The followers of the cults would naturally take such terms as referring to their respective Deities. For the Vaisnavas it is Visnu, and for the Saivas it is Siva, that these names indicate. According to Parasarabhatta3 of the Visistadvaita tradition,
sambhuh means "He who in His
avatara manifests easy accessibility, beauty, etc., and thereby affords the highest happiness to beings";
rudrah means "He who makes devotees shed tears and weep with joy";
sarvah means "He who drives away the calamities of beings that constitute His body";
mahadevah means "He who sports with Brahma and others, using them like play-balls."
Raghunatha Yati4 of the Dvaita-Vedanta school interprets these words with the help of the appropriate
rks thus:
sambhuh, He who as Indra sends down the rains, makes the rivers flow after clipping the wings of mountains and laying the water courses, and thus brings happiness to all His creatures;5
3. His commentary bears the title:
Bhagavad-guna-darpana.
.4. His work is known as
Brhati-sahasram.
5. Sam bhavati asmat iti sambhuh. See also. Sri Satyasandha Yati, Sri Visnu-sahasranama-bhasyam (Dharwar), p.6, sam sukham bhavayatiti
sambhuh. |