Naama 575-579: Vyasa Avataram

575. draviṇapradaḥ · द्रविणप्रदः

The one who, as Sage Vyasa, bestowed upon the world the wealth of all the shastras and their meaning.

(oṃ) draviṇapradāya namaḥ

The dhyana shloka on Sri Vyasa describes him thus: "Vyasa holds in his left hand the collection of all the shastras and their purport, and with his right hand (in the upadēśa mudrā) he propounds the true import of all the shastras as they are." Nammazhwar describes the Lord as "the fruit that spread the noble Vedas." Vyasa organised the Vedas, composed the Mahabharata and the Brahma Sutras, and through them gave the world its greatest wealth, the knowledge of the Lord.

576. divispṛk · दिविस्पृक्

The one who, through His supreme knowledge (para vidya), touches the mystic nature of His own reality as it is in Paramapadam.

(oṃ) divispṛśē namaḥ

The meditation on Vyasa describes him as "the one who knows the Supreme Reality." The Chandogya Upanishad also says that only one quarter of the Lord is this universe, while three quarters of Him, which are immortal, are in the heavens (tripādasyāmṛtam divi). Thus, He touches the heavens and goes far beyond them.

577. sarvadṛk · सर्वदृक्

The one who sees everything. As Vyasa, He directly realised the entire truth of the Supreme Reality.

(oṃ) sarvadṛśē namaḥ

Nammazhwar describes the Lord as "the one whose unique and primordial knowledge spreads everywhere, always, without any weariness." Nothing in creation is hidden from His sight.

578. vyāsaḥ · व्यासः

The one who divided the single Veda into four parts, the Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva Vedas.

(oṃ) vyāsāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar quotes, "Because He, the knower of the three times, divided the one Veda into four, He is known as Vyasa." The Lord did this in His incarnation as Vyasa to make the Vedas easier to learn for people whose capacity for knowledge diminishes from one yuga to the next. Vyasa also arranged the Puranas into eighteen and composed the Mahabharata and the Brahma Sutras.

This is why we offer our salutations to him as "vyāsāya viṣṇu rūpāya vyāsa rūpāya viṣṇavē", "to Vyasa, who is the form of Vishnu, and to Vishnu, who is in the form of Vyasa."

579. vācaspatiḥ · वाचस्पतिः

The one who, as Vyasa, is the master of the words that make up the fifth Veda, the Mahabharata.

(oṃ) vācaspatayē namaḥ

This naama occurred earlier as the 218th naama, where it referred to the Lord in His Matsya Avataram giving a detailed account of the Vedas to Manu. Here it refers to Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, which is honoured as the fifth Veda. It is said that one who truly masters words does not waste them, and so the Lord, through the Vedas and the Brahma Sutras, has given us all the instructions for every aspect of life in a concise form.

580. ayōnijaḥ · अयोनिजः

The one who was not born from the womb of a woman.

(oṃ) ayōnijāya namaḥ

In His incarnation as Saarasvata, the Lord of speech, He was born from the word "bhō", which the Lord uttered aloud, and not from a mother's womb. The Mahabharata says, "Then the Supreme Bhagavan created the world once again and pronounced the word 'bhō' aloud, which sent an echo everywhere. Then the Lord spoke Sarasvati (the words), and there was born Saarasvata." Thirumangai Azhwar describes the Lord as "the one who has neither birth nor old age."