novelraw Arc 3 - Sanat-Sujata Parva Chapter 10 - The Names of the Divine Keśava
Arc 3 - Sanat-Sujata Parva Chapter 10 - The Names of the Divine Keśava
Vaiśampāyana said:
Then Dhṛtarāṣṭra, his heart moved by reverence, spoke again to Sañjaya, saying—
“O Sañjaya, tell me once more of that lotus-eyed Keśava.
By knowing the meanings of His sacred names, perhaps this blinded soul may gain sight—not of eyes, but of the heart.
For he who understands even a fraction of His being, attains to Him, the most exalted of all male beings.”
Sañjaya said:
“O king, the blessed names of Keśava have been heard by me in holy recitations. Of those countless names, I shall now declare as many as my memory may bear.
But know this, O Bharata—He is immeasurable, beyond word or thought. Speech cannot confine Him, nor mind grasp His boundless form.
He is called Vāsudeva, for He envelops all creatures with the veil of His māyā—His divine illusion; or because His splendour fills all worlds; or because He is the support and resting-place of the gods.
He is Viṣṇu, for His nature pervades everything, from the atom to the sun.
He is Mādhava, for as a Muni, He abides in meditation, absorbed in truth and yoga.
He is Madhusūdana, for He slew the Asura Madhu, and also because He is the essence of the twenty-four principles of existence.
“Each name a star in heaven’s span,
Each sound a key to realms unseen;
Who utters them with heart made pure,
Shall know the soul where all have been.”
Born of the Sātvata race, He is called Kṛṣṇa, for in Him are joined kṛṣi, “that which exists,” and na, “eternal peace.” Thus, He is the union of Being and Rest, the existence that sustains, and the stillness that redeems.
He is Puṇḍarīkākṣa, for Puṇḍarīka means “the lotus”—His eternal abode—and akṣa means “imperishable.” Therefore is He the Indestructible Lotus-Eyed One.
He is Janārdana, for He strikes terror into the hearts of the wicked, and protects those who are righteous.
He is Sātvata, for the quality of Sattva—purity and light—is never apart from Him, nor He from it.
He is Vṛṣabhākṣaṇa, for Vṛṣabha signifies “the Vedas” and īkṣaṇa, “eye”; thus the Vedas are His eyes, and through them alone may He be beheld.
“By hymn and prayer the seers behold,
The One no mortal eye may see;
The Vedas are His countless eyes,
That open truth for those who flee.”
He is Aja, the Unborn, for He takes no birth as other beings do.
He is Dāmodara, for His splendour is self-born and increate; and also for His mastery over Self, radiant with perfect control.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
He is Hṛṣīkeśa, for Hṛṣīka means “eternal joy,” and Īśa, “the Lord of the six divine powers”—thus He is the ruler of joy, strength, glory, wealth, wisdom, and renown.
He is Mahābāhu, the Great-Armed, for with His two arms He upholds both earth and heaven.
He is Adhokṣaja, the One who never falls, whose glory is imperishable.
He is Nārāyaṇa, for He is the refuge of all beings, human and divine.
He is Puruṣottama, for puru means “creator and preserver,” and uttama implies “he who transcends both creation and destruction.” Thus He is the Supreme Person, the One who creates, preserves, and dissolves the universe.
“He builds the worlds, He makes them fade,
Yet in Himself abides the same;
Beyond all birth, beyond all death,
The changeless One with changing name.”
He is Sarva, for He knows all things.
He is Satya, for He is the Truth, and Govinda is Truth’s own Truth.
He is Viṣṇu for His strength, Jiṣṇu for His victory.
He is Ananta, for He is without end, Govinda, for He knows the speech of every being and the secret language of creation itself.
He is the Master of Illusion, making the unreal seem real, deluding creatures with the play of appearances.
Yet He Himself is never deluded; righteous in act, divine in nature, the mighty-armed slayer of Madhu shall come hither, O king, to avert the slaughter of thy race.”
“He veils the world with dreams of change,
Yet wakes the wise to endless peace.
The hand that binds is hand that frees—
And all returns to Him’s release.”
Thus spoke Sañjaya, the far-seeing,
And Dhṛtarāṣṭra sat in silence—his blind eyes lifted as if seeking the light he could not see. For in that moment the names of Kṛṣṇa were not merely words upon the air, But the sound of eternity whispering through mortal hearts.
Vaiśampāyana said:
Then Dhṛtarāṣṭra, moved by longing and despair, spoke again to Sañjaya, his voice trembling like a flame in wind. Though bereft of sight, his mind strove to behold what his eyes could not—the radiant form of the Eternal Keśava.
“O Sañjaya,” said the king, “I envy those who have the gift of sight—
for they shall behold before them that Vāsudeva, whose body of perfect beauty shines with a splendour that illumines the ten directions and the spaces between. They shall look upon Him whose words the Bhāratas will hear with reverence—
words that are auspicious to the Śṛñjayas, gladdening to the hearts of the virtuous, wholesome to those who seek prosperity, but intolerable to those whom death has already claimed.
“Blessed the eyes that see His face,
Blessed the ears that hear His tone;
For speech from Him is life’s pure grace,
And wrath from Him—destruction’s own.”
“He is firm of purpose, eternal, unmatched in heroism;
the bull among the Yādavas, their leader and protector;
the slayer of foes and the terror of the wicked,
the destroyer of the pride and glory of all who stand against Him.
O Sañjaya, the Kauravas assembled shall see that high-souled One,
the chief of the Vṛṣṇis,
utter words of sweetness and reason that shall enchant every heart,
and bend to His will even those who boast of power.
They will behold Him—the Rṣi who knows the Self,
the ocean of eloquence,
the Eternal Refuge of the world,
the supreme goal sought by sages and ascetics.”
“He is the calm beyond all storm,
The fire that burns, yet giveth light;
The Word that weaves creation’s form,
The silence in the heart of night.”
“I surrender myself to that everlasting One—
that divine Bird of a thousand wings,
the destroyer and sustainer of creatures,
the thousand-headed, all-embracing Lord;
the Beginningless, the Endless, the Infinite;
the cause of the primal seed and the seed itself;
Eternity incarnate; the highest of the high;
the Creator of the three worlds;
the Source of gods, Asuras, Nāgas, and Rākṣasas;
the foremost of sages, the ruler of rulers,
the younger brother of Indra,
the destroyer of the world’s vanity and its redeemer from sorrow.
“He moves, yet rests; He acts, yet stills;
He is the root of all that grows.
The worlds revolve as His mere will,
And time itself before Him bows.”
“Would that these darkened eyes of mine could behold Him,
the Lord of all that was and is and shall be—
but I am blind, and they shall see what I cannot:
the smiling face of Vāsudeva,
the eternal, imperishable soul of the universe.”
Thus lamented Dhṛtarāṣṭra, whose eyes were closed to the world but whose heart dimly felt the presence of divinity.
And Sañjaya, seeing the king’s yearning, bowed his head in silence, for he too knew that soon the Lord of the Universe would stand revealed upon the field of Kurukṣetra, radiant as the morning sun, speaking words that would echo beyond the ages.