vishnu sahasra namam stanza- 17

[Bharathi]

STANZA-17
upendra vamanah pramsur
amoghah sucirnarjitaj
atindrah samgrahah sargo
dhrtama niyamo yamah

Word Meanings:

(Upendrah) = the younger brother of lndra
(Vamanah) = the dwarf
(Pra msuh) = the stalwart
(Amoghah) = one who does nothing in vain
(Suchih) = the clean one
(Urjitah) = gathered of strength
(Atindrah) = one who has surpassed lndra
(Sangrahah) = the one with a good grasp
(Sargaha) = the cyclic order of creation
(Dhritatma) = one who upholds the soul
(Niyamah) = the well-regulated one
(Yamah) = the one with good discipline and self-control.


Invoke the Lord as the brother Indra; as the dwarf and the stalwart.
Nothing is in vain with him. He is pure and clean and strong. He
surpasses Indra and the one with a good grasp. As a form of creation,
he holds the soul by virtue of himself He is the very embodiment of
regulation and discipline and selfcontrol.

Explanation:

1, 2, 3. The Lord is born to Aditi and hence he is the younger brother
of Indra when the Lord came down as Vamana, the dwarf.When the
emperor Bali became powerful in the three worlds as a result of his
all-sacrificing nature, Indra was defeated by him. Aditi, the mother
of Indra offered prayers to the Lord in great devotion and begot him
as her own son Vamana. Vamana approached Bali in the incarnation of a
Dwarf Brahmachari and requested Bali to offer him three square feet in
area. Bali accepted. Vamana expanded into all the worlds of creation
by virtue of his prevasion. He measured the earth ( matter) by one
foot, the heaven [space] by another foot and demanded Bali for the
third foot of space. Bali realised the Dwarf as the Lord of pervasion.
With great devotion, he prayed the Lord and requested Him to measure
the third foot upon his own head. Then the Lord placed his foot on the
held of Bali, pushed him down into the abyss of the nether world and
restored Indra to his throne. He gave Indra the kingdom heaven which
will be lost again and again. He gave Bali the kingdom of devotion to
the Lord which is eternal. Thus he satisfied the one with a foolish
material desire and the other with a pious spiritual desire. When the
Lord expanded as the whole universe through his pervasion, He is
admired as the stalwart of the whole universe by the Devas and
Rishis.

4 . Allthe activity of creation tends to ,the realisation of the soul
and its liberation. Hence every incident is created by Lord meaningful
and significant so that nothing occurs in vain.

5 . A s the spirit of every clean and unclean the Lord remains above
matter,life,and mind.Hence He is always clean and untouched by
anythind that is not clean.

6 . In every living beings,there is a hope for sonething better which
gathers the strength of mind;an auto healing capacity in the vital
force which gather life; a metabolic activity which grows by taking in
food . All these activities are the manifestations of the Lord and
hence,He goes on gathering in the strength in all the living beings of
the world

7 . Since Indra is the ruler of devas and their abode both of whioch
are mutable and since the Lord is the back ground of all. He always
surpasses Indra by qualityy and quantity

8. The capacity of grasp good things work hidden in every living
being.It guides him through birth and rebirth unto liberation.It is
one of the forms of the Lord and hence,He is the one with a good
grasp.

9 . The body,life,mind and senses exist to us only to uphold the soul
and work as its layers of abode.All these layers are lived by the
presence of the Lord and hence,He upholds the souls.

10 . By his lower nature, man is not disciplined.By his higher
nature,he likes to grow disciplined,begins to practice discipline and
become perfect in couse of time .All this is the path of grace of the
Lord and hence, the Lord is the very embodiment of the disciplined

COURTESY MASTER E.K

Regards
Bharathi.a