The holy-chant: Govinda! Govinda! Govinda! is all-pervading in Tirumala Kshetram. While chanting Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, we meet with this holy Nama in
slokams 20 and 58. Readers of this Blog may be interested in the significance and meanings given by commentators on the Govinda Nama. The following extract is from
the Sahasranamam web-page in http://kirtimukha.com/chinnamma/sahasra/index.html
Govinda-Nama in Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam
maheshvaaso maheebhartaa srinivasah sataamgatih
aniruddhah suraanando govindo govidaampatih -20
a) One who is praised by the gods (for His help).
b) One who dug out the Earth from the depths of the Ocean.
c) The protector of cows.d) One who confers the veda-s
go in samskRt means "Earth", "cows", "speech", or "veda-s" - gaur-vANI, dharA, dhenurvA. From this we derive gavAm, gAm, etc. vid - lAbhe to get, to find, to feel is the root from which vinda is derived.
a) gavAm vindah govindah - gavAm - praise, vindah - recipient. He is govinda because He is the recipient of praise by the gods for the help He renders as outlined in the previous nAma.
b) Another interpretation is gAm avindat - One who retrieved the Earth from the depths of the Ocean.
The following is from Santi parvam in mahAbhAratam -
nashTAm vai dharaNIm purvam avindam vai guhAgatAm
govinda iti tenAham devair-vAgbir-abhishTutah (Santi - 330.5)
"I first rescued the earth which was carried away and hidden in depths of the Ocean (by an asura); hence I am praised by the appellation Govinda by gods and scriptures". The significance of this is pointed out by the dharma cakram writer: BhagavAn is the One who truly understands the world and all its subjects.
c) gAvo vedavANyo yam vindanti labhante, yatra vA avatisThante sa govindo bhagavAn vishNuh - One who is reached by vedic chanting, or One who is the abode of the veda-s, is govinda or vishNu. In harivamSa we have the following -
gaureshA tu yato vANI tAm ca vindayate bhavAn
govindastu tato deva! munibhih kathyate bhavAn! (harivamSa 3.88.50)
gau means worlds.
You pervade all worlds giving them power. Sages, therefore, call you govinda.
You pervade all worlds giving them power. Sages, therefore, call you govinda.
d) The protector of the cows - again supported from harivamSa -
aham kilendro devAnAm tvam gavAm indratAm gatah
govinda iti lokAstvAm stoshyanti bhuvi SASvatam (harivamSa 2.19.45)
"I am indra, leader of deva-s. You have attained the leadership of the cows. So in this world men praise you always addressing you as govinda". He is the protector of the cows and played the part ofgopAla in gokulam. SrI satyadevo vAsishTha points out that the leadership of cows also suggests the importance of milk, ghee, etc., in worship, yaj~na etc., and how these also play a key role in thenourishment of the world.
An author by name ananta kRshNa Sastri, who has translated SrI Sankara's vishNu sahasranAma vyAkhyAnam, gives 10 meanings for the combination go+vid - 1) go -svargam - He transcends Heaven.
2) arrows - He knows all the weapons. 3) cattle - He is the leader of cows. 4) Speech - He is to be known by the veda-s. 5) Thunderbolt - He has the vajra marks on His feet. 6) Quarters - He is known in
all quarters. 7) Eyes - He is the seer in every person. 8) The Sun - He is in the orb of the sun. 9) Earth - He recovered the Earth from the Ocean. 10) Waters - His seat is in the waters
Vishnu Sahasra Namam: Sloka-58
mahaavaraaho govindah susheNah kanakangadee
guhyo gabheero ahano guptashchakra gadaadharah 58
govindah
a) One who is praised by the gods (for His help).
b) One who dug out the Earth from the depths of the Ocean.
c) The protector of cows.
d) One who confers the veda-s
e) He who rescued the Earth. f) He who is known by vedic sentences.
g) He who is responsible for all things that move.om govindAya namah.
This nAma occurred earlier in sloka 20; the detailed explanation for (a) to (d) were given under Slokam 20.
SrI BhaTTar gives interpretation for (e) thus: a variation of explanation (b) under the current nAma viz. bhagavAn is govindah because He rescued the Earth from the rAkshasa.
SrI Sa'nkara gives the interpretationfor (f) under the current nAma: "gobhih - vANibhih vindate" - He Who is known (vid) through words i.e., vedic sentences. SrI Sa'nkara gives the reference from vishNutilaka -
gobhireva yato vedyo govindah samudAhRtah -
"You are named govinda as you are to be known through scriptual texts".
SrI satyadevo vAsishTha derives his interpretation starting from the root gam - gatau - to go (gacchati iti gauh),and gives the meaning "to possess" to the word vid (vid - lAbhe - toget), and thus derives the interpretation (g) above. His explanation is that anything that moves, including our mind, our indriya-s, the Sun, etc., are His possession, and so He is called govindah. He gives this interpretation for the nAma "govidAm patih" also. He supports his interpretation based on"gacchati iti jagat" - BhagavAn is present everywhere as seen by the movement of everything in this world. The life in all things that live is associated with movement, and He is the One who is behind this movement -govindah.
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Read also: http://www.tirumala.org/ptv_tm_varaha.htm about the traditinal custom of offering worship to Adi Varaha swamy first and proceeding to Sri Venkatshwara temple only there-after:
Sri Varahaswami Temple in Tirumala is to the north of the Sri Venkateswara Temple, on the banks of Swami Pushkarini. According to legend, Tirumala was originally Adi Varaha Kshetra (the home of Sri Adi Varaha Swami), and it was with his permission that Lord Sri Venkateswara took up residence here.
According to the Brahma Purana, pilgrims should first offer naivedyam to Sri Adi Varaha Swami, before visiting the Sri Venkateswara Temple. According to Atri Samhita (Samurtarchanadhikara), the Varaha avatara is worshipped in three forms:
· Adi Varaha
· Pralaya Varaha
· Yajna Varaha The idol of Sri Varahaswami in Tirumala is that of Adi Varaha, as it resembles the description of the Adi Varaha murti in Vaikhanasa Agama texts.
The genesis of Sri Varahaswamy Avatarm is given in Canto 3 Chapters 16 - 19 of Srimad Bhagavatam.
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Rajaji's song "kurai onrum illai govinda", sung by MS, chants the glory of Govinda who is present as Archa Murti on the Tirumala hills: ( http://kirtimukha.com/KuraiOnrumIllai.htm )
kurai onrum illai, Maraimūrthi kanna!
Manivannā! Malaiyappā! Gōvinda!
Gōvinda! Govinda!Govinda!
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