Sri Ramanujacharya's Saranagati Gadyam: Dimensions of Lord Hari's Benevolence

Bhagavad Ramanujacharya (AD 1017-1137), the great scholar, philosopher, social reformer, and reviver of Vaishnavism in Tamil Nadu has written a total of nine works, all in Sanskrit. Sri Ramanujacharya focused on the doctrine of surrender to Lord Narayana as per the Vedic texts, as a means to reach Him and be in His eternal service. It is said that this Acharya went to Srirangam and pleaded with Lord Ranganatha (name of Lord Vasudeva at Srirangam) to offer this supreme fruit of liberation cum eternal service to Him in the spiritual world to those who take refuge under him (Ramanujacharya) during the Acharya's time and for ever after that. Sri Ramanujacharya himself wrote down, in prosaic style, the manner in which he surrendered to Lord Ranganatha, in three different texts: Saranagathi Gadyam, Sriranga Gadyam, and Vaikunta Gadyam. These three texts expound on the finer points of the doctrine of surrender. Together, they are known as the "Gadya Trayam (gadya trayam)", which means "The Prosaic Trilogy".

 Lord as Ranganatha (main deity, known as periyaperumAL in Tamil) and namperumAL (utsava deity) in Srirangam

In the Saranagathi Gadyam, Bhagavad Ramanujacharya pleads with Sri Narayana by enumerating the latter's divine attributes. The divine attribute of audArya (Generosity, Benevolence, or Magnanimity in English), which is the current subject matter for us, has been invoked by Sri Ramanujacharya in two key places. We are going to understand these two instances with the help of extant commentaries written by later Acharyas of the Ramanuja tradition.

Bhagavad Ramanujacharya

Two commentaries to the Gadya Trayam are available today. The first one is authored by Sri Sudarsana Suri -- the author of the celebrated Sruta Prakashika, a sub-commentary on the Sri Bhashya of Bhagavad Ramanuja Acharya. It is written in Sanskrit. The other commentary is by Sri Periya Vachan Pillai, the celebrated commentator of the entire 4000 Divya Prabandhas, written in chaste Manipravala (maNipravALa) style (a style of writing that combines both Sanskrit and Tamil). The two commentaries explain the divine attribute of benevolence by exploring its manifoldness and detailing its dimensions. It is indeed an enjoyment to read the commentaries of these two great Acharyas at these two instances of interest to us.

(1) The first instance of "audArya": 

Here, Sri Sudarsana Bhattar gives three definitions for this divine attribute of the Lord:

A. While giving generously, the Lord does not think that He is giving to some stranger. He thinks thus: "This person who has come to me is verily my own son. So he has the right to obtain and enjoy all these from me."

B. The Lord does not maintain accounts of what was given and how much was given by Him. He just gives.

C. Even though He gives everything graciously, He is not satisfied if He doesn't give more. (Sri Sudarsana Bhattar cites the instance of Draupadi here).

Sri Periya Vachan Pillai says: "aashritaruDaiya apEkSitangaLai tAnE irandu koDukkai", meaning: "(the nature of) granting what His devotees want, with mercy and compassion." This Acharya cites here the following three verses from scriptures: 

A. Yajur Veda, Khata Shakha, 7-5-36: "ya AtmadA baladAH", meaning: "The Supreme Person (The Lord) who grants even Himself as well as all the means to enjoy Him."

B. Ramayana (Ayodhya Khanda 16.27): Not only does He give Himself in the manner explained above, but He even greets and pleases those who came to Him before giving. Poet Valmiki Bhagavan says thus in this citation: "atha madhyama-kakSyAyAM...sametya pratinandyaca", meaning -- "Then, that Prince, the Best of men, met His friends in the middle chamber. He saw all the people who came there to behold Him, approached nearer to them, greeted them and mounted the excellent chariot."

 C. Gita 7.18: "udArAs sarva evaite j~nAnI tvAtmaiva me matam". In this verse, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that He considers the man of wisdom (j~nAnI) to be verily His supporter. Thus, Lord Krishna is so generous that He celebrates those who come to Him for some benefit as "ones who gives support and strength to Him"!

