VISHNU SAHASRANAMA - PART 6

Sloka 21

Maricih damanah hamsah

suparnah bhujagottamah

hiranya –nabhah sutapah

padma nabhah prajapatih

191. maricih - Ray of light.

192. damanah - a) Dispeller (of the samsara bharam), b) One who controls and punishes those who swerve from their prescribed path.

193. hamsah - One who is like the swan.

194. suparnah - a) (literally) One possessed of charming feathers. b) One who can lead men to the other shore across the ocean of samsara.

195. bhujagottamah - The Master of the Serpent AdiSesha.

196. hiranya-nabhah - One who has a beautiful navel with a golden hue, One who supports in His navel the creator, hiranyagarbha.

197. sutapah - a) One who is possessed of supreme knowledge. b) One with consistent creative thinking.

198. padma_nabhah - a) One who has the lotus emanating from his navel (carrying Brahma), b) One who resides in the center of everyone's heart.

199. prajapatih - The Lord of beings.

Sloka 22

Amrityuh sarvadrik simah

sandhata sadhiman sthirah

 ajah durmarshanah shasta

visrutatma surariha

200. amrityuh - One who is beyond death or decay.

201. sarvadrik - All-seeing.

202. simhah - a) The Lion, b) Destroyer.

203. sandhata - a) One who unites His devotees with Him b) One who unites the beings with the fruits of their actions.

204. sandhiman - One who is always united with His devotees.

205. sthirah - One who is firm in His relation to His devotees.

206. ajah - a) Unborn, b) Remover of obstacles, c) One who moves in the hearts of the devotees, d) One who removes the ignorance from the hearts of His devotees, e) One who is the root of all sound (akshara "a").

207. durmarshanah - The undefeated.

208. shasta - The Teacher.

209. visrutatma - a) One whose exploits are praised with wonder, b) One who is called by special names (such as Truth, Knowledge, etc), c) One whose praise is sung in various forms, d) One whose Atma is of a special Nature.

210. surari-ha - The slayer of the enemies of the gods.

Sloka 23

Guruh – guru-tamah dhama

satyah satya –parakramah

 nimishah animishah sragvi

vachaspatih udara-dhih

211. guruh- Teacher

212.guru-tamah - The foremost among the teacher.

213 - dhama - a) The Place of Residence. b) The Supreme Light. c) The Abode of all desired things.

214. satyah - The Good.

215. satya-parakramah - One of unfailing bravery.

216. nimishah - One whose eyes are closed (towards the enemies of His devotees).

217. animishah - One with eyes closed.

218. sragvi - Adorned with the garland (vaijayanti).

219. vachaspatih - The Lord of Speech.

220. udara-dhih - One with vast knowledge.

Sloka 24

Agranih gramnih shriman

nyayah neta samiranah

 sahasra-murdha vishvatama

sahasra-aksha sahasra

221. agranih - One who leads forward.

222. gramanih - Leader of the hosts of angels.

223. shriman - a) One who is endowed with wealth. b) One who is full of all glories. c) One who is radiant. d) The Lord of Mahalakshmi e) One who has Mahalakshmi in his vaksha-sthala. f) One who is endowed with all the powers.

224. nyayah - a) The Just. b) Logical arguments (tarka) and lines of contemplation (yukti) that help us in arriving at the absolute experience.

225. neta - a) One who fulfills the requests of His devotees. b) One who manages or regulates the affairs of the cosmos.

226. samiranah - a) One who performs acts which are delectable. b) One who controls all movements (e.g., breath) in beings.

227. sahasra-murdha - The thousand-headed.

228. vishvatma - The very soul of the Universe; the very inner Essence in all living creatures.

229. sahasra-akshah - The thousand-eyed.

230. sahasra-pat - The thousand-footed.

Sloka 25

Avartanah nivrittatma

Samvritah  sampra-mardanah

ahah-samvartakah vahnih

anilah dharani-dharah

231. avartanah - He who turns the wheel of worldly life or samsara.

232. nivrittatma - a) He whose nature rises above other things. b) He whose mind is turned away from worldly desires. c) He who is the atma of those who practice nivrtti dharma. d) He who is beyond the bonds of samsara.

233. samvritah - He who remains hidden.

234. sampra-mardanah - The dispeller (of the darkness).

235. ahah-samvartakah - The regulator of the day (time); The Sun.

236. vahnih - The Bearer or The Carrier; The Fire.

237. anilah - a) The Giver of life-breath; The Air. b) One who needs no goading to Help His devotees. c) The Beginingless. d) One who has no binding, unaffected by virtue and vice. e) One who is beyond dissolution. f) One who is omniscient - All-Knowing. g) Easily accessible to His devotees. h) One who has no fixed residence. i) One who is not supported (by Earth etc). j) One who does not hide anywhere i.e., who is present everywhere. k) One who is always awake.

238. dharani-dharah - The bearer of the Earth.

