Vishnu Sahasra Naamam-Vol III-RR-edit.pub - Ibiblio

the above five types of ya~jna-s with the full realization that these are all
offerings to Him, since He is the mahA ya~jnah who is worshiped by al these
offerings. They should be performed for His pleasure and not with any benefit
for us in mind, with the clear understanding that He is the Doer who is just
using us as the means for getting these done, etc.
nAma 683. mhahiv> mahA mahA-havih
mahA havih
a) He Who is worshiped with supreme oblations.
b) He Who manifests Himself in the form of the great Offering.
c) He Who accepts the whole Universe as havis at the time pralaya.
mahA-havishe namah.
The root from which the word havis is derived is hu - dAnAdAnayoh - to offer,
to perform a sacrifice, to eat. The word havis is explained by the uNAdi sutra
"arci Suci hu sRpi chAdi chardibhya ish (268), and has the meaning "clarified
butter offered in sacrifice". In common usage, the term is used for referring
to the material used in the oblation to the fire. mahA-havis is the greatest of
these oblations, and mahA-havih refers to the One who is the recipient of the
supreme oblations. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha indicates that the term havih can
also refer to one who is making the offering, one who is the object or recipient
of the offering, that by which the offering is made, etc.
We will see in the interpretations below that He is mahA-havih in all the above
senses: He is mahA-havih because:
1. He is worshiped by the offerings that are themselves supreme in nature
(e. g., in the form of our AtmA);
2. He is the Great or Supreme acceptor of the meager offerings that we
make;
3. Everything is but a form of Him, or His manifestation, and He manifests
Himself in the form of the Great Sacrifice.
a) SrI BhaTTar interprets havis as referring to the offerings, and thus mahAhavis
refers to the great offerings; mahA-havih is the recipient of the great
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