Vishnu Sahasranama 72 - 79

Vishnu Sahasranama 72 - 79

72. Mādhavaḥ माधवः

Mā refers to Goddess Lakṣmī and dhava means husband. Goddess Lakṣmī is the consort of Viṣṇu. Both Viṣṇu and Śiva hold their consorts in high esteem. Viṣṇu holds Lakṣmī in His chest and Śiva holds His consort Śakti in His left lap. Both Viṣṇu and Śiva are the cause of creation and this cause is effected through their power of projections, known as their consorts. If one desires to reach the lotus feet of Viṣṇu, he has to first surrender to His projecting power Goddess Lakṣmī, who alone is capable of taking him to Him.

This also refers to Kṛṣṇa’s descendance, the Madhu or Yādava-s

73. Madhusūdanaḥ मधुसूदनः

He is the destroyer of a demon by name Madhu. Sūdana means destruction.

Madhu also refers to charming and delightful things. Charming and delight are the experiences associated with sensory organs. Sensory organs cause impressions in the mind, which in turn prevents the mind in becoming pure. If an aspirant surrenders to Viṣṇu, He ensures that such impressions are destroyed in the aspirant’s mind, paving way for his liberation.

74. Īśvaraḥ ईश्वरः

Nāma 36 is also Īśvaraḥ, which described Him as the master of the universe.

Īś means to possess and vara means to reward. He possesses the capacity to reward His devotees. Brahman alone has the capacity to reward whatever is prayed for. If devotees ask for wealth, He gives them wealth. If they ask Him for liberation, He gives them liberation. However, He gives subject to the law of karma. Though He gives, they get fructified only when the law of karma is ripe for its fructification. This is the reason for most of our prayers not being answered spontaneously. The life principle is based on the fact that what is sown is only reaped.

Even though the same nāma is repeated twice, both of them convey different meaning.

75. Vikrami विक्रमि

Vikramin means striding or the long steps. Three famous steps of Viṣṇu are well known during His Vāmna avatar. The three steps of Viṣṇu refer to His action of pervading the universe through icchā jñāna and kriya śakti-s. They refer to desire, wisdom and action that are present in every human being. Status of a being depends upon the predominance of any of the three types of śakti-s. The Brahman interpenetrates the universe with these three kinds of subtle powers.

Vikrama means courage. The Brahman has to be courageous as He has to perform the three acts of creation, sustenance and dissolution.

Rig Veda (I.22) talks about the Supreme step of Viṣṇu.                                                      

tad viṣṇoḥ paramam padaṁ sadā paṣyanti sūrayaḥ

 तद् विष्णोः परमम् पदं सदा पष्यन्ति सूरयः

The supreme step of Viṣṇu, His highest seat, is the triple world of bliss and light, His Supreme feet is seen continuously by the wise, like eye fixed on Heaven. This makes the difference between a yogi and an aspirant. Yogi always stands connected with the Pure Consciousness, the Brahman. An aspirant goes up and down and does not stay connected with Him all the time. The former does not accrue karma because of his eternal connection with Him and the latter accrues karma, whenever he performs actions with lower level of consciousness, attached with ego.

76. Dhanvi धन्वि

Dhanvin means armed with one bow, known as śārṅgi. He holds bow to establish virtues in the universe.

77. Medhāvī मेधावी

Medhā means intelligence personified. Brahman alone is Medhāvī because all the Vedas originate from Him. Vedas are said to be His breath. The best of human knowledge is only a miniscule of His knowledge.

Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (I.i.9) explains this, “The Brahman is all-knowing, who knows everything in detail. From His knowledge came names, forms and food.”

Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad Gita (XVIII.10), “The one who does not hate bad actions or likes good actions is truly wise, with all his doubts cleared and is said to be a man of true renunciation.”

78. Vikramaḥ विक्रमः

Kramaṇa means transgression and vi-kramaṇa means without transgression. Viṣṇu is the lord of dharma śāstra-s. He never transgresses śāstra-s. All the śāstra-s originate from Him.

79. Kramaḥ क्रमः

Krama is one of the systems followed by Kashmiri scholars, where inner purification takes place in successive stages from obscurity to perfect clarity leading to realisation of the Brahman. Perfect clarity can be attained only through knowledge, as discussed in nāma 77. He can be realised only by attaining perfect mental clarity.