Naama 471-482: The Lord as the embodiment of dharma

471. vatsaraḥ · वत्सरः

The one who lives in all beings so that He can give them the fruits of their actions in a just way.

(oṃ) vatsarāya namaḥ

His mantra says, "To Him who is the embodiment of dharma and who lives in all beings."

472. vatsalaḥ · वत्सलः

The one who is full of affection towards those who have sought refuge in Him.

(oṃ) vatsalāya namaḥ

Even though they have lived with Him for a long time, He is always eager to do more for their good, just as a cow, out of love for its newborn calf, does not know what to do and simply bellows, suffering from the burden of its udder full of milk. Sri Rama showed this quality even towards Ravana. Sita herself said, "It is well-known that Rama knows dharma and is very affectionate towards those who seek refuge in Him."

473. vatsī · वत्सी

The one who has innumerable loving children, the countless jeevaathmas who are always tended by Him.

(oṃ) vatsinē namaḥ

When Brahma hid the calves and the cowherd boys, Krishna Himself became all the calves and all the boys, so that no mother and no cow felt the loss. Andal sings of "the young bull who delighted in grazing the calves" (kanṟu mēyttu inidu ugandha kāḷāy). In a wider sense, all the countless jeevaathmas are His children, whom He protects as a cow protects its calves.

474. ratnagarbhaḥ · रत्नगर्भः

The one who has immense wealth to give to those of His devotees who are after wealth.

(oṃ) ratnagarbhāya namaḥ

It is said that under the guise of the conch and the discus, He holds wealth and the objects of desire for His devotees.

475. dhanēśvaraḥ · धनेश्वरः

The one who is quick in bestowing on His devotees whatever wealth they desire.

(oṃ) dhanēśvarāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar interprets this naama as the quick giver of wealth. Because He is the source of all riches, as the previous naama shows, He gives them to His devotees without delay, and they do not have to go anywhere else for them.

धर्मगुब्धर्मकृद्धर्मी सदक्षरमसत्क्षरम् ।

अविज्ञाता सहस्रांशुः विधाता कृतलक्षणः ॥ ५१ ॥

dharmagubdharmakṛddharmī sadakṣaramasatkṣaram |

avijñātā sahasrāṃśuḥ vidhātā kṛtalakṣaṇaḥ || 51 ||

476. dharmagup · धर्मगुप्

The one who protects dharma. Though He grants wealth and pleasures to those who seek them, He sees that these are not misused, and so protects dharma.

(oṃ) dharmagupē namaḥ

Lord Krishna says in the Gita, "For the establishment of dharma, I am born in every age" (dharma saṃsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yugē yugē). The Lord protects all beings through dharma, from the time of creation to the time of dissolution.

477. dharmakṛt · धर्मकृत्

The one who Himself practises dharma without any selfish motive, and thus makes everyone devoted to dharma.

(oṃ) dharmakṛtē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar quotes, "The ordinary, flawless dharma, without beginning or end, cannot be attained, even by the most learned, without His grace" (dharmaṃ sāmānyam amalam anādinidhanaṃ vibhum | durlabhaṃ yatprabuddhānāṃ tatprasādayitā vinā ||). It is by His grace alone that we are inclined to follow dharma at all.

478. dharmī · धर्मी

The one who has dharma as the means for all His acts.

(oṃ) dharmiṇē namaḥ

Nammazhwar describes the Lord as "the unique form of full knowledge, who explained all the paths of dharma" (neṟi ellām eḍuttu uraitta niṟai ñāṉattu orumūrti). Dharma is eternal, just as the Lord is eternal. The next four words, sat, akṣaram, asat, and kṣaram, are combined by Sri Bhattar as sadakṣaram and asatkṣaram.

479. sat · सत्

The one who is commendable. Dharma is commendable only because the Lord, who is to be attained through it, is Himself highly commendable.

(oṃ) satē namaḥ

Lord Krishna says in the Gita, "O Arjuna, the word sat is used for a commendable action."

480. akṣaram · अक्षरम्

The one whose existence and goodness are eternal and never diminish.

(oṃ) akṣarāya namaḥ

The Vishnu Purana says, "He is free from decrease, destruction, change, growth, and birth. He can only be spoken of as that which always is." The Chandogya Upanishad says, "Existence alone, my dear child, was there in the beginning, one only without a second."

481. asat · असत्

The one who is the cause of misfortune for those who are not commendable and are addicted to sin.

