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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 76 - analah revisited.

From the Bhakti List Archives

Narasimhan Krishnamachari • July 31, 2002 


In my posting titled "SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 76 -Part 2", I
had covered the nAma analah.  In that write-up, I had failed to mention
that the nAma had previously come in Slokam 32 (nAma 293).  SrI M. K.
Krishnaswamy was kind enough to bring this to my attention.  I have
revised the write-up based on additional information covered under
Slokam 32 by the different interpreters.  This is included below.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

================================

   SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 76 - analah revisted.

716. an-alah - a) He Who is never satisfied that He has done enough
for His devotees.
b) He Who cannot tolerate the offense committed to His devotees.
c) He Who receives the prANa Sakti as His own and functions in the form
  
      of the jIvAtmA (SrI Samkara).
d) He Who is beyond smell etc.
e) He Who is unlimited (in His Glories) (alam - paryApti - end).
f) He Who is in the form of Fire.
g) One Who has no end (alam - paryApti - end)
h) One Who has no opposition (alam - opposition)
i) He Who rejuvenates His devotees who intensely long for Him (an -
prANane ).

Om analAya namah.

This nAma occurred as nAma 294 in Slokam 32 earlier.  The reader is
referred to this earlier write-up as well.

The nAma can be looked at as an-alah, a-nalah, or ana-lah.  The
different interpretations are derived based on the different ways of
looking at the word.

a) For the occurrence of this nAma in Slokam 32, SrI BhaTTar uses the
meaning al - paryApti - to be satisfied, and gives the interpretation
to the nAma an-alah as "He Who is not satisfied"; in spite of all that
He does for His devotees, He feels that He has done nothing to help His
devotee - "na ki'ncit kRtam eshAm mayA iti avitRptah". SrI BhaTTar
quotes the incident from mahA bhArata, where Lord kRshNa expresses His
feeling of being permanently in debt to draupadi who cried out for His
help.  SrI v.v. rAmAnujan describes that even though He protected her
when she cried out for help, and even though in addition He helped the
pANDava-s by changing the day into night, violating His promise not to
take to arms during the war, etc., still His heart was heavy that He
did not do enough to help draupadi.   As Lord kRshNa was departing to
SrI vaikunTham after the purpose of His incarnation was completed, He
said relating to this incident: RNam pravRddhamiva me hRdayAt
nApasarpati(udyoga. 28.22) - "(That cry of help uttered by draupadi
even from a distance calling me "govinda", even though I was far away
in dvArakA) - that cry is never away from My mind, like debt that has
increased over time with interest accumulated on it". 

nammAzhvAr describes this guNa of bhagavAn in peria
tiruvanTAdi 53 - "un aDiyArkku en Seivan enRE irutti nee" - "Your
preoccupation is in contemplating on what You can do to help your
devotee always".  In this aspect, He is like the fire that is never
satisfied with anything that is offered to it; it keeps consuming
whatever is offered, and grows more and more eager to consume more. 
For this reason, the term analah also refers to fire. 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives another dimension to His not being
"satisfied" - He is not satisfied with just the materialistic offering
during His worship, but will be satisfied only when it is offered with
bhakti or devotion. Bhakti is the only requirement for satisfying Him,
and not any accompanying materialistic offerings.

b) For the current occurrence of the nAma an-alah, SrI BhaTTar gives
the additional interpretation that bhagavAn has this nAma because of
His guNa of not being able to put up with apacAram to His devotees. SrI
BhaTTar quotes the following words of bhagavAn:

dvau tu me vadha kAle'smin na kshantavyo katha'ncana |
ya~jna vighna-karam hanyAm pANDavAnAm ca dur-hRdam || (bhA. sabhA.
68.26)

"At the time of destruction two persons will not at all be forgiven by
Me. I will kill Him who obstructs the conduct of this sacrifice, and
also him who is ill-disposed to the pANDava-s".

SrI rAmAnujan also refers us to the incident where Lord kRshNa refused
to take the offering in duryodhana's house because of duryodhana's
attitude of hatred towards the pANDava-s. 

c) Under Slokam 32, one of the interpretations given by SrI Samkara is
based on looking at the nAma as ana-lah.  ana refers to prANa, and the
root lA means "AdAne dAne ca - to take, to obtain". His interpretation
is "anAn prANAn Atmatvena lAti iti ana-lah".  The translators have
generally translated this to mean that He receives the prANa Sakti as
His own and functions in the form of the jIvAtmA, and hence this nAma. 
SrI satyadevo vAsishTha uses the same approach as above, but gives the
interpretation that since bhagavAn ultimately takes away the prANa-s to
Him, He is called ana-lah.    

d) Another alternate interpretation that SrI Samkara gives is based on
the root nal - gandhe bandhane ca - to smell, to bind.  In this
interpretation, the nAma is explained as a-nalah; na alam asya sah
a-nalah - He Who is beyond smell etc.  SrI Samkara gives support from
bRhadAraNya upanishad:  a-sthUlam anaNvahrAsvam a-dIrgham a-lohitam
a-sneham acc-chAyam Â….. a-mAtram anantaram a-bAhyam Â…(3.8.8.) - Brahman
is neither big nor small, neither short nor tall, not colored, not
wettable, can't be measured, etc. 

e) For the current occurrence of the nAma analah, SrI Samkara uses the
meaning "limit" for alam - paryApati, and gives the interpretation that
this nAma signifies that bhagavAn is unlimited in His energies and
powers - alam paryAptih Sakti sampadAm na asya vidyata iti an-alah. SrI
cinmayAnanda quotes the gItA in support: nAnto'smi mama divyAnAm
vibhUtInAm paramtapa | (gItA 12.5) - "Of My Divine Glories, there is no
end".  

This interpretation of SrI Samkara brings out the parattvam of
bhagavAn.  Notice that Sri BhaTTar has used this same root (al -
paryApti), and given the interpretation that bhagavAn is unlimited in
His desire to help His devotees (see a above).  Both experiences are
true, and are different dimensions of His guNa, the first expounding
His parattvam, and the second expounding His vAtsalyam. Further
appreciation of this difference in approach between SrI Samkara and SrI
BhaTTar can be gleaned from the article that was posted earlier,
comparing the two vyAkhyAna-s.
   
f) SrI cinmayAnanda takes the meaning "fire" for "analah", and comments
that the nAma can refer to His being in the form of Fire and sustaining
our body with the right amount of warmth that is needed for the
sustenance of our body.   

g) h) Using the meaning "paryApti - tRpti vacana" for the term alam,
SrI satyadevo vAsishTha interprets an-alah as "One Who does not have an
end".  In addition, using the meaning vAraNa - resistance or opposition
for the word "alam", he gives the alternate interpretation "He Who has
no one to oppose Him" for the nAma an-alah.  He gives several Sruti
references: na tvadanyah kavitaro na medhayA dhIro varuNa svadhAvAn
(atharva. 5.11.4); na dvitIyo na tRtIyah(atharva. 13.4.16); aham indro
na parAjigye (Rg. 10.48.5); sarvam tadindra te vase (Rg. 8.93.4;
atahrva. 20.112.1; yajur. 33.35). 

i) SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj takes a different approach from others,
and gives his interpretation starting with the root an - prANane - to
live, to breathe. Using the uNAdi sUtra "vRshAdibhayaScit - (1.106)" -
he derives the word analah, and gives the interpretation "Anayati
samujjIvayati tapah: kRSAn sva-janAn sva-darSanena iti analah" - He Who
rejuvenates His devotees who are engaged in intense tapas on Him, by
giving His darSanam to them.



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