Naama 811-838: The Lord who is the saviour of His devotees

811. mahābhūtaḥ · महाभूतः

The one who considers great souls (mahābhūtas) as His very own.

(oṃ) mahābhūtāya namaḥ

Here, Sri Bhattar moves from describing the Lord's treatment of the wicked to His treatment of His devotees, whom He treasures. Lord Krishna says in the Gita, "The wise one, I consider to be My very self" (jñānī tvātmaiva mē matam).

812. mahānidhiḥ · महानिधिः

The one who treasures His devotees, because they are as dear to Him as a great treasure.

(oṃ) mahānidhayē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar says, "They are extremely dear to Him, like a treasure" (tē nidhivat atipriyā asya). Just as a person who finds a great treasure guards it carefully, the Lord guards His devotees.

कुमुदः कुन्दरः कुन्दः पर्जन्यः पवनोऽनिलः ।

अमृताशोऽमृतवपुः सर्वज्ञः सर्वतोमुखः ॥ ८७ ॥

kumudaḥ kundaraḥ kundaḥ parjanyaḥ pavanō’nilaḥ |

amṛtāśō’mṛtavapuḥ sarvajñaḥ sarvatōmukhaḥ || 87 ||

813. kumudaḥ · कुमुदः

The one who rejoices on this earth (ku) because of the company of His devotees.

(oṃ) kumudāya namaḥ

This naama occurred earlier as the 596th naama. Here, Sri Bhattar shows once again how the Lord finds joy in the company of His devotees. While Sri Sankara explains the name as the one who gives joy to the earth by removing its burdens, Sri Bhattar explains it as the one who Himself delights in His devotees.

814. kundaraḥ · कुन्दरः

The one who gives His devotees the knowledge of the Supreme Reality (kunda), which is pure like the jasmine flower.

(oṃ) kundarāya namaḥ

The author of the Nirukti also explains the name as the one who splits apart (dāraṇa) the sins (ku) accumulated over countless births.

815. kundaḥ · कुन्दः

The one who grants the knowledge of the Supreme Reality step by step to those who have begun to climb the ladder of knowledge through self-control, leading them through para-bhakti and para-jñānam to parama-bhakti.

(oṃ) kundāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar also gives another meaning: the one who cuts away (dyati) the sins (ku) of His devotees.

816. parjanyaḥ · पर्जन्यः

The one who, like a rain cloud, removes the three kinds of suffering (tāpa-traya) of His devotees.

(oṃ) parjanyāya namaḥ

The three kinds of suffering are Adhyaatmika (arising from our own body and mind), Adhi-daivika (caused by fate or by forces beyond our control), and Adhi-bhautika (caused by other beings). Just as a rain cloud cools the earth scorched by the summer sun, the Lord cools His devotees who are scorched by these sufferings. Andal begins the fourth pasuram of the Thiruppavai by calling upon the rain cloud to take on the dark form of the Lord.

817. pavanaḥ · पवनः

The one who Himself goes to His devotees to remove their distress.

(oṃ) pavanāya namaḥ

When this naama occurred earlier as the 292nd naama, Sri Bhattar explained it as the one who moves about everywhere, the wind having only a fraction of this power.

818. anilaḥ · अनिलः

The one who does not need to be urged by anyone to bless His devotees.

(oṃ) anilāya namaḥ

The Lord blesses His devotees of His own accord. He does not wait to be asked. When Gajendra was in distress, the Lord did not wait for anyone to persuade Him; He came rushing at once.

819. amṛtāśaḥ · अमृताशः

The one who feeds His devotees with the nectar of His auspicious qualities.

(oṃ) amṛtāśāya namaḥ

820. amṛtavapuḥ · अमृतवपुः

The one whose divine body is like nectar. His devotees meditate on His divine form and are never satisfied.

(oṃ) amṛtavapuṣē namaḥ

At Thirukkudanthai (Kumbakonam), the Lord is called Aaraavamudhan, the nectar that never satiates. Nammazhwar dedicates a whole decade of the Thiruvaimozhi (5.8) to Him, and calls out again and again to "my nectar that never satiates" (en ārā amudamē). It was by hearing these very pasurams sung at Kumbakonam that Sri Nathamuni was inspired to recover the Divya Prabandham.

