Vishnu Sahasranama Phalashruthi Bhashya (Slokas 16–18)
The Divine Echo of Vishnu Sahasranama
Sloka 16/32
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिः सत्त्वं तेजो बलं धृतिः ।
वासुदेवात्मकान्याहुः क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञ एव च ॥ १६ ॥
indriyāṇi mano buddhiḥ sattvaṃ tejo balaṃ dhṛtiḥ |
vāsudevātmakānyāhuḥ kṣetraṃ kṣetrajña eva ca
|| 16 ||
Pratipadartha (Word-by-Word
Meaning)
- इन्द्रियाणि (indriyāṇi):
The ten senses (the cognitive and active organs).
- मनः (manaḥ):
The mind.
- बुद्धिः (buddhiḥ):
The intellect.
- सत्त्वम् (sattvaṃ):
The psychological core / vital energy / inner
goodness.
- तेजः (tejaḥ):
Luster / mental brightness.
- बलम् (balaṃ):
Physical strength.
- धृतिः (dhṛtiḥ):
Fortitude / willpower.
- क्षेत्रम् (kṣetraṃ):
The physical body (the changing field of material
modifications).
- क्षेत्रज्ञः (kṣetrajñaḥ):
The true Knower of the field (the unchangeable
Paramatma dwelling within).
- एव च
(eva ca): And certainly.
- वासुदेव-आत्मकानि
(vāsudevātmakāni): Have Lord Vasudeva as
their absolute Source, Owner, and inner Mover.
- आहुः (āhuḥ):
The wise seers say.
Tatparya (Summary)
The ancient seers declare that our senses,
mind, intellect, life energy, luster, physical strength, and willpower, along
with the physical body and the Supreme Knower residing within it, are all
completely animated, owned, and governed by Lord Vasudeva.
Bhashya…
The True Identity of Kshetra
and Kshetrajna:
This verse provides the ultimate spiritual anatomy of the universe and the
living beings. It declares that the inner instruments—the senses (indriyāṇi), mind (manas),
intellect (buddhi), ego/life-force (sattva), splendor (tejas),
strength (bala), and fortitude (dhṛti)—are all vāsudevātmakāni
(sustained by, dependent upon, and filled with the essence of Lord Vasudeva).
Crucially, the Phalashruti concludes by stating that both the Kshetra
(the field/body) and the Kshetrajna (the knower of the field) are also
entirely under His control and manifestation.
To understand this correctly without
falling into the trap of absolute identity (Abheda), we must view this
through the authoritative lens of Sri Madhvacharya’s Gita Bhashya on the
defining verses of Chapter 13 (BG 13.2–3):
idaṁ śharīraṁ kaunteya kṣhetram ity abhidhīyate |
etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ kṣhetra-jña iti tad-vidaḥ ||
kṣhetra-jñaṁ chāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣhetreṣhu bhārata...
Refutation of the Jiva as
Kshetrajna:
In standard commentaries of opposing schools, Kshetrajna is reduced to
the status of the ordinary Jiva (individual soul) inhabiting the body.
Acharya Madhva forcefully refutes this view. Kshetrajna, the true Knower of
the field, is verily Sri Vishnu alone. No individual soul possesses the
flawless, all-encompassing awareness required to be called the ultimate Kshetrajna.
The Jiva does not even fully understand the complex workings of its own
physical body, whereas Sri Hari knows every atom of it flawlessly.
The Supreme Lord is eternally distinct from
both the manifest matter (Vyakta/Kshetra) and the unmanifest nature (Avyakta/Prakriti).
He is established within and without all the Jivas, yet He remains Sadaa-Sarvatra-Bhinna—distinct
from the Jiva always, in all respects, and at all times.
Acintya Adbhuta Shakti (The
Lord's Inconceivable Attributes):
Acharya Madhva clarifies that this Supreme Kshetrajna, who is none other than
Sri Krishna Yadava down to the very root of His hair, possesses absolute
accessibility (Gatimat) and mobility across all directions. His majestic
nature exhibits seemingly contradictory but flawlessly synchronized attributes:
·
Aṇu and Mahat: In His smallest of small
forms (Anu), He secures perfect access within the tiniest space; yet He
simultaneously remains infinitely extended (Mahat) across all
directions.
·
Aprakruta and Anindriyah: Though He enters all objects of the senses, He remains
completely transcendental (Aprakruta) and inaccessible to material
senses (Anindriyah), possessing a body made purely of unalloyed
auspicious bliss.
·
Chara and Achala: He is immovable and unmodified (Achala), yet He is
moveable (Chara) as He manifests dynamically in all places, abiding at
the absolute center of even the minutest atom.
Because He is the independent Lord (Svatantra),
these attributes do not contradict each other; rather, they illuminate His
supreme, boundless power.
Scriptural Concurrence from the
Bhagavata Purana:
To cement this definition, Acharya Madhva
cites the Bhagavat Purana. Kshetrajna cannot refer to the
changing, dependent Jiva. A true Kshetrajna is One who remains
completely pure, pristine, and beyond all material modifications (Vikara).
By the mere exercise of His Supreme Will (Ichha-matra), He creates the
waking state experiences as factual external realities, and orchestrates the
dream and dreamless (deep sleep) states for the soul. Because the Jiva's
experiences are subject to modification and are not eternal, the Jiva is
the Niyamya (the controlled occupant), while Sri Vasudeva is the
absolute Kshetrajna and Niyamaka (the Inner Controller).
