe is subtly conveyed in this nāma.

885. Ravilocana रविलोचन

After having compared His Glory to the sun, this nāma says that He has sun as His eyes.

Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (II.i.5) says, “His head is heaven, His eyes are sun and moon…”

Again this nāma is used to explain Brahman through various examples. By saying that He has sun as His eyes, contextually this can be explained as in whatever direction He sees, that place is illuminated. But He does not fix his gaze on a particular place as He has infinite eyes as per Puruṣasūktam, which says that He has infinite heads, infinite eyes and infinite feet.

This is the poetic way of describing His omnipresence and His compassion of dispelling the darkness of nescience (avidya).

886. Anantaḥ अनन्तः

Repetitive nāma 659.

Ananta means eternal, infinite, etc applicable only to Him.

This nāma reaffirms His eternity explained through these previous nāma-s. This nāma is explained in detail in nāma 659.

887. Hutabhuk हुतभुक्

Repetitive nāma 879.

Nāma 879 conveyed about the external worship and this nāma talks about inner worship. Hutabhuj means fire and this can be construed as the inner fire in the form of jaṭharāgni, which is worshipped as fire god inside the physical body as the digestive fire. This fire is sustained by means of ‘oblations’ containing food and water. Jaṭharāgni not only creates the body but also sustains the body by producing the necessary warmth to keep the body alive. As already discussed Viṣṇu presides over all fire rituals. This nāma says that He presides over this inner fire known as jaṭharāgni or He Himself is in the form of jaṭharāgni.

888. Bhoktā भोक्ता

Repetitive nāma-s 143 and 500.

Bhokta means enjoyer. The two repetitive nāma-s have been explained more or less in the same manner, in the sense that He is the enjoyer of Prakṛti. But this nāma contextually can be explained from the perspective of an individual soul. The individual soul within enjoys all the actions of the doer by simply remaining as a mute spectator. The individual soul does not cause any action either in the subtle body (mind) or in the gross body. The individual soul is nothing but the reflection of the Supreme Soul. Since He enjoys the ignorance of a person afflicted with ego, who takes credit for all his actions forgetting Him as the cause of his very existence. He is seated within, just like a mute spectator of a sport, who simply enjoys the sport without any emotions.

889. Sukhadaḥ सुखदः

Sukhada refers to the Abode of Viṣṇu, where Bliss is predominant. Bliss is the penultimate stage to final liberation. When one is able to realize His presence within, as described in the previous nāma, subject to his karmic accounts, he gets liberated, as realization is the end to transmigration known as saṃsāra.

Liberation is possible only through human mind and if this gifted opportunity is missed, one has to repeatedly undergo the pains of transmigration.

This nāma says that cessation from transmigration, which is known as liberation is the true sukha or happiness and He is the One, who gives this happiness and hence He is Sukhada.

890. Naikajaḥ नैकजः

Naika means manifold. This can be explained in two ways. He takes different incarnations to uphold dharma by annihilating perpetual sinners.

This nāma also means that the entire universe is only His manifestation. Though there are innumerable shapes and forms, they are nothing but His reflections. The different beings of the manifested universe appear as different from Him, due to avidya or spiritual ignorance. The true meaning of spirituality is pursuing universal brotherhood.

891. Agrajaḥ अग्रजः

Agraja means the first born, the Hiraṇyagarbha.

Hiraṇy means gold and hiraṇya also means gold. Vedānta Paribhāsā a 17th century Scripture explains hiraṇyagarbha. It says “Hiraṇyagarbha is the first soul to be born and is different from Brahma, Viṣṇu and Śiva.”  The subtle body consisting of the five vital forces, the mind, the intellect and the ten organs is produced from the five basic elements.  This paves the way for the soul to experience the result of actions or in other words it causes karma-s. The subtle body is of two kinds, superior and inferior.  The superior one is the subtle body of hiraṇyagarbha and the inferior is the subtle body of living beings.  The subtle body of hiraṇyagarbha is called as mahat or the cosmic intellect and the subtle body of living beings is called ego. 

This nāma worships Him as the first born known as Hiraṇyagarbha.