Naama 993-1000: The divine weapons of the Lord

शङ्खभृन्नन्दकी चक्री शार्ङ्गधन्वा गदाधरः ।

रथाङ्गपाणिरक्षोभ्यः सर्वप्रहरणायुधः ॥ १०७ ॥

śaṅkhabhṛnnandakī cakrī śārṅgadhanvā gadādharaḥ |

rathāṅgapāṇirakṣōbhyaḥ sarvapraharaṇāyudhaḥ || 107 ||

993. śaṅkhabhṛt · शङ्खभृत्

The one who holds the conch, Panchajanya.

(oṃ) śaṅkhabhṛtē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar has described the previous naamas by emphasising the Lord's easy accessibility (soulabhyam) and amiability (sauseelyam). He concludes with these last eight naamas, which describe the divine weapons of the Lord, to remind us that this very same Lord is the Supreme Lord of all the universes (parama aiśvarya cihna divyāyudhavattvāt). The weapons are ornaments to His devotees and objects of terror to His enemies.

The sound of the Panchajanya, when the Lord blows it, strikes terror into the hearts of the wicked and fills the hearts of His devotees with joy. Andal, in her Nachiyar Thirumozhi, asks the Panchajanya, which has the good fortune of touching the Lord's lips, "Does His mouth smell of camphor? Does it smell of the lotus? Tell me, O white conch!" (karpūram nāRumO kamalappū nāzhumō).

994. nandakī · नन्दकी

The one who has the divine sword Nandaka, of whom the Lord asks for the joy of victory.

(oṃ) nandakinē namaḥ

995. cakrī · चक्री

The one who holds the Sudarshana Chakra, which destroys the enemies of the devas who are His devotees.

(oṃ) cakriṇē namaḥ

When this naama occurred earlier as the 908th naama, Sri Bhattar explained it as one of the divine ornaments that add to His beauty.

996. śārṅgadhanvā · शार्ङ्गधन्वा

The one who holds the bow named Saarnga, which destroys His enemies in two ways, by the twang of its string and by the shower of arrows that flow from it (jyāghōṣa śaravarṣa nāśita).

(oṃ) śārṅgadhanvanē namaḥ

Andal sings in the Thiruppavai of "the Lord who rained arrows from the Saarnga bow" (śārṅgam udaitta sara mazhai pōl).

997. gadādharaḥ · गदाधरः

The one who bears the mace, Kaumodaki.

(oṃ) gadādharāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar describes the Kaumodaki as "the queen of maces, which gives Him pleasure and which emits flames all around, like the fire at the final dissolution of the worlds."

998. rathāṅgapāṇiḥ · रथाङ्गपाणिः

The one who has the wheel (the discus) in His hand, ready for action.

(oṃ) rathāṅgapāṇayē namaḥ

Sri Bhattar points out that the 995th naama, cakrī, describes the Lord as the possessor of the discus, while this naama describes His readiness to release it, with the discus already in His hand. Thus there is no repetition. We may remember how, in the Mahabharata war, the Lord leapt down with the chariot wheel in His hand to keep Bhishma's vow true.

999. akṣōbhyaḥ · अक्षोभ्यः

The one who cannot be shaken, even by His own great self, from His firm vow to protect those who have surrendered to Him.

(oṃ) akṣōbhyāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar's words are "prapanna abhayadāna dārḍhyāt svamahimnāpi akṣōbhyaḥ." Even if the Lord Himself wished to, He could not break this vow, for it is the very core of His being. When this naama occurred earlier as the 807th naama, it meant the one who could not be shaken in argument.

1000. sarvapraharaṇāyudhaḥ · सर्वप्रहरणायुधः

The one who has countless divine weapons, besides the five mentioned above, which remove every obstacle faced by those who have surrendered to Him.

(oṃ) sarvapraharaṇāyudhāya namaḥ

Sri Bhattar describes these weapons beautifully: they are befitting His greatness, powerful enough to uproot all the troubles of those who have taken refuge in Him, they serve both as ornaments and as armaments, and they have taken a vow, as it were, to protect His devotees always, in all places, and by all means (sadā sarvatra sarvathā sarvaprakāra samāśrita…).

With this naama, the thousand names of the Lord are complete. Sri Bhattar's commentary, which began with the Lord's supreme form and travelled through His vyuha forms, His incarnations, His archa forms, and His presence in our hearts, ends by reminding us that the same Lord, who is so easily accessible to us, is fully armed and ever ready to protect us. There is nothing for the devotee to fear.