381. Vikartā विकर्ता

The previous nāma kartā spoke about His doership. This nāma speaks about His creative abilities. The subtle meaning conveyed through this nāma is that He creates multitudes of creatures, out of His own Self. Everything is created out of Him. Without Him being present, none can exist.

382. Gahanaḥ गहनः

Repetitive nāma 544.

Gahana means imperishable and impenetrable. Though everyone knows that He is the Absolute, yet it is difficult to know Him. He can be realised within, only through knowledge and meditation.

Normal human consciousness is prone to multifarious afflictions due to innumerable thought processes. When one begins to think about Him always, other thought processes become weak and cease to exist over a period of time, when His thought alone pervades his mind. When thoughts about Him become intent, He is realised as the Self.

383. Guhaḥ गुहः

He conceals His true nature through the effects of māyā.

Kaṭha Upaniṣad (II.i.12) says, “Of the size of the thumb, He resides in the body…..When a spiritual aspirant knows Him, He does not want to conceal Himself.” This means that He conceals Himself to those, who do not make any efforts to realize Him. Such men are engrossed in materialistic world, acting through their sensory organs. In spirituality, sensory organs should be mortified, because they cause lasting impressions in the mind. Unless mind is devoid of too many extraneous impressions, He cannot be realized.

Kṛṣṇa says (Bhagavad Gītā VII. 24 & 25), “The ignorant men think that I have assumed an ordinary form and fail to understand Me as the Supreme Spirit…Because of the supreme power of my māyā, I stand veiled.”

384. Vyavasāyaḥ व्यवसायः

Vyavasāya has several meanings. Contextually, determination, having a resolute mind, intellect incarnate, etc, are applicable to this nāma.

Kṛṣṇa explains this in Bhagavad Gītā (II. 40 & 41). “In karma yoga, there is only a single pointed determination (to realize the Self). But the reasoning of those who have irresolute mind is endless and ramified.”

Determination is the effect of a resolute mind. Instead of determining to realize the Self, the mind wanders in the materialistic world, gets afflicted with sensory and bodily pleasures. When the mind gets addicted to worldly pleasures, it is difficult to tame the mind.

One has to be knowledgeable to realize Him, as He is the embodiment of knowledge. This is based on the fact that only two objects of the same type can merge together to make a single entity. For example, river merges with an ocean and because of this merger, the element water remains the same ever after the merger. If fire and water are united, fire is extinguished by water. When one wants to merge with Him, then he has to become knowledgeable.

385. Vyavasthānaḥ व्यवस्थानः

He is the cause for the framework of universal laws. The cosmos functions on certain foundational principles, laid down by Him. If the laws are violated, He does not hesitate to annihilate the violators, to restore normalcy.

He is like the foundation of a building, without which, the building cannot exist.

386. Saṁsthānaḥ संस्थानः

He is the abode to all the beings at the time of annihilation. This nāma is one of the well known names of Viṣṇu.

Please refer nāma also.

387. Sthānadaḥ स्थानदः

It is derived from the words sthāna (place) + dā (to give) forming an attributive compound (masculine gender), which means ‘one who assigns a place’.

He assigns different positions to different beings based on the law of karma. What one sows, so he reaps is the basis for law of karma. Karmas are accumulated only by one’s own actions, either good or bad. Karmas stop accumulating only if one surrenders to Him.

388. Dhruvaḥ ध्रुवः

He is fixed (no changes happens in Him) like the polar star. Changelessness is the unique quality of the Brahman.

Kaṭha Upaniṣad (II.ii.13) explains this as “nityo'nityānāṁ नित्योऽनित्यानां” which means ‘He who is permanent among the impermanent.’