Verse 7

 

56. Agrahyah

He is one who is beyond our understanding. We cannot grasp Him with our Indriyas or senses. He can only be experienced.

We cannot perceive him neither can we comprehend him. Our worldly senses are insufficient to understand him.

It also means - Agraa (first) + Ahya (be) – the one who is the first being.   

 

57. Shashvatah

Means forever or permanent. He exists at all times. There has never been any time when he has not existed. He is shashvatah.  

Sarveshu kaaleshu bhavati iti shashvatah.

The one who is present everywhere(space aspect) at all times (time aspect) is Shashvatah.

Shasvat eka prakara shashvatah

Meaning he is one who does not change over time and space. he is eternal and everlasting.

 

58. Krishna

Karshati iti Krishna

He is attractive, hence he is Krishna. Krishna means ‘akarshana’ the attractive one, the one who has a magnetic attraction, no one can resist.

When we say Krishna, the first thing that comes to mind is the beautiful form of the Lord himself – the one who is lotus-eyed, plays the flute and bears a peacock feather in his crown!

Vishnu is known as Chaturbhuja - each of the 4 arms, bearing either one of these weapons – Dhanush (Sharanga) chakra (sudarshana) , gadha (Koumodaki) and Khadga (Nandaki) , Shanku (Panchajanya) ,and Padma (lotus) . These weapons positioned differently in the four arms in various permutations gives us 24 forms or avatars of Vishnu.

One of them is Krishna.  He bears Shankhu, Chakra, Gadha, Padma.

Let’s also look at the deeper meaning.

Krish means existence and also this universe. Naa means Ananda or bliss

Therefore he is the one who is always in a state of bliss. Or the one who is born to bring happiness in this universe. When we look at the picture of Krishna we always see a divine smile on his face!

Krishna also means dark in colour – Neela megha shyama – the colour of the rain-filled cloud.

The black colour of Krishna means we cannot perceive him. Just like we cannot see anything when it is dark, and we need light in order to be able to see, we should look at him in the light of knowledge in order to perceive him. 

It would be interesting to know that four Krishna’s are described in the Mahabharata – The God Krishna, Veda Vyasa who was also known as Krishna Dwaipayana, Draupadi who was known as Krishnaa, and Partha was also known as Krishna because he was the Nara to the Narayana.

Krishna also means Karshana- the destroyer of evil on this earth.

 

59. Lohitaksha - 

Lohita + aksha - 

lohita  means red in colour. Red is the colour of health. One who has redness in the palms of their hands, soles of their feet, lips and inner lining of the eyes are said to be the ‘pink’ or the best of their health!

Lohitaksha means one who has red colour eyes.

Here it means the colour of the red lotus or the early dawn.

The colour red in the sky is a sign of creation as the new day is being created.

Red eyes could signify too much anger or happiness. It signifies both extremes. Hence he the one who gives us extreme happiness if we are on the side of Dharma and if we are on the side of adharma, he is extremely angry.

In Sanskrit, sometimes la and ra used interchangeably.  Lohitha is sometimes used as Rohitha.

Arohana – to climb up and avarohana - climb down are two words that we get from the word Rohitha.

 Arohana means a birds-eye view. From where we are, we can see only a limited view. If we climb up, we observe more, as the view is wider. The more we observe, the truth becomes more prevalent. Therefore it means that to know the complete truth we should have a bird’s eye view. The more knowledge we acquire, the more we get acquainted with the Gunas of the Almighty.

It can also be understood as -

Lo (loka - world) + hita (welfare) + aksha (see) means he oversees the welfare of the world and all his creations in this world or the one who looks after the happiness of the universe.

 He is the one who gives us ‘Shreyas’ – that which is good for us. We always desire things that we like (Preyas - that which we like). But what we like may not essentially be good for us. He knows what is good for us. Hence when we surrender at his feet, we can be assured of getting what is best for us. 

 

60. Pratardhana –

pra  means vishesha or  special ; 

tardhana comes from the root word ‘tardhi’ meaning complete destruction

Pratardhana can be understood as “pra tardha nayati”  meaning the one who brings about complete destruction.

