Vishnu Sahasra Naamam-Vol V-Rr-edit.pub - Ahobilavalli

a) SrI BhaTTar interprets the nAma in terms of bhagavAn rushing to the
scene where gajendra needed help - Arta Sabda SravaNAntaram ati- tvarayA
gataH SiSiraH. SrI BhaTTar quotes the following passage in support, to
indicate the speed with which He arrived at the scene where gajendra needed
help: "SrutvA cakra gadAdharaH, sAnnidhyam kalpayAmAsa tasmin sarasi" -
"Immediately on hearing the painful cry of the elephant gajendra, the Lord,
armed with His Discus and Mace, flew (on the back of garuDa) and stood on
the bank of the pond". Commentators enjoy this incident by pointing out that
bhagavAn left without even informing pirATTi, and, when He found that
garuDa was not fast enough for His desired speed, He carried garuDa in His
hand, and jumped at the scene instantly.
SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to the following divya prabandham passages in
support:
"Anaiyin tuyaram tIrap puL Urndu SenRu Azhi toTTAn" (tirumozhi 2.3.9) -"He
Who came on garuDa and relieved the misery of the suffering elephant
gajendra by releasing the carkrAyudha against the crocodile".
"nArAyaNA! O! maNi vaNNa! NAgaNaiyAi! VArAi en iDarai nIkkAi - ena
veguNDu tIrAda SIRRattAl SenRu iraNDu kUrAga ErA adanai iDar
kaDindAn" (SiRiya tirumaDal) - "When gajendra cried for help - O nArAyaNa!
MaNi vaNNa! ananta Sayana! Please remove my misery, bhagavAn became very
angry at the crocodile, hurried to the scene, split the crocodile into two, and
relieved gajendra from his agony".
SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj also gives an interpretation similar to that of Sri
BhaTTar - SaSati-drutam gacchati svajanAnAm avanAya iti SiSiraH - He Who
rushes to the protection of His devotees is 'SiSiraH'.
b) The word SiSirah also means 'the cool season'. SrI Sa'nkara uses this
meaning, and interprets the nAma as signifying that bhagavAn cools down the
tApa-traya-s of His devotees (physical, mental and supernatural) - tApa
trayAbhitaptAnAm viSrama sthAnatvAt SiSiraH. The three tApa-s are called
AdhyAtmika, Adhibhautika, and Adhidaivika.
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