(2) Second instance of "audArya":

Acharya Sri Sudarsana Bhattar writes "as explained before" here, but Sri Periya Vachan Pillai opts to give an additional dimension of the Lord's generosity. This Acharya says that when the Lord grants what His devotees desire, He conducts Himself as if some desire of His own is met! Even though He is of infinite generosity and does everything for the devotees, He feels within Himself thus: "I have not done enough for my children".

Sri Periya Vachan Pillai cites here the Mahabharata verse (Udyoga-Parva, 47-22: "govindeti yadAkrandat...hRdayAnnA pasarppati") which says that Lord Sri Krishna constantly recalls the incident when Draupadi called Him for help, as if He still has not fulfilled her wish, even though He did save Draupadi from being disgraced. He still recalls her call for help even after the Pandavas won the great war against the Kauravas and got back their kingdom. The Acharya also quotes Nammazhwar's Periya Thiruvandadi (periya tiruvandAdi), verse 53, which says: "Oh Lord, You are constantly under the thought about what you will do next for your devotees" ("unnaDiyArkku enseyvEnenRE irutti nI").

Lord Krishna protects the honor of Draupadi

Thus, great Acharyas, including Sri Adi Sankaracharya as we saw in the last two posts, have elaborated on Supreme Lord Narayana's generosity and magnanimity in many different ways, for us to contemplate upon. We will continue further in the next post.

NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

[1] Thanks- http://www.maransdog.org/ for providing freely downloadable books on the works of Srivaishnava Purvacharyas.

[2] Humble prostrations to Sri Puttur Krishnaswamy Iyengar (Sri Sudarsanam Swamy) for the voluminous books published for the benefit of all mankind. I found this kind Swamin's Gadyatraya Bhashyam book (containing Sri Sudarsana Bhattar's and Sri Periya Vachan Pillai's commentaries) immensely helpful in writing this article. The book can be downloaded here.

[3] The genesis of the idea for this article was a google search on "ஔதார்யம்" that resulted in stumbling upon this beautiful blog posting in Tamil. Many thanks to the author of this blog!

[4] Valmiki Ramayana translations on the web: http://valmiki.iitk.ac.in, http://www.valmikiramayan.net/

[5] A version of the Mahabharata verse quoted in the article can be found in the form of verse 21 on this page.

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Generosity (Audaryam) in Sri Sankara's Gita Bhashya -- Part 2

In this post, we continue with our discussion of the Lord's generosity as discussed in Sri Sankara's Bhagavad Gita commentary. Let us continue to experience and enjoy more such instances. In Gita 5.29, Sri Sankara says:

"suhRdaM sarva-bhUtAnAM sarva-prANInAm pratyupakAra-nirapekSatayA upakAriNaM sarva bhUtAnAM hRdayeshAM sarva-karma-phalAdyakSaM sarva-pratyaya-sAkSiNaM mAM nArAyaNaM"

(Adi Sankara's Gita Commentary, 5.29)

Translation: "(The Lord says): 'I, Lord Narayana, am friendly to all, doing good to all creatures without expecting anything in return. I dwell in the hearts of all beings, being witness to their actions and disbursing their fruits accordingly.'"

In 9.18, Sri Sankara explains:

"gatiH karma-phalam, bhartA poSatA, prabhuH svAmI, sAkSI prANinAM kRtAkRtasya, nivAso yasmin prANino nivasanti, sharaNaM ArtAnAM, prapannAnAM ArtiharaH | suhRt pratyupakAra-anapekSaH sann upakArI"

(Gita Commentary, 9.18)

Translation: "Hari (Krishna/Vishnu) is the goal - the fruit of karma; He is the nourisher; He is the Lord, the witness of the actions of all beings, the abode wherein all beings dwell. He is the shelter for the distressed, and relieves those who surrender to Him of their suffering. He is the friend, since He helps all creatures without expecting a selfish reward."

