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

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c) He is the final resting place for all souls at the time of pralaya.
The sum total of all this is that all the beings dwell in Him and have Him as
their support during their existence in this world and during their laya in Him
during pralaya.
SrI BhaTTar gives the interpretation that bhagavAn has this nAma indicating
that He is the indispensable support for His devotees - sarva prANa
Alambanam sarvAsunilayah. Alambanam means abode or support. SrI BhaTTar
gives support from mahA bhArata, uttara kANDam (28.22), which describes
how kRshNa's arrival at hastinApuram was greeted by the people there with
the joy that one would feel if the sun appears all of a sudden in a place that
has been dark for a long time, or when breeze arrives in a region where there
has been no wind for a long time:
a-sUryamiva sUryeNa nivAtamiva vAyunA |
kRshNena samupetena jahRshe bhAratam puram ||
SrI aNNa'ngarAcArya's anubhavam is that everyone is so captivated by Him
that their very life depends on Him, and this why He is called sarvAsu-nilayah -
"ellArum tammiDattilEyE prANanai vaittirukkum paDiyAga manOharamAi
iruppavar".
SrI Samkara interprets asu as prANa, the life-energy, the indestructible jIva,
and explains the meaning of the nAma as "He Who is the abode of all lifeenergies,
being the indestructible jIva Himself" -
sarva eva asavah prANA jIvAtmake yasmin
avyaye nilIyante sa sarvAsu-nilayah.
SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri suggests the explanation for the nAma as "He Who
is the final resting place for all jIva-s" - "ellA uyirgaLum oDu'ngum iDam". Just
as the indriya-s act as if they are independent of the jIva in the waking state,
but lose this so-called independence in the sleeping state, the jIva merges into
Him at the time of pralaya, and so He is the nilaya or the final resting place
for all the asu-s or jIva-s.
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