821. sarvajñaḥ · सर्वज्ञः

The one who knows precisely what is useful for each of His devotees.

(oṃ) sarvajñāya namaḥ

When this naama occurred earlier as the 454th naama, Sri Bhattar explained it as the one who knows that He is the inner soul of everything. Here, he gives an interpretation that is particularly beneficial to the devotee: the Lord knows exactly what each of us needs.

822. sarvatōmukhaḥ · सर्वतोमुखः

The one who can be approached by many paths.

(oṃ) sarvatōmukhāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains that the Lord has not laid down any rule that He can be attained only by one particular means and not by another. He can be reached easily even through means that may seem very simple, if they are done with devotion.

सुलभः सुव्रतः सिद्धः शत्रुजिच्छत्रुतापनः ।

न्यग्रोधोदुम्बरोऽश्वत्थः चाणूरान्ध्रनिषूदनः ॥ ८८ ॥

sulabhaḥ suvrataḥ siddhaḥ śatrujicchatrutāpanaḥ |

nyagrōdhōdumbarō’śvatthaḥ cāṇūrāndhraniṣūdanaḥ || 88 ||

823. sulabhaḥ · सुलभः

The one who is easy to attain.

(oṃ) sulabhāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar says, "Even though He is priceless, He can be obtained by offering what only seems like a price" (anarghō'pi mūlya-bhāsēna svīkartum śakyaḥ). He gives the example of Kubja, the hunchbacked woman, who offered a little sandal paste to Lord Krishna, then took hold of His garment and said, "Come to my house." The Vishnu Purana records that the Lord, the master of all the worlds, accepted her invitation.

In the Sri Vaishnava tradition, the Lord's easy accessibility (saulabhyam) is one of the two qualities most loved by devotees, the other being His amiability (sauśīlyam). Lord Krishna says in the Gita, "Whoever offers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water with devotion, I accept that offering of love from the pure-hearted" (patram puṣpam phalam tōyam).

824. suvrataḥ · सुव्रतः

The one who has taken a firm vow to protect those who surrender to Him.

(oṃ) suvratāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar quotes Lord Rama's vow from the Ramayana: "To anyone who surrenders to Me even once, saying 'I am Yours', I grant protection from all beings. This is My vow" (sakṛdēva prapannāya tavāsmīti ca yācatē | abhayam sarva bhūtēbhyō dadāmyētad vratam mama ||). This is called the Rama Charama Shloka.

825. siddhaḥ · सिद्धः

The one whose protection is always available to His devotees, without any special effort on their part.

(oṃ) siddhāya namaḥ

Our Acharyas call the Lord the siddhōpāya, the means that already exists and does not have to be created by our effort. All that is needed is that we stop resisting Him.

826. śatrujicchatrutāpanaḥ · शत्रुजिच्छत्रुतापनः

The one who enters into others with His own power and through them conquers and torments the enemies of His devotees.

(oṃ) śatrujicchatrutāpanāya namaḥ

Most other commentators treat this as two separate names. Sri Bhattar treats it as one, and explains that besides using His powers directly, the Lord also enters into others and defeats the enemies of His devotees through them. He quotes the Vishnu Purana, where the Lord says, "Puranjaya, the son of the royal sage Sasada, is the best of kshatriyas. Entering into his body with a part of Myself, I will destroy all the asuras."

827. nyagrōdhōdumbaraḥ · न्यग्रोधोदुम्बरः

The one who, though He has the Supreme Abode with Lakshmi and everything that is magnificent, is at the command of the devotees who approach Him with folded hands.

(oṃ) nyagrōdhōdumbarāya namaḥ

Most commentators treat this as two separate names, nyagrōdha and udumbara. Sri Bhattar treats it as one name, and this is one of the finest examples of his unique insight. nyagrōdha means "the one who is held back (rudhyatē) by those who stand below (nyak) with folded hands." udumbara means "the one whose Supreme Abode is above (ud) all the skies (ambara)." Together, they mean, "Though He is worshipped by the highest of the devas, He is within easy reach of the lowliest of persons."

Sri Bhattar quotes the Vishnu Dharmottara: "The anjali (joining of the palms) is the supreme gesture; it pleases the Lord immediately" (añjaliḥ paramā mudrā kṣipram dēva prasādinī).