Again, the Acharya explains:

"tapAmyhaM Adityo bhUtvA kaishcit rashmibhir ulbaNaiH | aham varSaM kaishcid rashmibhir utsRjAmi | utsRjya punar nigRhNAmi kaishcid rashmibhir aSTabhir mAsaiH punar utsRjAmi prAvRSi |"

(Gita Bhashya, 9.19)

Translation: "(Lord Hari says): 'By means of the sun's rays, I provide warmth to the earth, send forth rain, take it back during eight months, and again send it forth during the rainy season.'"

Lord Sriman Narayana, always intent on helping His creatures, pours forth grace in the form of rain. (Painting on the wall of Sri Oppiliappan Temple, near Kumbakonam, TN, India)

 (Courtesy of Sri Oppiliappan K Sadagopan. Reproduced with permission from http://thiruppavai.etemples.net/)

In the last discussion, we saw that Sri Sankara refers to the "Lord (bhagavAn) Narayana as the one who acts out of no interest of His own, but with the sole intention of helping His creatures."  In the commentaries to two verses discussed above (5.29, 9.18), we see that Acharya Sri Sankara has re-emphasized this, saying that the Lord does good to all without selfishly expecting anything in return from us (pratyupakAra anapekSa upakAri). The Lord cures His devotees' suffering by relieving them of their distress. Further, the point highlighted in the above commentary is that the entire cosmos is sustained simply by the divine grace and generosity of the Lord -- by His act of sustenance (5.29, 9.19).

To sum up, Sri Sankaracharya says that  the generosity of Lord Hari (Vishnu), who is the Supreme Lord of the Universe revealed in the Vedas, is spontaneous. This is because, being all-perfect, He lacks nothing and has no special selfish interest of His own.

(Concluded)

NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

[1] Thanks: Internet Archive, Google Books, Gita Supersite 2.0, Gaudiya Granthamandira

[2] Full download of Sri Sankaracharya's Gita Bhashya translated to English by Alladi Mahadeva Sastri: http://www.archive.org/details/bhagavadgitawith00maharich

[3] Gita Supersite 2.0: Unicode text of eleven commentaries to the Bhagavad Gita viewable online: http://202.3.77.102/acquia/?q=node/20

[4] Adi Sankaracharya's Gita Bhashya in original sanskrit from Gaudiya Granthamandira site, contains the original Sanskrit text of the introductory chapter not found in Gita Supersite 2.0: http://granthamandira.com/download.php?file=bhagavad-gita_-_sankara-bhasya.doc

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Generosity (Audaryam) in Sri Sankara's Gita Bhashya -- Part 1

Our Supreme Lord of the Universe, who is known as Sriman Narayana, Lord Vasudeva, Lord Vishnu, and by a thousand other names, possesses several divine auspicious qualities (Kalyana Gunas). We dealt a little bit about His Paratvam (Lordliness), Saulabhyam (Accessibility), and Saushilyam (Friendliness) till now. In the next few posts, we shall experience Lord's quality of being generous (audAryam or magnanimity)

The Supreme Lord Narayana, after creating us, does not simply watch us suffer in this imperfect world where evils such as greed, animosity, disease, and natural calamities are abound. In contrast, the Lord provides everything He is capable of, by directly taking up the act of protecting His creation. Let us briefly review His threefold activity to understand His act of protection better:

We saw in a previous post that the Lord creates all the material elements, and then Lord Brahma is born from the divine lotus that springs from His navel. In support of this, Sri Adi Sankara, while commenting upon the words of Arjuna, says the following: Lord Krishna is the one who is the cause of even Brahma, known as Hiranyagarbha, hence He is called the Primordial Creator ["yato brahmaNo hiraNyagarbhasyApi Adi kartA kAraNaM atas tasmAd Adi-kartre" Gita Bhashya, 11.37]. He is called Adi deva (Primal God) since He creates the universe; He is called the purANa puruSa (Primordial Person) since even as He dwells within all of us, He has always existed since time immemorial; He is the abode of all creatures at the time of mahApralaya or universal dissolution ["tvam Adi-devo jagataH sraSTRtvAt, puruSaH purI shayanAt, purANas cirantanaH, tvam evAsya vishvasya paraM prakRSTam nidhAnam nidhIyate(a)smin jagat sarvam mahApralayAdau iti" Gita Bhashya, 11.38], and that He is the 'Great-grand sire' of all since He is the father of even four-faced Brahma who is popularly known as 'Grand sire' ["pitAmahasyApi pitA prapitAmahaH; brahmaNo(a)pi pitAmahaH iti arthaH", Gita Bhashya, 11.39]

