The works of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya

Viṣṇusahasranāmastotram

Verse 393

आप्तकामत्वात् निर्वेदोऽस्य न विद्यत इति अनिर्विण्णः ।वैराजरूपेण स्थितः स्थविष्ठः; 'अग्निर्मूर्धा चक्षुषी चन्द्रसूर्यौ' इति श्रुतेः ।अजन्मा अभूः; अथवा 'भू सत्तायाम्' इत्यस्य संपदादित्वात् क्विप्; मही वा ।यूपे पशुवत् तत्समाराधनात्मका धर्माः तत्र बध्यन्त इति धर्मयूपः ।यस्मिन्नर्पिता मखा यज्ञा निर्वाणलक्षणफलं प्रयच्छन्तो महान्तो जायन्ते सः महामखः ।'नक्षत्रतारकैः सार्धं चन्द्रसूर्यादयो ग्रहाः ।वायुपाशमयैर्बन्धैर्निबद्धा ध्रुवसंज्ञिते' स ज्योतिषां चक्रं भ्रामयंस्तारामयस्य शिंशुमारस्य पुच्छदेशे व्यवस्थितो ध्रुवः ।तस्य शिंशुमारस्य हृदये ज्योतिश्चक्रस्य नेमिवत्प्रवर्तकः स्थितो विष्णुरिति नक्षत्रनेमिः; शिंशुमारवर्णने 'विष्णुर्हृदयम्' इति स्वाध्यायब्राह्मणे श्रूयते ।चन्द्ररूपेण नक्षत्री, 'नक्षत्राणामहं शशी' इति भगवद्वचनात् ।समस्तकार्येषु समर्थः क्षमः; क्षमत इति वा, 'क्षमया पृथिवीसमः' इति वाल्मीकिवचनात् ।सर्वविकारेषु क्षपितेषु स्वात्मनावस्थित इति क्षामः ।'क्षायो मः' इति निष्ठातकारस्य मकारादेशः ।सृष्ट्याद्यर्थं सम्यगीहते इति समीहनः ॥

In plain words

He is Anirviṇṇa because sorrow and dejection can never touch Him, all His desires being eternally fulfilled. He is Sthaviṣṭha as the vast cosmic form, whose head is fire and whose eyes are the sun and moon, as scripture declares. He is Ajanmā and Abhū, the Unborn, whose very being is pure existence. He is Dharmayūpa because sacred duties of worship are tied to Him as a sacrificial beast to the post. He is Mahāmakha, the Great Sacrifice, wherein all offerings dedicated to Him grow mighty and bestow the supreme fruit of liberation. He is Dhruva, the steadfast pole star at the tail of the celestial porpoise, revolving the stellar wheel by invisible bonds of wind. He is Nakṣatranemi, abiding as the driving rim in the heart of that celestial creature, as the Vedic Brahmana proclaims. He is Nakṣatrī, the moon among constellations, echoing the Lord's words: 'Among stars I am the moon.' He is Kṣama, capable in all works and patient as the earth itself. He is Kṣāma, abiding purely in His own self when all worldly modifications dissolve. And He is Samīhana, who purposefully wills the cosmic projection and all its wondrous acts.

Close to the Sanskrit

Anirviṇṇa is so named because dejection does not exist in Him, due to all His desires being fulfilled. Sthaviṣṭha is the macrocosmic form, from the scripture 'Fire is His head, and the sun and moon are His two eyes'. Ajanmā and Abhū mean unborn, or derived from the root 'bhū' meaning existence with the kvip suffix, or meaning the earth. Dharmayūpa is so named because righteous acts of worship are bound to Him like an animal at the sacrificial post. Mahāmakha is He in whom sacrifices offered become great, granting the fruit of liberation. Dhruva is the pole star located at the tail of the starry porpoise, revolving the wheel of lights by wind-bonds. Nakṣatranemi is Viṣṇu, situated as the rim-promoter in the heart of that porpoise, as heard in the Vedic Brahmana. Nakṣatrī is the moon, from the Gita passage 'Among stars I am the moon'. Kṣama is capable in all undertakings, or because He forgives, from Valmiki's statement 'Equal to the earth in patience'. Kṣāma is one who abides in His own self when all modifications are negated, by the grammatical rule substituting 'm' for the 't' of the past participle. Samīhana is He who properly wills for creation and other acts.