828. aśvatthaḥ · अश्वत्थः

The one who has appointed the devas, whose positions are not permanent (they do not last till "tomorrow", svas), to perform various functions.

(oṃ) aśvatthāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar quotes the Vishnu Purana: "Residing in the form of Brahma, made of rajas, the Lord creates the beings. Residing in the form of the Purusha, made of sattva, He protects them. And residing in the form of Time, made of tamas, He devours the world."

829. cāṇūrāndhraniṣūdanaḥ · चाणूरान्ध्रनिषूदनः

The one who slew Chanura, the asura wrestler who was an enemy of Indra and the other devas.

(oṃ) cāṇūrāndhraniṣūdanāya namaḥ

When Kamsa invited the boys Krishna and Balarama to his wrestling arena in Mathura, he set the mighty wrestlers Chanura and Mushtika against them. Krishna fought Chanura, whirled him around, and dashed him to the ground, and then went on to slay Kamsa himself.

सहस्रार्चिः सप्तजिह्वः सप्तैधाः सप्तवाहनः ।

अमूर्तिरनघोऽचिन्त्यो भयकृद्भयनाशनः ॥ ८९ ॥

sahasrārciḥ saptajihvaḥ saptaidhāḥ saptavāhanaḥ |

amūrtiranaghō’cintyō bhayakṛdbhayanāśanaḥ || 89 ||

830. sahasrārciḥ · सहस्रार्चिः

The one who has countless rays, in the form of the sun, the moon, and so on.

(oṃ) sahasrārciṣē namaḥ

Because He has endowed the sun with countless rays, the sun is able to perform its four functions: ripening (pācana), drying (śōṣaṇa), giving heat (pratāpana), and giving light (prakāśana). Sri Bhattar quotes the Paushkara Samhita in support.

831. saptajihvaḥ · सप्तजिह्वः

The one who, in the form of the sacrificial fire with seven tongues of flame, accepts the offerings and carries them to the devas.

(oṃ) saptajihvāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar quotes the Paushkara Samhita: "The Supreme Lord, in the form of the fire that is the mouth of the devas, takes the offerings purified by mantras, along with the ghee, and satisfies the whole universe at all times." The seven tongues of the fire are named Kaali, Karaali, Manojava, Sulohita, Sudhoomravarna, Sphulingini, and Visvaruchi.

832. saptaidhāḥ · सप्तैधाः

The one who, in the form of fire, is kindled by the seven kinds of offerings in each of the paaka-yajnas, the havir-yajnas, and the soma-yajnas.

(oṃ) saptaidhasē namaḥ

833. saptavāhanaḥ · सप्तवाहनः

The one who has as His vehicle the sun, whose chariot is drawn by seven horses.

(oṃ) saptavāhanāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar also gives another meaning: the one who protects the universe through the seven regions of vital air (vāyu maṇḍalas).

834. amūrtiḥ · अमूर्तिः

The one who does not have a body that is the result of karma, like ours.

(oṃ) amūrtayē namaḥ

From this naama, Sri Bhattar describes how the Lord, by His very nature, is completely different from the jeevaathmas over whom He presides. His body is not made of the three gunas, and He does not take it on because of karma; He takes it on by His own will, for the sake of His devotees.

835. anaghaḥ · अनघः

The one who is sinless, because He is not subject to karma, and is therefore entirely different from the jeevaathmas who are immersed in karma.

(oṃ) anaghāya namaḥ

When this naama occurred earlier as the 148th naama, Sri Bhattar explained that even though the Lord is born in samsara, He remains untouched by sin.

836. acintyaḥ · अचिन्त्यः

The one who is beyond comparison with anyone or anything.

(oṃ) acintyāya namaḥ

We cannot think of Him as being like anything that we know. Whatever we compare Him with falls short.

837. bhayakṛt · भयकृत्

The one who creates fear in those who violate His commands.

(oṃ) bhayakṛtē namaḥ

838. bhayanāśanaḥ · भयनाशनः

The one who removes the fear of those who follow His commands.

(oṃ) bhayanāśanāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar explains these two naamas together. The same Lord who is a source of fear for those who disobey the shastras is the remover of all fear for those who follow them. The Taittiriya Upanishad says, "One who knows the bliss of Brahman is never afraid of anything."