Second Adhyaya, Eighth Khanda (3 mantras)

Mantra 2.8.1.

1. Now is taught the seven-fold. Let one meditate on the seven-fold Harmonious in a sentence. Pradyumna in that sentence which has ‘hiṅ’ in it, Vāsudeva in that which has ‘Para’; Varāha in that which has ‘ā’.—112.

[Note—Adiḥ—the aspect of Lord called Ādiḥ, because in the beginning (Ādi) He appears as a boar (Varāha); this Varāha aspect is called Ādi.]

Mantra 2.8.2.

Nārāyaṇa is in that sentence which has the syllable “Ut” in it, Aniruddha in that which has “Prati,” Nṛsiṃha in that which has “Upa” and Saṅkarṣaṇa in that which has “Ni” in it.—113.

[Note.—Upadravaḥ—called upadrava, the cause calamity or upadrava. In this aspect the Lord is called Nṛsiṃha and is the cause of all national calamities or misfortunes.]

Mantra 2.8.3.

3. The Lord gives to him Release which is the milk of speech. He becomes rich in food, and able to consume food (healthy), who knowing Him thus, meditates on the seven-fold Harmonious.—114.

Madhva’s commentary called the Bhāṣya:

Having thus described the five-fold meditation on the Lord, the Śruti now mentions seven-fold meditation on him. The words Hiṅkāra, Prastāva, Udgītha, and Pratihāra, have already been explained before, as the names of the various forms of the Lord; namely, Pradyumna, Vāsudeva, Nārāyaṇa, Aniruddha, and Saṅkarṣaṇa. Two more names are now mentioned. They are Ādi, and Upadrava.

The Commentator, therefore, explains these two words by quoting an authority:—

Thus it is said:—“The Lord is called Ādi because He is the cause of the beginning of a Kalpa, (and the word Ādi means beginning). The sportful Lord Keśava Himself in the beginning of a Kalpa assumed the form of a Varāha (boar), therefore, this form is called Ādi. The Lord is called Upadrava (or ‘public calamity’) in his Avatāra of Nṛsiṃha, because in this form He destroyed the great evil-doer called Hiraṇyakaśipu.”

(Lest one may think that the syllables Hum, Pra, Ā, Ut, Prati, Upa, and Ni are identical with Pradyumna, etc., the Commentator now explains this Śruti:—)

In a sentence containing the syllable ‘Hum,’ the Lord in His aspect of Pradyumna constantly resides; in a sentence containing the syllable “Ā” the Lord in the form of Varāha (Boar) has His abode, in a sentence having Pra, dwells Vāsudeva; similarly, the Lord in His aspect of Nārāyaṇa is in that sentence which has the syllable “Ut,” in His aspect of Aniruddha, He is in the sentence which has the syllable “Prati”; in His aspect of Nṛsiṃha (man-lion), He is in that sentence, which contains the syllable “Upa”; in His aspect of Saṅkarṣaṇa, He is in the sentence that has the syllable “Ni.”

This shows that the syllables “Hum,” “Pra, “etc., are not names of mere syllables; had it been so, the proposition “one should meditate on the seven-fold Lord in the sentence,” becomes meaningless. These, therefore, are rightly explained as syllables occurring in a sentence. A question arises here, what is the Devatā of that sentence in which some one of these seven syllables does not occur?

To this the Commentator replies:—

If any one of these syllables is absent from a sentence, so many as are present in it, they will be the Devatās of the sentence.

If of these syllables any one is omitted, so many as remain will regulate the Devatā of the sentence.

Thus he who meditates always on the All-pervading Viṣṇu called Vāk, in His seven-fold aspect, for Him the Lord becomes the Giver of all desires and objects (literally becomes the milker of all objects for him.)