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

Slokam 98
A³Ur> pezlae d]ae di][> ]im[a< vr>,
ivÖÄmae vItÉy> pu{yïv[kItRn>. 98.
akrUrah pesalO dakshO dakshiNah kshamiNaam varah |
vidvattamO vItabhayah puNyasravaNakIrtanah ||
nAma 915. A³Ur> a-krUraH krUraH
[ PLEASE ADD PRANAVAM BEFORE EACH NAAMA ]
He Who was not cruel (while rescuing gajendra).
a-krUrAya namaH.
SrI vAsishTha indicates that the root from which the nAma is derived is kRt -
chedane - to cut, to divide. Application of the uNAdi sUtra 2.21- kRtecchaH
krU ca - The affix rak comes after the root kRt -to cut, and in one case, the
verb is itself replaced by krU, leading to krUraH - wicked, cruel. na krUraH
a-krUraH - He Who is not cruel, is a-krUraH.
The best example of His disposition to be 'not cruel' is His treatment of
rAvaNa during the battle with him. When rAvaNa was all but defeated, and
could have been finished with one more arrow, rAgahvan just told rAvaNa to go
back to his home, rest and recuperate, and then come back refreshed the next
day to continue the battle. Given the nature of the sin that rAvaNa had
committed, the strength of the enemy, and the deceitful means that he
employed in the battle, none but the kindest at heart would give 'time to
recuperate' for the enemy.
In the context of the gajendra episode, bhagavAn was first kind enough to
draw the elephant and the crocodile both from the waters to the shore safely,
but did not kill the crocodile right away, even though He had His weapons in
His hands - gajaparijigIrshayA karasthairapi AyudhaiH grAhamapi jhaTiti akRttavAn
akrUraH.
It is only when the crocodile refused to let go of gajendra even after being
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