* Lord Devaraja, Naimisharanyam, Uttarpradesh

Urchava Devaraja

** Chakra Theertha

                                                     

191	marichih	Brightness
192	damanah	He who controls rakshasas
193	hamsah	The swan
194	suparnah	Beautiful-winged (Two birds analogy)
195	bhujagottamah	The serpent Ananta
196	hiranyanabhah	He who has a golden navel
197	sutapaah	He who has glorious tapas
198	padmanaabhah	He whose navel is like a lotus
199	prajaapatih	He from whom all creatures emerge
200	amrityuh	He who knows no death
201	sarva-drik	The seer of everything
202	simhah	He who destroys
203	sandhata	The regulator
204	sandhimaan	He who seems to be conditioned
205	sthirah	Steady
206	ajah	He who takes the form of Aja, Brahma
207	durmarshanah	He who cannot be defeated
208	shaastaa	He who rules over the universe
209	visrutaatmaa	He who is called atma in the Vedas
210	surarihaa	Destroyer of the enemies of the devas
211	guruh	The teacher
212	gurutamah	The greatest teacher
213	dhaama	The goal
214	satyah	He who is Himself the truth
215	satya-paraakramah	Dynamic Truth
216	nimishah	He who has closed eyes in contemplation
217	animishah	He who remains unwinking; ever knowing
218	sragvi	He who always wears a garland of undecaying flowers
219	vaachaspatih	He who is eloquent in championing the Supreme law of life;
220	udaara-dhih	He with a large-hearted intelligence
221	agranih	He who guides us to the peak
222	graamanih	He who leads the flock
223	shrimaan	The possessor of light, effulgence, glory
224	nyaayah	Justice
225	netaa	The leader
226	samiranah	He who sufficiently administers all movements of all living creatures
227	sahasra-murdha	He who has endless heads
228	vishvaatmaa	The soul of the universe
229	sahasraakshah	Thousands of eyes
230	sahasrapat	Thousand-footed
231	avartanah	The unseen dynamism
232	nivrittatmaa	The soul withdrawn from matter
233	samvritah	He who is hidden from the jiva
234	sam-pramardanah	He who persecutes evil men
235	ahahsamvartakah	He who thrills the day and makes it function vigorously
236	vahnih	Fire
237	anilah	Air
238	dharanidharah	He who supports the earth

About the temple

*Devaraja temple, Naimisharanyam

Naimisaranyam or Devaraja Perumal Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity with contributions at different times from the ruling kings. The temple is counted as one of the eight temples of Vishnu that self-manifested and is classified as Swayamvyaktha Kshetra.

This Naimisaranyam is considered as Animisha Kshethram., ie., the place of Devathas (Demigods) (Animisha = those who have no blinking to their eyes) It is said that all sages performed Deergha Sathra Ya:gam for several hundreds of years. Yajama:na is the one who makes people to perform the Ya:gam. Usually Yajama:na is the one who desires something and Ruthvik is the one who celebrates the oblations in order to fulfil that desire.

This Naimisaranya kshetram is said to be regarded as “Tapovanam”. There are 9 tapovams. They are Dandakaranyam, Saindhavaranyam, Jambhukaranyam, Pushkararanyam, Utpalaranyam, Badrikaranyam, Gurujangalaranyam, Aruputharanyam and Naimisaranayam. It is belived that the perumal is found in the form of forest. And this Naimisaranyam is regarded as a holy forest.

** chakra theertha

 

Naimisaranyam is located at the junction of the roads from Sitapur and Khairabad, 32 km from Sitapur and 42 km from the Sandila railway station, 45 miles north of Lucknow in Uttarpradesh. Naimisaranya is also known as Nimsar or Nimkhar and is located on the left bank of the river Gomati The sacred well, namely Chakra Kunda is believed to have started from the weapon of Vishnu, Chakra. There are shrines dedicated to Chakranarayana, Ganesh, Rama, Lakshman.

The holy tank Chankra Kunda is associated with the temple and it is a pilgrimage centre where people take holy dip during festive occasion.

Indra, the king of the devas, was once driven out of devaloka by an asura named Vritra. The asura was the recipient of a boon whereby he could not be killed by any weapon that was known till the date of his receiving the boon and additionally that no weapon made of wood or metal could harm him. Indra, who lost all hope of recovering his kingdom went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only the weapon made from the bones of the sage Dadhichi would defeat Vritra. Indra and the other devas therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once beheaded, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra. Dadhichi acceded to the devas' request but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the holy rivers before he gave up his life for them. Indra then brought together all the waters of the holy rivers to Naimisaranya, thereby allowing the sage to have his wish fulfilled without a further loss of time. Dadhichi is then said to have given up his life by the art of yoga after which the devas fashioned the Vajrayudha from his spine. This weapon was then used to defeat the asura, allowing Indra to reclaim his place as the king of devaloka.