335. Purandaraḥ पुरन्दरः

It means the One, who destroys the cities of demons. Generally, Purandara is used to address Śiva, who destroyed the dwelling places of demons. Demons mean afflicted consciousness. Brahman is the purest form of consciousness. If one’s consciousness is afflicted with desires and attachments, it loses its purity. In the absence of refined consciousness, Brahman cannot be realized. When one prays to Viṣṇu, He helps His devotee to keep his consciousness free of afflictions. Though one may try to keep his consciousness free, it also requires Divine intervention to achieve complete success. Purifying consciousness is an extremely difficult job.

336. Aśokaḥ अशोकः

Aśoka means not causing sorrow. When one has attachment and bondage, his mental state is subject to extremities such as sorrow and happiness. Where there is modification in one’s mental condition, realisation of the Self is not possible. When one is able to transcend twin states of mind, he is close to realization.

This nāma says that Brahman is beyond any changes in His mind, as Brahman is beyond any modification, be it gross or subtle.

337. Tāraṇaḥ तारणः

He liberates His devotees from saṃsāra (transmigration). Devotees are those who always stay connected with Him. They would have renounced the fruits of all their actions to Him. Since He is the Liberator, He is addressed as Tāraṇa.

338. Tāraḥ तारः

Repetitive nāma 769.

He is the saviour. This nāma is an affirmation of the previous nāma. He saves His devotees from sinking into the deep sea of births and deaths. Birth, existence and death are all highly painful.

The concept of surrender is expounded in these two nāma-s. He saves all those who have surrendered unto Him. Unless one faithfully surrenders unto Him, He will not be a saviour. Kṛṣṇa confirms this Bhagavad Gītā (XII.10), “be intent to work for Me and you shall attain perfection even by performing actions for My sake.”

339. Śūraḥ शूरः

Śūra means strong, powerful, valiant, etc. These are the qualities of the Brahman. Without these qualities, He cannot administer the entire universe single handed.

This nāma explains what happens after one surrenders to Him. He makes them to be strong and powerful to overcome the worst enemies of mankind viz. desires and attachments. To cleanse one’s mind, one has to be brave, as one encounters all sorts of stumbling blocks, when the cleansing process of the mind has begun.

340. Śauriḥ शौरिः

Śauri is the name of Kṛṣṇa, who was born as the son of Vasudeva. Vasudeva’s father is known as Śūra (previous nāma).

341. Janeśvaraḥ जनेश्वरः

Jana – all living beings; Iśvara – chief. He is the Brahman and nobody is beyond Him. He is Lord of creation, sustenance and dissolution and hence He is adored as Janeśvara.

342. Anukūlaḥ अनुकूलः

He is favourable to everyone. He is present as one’s own conscience and nobody acts against one’s own conscience. But the type of conscience differs from person to person. An evil doer too has his own conscience and He also prays to Him to succeed in his evil acts. If his prayers are sincere, He also favours him.

Brahman is not good all the time. He is the combination of both good and bad, though He upholds virtues. If He is not both good and bad, He cannot be omnipresent. The Self within a criminal is also the Brahman and the Self within a sage is also the same Brahman. He is present in all the beings as the soul (Soul).

343. Śatāvartaḥ शतावर्तः

He assumes several avatars, to uphold dharma. Śata means hundred and in this context, it means innumerable and āvarta means repeated births as if in a cycle. Whenever, adharma prevails over dharma, He incarnates in several forms to uphold dharma. Lord Viṣṇu is an embodiment of dharma.

344. Padmī पद्मी

He holds a lotus flower in His hands. Lotus flower signifies various cakra-s in our body. Cakra-s are psychic centers in the path of kuṇḍalinī. Lotus flower also refers to His activity of sustaining the universe.

345. Padmanibhekṣaṇaḥ पद्मनिभेक्षणः

Padma – lotus flower; nibha – resembling; akṣan – eye. This nāma says that His eyes look like lotus flowers.

Viṣṇu is always known for His beauty and in many of His incarnations, He is portrayed as the most handsome. Examples are Rama and Kṛṣṇa.