44. विधाता

He is the greatest of all givers, of results.  He is the supreme Law and the supreme Lord.

धाता = giver of results / Karma phalam dhata.

We do not have a choice over results. How long the person should be given, when, where, why, and who is to be given are decided by Ishwara.  Do not get attached to results because attached gives dukhaH.  Actions are not connected to results.  You sow a seed of mango tree hoping to eat the tasty fruits, but the fruits may be eaten by somebody else if you move away from that place or for some other reason unable to eat them.

45. धातुरुत्तमः

Kriya Shakti is used by Bhagvan to do Srishti.  Through his mere presence Vishnu (Brahman) created Brahma.  So, he is superior to Brahma the creator.

दधाति = one who gives and that is Brahma ji.

Brahma ji is called virinchi.  There is a famous temple in Virinchipuram built by King Raja Raja Chozha.  There are hardly any temples built for the creator – Brahma who is limited by time and space.  As the story goes:

Shiva asked Brahma and Vishnu to locate his head and feet.  Vishnu was smart enough to say, he could not find his feet.  Brahma lied to Lord Shiva that he saw the head in the city of Arunachalam.  Lord Shiva was enraged and cursed Brahma to be born as a mortal.  As a result, Brahma was born as Shiva Sharma, a temple priest’s son.  The temple deity was Margabandeeshwarar and his consort Margadambal.  Shiva Sharma’s father passed away without doing his upanayanam.  His mother prayed to Shiva.  The lord appeared in her dream and asks her to give a bath to the boy in the nearby lake and get ready for upanayanam.  The Lord himself came to complete the ritual of upanayanam.  One day the boy could not reach the head of deity Shiva to put garland.  The Lord wanted to teach Brahma a lesson.  After severe praying the Lord bent little and tilted his head for the boy to put the garland.  Even today the idol of Shiva is tilted.  The creator Brahma merges into the ultimate Brahman.

46. अप्रमेयः

It is not an object of knowledge.  He is not to be known.  You cannot say ‘ I know Vishnu’.  Any object is a known thing which is visible in the light.  They do not have a light of their own.  Atma shines all the objects.  Pramā is knowledge and the means of knowledge is called pramanam. The one, who handles the pramanam, is pramātā, the knower, the subject.

In the Bhashyam of Adi Shankara, the following are meanings to the word – अप्रमेयः

1. शब्द  रहितं – devoid of sound.  mahaswanaH means great sound which is Bhagvan.  Bhagvan has no sound.  You infer the presence of Lord Indra when you see thunder and lightning.
2. न  अपि  अनुमान  गम्यः  non- inferable.  When you see smoke, you infer there is fire.  The world is there, so you infer there is Bhagvan.  Only through Shastram you can realize Bhagvan.  He is not available for inference or assumptions.
3. न  अपि  उपमान सिद्धः   A bison is not equal to a cow.  This example is incomparable.  He is beyond compare.  Vishnu and Shiva cannot be compared.  They are not objects and transcend space and time.
4. निर्भागः  without parts or divisions.  If there are parts, then it will be within space and time existence.
5. न अपि अर्थ पत्ति ग्रह   We assume Bhagvan to be in a form with our limited knowledge of objects and ignorance.  However, he is beyond presumption.
6. न अभ्य भव अगोचरं   गोचर means available through senses.  Bhagvan is अगोचरं and is beyond perception.  So how to know Bhagvan?  Shastram pramanam is the only way to know the Lord.  प्रमाणं  इति  अप्रमेयः.
7. न प्रमाणं जन्यः   by neti-neti principle Lord can be realized.  He is not born from Shastram.  He is a witness or साक्षिः.

47. ऋषिकेषः

ऋषि:  means senses.  ऋषिकेषः   means Lord of the senses.  Sense organs are governed by sensory powers.  Mind governs the sensory powers and atma governs the mind.  Without atma, mind cannot exist.  Therefore, in deep sleep state, mind is resolved and atma is not able to manifest in the absence of a reflecting medium.

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48. पद्मनाभ:

The one who has a lotus in His navel.  The blossomed lotus is the jagat and the navel is the nabhi – the cause of jagat, Brahman.  Brahma comes forth from the nabhi of Vishnu.  Brahma being the creator is limited to time and space.  Vishnu is the unmoving, steady and is the cause of universe i.e. jagat.

49. अमरप्रभु:

The Lord of the devas.  The devas, who live in svarga are called Amaras, because they do not die or age because of a lot of punya balance in their account.  They are exalted beings.  Svarga according to our Shastram, is a temporary place of much enjoyment, a happy place  The devas live there for a very long time. Once the bank balance of punya runs out, they return to birth/death cycle with an appropriate body for a loka or a field of experience.  Human body has different organs and the sensory powers are attributed to various devas.  He is the lord of all devas – lord of all sensory powers.

50. विश्वकर्मा

The creator of universe.  He created the unwritten Law and Order.  Out of our own Shakti we cannot create our own body or even a single grain of rice.  For rice, you require good rains, soil, heat, etc.  you offer to the Bhagvan what he himself has created.  This is ahankara or mamakara when you say you are offering 100 coconuts or bananas in tulabharam, etc.

Vishwakarma is the architect of the whole universe and is the devashilpi according to Vishnu puranas.  He oversees construction and a great builder in all the lokas.

