Naama 544-563: The divine and transcendent form of the Lord

544. suṣēṇaḥ · सुषेणः

The one whose charming body, made of suddha-sattva and described by the Pancha-Upanishad mantras, serves Him like a good army (su-sena), helping Him conquer the souls in bondage, the released souls, and the nityasuris.

(oṃ) suṣēṇāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains this naama as su-sēnaḥ, "the one with a good army". The Lord's divine body, made of pure sattva (śuddha sattva), has divine powers that are like an army ready to serve Him. One commentator notes that from this naama onwards, some of the meanings are esoteric and are traditionally learned only from an acharya.

545. kanakāṅgadī · कनकाङ्गदी

The one who is always adorned with celestial ornaments, such as the golden armlets. These ornaments are made of the same transcendent material, suddha-sattva, and are entirely different from the materials of this world, which are made of the three gunas.

(oṃ) kanakāṅgadinē namaḥ

The word "gold" here does not refer to ordinary gold, but to the excellence of His ornaments. The Chandogya Upanishad describes Him as "the golden person seen within the sun" (antarādityē hiraṇmayaḥ puruṣaḥ). Sri Bhattar notes that the ending -in in this naama shows that this brilliance is permanently associated with His divine body (nityayōgē iniḥ).

546. guhyaḥ · गुह्यः

The one who is concealed, for His divine body made of transcendent material is revealed only by the Upanishads.

(oṃ) guhyāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord is concealed by His divine body, made of pure sattva, which is revealed only by the Upanishads. Nammazhwar declares, "I cannot understand how to think of this Lord, who swallowed the world and brought it out again" (ñālam uṇḍu umizhndha mālai eṇṇumāṟu aṟiya māṭṭēn).

547. gabhīraḥ · गभीरः

The one who is deep and mysterious, because His transcendent nature, revealed by the Pancha-Upanishad mantras, is beyond our full understanding.

(oṃ) gabhīrāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar gives a beautiful example. Muddy water becomes clear the moment it comes into contact with the kataka seed. In the same way, the bound souls, who are stained by beginningless ignorance, become pure merely by coming into contact with the Lord. If even this is possible, how much greater must be the Lord Himself, who is ever-effulgent by His very nature? Such is His depth.

Just as the bottom of a very deep lake with crystal-clear water appears to be close at hand, the Lord appears to be easily understood by ordinary beings, yet His depth can never be reached. He is very far, even though He seems very near.

548. gahanaḥ · गहनः

The one who is unfathomable. His nature is difficult to enter into, like a dense forest or a well-built fortress whose interior cannot be seen from outside.

(oṃ) gahanāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains this with the example of the ocean. When the water is clear, one can see things lying on its bed, yet one cannot reach them, because the ocean is not knee-deep. In the same way, even though the Lord's qualities are revealed to some extent by the Upanishads, He cannot be fully grasped. The Taittiriya Upanishad says that He is the one "from whom words turn back, along with the mind, without reaching Him" (yatō vācō nivartantē aprāpya manasā saha).

549. guptaḥ · गुप्तः

The one who is hidden. His greatness was kept concealed and guarded by the earlier Acharyas, who came to know of it only by His grace.

(oṃ) guptāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar teaches that we cannot hope to learn the greatness of the Lord except by being guided by the Acharyas of our sampradayam. Even the Upanishads cannot reveal Him fully. Only great souls like Sage Vishvamitra could declare, "I know the greatness of this Rama" (aham vēdmi mahātmānam rāmam). The Lord is also guarded with great care by the nityasuris such as Adisesha, Garuda, and Vishvaksena. The Kathopanishad says, "This Self is hidden in all beings and does not shine forth."

550. cakragadādharaḥ · चक्रगदाधरः

The one who bears the discus and the mace.

(oṃ) cakragadādharāya namaḥ

Where and how is He hidden? The Ramayana answers in its description of the Lord: "The Creator is far beyond the region of darkness (prakṛti). He bears the conch, the discus, and the mace" (tamasaḥ paramō dhātā śaṅkha cakra gadādharaḥ). This naama makes it clear that His weapons, like His body and His ornaments, are eternal and celestial, made of the same divine material (śuddha-sattva).

