The 59th name of Lord Mahavishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranama is LohitAksha. Parasara Bhatta, who wrote a commentary for the Vishnu Sahasranama, says the Lord is always happy because of His many leelas. And because of this joy, His eyes are red like lotuses. Hence the name LohitAskha (lohita - red in colour; aksha - eyes). Singing of the beauty of Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam, Thirupannazhvar talks of the beautiful red lines in Ranganatha’s eyes.
The Lord is joyful, because He showers His devotees with His daya. This leads us to name number 138 in Parasara Bhatta’s classification. The 138th name is krtAkrtah. This means that He is the giver of everything. He gives worldly joys and moksha, explained V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse. Worldly joys are artificial (krta). It is in the nature of the atma to seek proximity to the Supreme One. So, to seek moksha is natural (akrta). But since we crave worldly joys, He gives us these too. Since He gives us krta and akrta, He is krtAkrtah. Doing a japa of this name will bring us moksha.
Vishnu is also called ajah. It means He is not born like us. While we cannot choose our parents, the time of our birth or the form we will take, the Lord decides the place, time and manner of His birth. Particularly interesting is His Narasimha avatara. The name ajah occurs twice in the Vishnu Sahasranama. Name 206 - ajah - is explained by Parasara Bhatta with reference to the Narasimha avatara. He says that since Narasimha was born from a pillar, His arrival was most unusual! The 737th name is ‘tat.’ This is explained by Parasara Bhatta as ‘He who expands, or magnifies.’ What does He magnify? If we take one step towards Him, He multiplies that a hundredfold, and counts that one little step as hundred steps towards Him.
