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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 90 - bRhat.

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champakam • May 7, 2003 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 90 - bRhat.

840. bRhat – The Great.

This nAma describes His aiSvarya or power called mahimA – of becoming 
greater than anything that we know of as great.   The reference here 
is to His power of vastness, in contrast to the aNutva that we saw 
referenced in the previous nAma.   The root from which the nAma is 
derived is bRh – vRddhau – to grow, to increase.  

SrI BhaTTar describes His greatness in terms of His pervasion.  Even 
the vast Transcendental World (parama padam) can be contained in a 
corner of His palm.  Note that parama padam is tripAd-vibhUti – three 
times as large as the Universe that we are aware of.   tiruma'ngai 
AzhvAr refers to bhagavAn as "aLattaRku ariyAy" (tirumozhi 3.8.1) – 
He who cannot be measured.   SrI BhaTTar gives the purusha sUkta  – 
sa bhUmim viSvato vRtvA atyatishTat daSA'ngulam – He pervaded the 
Earth in all its entirety and stood up beyond by daSa-a'ngula.  daSa 
here means endless, and a'ngula means yojanA.  He gives other 
supports from the Sruti:

-	mahato mahIyAn (tait. upa. 6.10) – Greater than the great.  
-	varshIyAnSca pRthivyAh – He is greater than the Earth.

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives additional Sruti references:

-	abjA gojA RtajA adrijA Rtam bRhat (kaTha. 2.2.2) – …The water-
born, the earth-born, the sacrifice-born, the mountain-born, the 
Truth, the GreatÂ….
-	tatah param brahma param bRhantam (SvetASva. 3.7) – After 
thus praying unto Him and then knowing (through meditation) the 
infinitely great Supreme Brahman..

Note that this aiSvarya of mahimA is exactly opposite of the aiSvarya 
we dealt with in the previous nAma – aNimA.  We will see a few more 
of these pairs of extremes in the next few nAma-s.  It is to be 
understood that there is nothing that is beyond His ability.  SrI 
cinmayAnanda captures the idea as follows:  "These two may seem 
paradoxical, but the apparent contradiction dissolves into an 
illuminating experience for the contemplative mind".   In fact, the 
upanishad talks of these two qualities in the same breath – aNor-
aNiyAn mahato mahIyAn AtmA'sya jantor-nihitam guhAyAm (kaTho. 2.20) – 
Subtler than the subtle and great than the greatÂ… is lodged in the 
cave of the heartÂ….

SrI Sa'nkara vyAkhyAnam is – bRhatvAt bRmhaNantvAt ca bRahma bRhat – 
Because of the hugeness and because of the ability to expand at will 
indefinitely, He is called bRhat.  

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj continues his interpretation outside of 
the context of the ashTa aiSvarya-s:   barhati vardhate pratipadam 
SobhAyAm iti bRhat – He Who enhances or increases the beauty of 
everywhere.  Whatever beauty exists in anything, is because of Him.

SrI satya sandha yatirAja interprets the nAma as: guNaih vRddha – He 
Who is enhanced in His guNa-s. or auspicious qualities.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan




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