1. bhuH – earth
2. bhuvaH – pitru loka
3. suvaH – Indra and other devas reside
4. mahar – place where saptarishis reside
5. janaH – abode of sons of Brahma
6. tapo – those who practice tapas constantly.
7. Brahma – people who have realized truth.  This loka is the Satya loka.

Every loka has its appropriate physical body and a human being upon death enters that loka with that suitable body only.  Vishvkarma built all the 7 lokas 7 above the earth and seven below.

Atala, vitala, sutala, rasatala, mahatala, taltala,  patala.  All put together are 14 worlds of experiences.

51. मनुः

He is the only thinker in the entire Srishti.  Everything is well thought about and created for the species residing in the Srishti.  He is the Srishti Karta.  He makes the thoughts and their flow possible.  VaivasvataH is the 7^th manuH.

Meaning of ManuH:

1. Thinker
2. Ruler of people
3. Mantra.

He is the sarva antaryami.

52. त्वष्टा

The one who dissolves everything.  When the entire universe dissolves in mahpralaya, he has the power to project and retract everything unto himself.  From a very gross state everything is reduced to subtle and then to the un-manifest state.  The lord is therefore called त्वष्टा.

53. स्थविष्ठः

He is the stoutest because he is the virata purushaH.  He, Brahman, is unimaginably big, vast and stout.

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54. स्थविरो ध्रुवः

He is ancient and unchanging.  Sthavira means ancient. It also means the oldest.  From the human standpoint, the Lord is the most ancient and oldest, because there is none more ancient than Him.  But anything that is old is subject to decline and finally death.  To offset the limitation of the word sthavirah, the word dhruvaḥ is used along with it.  He is Dhruva, unchanging and ever the same. As He was before, He is even now; He is always the same. He is sat-cit-ānanda-pūrna-svarūpa, ever full. Therefore, Sthavira here indicates, timelessness – trikala rahitam.

55. अग्राह्यः

That which cannot be grasped.  That is the reason in Hindu culture, we establish him in a place called ‘temple’.  We see him in every object.  From temple, the deity comes home.  As long as the bhava exists, worshipping Him anywhere is immaterial.  If you wish to know Bhagvan, he comes to you in any form.  He has to be understood by shuddha chaitanya only.  He is beyond the mind, sense powers and sense organs because He is RishikeshaH – Lord of the senses.

56. शाश्वतः

He is the ever existent/ permanent.

He exists in all the 3 kalams.  By following dharma, he is always with you.  Shastram is dharma.  Whenever adharma increases, Krishna in Bhagvad Gita says: – I will come to protect all the Dharmis.  शाश्वतं शिवम् अच्युतं —-Narayana suktam  शाश्वतं = eternal or ever existent; शिवम् = auspicious; अच्युतं = never destroyed.

57. कृष्णः

Meanings for Krishna:

1. सदानन्द आत्मक इति कृष्णः ever happy, ever existent is Krishna.
2. कृषिः भू वाचकः Farmer ploughs the Land and without him the land cannot be ploughed.  He ploughs in the field every day to make the hard soil soft.  Krishna is the farmer who ploughs our mind again and again with Shastram, making the mind ready for moksha.
3. शब्द ऋणस्य निवृत्ति वाचकः that person who cannot be talked about.  Krishna is dark in complexion.  He is beyond karma yoga and by pursuing Krishna the consciousness, a person gets Moksha.
4. द्वैपायनं he is also called द्वैपायनं.  This word is derived from the source word – द्वीप.  Krishna is realised in a dveepa.
5. आक्रुशः the eyes of Krishna are so mesmerising that a person loses himself in Krishna consciousness.

Gopis were never separated from Krishna.  Radha was feeling Krishna was different from her and therefore was pining for him all the time. Krishna denotes 3 aspects of human body: vasu, devaki, kamsaH, and therefore Krishna resides in you as the pranaH, body, and ego respectively. Without body, there is no ego, and both are tied together like brother and sister as in the case of devaki (body) and kamsaH (ego).

When kamsaH dies or the ego is surrendered, Krishna gives him darshanam and moksha is attained.  Beyond the dark clouds, there is Sun.  the inner purity of Krishna shines like the Sun. In the prison, there were 5 guards giving information to Kamsa and these are our 5 senses.  Krishna is beyond the 5 senses.  He has a garland of 5 coloured jewels.  Yashoda is YashaH = mother and nanda = happiness.  Fame and happiness were the parents of Krishna.  He was always sadanada – ever joyous.

58. लोहिताक्षः

He is the red-eyed.  It is so depicted symbolising rising and setting of the Sun.  whether it is day or night, the rising sun is seen in different place at different times.  When the Sun sets in one place, it rises in another.

59. प्रतर्दनः

The destroyer.  प्रतर दयति हिनस्ति इति प्रतर्दनः.

When the maha pralaya happens, all the living beings are dead, dissolution happens.  All the 5 elements are father and mother.  Entire jagat is dissolved and goes back to Vishnu.  Nothing is destroyed because nothing is created.  Everything gets resolved into Vishnu.  When the experiencer is resolved into gyanam, there is no experience as a dualism.  Dvaita bhava is resolved. Shiva/Vishnu/Brahma are one Brahman.  They are मूढः who think they are separate from me.  They are 3 faces of the same Lord.