Lord Brahma takes over the task of further creation under the instructions of our Supreme Lord. It is the Supreme Lord Vasudeva Himself who indirectly creates beings and destroys them by being the inner-controller of Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. But He directly takes up the act of sustenance for Himself. Thus, the popular conception of Lord Brahma as the creator, Lord Vishnu as the protector, and Lord Siva as the destroyer is reconciled with the Vedic and scholarly statement that it is indeed only Lord Narayana who performs the threefold act of creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the entire universe, as we discussed before in another post. This is exactly the explanation given by Sri Sankara in the Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya:

"rajoguNaM samAshritya viri~ncirUpeNa bhUtAni karotIti bhUtakRt | tamOguNamAsthAya sa rudrAtmanA bhUtAni kRtanti kRNoti hinastIti vA bhUtakRt | sattvaguNamadhiSThAya bhUtAni bibharti dhArayati poSayatIti vA bhUtabhRt"

(Sri Sankara's Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya, Names #4 and #5)

Translation: "Through the mode of rajas (activity/passion) in the form of Brahma, He creates beings and hence He is known as bhUtakRt. Or, using the mode of tamas (ignorance/darkness) in the body of Rudra (Siva), He destroys beings and hence He is known as bhUtakRt. Taking up the mode of sattva (goodness/stability) He (directly) supports and protects all beings and hence He is known as bhUtabhRt".

Sri Sankara says later in the same text, while commenting on the divine name "subhujaH" (#265), which means "beautiful-armed", that the Lord's arms are indeed beautiful as they protect the universe ("shobhanA bhujAH jagadrakSAkarA asyeti subhujaH").

Thus, the act of resolving to protect His creatures itself is a sign of his magnanimity. It is appropriate to ask thus: What is that greatest, priceless gift that the Lord can give that serves as a best example of this ever-benevolent nature of Him? In my opinion, His greatest gift to us is twofold: First, the Lord gives Himself to His devotees by being accessible to us through His avatars. Secondly, He gives another priceless gift -- the scriptures, known as shAstra-s that teach us dharma and adharma (good and evil) that provide the way for well-being and prosperity, as well as the way to serve Him best. A very nice summary of these two aspects of His generosity has been given to us by the great teacher, Acharya Sri Adi Sankara. Let us then turn to Sri Adi Sankara's introduction to the Bhagavad Gita.

The story of Lord Krishna's birth, according to Sri Sankara:

Right after the invocatory verse ("nArAyaNaH paro-avyaktAt") that we saw in a previous post, the Acharya proceeds with his commentary to the Bhagavad Gita as follows:

"sa bhagavAn sRSTvedaM jagat... dvividho hi vedokto dharmaH pravRtti-lakSaNo nivRtti-lakSaNashca jagataH sthiti-kAraNam | prANinAM sAkSAd abhyudayaniH-shreyasa-hetur yaH sa dharmo brAhmaNAdyair varNibhir Ashramibhish ca shreyo(a)rthibhir anuSThIyamAnaH |"

Translation: "The Lord (Bhagavan) created the universe and wishing to secure order in His created universe, taught the paths of involving in works and renunciation. It is this two-fold Vedic path of works and renunciation that is responsible for the protection of the universe. This Vedic path, which secures prosperity and well-being for all creatures, was practiced by men of all classes and orders in life who sought welfare, starting with Brahmanas (knowers of Brahman or Supreme Lord)."

