Second Adhyaya, Fourth Khanda (2 mantras)

Mantra 2.4.1.

1. Let one meditate on the five-fold Lord, the Harmonious in all waters. Pradyumna in the clouds when they collect together, Vāsudeva in the clouds when raining, Nārāyaṇa in the rivers that flow eastward, Aniruddha in the rivers flowing west, and Saṅkarṣaṇa in the ocean.—104.

Mantra 2.4.2.

2. He who knowing this thus, meditates on the fivefold Harmonious, as residing in the waters, does not meet death by drowning; (but getting Release) possesses the Lord of all waters.—105.

Madhva’s commentary called the Bhāṣya:

Having thus mentioned the meditation of the Lord in his five-fold aspects in the rain, now the Śruti teaches the meditation on the Lord in all waters formed of rain. This Khaṇḍa, therefore, also appertains to God and is not merely one which deals with physical things.

He who meditates on the Lord Nārāyaṇa in waters, and knows Him, that the Lord is five-fold even in waters, does not die by being drowned in water; because the Lord Hari dwells in waters (and protects him there). The sense is, he who meditates on the Lord Nārāyaṇa as dwelling in waters, becomes released. Or the word Apsumān may be explained as He who produces the waters (apaḥ sūte ‘he who produces water’). The long Û is shortened and thus we get Apsumān.

Note.—The word apsumān means devoted to Nārāyaṇa. How do you explain apsumān as Narāyaṇavan? To this we reply, because Nārāyaṇa exists in waters, and another name of Nārāyaṇa is apsuṣad, he who dwells in waters, or he who moves on the surface of the waters. If apsuṣad be a name of Nārāyaṇa, then Nārāyaṇavān would be apsuṣadvān and not apsumān. To this we reply that the word apsumān is an example of that class of words, in which the middle term is elided. The full compound, of course, would have been apsuṣadvān, but apsumān is a shortened form. But Nārāyaṇa is the Inner Controller of all; He is nob only in waters but in everything. How is it then said that meditation on the Lord in the water produces such a high result? To this we reply, that whoever is dovoted to the Lord, gets always salvation. Another objection next raised is that the word apsu is in the locative case. How do you make this compound without removing the case-sign. To this wo reply, that in the compound the locative case-sign is sometimes not elided. Or we may say that the word “apsu” is not at all the locative plural of apas, but is a word in the nominative singular; and denotes the Lord; and that it is a compound of two words ap + sū meaning water-producer. But if it is a compound of two words “ap” (water) and “sū” (producer) then the form would be apsūmān with long “ū”, and not apsumān with short “u”. This anomaly is a Vaidic license.