(oṃ) asatē namaḥ

In the Gita, the Lord says, "I am immortality and death, I am the existent and the non-existent, O Arjuna" (amṛtaṃ caiva mṛtyuśca sadasaccāhamarjuna). Sri Bhattar explains that He is asat in the sense that He is the cause of distress to those who do sinful acts.

482. kṣaram · क्षरम्

The one who gives the great misery of endless samsara to those who are addicted to sin.

(oṃ) kṣarāya namaḥ

The Kaushitaki Upanishad says, "The Lord makes the one whom He wishes to raise from these worlds do virtuous acts, and He makes the one whom He wishes to send down do sinful acts." This world comprises both the good and the bad, and the Lord is above both of them.

483. avijñātā · अविज्ञाता

The one who does not know. Even though He sees the countless sins committed by His devotees, He not only refrains from punishing them but forgives them, and is even unaware of their sins.

(oṃ) avijñātrē namaḥ

It is said of Sri Rama, "Though harsh words are used against Him, Rama does not retaliate." Sri Bhattar's father, Sri Koorathazhwan, has said, "Thus we speak in reproach of Your omniscience, and say that You are ignorant, for You do not know the faults of Your devotees."

484. sahasrāṃśuḥ · सहस्रांशुः

The one who, on the other hand, has a thousand rays of knowledge and knows everything.

(oṃ) sahasrāṃśavē namaḥ

One may ask, "Is it not a contradiction that He knows everything and yet does not know the faults of His devotees?" The answer is that not knowing their faults means only that He ignores them as being insignificant. Lord Rama said about Vibhishana, "Even if there are faults in him, I will offer him protection." Lord Krishna says in the Gita, "Even if a person of very bad conduct worships Me without expecting anything else, that person must be considered good."

485. vidhātā · विधाता

The supreme controller. Even Yama, whose duty is to punish sinners, is under His control and cannot act against His will.

(oṃ) vidhātrē namaḥ

In the Vishnu Purana, Yama tells his servants, "Do not even go near the one in whose heart the Supreme Lord Narayana resides. I too cannot go there, for my valour and strength cannot stand before His discus. That devotee belongs to an entirely different world."

486. kṛtalakṣaṇaḥ · कृतलक्षणः

The one who has laid down the distinguishing marks of those who are to be favoured, namely, that they are well-disposed towards Him.

(oṃ) kṛtalakṣaṇāya namaḥ

The Lord says, "Never shall I desert one who has come to Me as a friend." The bearing of the marks of the conch and the discus is a sign of one's connection with the Lord, just as the bracelets and ornaments of a married woman show her connection with her husband.

गभस्तिनेमिस्सत्त्वस्थस्सिंहो भूतमहेश्वरः ।

आदिदेवो महादेवो देवेशो देवभृद्गुरुः ॥ ५२ ॥

gabhastinēmissattvasthassiṃhō bhūtamahēśvaraḥ |

ādidēvō mahādēvō dēvēśō dēvabhṛdguruḥ || 52 ||

487. gabhastinēmiḥ · गभस्तिनेमिः

The one who holds the effulgent Sudarshana Chakra, with its thousand spokes, and is thus the saviour of those who bear His marks.

(oṃ) gabhastinēmayē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord has as His weapon the effulgent discus with a thousand spokes. Yama and his messengers do not even come near those who bear the mark of the discus, because their saviour is the one who holds it.

488. sattvasthaḥ · सत्त्वस्थः

The one who resides in the hearts of His devotees. This is why even Yama and his servants cannot touch them.

(oṃ) sattvasthāya namaḥ

The Vishnu Purana says, "When Lord Hari, who wields the discus and the mace, abides in the heart of a person, how can sin exist there? Can darkness exist with the sun?"

489. siṃhaḥ · सिंहः

The one who punishes those, including Yama and others, who harm His devotees, thinking them to be ordinary human beings.

(oṃ) siṃhāya namaḥ

Yama himself declares, "Vishnu has the power to control me also." In the Vishnu Dharma, Yama once saw a being experiencing great suffering in hell and asked, "Have you not worshipped Lord Kesava, the remover of all sorrows?" It is said that the servants of Yama automatically keep away from those who have taken refuge at the feet of Bhagavan Hari.

490. bhūtamahēśvaraḥ · भूतमहेश्वरः

The Supreme Lord of all beings, who controls Brahma, Yama, and others who are themselves lords of beings.