The Lord's magnanimity is evident from the above. Further still, Sri Sankara says that the Lord Himself patiently and generously teaches the Vedic dharma to human beings again when we lose track of it out of our own folly:

"dIrgheNa kAlena anuSThAtRRNAM kAmodbhavAd dhIyamAna-viveka-j~nAna-hetukena adharmeNa abhiyUyamAne dharme, pravardhamAne ca adharme, jagataH sthitiM paripAlayiSuH sa Adi kartA nArAyaNAkhyo viSNur bhaumasya brahmaNo brAhmaNatvasya cAbhirakSaNArthaM devakyAM vasudevAd aMshena kRSNaH sambabhUva |"

Translation: "As time progressed, the evil of lust overpowered the practitioners they gradually lost the faculty of discrimination (between good and bad), leading to irreligion overpowering religion. It was then that the Primordial Creator, Lord Vishnu known as Narayana, wishing to maintain order in the universe, incarnated Himself as Krishna, begotten by devakI and vasudeva, for the preservation of the Vedic path."

  Lord Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva to protect the world and the Vedic Dharma

Sri Sankara then says that the Lord is ever possessed with the six qualities of wisdom, supremacy, power, strength, might, and vigor (sa ca bhagavAn j~nAna-aishvarya-shakti-bala-vIrya-tejobhiH sampannaH) and is ever the unborn (ajaH-avyayaH) Lord of Beings (bhUtAnAm IshvaraH) who is Eternal, Pure, Intelligent and Free (nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta svabhAvaH). The Acharya then says that even though our Lord Narayana has nothing to achieve and has no selfish interest, with the sole intention of helping His creatures, He taught Arjuna, who was plunged in grief and delusion, the two-fold Vedic religion:

"svaprayojana abhAve(a)pi bhUtAnujighRkSayA vaidikaM hi dharma-dvayaM arjunAya shoka-moha-mahodadhau nimagnAya upadidesha"

It is only those like us, whose life is imperfect and lacking, will have something more that he/she is yet to achieve and hence we are driven by that desire to act for our own selfish ends. Being the eternally-perfect Supreme Lord of the cosmos, He has no wants and desires and thus has no compulsion to act. Even then, He performs His divine deeds to benefit us, generously giving us more than what we deserve.

(to be continued)

Tailpiece:

The appellation "Eternal, Pure, Intelligent, and Free" (nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta) is often used by Sri Sankara in his commentaries and refer to the Supreme Lord, who is also known as Parabrahman and Paramatman. He employs them in the Brahma Sutra Bhashya at least at two places (I.i.1 and II.i.14), in his commentaries to the Upanishads (eg., Brihadaranyaka I.iv.7), and in the Vishnu Sahasranama Bhashya while explaining the name "Paramatma" (kArya kAraNa vilakSaNo nitya-shuddha-buddha-mukta svabhAvaH).

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Thousand Names of the Divine Lord: Supremacy or Simplicity?

Acharya Sri Adi Sankara's service to the cause of preserving Vedic Sanatana Dharma from the onslaught of Buddhism, Jainism, and atheism (cArvAka philosophy) is unparalleled. He wrote commentaries on the Vedantic philosophical canon (prastAna traya) consisting of Upanishads, the Brahma-Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita.

Acharya Shri Adi Shankara with his disciples

During his time, Sri Adi Sankara is also said to have written a commentary on Sri Vishnu Sahasranama (shrI viSNu sahasranAma), the thousand Divine Names of Supreme Lord Vishnu. The Thousand Divine Names occur as part of the great epic (known as itihAsa) Mahabharata. The epic describes the great war between five princes, known as Pandavas, and their evil cousins known as the Kauravas. It happened during the time that Lord Vishnu came down to the earth as Krishna avatAr, and hence contains a lot of stories about Him. The elderly Prince Bhishma, who was the beloved of the Pandavas and their great preceptor, fell in battle and was ensnared into a bed of arrows. In that state, he instructed Yudhishtra and the other Pandavas on various aspects of morality and ethics. Finally, he instructed the Pandavas that the greatest dharma (ethical way of action) is to chant the divine names of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. Thus, the Divine Names of Lord Vishnu were instructed to the Pandavas, in the presence of Lord Vishnu Himself in the form of Krishna. The names detail about various avatArs that the Lord undertook as well as describe His distinguishing Divine Qualities.

