Naama 568-574: Narayana Avataram

568. ādityaḥ · आदित्यः

The one who was born as the son of Devaki, who was Aditi in her previous birth.

(oṃ) ādityāya namaḥ

In the Vaishnava Dharma, the Lord says to Devaki, "You are the daughter of Daksha, born as Aditi in this world. You are the eternal mother of the world. I confer My favours on you." Sri Bhattar also gives another meaning: the Lord is to be realised through the mystic letter "A", which is the seed mantra (bīja mantra) of Sankarshana.

569. jyōtirādityaḥ · ज्योतिरादित्यः

The one whose effulgence is celestial, unique, and wonderful, so much so that the sun, the most well-known luminary, fades into darkness before His splendour.

(oṃ) jyōtirādityāya namaḥ

Here begins the section on the incarnation of the Lord as Narayana (of the Nara-Narayana pair). In the Narayaneeya section of the Mahabharata, it is said, "When Nara and Narayana began to fight with Rudra, all the luminaries lost their brightness, and even Brahma slipped from his seat."

The Vedas also say that the Lord resides in the disc of the sun: "One should always meditate on Narayana, who resides in the middle of the orb of the sun, seated on a lotus" (dhyēyaḥ sadā savitṛ-maṇḍala madhyavartī nārāyaṇaḥ sarasijāsana sanniviṣṭaḥ).

570. sahiṣṇuḥ · सहिष्णुः

The one who has patience, and who forgave the wrong committed by Rudra in the fight with Him.

(oṃ) sahiṣṇavē namaḥ

The Mahabharata says, "Rudra then apologised to Narayana, his Lord, to win His favour. He surrendered to Hari, the Creator, the foremost deity, and the giver of boons. The Supreme Ruler became gracious, controlled His anger, became pleased, and associated with Rudra."

When this naama occurred earlier as the 146th naama, Sri Bhattar gave one of his most moving descriptions of the Lord's forgiveness: "He forgives the sins accumulated in the past and those to be committed in the future, sins committed knowingly or unknowingly, by all the organs of sense, at all times and in all ways, sins of not following the shastras and of doing what they forbid, sins of insulting and abusing Him, and even sins against His own devotees, which even He, who bears everything, finds hard to bear."

571. gatisattamaḥ · गतिसत्तमः

The one who is the best guide on the path of supreme dharma, and therefore the most trustworthy.

(oṃ) gatisattamāya namaḥ

When the devas saw Nara and Narayana, they said, "It is very pleasing to see that the path of dharma has been honoured here." The Lord gave us the Vedas and the Gita, showing us the path of dharma. Nammazhwar describes Him as "the Lord who shows us the right path."

सुधन्वा खण्डपरशुर्दारुणो द्रविणप्रदः ।

दिविस्पृक्सर्वदृग्व्यासो वाचस्पतिरयोनिजः ॥ ६१ ॥

sudhanvā khaṇḍaparaśurdāruṇō draviṇapradaḥ |

divispṛksarvadṛgvyāsō vācaspatirayōnijaḥ || 61 ||

572. sudhanvā · सुधन्वा

The one who has a splendid bow, with which He brought an end to the fight between the devas and the asuras that broke out over the distribution of the nectar.

(oṃ) sudhanvanē namaḥ

The Mahabharata says, "Then Bhagavan saw the celestial bow in the hands of Nara. Nara, the companion of Narayana, covered the entire sky with his great arrows, adorned with bands of gold." The Vishnu Purana also explains that the Saarnga bow in the Lord's hand represents the senses and the ego born from them, which He holds and controls.

573. khaṇḍaparaśuḥ · खण्डपरशुः

The one who has a broken axe.

(oṃ) khaṇḍaparaśavē namaḥ

The Lord says in the Mahabharata, "Then, for the destruction of Rudra, Nara took up a reed, and by the recitation of mantras gave it new power. At once it became an immense axe. It was thrown at Rudra with great force, but it broke. Because of the breaking of the axe, from that time I came to be known as Khanda-parasu, the Lord with the broken axe."

574. dāruṇaḥ · दारुणः

The one who splits into pieces the enemies of His devotees, both the external enemies and the internal enemies such as desire and anger.

(oṃ) dāruṇāya namaḥ

One commentator explains this beautifully. Up to a point, the Lord is all mercy. But when He finds that there is no other way to save a person, He becomes like a surgeon in the operating theatre, who seems relentless and merciless, though it is only for the good of the patient. Even when He punishes, it is for the ultimate good of the one being punished.