(oṃ) bhūtamahēśvarāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord is the supreme master of all beings, because He is the master even of Brahma, Yama, and the others who are themselves the lords of beings. Nammazhwar sings that He established the other gods in their places, and He Himself remains the Lord of those gods (niṟuttinān deivaṅgaḷāga a-ddeiva nāyagan tānē).

491. ādidēvaḥ · आदिदेवः

The one who is the first cause of all those devas and is ever-shining.

(oṃ) ādidēvāya namaḥ

This naama occurred earlier as the 335th naama. Sri Bhattar's words are "ādiḥ dyōtamānaśca ādidēvaḥ", "He is the first cause, and He is ever shining." He is the cause even of the devas, who do their duties only out of fear of Him: "Out of fear of Him, the wind blows" (bhīṣāsmādvātaḥ pavatē).

492. mahādēvaḥ · महादेवः

The great player, who plays with Brahma and the other devas as if they were toys.

(oṃ) mahādēvāya namaḥ

The word dēva comes from the root div, "to play". Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord is so far above the other gods that they are like playthings for Him. Nammazhwar describes Him as "the one who delights in this play" (inbuṟum ivviḷaiyāṭṭuḍaiyān).

493. dēvēśaḥ · देवेशः

The one who is the master of all the devas.

(oṃ) dēvēśāya namaḥ

Nammazhwar sings of "the Lord of the celestials, the great wonder, Vaikunthan, my Lord" (vānōr perumān māmāyan vaikunthan emperumān). Because He is the inner self of all the gods, all worship offered to them finally reaches Him alone.

494. dēvabhṛt · देवभृत्

The one who supports the devas by assigning duties to them according to their abilities.

(oṃ) dēvabhṛtē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord assigns the devas to their duties according to their abilities, and so protects and supports them. Nammazhwar says that just as the devas are above human beings, the Lord is above the devas (manisarkku dēvar pōla dēvarkkum dēvan).

495. guruḥ · गुरुः

The one who instructs the devas in their respective duties through the Vedas.

(oṃ) guravē namaḥ

As Hayagriva, the horse-faced Lord, He rescued the Vedas from the netherworlds and taught them to Brahma. Brahma himself says, "I am under the control of my Guru, Bhagavan Hari." Just as fire purifies gold by removing the dirt, the Lord is the Guru of all because He enlightens all by dispelling their ignorance through the Vedas.

उत्तरो गोपतिर्गोप्ता ज्ञानगम्यः पुरातनः ।

शरीरभूतभृद्भोक्ता कपीन्द्रो भूरिदक्षिणः ॥ ५३ ॥

uttarō gōpatirgōptā jñānagamyaḥ purātanaḥ |

śarīrabhūtabhṛdbhōktā kapīndrō bhūridakṣiṇaḥ || 53 ||

496. uttaraḥ · उत्तरः

The one who rescued Brahma and others from the trouble caused by the asuras.

(oṃ) uttarāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord rescued Brahma and the other devas from the asuras. Sri Sankara gives the meaning "the one who lifts us up from the bondage of birth and samsara" (janma saṃsāra bandhanāt uttarati). Both meanings come together in the Hayagriva incarnation, where the Lord rescued the Vedas for Brahma, and through them, the means of liberation for all.

497. gōpatiḥ · गोपतिः

The one who is the master of all speech, both in the form of the Vedas and of the spoken languages.

(oṃ) gōpatayē namaḥ

The word gō has many meanings: cow, words, the Vedas, and the earth. Sri Bhattar explains this naama as the Lord being the master of all words, because He gave us the Vedas as well as all the languages. This naama occurs again as the 599th naama.

498. gōptā · गोप्ता

The one who protects all forms of knowledge.

(oṃ) gōptrē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord protects the knowledge He has given, so that it is not lost. Sri Sankara gives the meaning that He protects all beings and all the worlds. This naama occurs again as the 600th naama, where Sri Bhattar explains it as the protector of the wheel of karma.

499. jñānagamyaḥ · ज्ञानगम्यः

The one who is to be realised through knowledge.

(oṃ) jñānagamyāya namaḥ

It is said, "One should meditate on the Supreme Lord with the face of a horse (Hayagriva), who is the master of all speech."

500. purātanaḥ · पुरातनः

The ancient one, who reveals knowledge not only now but in every kalpa.

(oṃ) purātanāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord has been giving us knowledge and protecting it not only in this kalpa, but in all the previous kalpas as well. Nammazhwar describes Him as "the one with the colour of the ocean, who protects the world, aeon after aeon" (ūzhi thōṟu ūzhi vaiyam kākkum āzhi nīr vaṇṇan).