The universe which He has created, He is the one who completely dissolves it. Hence he is Pratardhana. 

To look at it in another way, he is the one who brings about the destruction of the demon in us- whether it is our evil thoughts or bad karmas. Hence he is Pratardhana.

In other words, he gives us the knowledge to differentiate between right and wrong.

Whenever we take a certain decision we go through 5 stages 

1. Jnanashakti - We should have knowledge about it  (Knowledge is always equated with pure consciousness or shuddha Chaitanya – which is the deva bhava)

2. Iccha Shakti – We should have the desire to do it (sankalpa shakti – which is the devi bhava)

3. Kriya shakti – We should have the strength to work in the manner things should be done and  to implement it 

4. Phala – In accordance to our karma, we reap the fruit of our work - good or bad 

5. Anubhava – It is the experience. Irrespective of the fruits – good or bad- every action gives us some experience. 

Hence the one who gives us the knowledge and Shakti to differentiate between right and wrong is Pratardhana.

 

61. Prabhutah –

He is also the one who is ‘jnana, aishwarya sampanna’ hence he is ‘prabhutah’. He is endowed with greatness and is rich with the shad gunas or divine attributes.

Bhoota refers to the panch bhootas or the 5 elements that are the basis of all creation.

He is the one who keeps the bhootas in his control and protect the jeeveshwara in a special way. 

  

62. Tri Kakubh Dhama –

Tri -means three. Three is a very special number.

It refers to the three gunas - rajas, tamas, sattva; the three Kalas /time - past, present, future; it also refers to the three states of awareness – the three stithis - jagrut, swapna, sushupthi and the three lokas - bhu, bhuva, svaha – which find mention the Gayathri mantra.  

In fact, the three gunas are also related to the three aspects of creation - sattva- space /place; rajas - time aspect; and tamas - dhatu, vastu, or material. He lords over all these aspects.

Kakut or Kakubh literally means the camel hump. It can be understood as 

the highest place or ‘meru sthana’ or vaikunta.

Kakut also means goal (or direction)

Dhama – means the place of living.

 

Tri kakubh dhama means He is the one who resides at the highest point or the meru sthana and rules over the triads of life. 

 

Varaha one of the avatar of Lord Vishnu is depicted as having three horns and therefore too, he is called ‘Trikakut dhama’ 

 

63. Pavitra –

Pavitra means that which is pure. 

The dhayana shloka of the Vishnu sahasranaama tells us that just by chanting his name we become pure. He is the purest of the pure.

Pavitraanam pavitram yo…

Purity can be outer purity (bhahya pavitrata) – cleansing of the body. And purity of the mind that is cleansing of the insides. The Pavitra mantra states,

Om Apavitrah Pavitro Vaa Sarva-Avasthaam Gato api Vaa |

Yah Smaret-Pundari kaaksham Sa Baahya-Abhyantarah Shucih ||

Irrespective of whether one is Apavitra (Impure) or Pavitra (Pure),he who remembers the Lord (Pundarikaksha – the lotus eyed Lord), he becomes pure outwardly as well as inwardly.  

Hence we say, “Govindeti sada snanam, Govindeti sada japam”

 

Let’s look at another meaning – Pavi + tra

Pavi refers to Indra's weapon (vajra is called pavi ) . hence he is called “Indriyanam Raja Indra” - the king of Indriyas-  it signifies our mind)

tra means to protect

Hence Pavitra is the one who protects us from the wavering of the mind.  

 

64. Mangalam – Param 

Mangalam means auspicious

Param means to the highest level.

He is mangalanaam cha Mangalam ; auspicious among the most auspicious- as we have seen in the previous name.

 Hence he is the one who gives us auspicious things - taking us to the level of the lord - to the highest level. 

This verse tells us that He is beyond our understanding, he is permanent, he is pure, he is our protector as well the destroyer of evil in us and he knows and gives us what is best for us. 

 

Jai Shri Krishna!