The five great weapons of the Lord, the Sudarshana Chakra, the Panchajanya conch, the Kaumodaki mace, the Saarnga bow, and the Nandaka sword, are themselves nityasuris and are worshipped as Sudarshana Azhwar, Panchajanya Azhwar, and so on. The Vishnu Purana explains that these weapons also represent the various principles of creation that the Lord holds in His hands. Nammazhwar describes Him as the four-shouldered one who holds the bow, the bright conch, the mace, the sword, and the discus.

वेधाः स्वाङ्गोऽजितः कृष्णो दृढः सङ्कर्षणोऽच्युतः ।

वरुणो वारुणो वृक्षः पुष्कराक्षो महामनाः ॥ ५९ ॥

vēdhāḥ svāṅgō’jitaḥ kṛṣṇō dṛḍhaḥ saṅkarṣaṇō’cyutaḥ |

varuṇō vāruṇō vṛkṣaḥ puṣkarākṣō mahāmanāḥ || 59 ||

551. vēdhāḥ · वेधाः

The one who always provides His devotees with great, unlimited, and varied objects of splendour.

(oṃ) vēdhasē namaḥ

The Kathopanishad says, "The One fulfils the desires of the many" (ēkō bahūnām yō vidadhāti kāmān). Just as a generous provider makes sure that everyone in his household has everything they need, the Lord provides His devotees with all that is auspicious.

552. svāṅgaḥ · स्वाङ्गः

The one who eternally has all the marks of sovereignty, such as the royal umbrella (chatra) and the fly-whisks (chāmara), which are His own and unique.

(oṃ) svāṅgāya namaḥ

Just as a king is recognised by his royal umbrella and fly-whisks, the Lord, who is the Supreme King of all the worlds, is recognised by these divine marks of sovereignty in Sri Vaikuntham. No one else in all of creation possesses them.

553. ajitaḥ · अजितः

The one whose city, Sri Vaikuntham, is called Ajita (the unconquered).

(oṃ) ajitāya namaḥ

Sri Vaikuntham is made of celestial matter (śuddha-sattva) and is not subject to the birth, ageing, decay, and death that belong to the material world of prakruti. The Lord of this unconquered city is Himself unconquered. In the Yuddha Kandam of the Ramayana, Brahma praises Rama as "ajitaḥ", which Sri Vaishnava commentators explain as "the one who has never failed in His vow to protect those who have surrendered to Him even once."

554. kṛṣṇaḥ · कृष्णः

The one whose body, made of suddha-sattva, has a fascinating complexion, dark like a blue rain cloud.

(oṃ) kṛṣṇāya namaḥ

It has been declared by the ancients that the bodies of the Lord in His incarnations as Varaha and others are made of the same divine material. In the Mahabharata, the Lord says to Arjuna, "O son of Pritha! I become a great plough of black iron and plough this earth. Since My colour is black, I am known as Krishna."

The Vishnu Tattva says, "There is one important sakti in the form of My body, which is fivefold. The incarnations of the Supreme Being as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, and others are made only with these saktis and not in any other way." This naama occurred earlier as the 58th naama, where it was explained as the one who is always in a state of bliss.

555. dṛḍhaḥ · दृढः

The one who, out of this eternal divine form, assumes firm and concrete vyuha forms for the sake of blessing His devotees.

(oṃ) dṛḍhāya namaḥ

These forms are not vague or imaginary; they are solid forms that His devotees can easily meditate upon. It is also said that the Lord is firm in His resolve to protect His devotees. Yet, as one commentator observes, even His firm justice melts the moment a great sinner surrenders to Him, and He immediately reaches out to save them.

556. saṅkarṣaṇaḥ · सङ्कर्षणः

The one who, in the vyuha form of Sankarshana, draws within Himself both the sentient (cit) and the non-sentient (acit) in the same way.