 Preceptor Bhishma on a bed of arrows instructing the Pandavas as Lord Krishna looks over

Sri Adi Sankaras' lucid commentary is perhaps the earliest available exposition on the Divine Names. This work has been referred to by Sri Narayana Bhattathiri, the composer of Narayaneeyam, a 16th century scholar of the Advaita Vedanta school. We also have a gloss on Sri Sankara's explanations of the names by a late (15th/16th century) commentator known as Taraka Brahmananda Sarasvati (tAraka brahmAnanda sarasvati). Another important commentary on Vishnu Sahasranama commentary came from Srimad Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita school of Vedanta philosophy. This work, coming down as a great gift to us, was the contribution of none other than Sri Parasara Bhattar [1] and is titled "bhagavad-guNa-darpaNa", which means "The Mirror of the Divine Qualities of the Supreme Lord". In this work, Sri Bhattar has also made at least a couple of references to Sri Adi Sankarar's commentary on the Divine Names.

Sri Parashara Bhattar was the son of Sri kUrattAlvAn -- a senior disciple of Sri Ramanujacharya himself. Sri Bhattar's Acharya (Guru/Teacher) was Sri Embar (embAr) a.k.a. Govinda Bhatta (govinda bhaTTa) -- the maternal cousin of Sri Ramanujacharya. Let us then salute Sri Parasara Bhattar with the following invocation and then proceed with the topic of our discussion:

shrI parAshara bhaTTAryaH shri ra"ngesha purohitaH      |

shrIvatsA"nka sutaH shrImAn shreyase me-astu bhUyase   ||

Translation: "May Sri Parasara Bhattar, the son of shrI shrIvatsA"nka (a.k.a. kUresha or kUrattAlvAn), who has superior wealth of knowledge, and serving as the PurOhithar for Lord RanganAtha bless me with all auspiciousness!"

Acharya Shri Parasara Bhattar

I came across an interesting article that compares the two great commentaries to the Divine Names by Adi Shankara and Sri Bhattar here. The source for the article seems to be a commentary in Tamil of the Divine Names by the great Srivaishnava scholar of the 20th Century, Sri Prativadi Bhayankaram Annangaracharya (PBA) Swami. Sri PBA Swamy observes that Sri Shankara's explanations are mostly in light of the might, valor, glory, immaculateness, omnipotence, etc. which constitute the Divine Quality known as "paratvam". Sri Bhattar's explanations, however, mostly elaborate on the Lord's saulabhyam and saushIlyam. In the last article, we dealt with the Lord's Divine Quality of being accessible (saulabhyam) and readiness to act and mingle with us as though he is one among us (saushIlyam). The article I came across then proceeds to list a few instances where the commentators Shri Shankara and Shri Bhattar focus on one of these two contrasting aspects each. In this post, I endeavor to point out and elaborate on a few more such instances not covered in that article. (Credit goes to ahobilavalli.org [2-5] for hosting the clear and easy-to-understand meanings of the Divine Names along with the explanations given by Shri Shankara and Shri Bhattar which made my task easy.)


(1) Parigraha (In Adi Shankara's enumeration, this is name #420, in Parasara Bhattar's ordering, this is #421): 

This name occurs in the following verse of the Vishnu Sahasranama:

RtuH sudarshanaH kAlaH parameSThI parigrahaH        |
ugraH saMvatsaro dakSo vishrAmo vishvadakSiNaH       ||58||

 Shri Adi Shankara's explanation of this name goes as:
  

"sharaNArthibhiH parito gRhyate sarvagatatvAt, parito j~nyAyate iti vA, patra puSpAdikaM bhaktairarpitaM parigRhNatIti vA parigrahaH"

There are three meanings that Sri Shankara gives. The first meaning that Adi Shankara Acharya gives is: "One who is approached on all sides by His devotees (those who surrender to Him)." Obviously, this is an explanation given in light of the Lord's Might, Power, and Glory. One is almost reminded of Sri Andal's (one of the Twelve Azhwars) work in Tamil (which is again part of the Divya Prabandha) known as Tiruppavai (tiruppAvai) where she says:

a"nkaN mA ~nyAlattu arasar abhimAna

        bha"ngamAy vandu nin paLLik kaTTiR kIzhE

sa"ngam iruppAr pOl vandu talai peydom

Translation: "Just as those kings from all over the world who you defeated in war came to the leg of Thy Divine Couch and surrendered to Thee with their egos destroyed, we have now come here to take refuge in Thee, with our heads bowing down in modesty."