Conclusion:
Therefore, when the Vishnu Sahasranama proclaims kṣetraṃ kṣetrajña eva ca, it is
singing the ultimate glory of Vasudeva’s pervasive lordship. The body is
His field of operation, and He is the ultimate Knower and Master inside it. For
the Sadhaka, realizing that the Lord is the true Kshetrajna
operating within our very breath and intellect breaks the ego of doership (Kartritva
Abhimana) and anchors the soul in absolute surrender to Sri Krishna.
Sloka 17/32
सर्वागमानामाचारः प्रथमं परिकल्प्यते ।
आचारप्रभवो धर्मो धर्मस्य प्रभुरच्युतः ॥ १७ ॥
sarvāgamānāmācāraḥ prathamaṁ parikalpyate |
ācāraprabhavō dharmō dharmasya prabhuracyutaḥ || 17 ||
Pratipadartha (Word-by-Word
Meaning)
- सर्व-आगमानाम्
(sarvāgamānām): Of all the sacred
scriptures, Vedas, and canonical texts.
- आचारः (ācāraḥ):
Righteous conduct / daily spiritual disciplines (Sad-achara).
- प्रथमम् (prathamam): As
the foremost requirement / the very first pillar.
- परिकल्प्यते (parikalpyate):
Is ordained / established.
- आचार-प्रभवः
(ācāra-prabhavaḥ): Born
out of and rooted in such proper conduct.
- धर्मः (dharmaḥ):
True righteousness / spiritual merit (Dharma).
- धर्मस्य (dharmasya): Of
that very framework of Dharma.
- प्रभुः (prabhuḥ):
Is the supreme sovereign Master, Ordainer, and Goal.
- अच्युतः (acyutaḥ):
Lord Achyuta (He who never slips from His own
independent nature, and ensures His devotees never fall).
Tatparya (Summary)
Across all sacred scriptures, righteous
conduct (Sad-achara) is established as the foundational requirement. It
is from this right conduct that true Dharma takes birth, and Lord
Achyuta is the ultimate Master, Protector, and Goal of all Dharma.
Bhashya…
This verse establishes a fundamental causal
sequence for spiritual progress in Dvaita Vedanta: Scriptures (Agama) → Right Conduct (Achara) → Righteousness (Dharma) → Lord Achyuta (Prabhu).
Sri Madhvacharya emphasizes in his Sad-achara
Smriti that Dharma cannot exist in a vacuum; it is validated only
when a soul practices Sad-achara in strict accordance with scriptural
injunctions.
The phrase dharmasya
prabhuracyutaḥ reinforces Hari-Sarvottamatva
by declaring that Dharma is neither an insentient, independent force nor
a self-contained cosmic law; it is fully subordinate to and sustained by the
independent will of Lord Achyuta.
Because the Lord is Achyuta
(infallible), any Dharma executed as an offering to Him (Bhagavad-arpana)
becomes imperishable and directly attracts His Prasada (grace), which is
the sole vehicle for a dependent Jiva's liberation.
Sloka 18/32
ऋषयः पितरो देवा महाभूतानि धातवः ।
जङ्गमाजङ्गमं चेदं जगन्नारायणोद्भवम् ॥ १८ ॥
ṛṣayaḥ pitaro devā mahābhūtāni dhātavaḥ |
jaṅgamājaṅgamaṃ cedaṃ jagannārāyaṇodbhavam || 18 ||
Pratipadartha (Word-by-Word
Meaning)
- ऋषयः (ṛṣayaḥ):
The great seers (like Bhrigu and Vasistha).
- पितरः (pitaro):
The ancestral manes / spirits.
- देवाः (devā):
The celestial deities (like Indra, Agni, and Surya).
- महाभूतानि (mahābhūtāni):
The five gross material elements (space, air, fire, water, and earth).
- धातवः (dhātavaḥ):
The structural components of the body / primary cosmic ingredients.
- इदम् (idam):
This.
- जङ्गम-अजङ्गमम्
(jaṅgamājaṅgamaṃ):
Comprising both the moving (sentient) and non-moving (insentient)
entities.
- जगत् (jagat):
Entire universe.
- नारायण-उद्भवम्
(nārāyaṇodbhavam):
Has originated exclusively from Lord Narayana.
Tatparya (Summary)
The ancient seers, the ancestors, the
celestial gods, the primordial elements, the bodily tissues, and this entire
universe of moving and stationary entities have all stepped into existence from
Lord Narayana alone.
Bhashya…
This verse serves as a crucial definition
of Sṛṣṭi-Tattva (the philosophy of
creation) highlighting the name Narayana. Etymologically, Nāra
refers to the multitude of eternal souls and insentient entities (Nārāṇāṃ samūhaḥ), and Ayana means their ultimate refuge and source of
origin. By stating the world is nārāyaṇodbhavam (born from Narayana), the
text explicitly rejects two major opposing views: the Mayavada view that
creation is a false illusion, and the Parinama-vada view that God
literally transforms Himself into material matter.
In Dvaita, Lord Narayana is strictly the Nimitta
Karana (the efficient/intelligent cause) of the cosmos, while Mula
Prakriti acts as the material cause (Upadana Karana). He activates
and shapes the pre-existing matter and souls according to their past karma and
inherent nature. Thus, sages, elements, and gods are real, separate entities
created, ordered, and maintained by the absolute, independent majesty of Sri
Hari.
This simple
sloka from Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram (Phala Sruthi) is an eye opener for
those who don't believe, keep doubting about the cause, origin, existence of
the universe and its elements.
naaham karta harih karta
to be continued...
previous sloka Bhashya: (Slokas 13–15)
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