Sushen (name)

Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, depicts his Vishvarupa (Universal Form) to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

The name Suṣhēn or Suṣhēna or Suṣhēnah or Sushane is one of the names of Lord Vishnu cited in the epic Hindu poem Vishnu sahasranāma ("the thousand names of Vishnu"), an articulated versification of 1,008 names for Vishnu. Other people described in Hindu sacred texts also have the name Sushena. Many Hindu or Buddhist people, especially in India, China, Cambodia, The Maldives, Indonesia and Mongolia are named Suṣhēn or Suṣhēna or Suṣhєn or Suṣhєna.

Vishnu sahasranama

Vaishnavas consider that Vishnu is the supreme god in the trimurti or Hindu triad. Vishnu sahasranama is one of the most sacred and commonly chanted stotras in Hinduism, and the version found in the Mahābhārata is the most popular. It lists names that each eulogise one of Vishnu's great attributes.^[1] Stanza 58 of the Vishnu sahasranama contains the name suṣhēnah:

mahāvarāho govindạh suṣhēnah kanakāngade
guhyo gabhēro gahanọ guptaśchakragadādharah

Authorities have different views of the meaning of the word suṣhēnah in this context.

The Advaita philosopher Adi Shankaracharya wrote a definitive Sanskrit commentary on the sahasranāma in the 8th century CE which has been particularly influential for many schools of Hinduism.^[2] His commentary on Stanza 58 included: "Suṣhēnah – He who has a charming army. The army of Vishnu is called as His Ganā. They are mainly constituted of great sages and seers and hence, their compelling enchantment."^[3][4]

In the 13th century CE, Parasara Bhattar wrote a commentary in Tamil on Vishnu sahasranama from a Vaishnavite viewpoint, giving the opinion that Bhagavan (Vishnu) has a body which is pure suddha-sattva, and the constituents of this pure body are like an army that can win over the jivas (nitya-muktas and baddha-muktas) and make them join him in mutual enjoyment of Bliss.^[5][6]

Other uses

Raja Ravi Varma Painting – 'Rama Conquers Varuna'

• Sushena was son of Karna, one of the central characters of the Mahābhārata. He was a great car-warrior who fought in many battles but was eventually killed by Nakula, one of the Pandava brothers.^[7]
• Sushena (सुषेन) was a monkey chief at the siege of Lanka, when Rama formed an alliance with the monkey king Sugriva who placed an army of monkeys at Rama's disposal.^[8]
• Another Sushena mentioned in the Mahābhārata was the able brother of Emperor Janamejaya, son of Maharaja Parikshit of the Kuru Kingdom.
• In the Ramayana, Sushena was the son of Varuna the God of the sea.
• The Raja Vaidya (Royal Doctor) of Ravana's Kingdom was named Sushena with the 'na' – the ending na of 'ta-kara' in the varnamaala of devanagari script.
• But the most important meaning of Sushenah, as considered by some scholars explains it as: 'su' meaning good or heavenly and 'shenah' with the 'na' – the ending na of 'ta-kara', meaning vaidya or doctor. Precisely Sushenah means Good Doctor or Heavenly Doctor – which is Vishnu and hence His 540th name in Vishnu Sahasranaama is 'Sushenah'.^[9]

References

1. Sankaranarayan, P. (1996). "Śrī Viṣṇu Sahasranāma Stotram". Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
2. "Adi Shankaracharya". S.P.Tata. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
3. Tapasyananda, Swami (2002). Sankara-Dig-Vijaya.
4. "VISHNU SAHASRANAAM". mypurohit.com. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
5. Francis Xavier Clooney (1996), Seeing through texts: doing theology among the Śrīvaiṣṇavas of South India, SUNY Press, ISBN 0791429954
6. Swami B. B. Visnu. "A Short Presentation on Jiva-tattva". Gosai Publishing Company.
7. "Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Book 8 Section 48". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
8. "Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Section CCLXXXVII". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
9. "Ramayana CANTO XXII.: BÁLI DEAD". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 2009-04-05.