37. Names

Adhyaya 1 PAda 4 AdhikaraNa 8

All Names Are Names of Lord ViShNu

Introduction by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa

Someone may object: Many passages in the scriptures do not support your
conclusion at all.This adhikaraNa is written to dispel this doubt. The shvetAshvatara UpaniShad explains:

kSharaM pradhAnam amR^itAkSharaH haraH

"Material nature is in constant flux and the Supreme,
Lord Hara is eternal and unchanging." (1.10)

eko rudro na dvitIyAya tasthuH

"Lord Rudra is the Supreme. He has no rival." (3.2)

yo devAnAM prabhavash codbhavash ca
vishvAdhiko rudraH shivo maharShiH

"Lord shiva, who is known as Rudra, is the omniscient
ruler of the universe. He is the father of all the demigods. He
gives the demigods all their powers and opulences." (3.4)

yadA tamas tan na divA na rAtrir
na san na cAsac chiva eva kevalaH

"When the final darkness comes and there is no longer day
or night, when there is no longer being and non-being, then only
Lord shiva exists." (4.18)

The scriptures also explain:

pradhAnAd idam utpannam
pradhAnam adhigacchati
pradhAne layam abhyeti
na hy anyat kAranaM matam

"From pradhAna this material world was
born. This world knows only pradhAna. This world
merges into pradhAna at the time of annihilation.
Nothing else is the cause of this world."

jIvAd bhavanti bhUtAni
jIve tiShThanty aca~ncalAH
jIve ca layam icchanti
na jIvAt kAraNaM param

"From the jIva all the elements of this
world have come. In the jIva they rest without
moving, and they finally merge into the jIva.
Nothing else is the cause of this world."

SaMshaya: Should Hara and the other names given in thesequotes be understood in their ordinary senses, as names
of Lord shiva, pradhAna, and jIva, or
should they all be understood to be names of the Supreme Brahman?
PUrvapakSha: The names should all be understood
in their ordinary senses, as names of Lord shiva,
pradhAna, and jIva.
SiddhAnta: The conclusion follows.


SUtra 28


etena sarve vyAkhyAtA vyAkhyAtAH

etena - in this way; sarve - all;
vyAkhyAtAH - explained; vyAkhyAtAH - explained.


All (words in the scriptures) should be interpreted to agree
with the explanation (that the Supreme Brahman is the original
cause).

Purport by shrIla Baladeva VidyAbhUShaNa


In this sUtra the word etena
means "according to the explanations already given,"
sarve means "Hara and the other names," and
vyAkhyAtAH means "should be understood to be
names of the Supreme Brahman because all names are originally
names of the Supreme Brahman."
The BhAlvaveya-shruti explains:

nAmAni vishvAni na santi loke
yad AvirAsIt puruShasya sarvam
nAmAni sarvANi yam Avishanti
taM vai viShNuM paramam udAharanti

"The names of this world are not different from Him. All
names in this world are names of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. All names refer to Him, Lord ViShNu, whom the wise
declare is the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

VaishampAyana Muni explains that all these names are names of
Lord KR^iShNa. The Skanda PurANa also explains:

shrI-nArAyaNAdIni nAmAni vinAnyAni rudrAdibhyo harir
dattavAn

"Except for NArAyaNa and some other names, Lord Hari gave
away His names to Lord shiva and the other demigods."

This is the rule that should be followed: When the ordinary
sense of these names does not contradict the essential teaching
of the Vedas, the ordinary meaning should be
accepted. When the ordinary sense of these names does contradict
the teaching of the Vedas, these names should be
understood to be names of Lord ViShNu.
The repetition of the last word (vyAkyAtAH)
here indicates the end of the chapter.

sarve vedAH paryavasyanti yasmin
satyAnantAcintya-shaktau pareshe
vishvotpatti-sthema-bha~NgAdi-lIle
nityaM tasmin nas tu kR^iShNe matir naH

On Lord KR^iShNa, who is the final goal taught by all the
Vedas, who is the master of unlimited and inconcievable
transcendental potencies, who is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, and who in His own pastimes creates, maintains and
destroys the material universes, may we always fix our hearts.