Naama 1-5: He who is replete with all auspicious attributes and is present in all of creation

ॐ विश्वं विष्णुर्वषट्कारो भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभुः ।

भूतकृद् भूतभृद्भावो भूतात्मा भूतभावनः ॥ १ ॥

ōṃ viśvaṃ viṣṇurvaṣaṭkārō bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhuḥ |

bhūtakṛd bhūtabhṛdbhāvō bhūtātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ || 1 ||

1. viśvam · विश्वम्

The one whose external features, innate characteristics, and the significance associated with Him are complete.

(oṃ) viśvāya namaḥ

For example, when one lights a lamp from a flame that is already burning brightly, the intensity of the original fire from which the lamp was lit does not diminish in any way.

In the same way, when the Lord takes different forms, His significance or attributes do not diminish in any way.

The word viśvam comes from the root viś, "to enter". Sri Bhattar quotes the Moksha Dharma of the Mahabharata: "They say He is viśvam because He enters all the worlds; and the worlds themselves are called viśvam because of this" (vēśanāt viśvamityāhuḥ lōkānāṃ kāśisattama). Sri Bhattar observes that it is most fitting that the very first name of Vishnu speaks of His fullness to the brim: in His essential nature, His form, and His qualities, all of which are natural to Him, unexcelled, and auspicious.

The names that follow in this shloka elaborate on this first name.

2. viṣṇuḥ · विष्णुः

The one who has permeated into every atom of creation.

(oṃ) viṣṇavē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar's words are "sva vibhūti bhūtaṃ cit acit ātmakaṃ sarvaṃ viśati iti viṣṇuḥ", "He enters everything, sentient and non-sentient, which is His own wealth." The Taittiriya Upanishad says, "Having created it, He entered into it" (tat sṛṣṭvā tadēvānuprāviśat). It is said in the Mahabharata, "Pervading all these worlds, Kesava stands everywhere; therefore You are called Vishnu, from the root viś, to enter" (vyāpya sarvān imān lōkān sthitaḥ sarvatra kēśavaḥ | tataśca viṣṇu nāmāsi viśērdhātōḥ pravēśanāt ||).

Lord Krishna says in the Gita, "There is nothing, moving or unmoving, that can exist without Me" (na tadasti vinā yat syāt mayā bhūtaṃ carācaram). This naama occurs again as the 259th and 663rd naamas.

3. vaṣaṭkāraḥ · वषट्कारः

The one who controls our every action from within.

(oṃ) vaṣaṭkārāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord does not merely pervade everything; He controls and directs it as He wills. The Nirukti summarises, "He who brings everything under His control by His own will is vaṣaṭkāraḥ" (svēcchayā yaḥ sarvaṃ vaśē karōti saḥ vaṣaṭkāraḥ). His control is not something given to Him by anyone else; it is His own nature.

4. bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhuḥ · भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभुः

The controller and owner of the past, present, and future.

(oṃ) bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhavē namaḥ

It is said in the Srutis, "Kesava, the slayer of Kesi, is the Lord of the past, the future, and the present" (bhūta bhavya bhavannāthaḥ kēśavaḥ kēśisūdanaḥ). To be the master of all that was, is, and will be, He must have existed before everything, exist now, and continue to exist forever. The law that all things come to an end does not apply to Him. Sri Bhattar explains that names 2, 3, and 4 together describe how the all-pervading Vasudeva of the first name pervades, controls, and owns everything.

5. bhūtakṛt · भूतकृत्

He who is the material, accessory, and instrumental cause of everything in creation.

(oṃ) bhūtakṛtē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar points out that the Lord creates all beings independently, without depending on anything outside Himself (sarvāṇi bhūtāni svatantraḥ sṛjati). The Upanishad says, "He is the maker of the universe; He is the creator of all" (sa viśvakṛt sa hi sarvasya kartā), and the Vishnu Purana says, "You are the creator of all beings" (tvaṃ kartā sarvabhūtānām).