The other two explanations given by Sri Shankara to the name Parigraha are: "One who can be reached in many different ways" and "One who gets many offerings from His devotees, such as flower, fruits, leaves, etc."

The explanation given by Shri Parasara Bhattar are again very different. This Acharya says:

"atra tatra ca parito grahaH asya iti parigrahaH. svasambandhi-paurajAna-padatat-sambandhinAm taddevatA tadArAma tarudUrvadeH api parama pada prApaNAt"

Sri Bhattar interprets the preceding few names to this one as to do with the Lord's avatar as Rama, and the name "Parigraha" to Bhattar is the last one that has to do with Rama in this set. Hence, he interprets the name as: "Here, there, and everywhere, He accepts all. When Lord Rama went back to Vaikuntam, the paramapadam (paradise) of Him as Lord Vishnu, after the purpose of His avatAr was completed, He took with Him every resident of the city of Ayodhya including, plants, trees, etc." The Lord in His avatar as Sri Ramachandra,  though born and raised as a Prince till the age of 24 in the palace of King Dasaratha, mingled with everyone affably during His exile to the woods. That includes the tribal chief Guha, the huntress Sabari, the vulture-king Jatayu, the monkey-king Sugriva, etc. This and the very fact that He granted liberation to everyone, including the lowest forms of life, who belonged to Ayodhya means that the Lord is indeed full of saulabhyam and saushIlyam.


(2) Kumuda (AS# 807, PB# 813) :

This name occurs in the following verse of the Sahasranama:

kumudaH kundaraH kundaH parjanyaH pavano(a)nilaH            |

amRtAMsho(a)mRtavapuH sarvaj~nyaH sarvatomukhaH            ||99||

The explanation given by Shri Shankara is: "kuM dharaNIM bhArAvataraNaM kurvan modayatIti kumudaH" meaning, "One who gladdens the earth by relieving it of its burdens (i.e., evil forces)".

The explanation given by Shri Bhattar is: "kau prakRtimaNDala evataissaha modata iti kumudaH" meaning, "One who likes to come down to this mundane material world to enjoy the company of His devotees". In other words, the Lord's accessibility is evident from the fact that He even likes to leave aside His supreme abode which is free from all ills, to come down to this world where evil and amorality rules, just to enjoy the company of His devotees!

Mother Earth approached in the form of a cow the celestials, and finally Lord Narayana, supplicating to have the burden of evil relieved.		The Lord likes to come down to the material world to enjoy the company of His devotees.

 Thanks: www.glimpseofkrishna.com.  Copyrighted images reproduced with permission of the artist Smt. Madhavapriya Devi

The rest of the Divine Names we are going to see in this post occur in the following verse of the Sahasranama:

sulabhaH suvrataH siddhaH shatrujicchatrutApanaH       |

nyagrodhodumbaro(a)shvat cANUrAndhra-niSUdanaH    ||101||

(3) Nyagrodha-udumbara (AS# 822 & 823, PB# 827):

Shri Adi Shankara interprets the above as two names:

a. The first explanation he gives for "Nyagrodha" as: "nyak arvAk rohati sarveSAM upari vyartata iti nyagrodhaH", meaning "One who, being primordial, is above all". The Acharya also provides an alternate explanation to the same name as "sarvANi bhUtAni nyakkRtya nijamAyAM vRNoti niruNaddhIti vA" meaning, "He who controls all beings by veiling Himself with His Maya power".

b. For "Udumbara", Sri Shankara gives two explanations. The first one is: "ambarAdudgataH kAraNatveneti udumbaraH" meaning, "He transcends the Ether, Himself being its cause." The second interpretation is: "URk annam, tena tadAtmanA vishvam poSayan udumbaraH" which translates to: "He that nourishes the universe in the shape of (or being the pervader/inner soul of) food etc." Shri Shankara then quotes the Veda (taittirIya brAhmaNa, 1.3.8 and 1.2.7), which says "Udumbara means food" in support of this interpretation.