(oṃ) saṅkarṣaṇāya namaḥ

The Maulas say about Him, "In this world, He draws within Himself both the cit and the acit in the same way. He is Sankarshana; His power of attraction is uniform." He also draws His devotees towards Himself with His qualities, such as His love for them (vātsalyam) and His beauty.

557. acyutaḥ · अच्युतः

The one who does not slip from His position.

(oṃ) acyutāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar quotes, "When Brahma, Varuna, and others are subject to birth and death and fall from their positions, You do not fall like that. So You are called Acyuta." Sri Bhattar also gives another meaning, in which the Lord says, "I have never abandoned My devotees." This naama occurred earlier as the 101st and the 320th naamas.

558. varuṇaḥ · वरुणः

The one who envelops everything.

(oṃ) varuṇāya namaḥ

The Taittiriya Upanishad says, "By Him are covered the sky, the heavens, and the earth" (yēna āvṛtam kham ca divam mahīm ca). He surrounds all the three worlds. Just as the setting sun withdraws its rays into itself in the evening, the Lord withdraws the whole world into Himself at the time of dissolution.

559. vāruṇaḥ · वारुणः

The one who is always with those who seek Him as their master.

(oṃ) vāruṇāya namaḥ

Lord Krishna says in the Gita, "Those who worship Me with devotion are in Me, and I am also in them." The Azhwars experience this when they say, "You came and entered my mind and stayed there forever."

560. vṛkṣaḥ · वृक्षः

The one who, like a shady tree, has everything that is needed by those who resort to Him, and who puts up with hundreds of injuries done to Him by them.

(oṃ) vṛkṣāya namaḥ

Just as a tree gives shade even to the person who is cutting it down, the Lord gives His protection even to those who insult Him. In the Kishkindha Kandam, Tara describes Rama as "the one resort for the good and the supreme refuge for those in distress, like a tree that shelters all" (nivāsa vṛkṣaḥ sādhūnām āpannānām parā gatiḥ). The Mahanarayana Upanishad says, "Like an unmoving tree, He stands alone in the heavens." There is no doubt that the ripe fruits of all desires fall from this tree of Brahman, which is eternal and is the refuge of all.

561. puṣkarākṣaḥ · पुष्कराक्षः

The one whose two eyes nourish His devotees by showering His grace on them.

(oṃ) puṣkarākṣāya namaḥ

Swami Desikan describes the eyes of Lord Ranganatha in the Bhagavad Dhyana Sopanam as "svāgata udāra nētram", eyes that are merciful and welcoming, always looking at the devotee who approaches Him. In the Dasavatara Stotram, he says that the Lord's glances are like a forest of beautiful lotuses. This naama also occurred earlier as the 40th naama, where it meant the one with eyes like a freshly blossomed lotus.

562. mahāmanāḥ · महामनाः

The one whose mind is always deep, generous, and broad towards His devotees.

(oṃ) mahāmanasē namaḥ

Even after rescuing Draupadi when she called out to Him, Lord Krishna felt forever that He had not done enough for her, because He had not reached her in person right away. Such is the broadness of His mind. Nammazhwar wonders, "What can I do for Your devotees?" and Thirumazhisai Azhwar describes the Lord as always thinking, "What more can I do for My devotees?" His nature is to forgive even the worst of sinners when they surrender to Him.

भगवान् भगहा नन्दी वनमाली हलायुधः ।

आदित्यो ज्योतिरादित्यः सहिष्णुर्गतिसत्तमः ॥ ६० ॥

bhagavān bhagahā nandī vanamālī halāyudhaḥ |

ādityō jyōtirādityaḥ sahiṣṇurgatisattamaḥ || 60 ||

563. bhagavān · भगवान्

The one who is extremely worthy of worship by virtue of His essential nature, which is opposed to all defects and endowed with all auspicious qualities.

(oṃ) bhagavatē namaḥ

Nammazhwar begins the Thiruvaimozhi by describing the Lord as "the one who possesses the highest goodness, above which there is nothing higher" (uyarvaṟa uyar nalam uḍaiyavan). The Lord is free from every flaw (hēya pratyanīka) and full of every good quality (kalyāṇaika tāna). These two aspects together make Him the only one fit to be called Bhagavan.