Sri Bhattar gives the following explanations for the parts "Nyagrodha" and "Udumbara", then combines them to interpret "Nyagrodha-Udumbara" as a single name:

a. "Nyagrodha" - "kRtAnjalIbhI rudhyate svaprasAdaur-mukhyena vyavasthApyate iti" meaning, "One who is controlled by His devotees by means of their folded hands". In other words, the Lord is so benevolent to His devotees that His heart melts when He sees His devotees approach Him with folded hands. Sri Bhattar then quotes the following verse from Vishnu Dharmottara (33.105): a~njaliH paramA mudrA kSipram devaprasAdinI (The sight of hands joined in supplication immediately pleases the Lord).

b. "Udumbara" - "sarvaguNaiH udgataM ambaraM paraM dhAma tadupalakSitA lakSmI parijanAdayosyeti udumbaraH" meaning, "He Who has as the Supreme Abode, the paradise Shri Vaikuntam, is Udumbarah. This abode is Supreme because it has Lakshmi, and it rises above all other things by its magnificent qualities".

Shri Bhattar then combines the above parts into one name with the following comment: "atyucchRta sevyaH api atyanta-nIcAnAM api anuvartana sAdhyaH" meaning, "Though He is sought after by the great residents of His Supreme Abode, He is within easy reach of the lowest of people (as He does not demand much to be pleased)."


(4) Sulabha (AS# 817, PB# 823): This is at least one instance where both the revered commentators converge on the saulabhyam aspect of the Lord. I guess this is because the name does not lend itself to any other explanation. Again, they give great enjoyment for the devotee:

Shri Shankara explains the name as "patra-puSpa-AdibhiH bhaktimAtra-samarpitaiH sukhena labhyata iti sulabhaH" meaning, "One who is easily attained by simple offerings such as a leaf and a flower". He then quotes a verse from the Mahabharata in support of this:

patreSu puSpeSu phaleSu toyeSvkrItalabhyeSu sadaiva satsu                    |

bhaktyekalabhye puruSe purANe muktyai kathaM na kriyate prayatnaH     ||

Translation:  

"How can one fail to work for emancipation, when the ancient Purusha is capable of being attained by devotion alone, worshipping Him with offerings of leaf, flower, fruit, and water, which are always obtainable without much cost?"

The explanation given by Shri Bhattar is: "anarghaH-api mUlya bhAsena svIkartuM sakhyaH" meaning, "Even though He is priceless, He is attained for a small  price". Sri Bhattar then quotes an instance in the Lord's pastimes as Krishna -- During Lord Krishna's time on this earth, a lady with severely deformed face who makes sandal paste offered Him some of the same and made Him visit her humble dwelling by seizing His garbs and saying: "Come to my house!"

Conclusion: While elaborating on the Divine Names (Sahasranama), Shri Adi Shankaracharya emphasizes the omnipotence, omniscience, might and other qualities of the Lord related to His greatness, whereas Shri Bhattar dwells on the Lord's affability. In the last two posts, we got to clearly understand the qualities of saulabhyam (approachability) and saushIlyam (accessibility) of the Lord. Both are indispensable to our Lord. The CEO of a big corporation may have a lot of influence, power, and might, but is not really accessible to employees in the lowest strata of his organization. Your pet kitten at home may be easily accessed and approached, but it cannot save you from evil forces and calamities. As He combines these two aspects as part of His personality, our Lord is indeed unique! This makes devotion to Him possible even for people with very little means. Thus, He is quite benevolent and kind to us, even though He is the Lord of the entire cosmos.

From the next post onwards, we shall start on the next major Divine Quality, namely His magnanimity, known as audAryam.

REFERENCES:
[1] http://www.ibiblio.org/sadagopan/acharyans/ac10.htm
[2] http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol1.pdf
[3] http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol2.pdf
[4] http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol3.pdf
[5] http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol4.pdf
[6] http://www.ahobilavalli.org/vishnu_sahasra_namam_vol5.pdf

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