Sankhya Viśhiṣhṭa 1
Significance of Number One
| Numeral 1 | References | Brief explanation |
| Eko Viṣhṇu | Eko Viṣhṇur Mahadbhūtham | Lord Viṣhṇu is referred to as the sole sustenance of the world here. |
| Eko nārāyaṇaha | Nārāyaṇa is ONE | Nārāyaṇa is another name for Lord Viṣhṇu. His followers believe that He is the only protector of everyone in the Universe. |
| Ekapādha | Literally translated, it means – One foot or the one who has just one foot.
The reference is to Lord Viṣhṇu’s fifth incarnation, known as the Vāmana Avathāra. It is also to Lord Śhiva as he stands on one foot in a dance pose. |
In his incarnation as a dwarfed Brahmin, Lord Viṣhṇu asked for three paces of land from King Bali as donation. When Bali promised him the same, He assumed his gigantic form and measured Heaven and Earth with two paces. The last pace was when he lifted one foot (Ekapādha) and queried as to where He could place it, for which the noble king Bali bowed down and offered his head as the place.
Lord Śhiva danced to the request of his devotees in the pilgrimage centre of Chidhamabaram in Thamizh Nāḍu. He is said to have danced having lifted one leg high and being based on one foot (Ekapādha). |
| Ekāthma | Viṣhṇu is the Solitary Unique Soul. | Lord Viṣhṇu is the protector amongst the Hindhu divine male trinity. Here, the reference is to Him being the creator also. |
| Ekadhantha | Literally translated, it means – Single tooth or the one who has just one tooth. It is an adjective of Lord Gaṇapathi. | Legend has it that Gaṇapathi was approached by Vyāsa to be his scribe for the epic Mahābhāratha. He is then said to have broken one of his tusks and uses it as the pen to write the script. |
| Ekāk ṣ hara Manthra | Parabrahma Svarūpa - Om Ithyekākṣharam The form of the Supreme Self- The hymn with the single syllable. | The syllable OM is said to represent not only the letter and sound but also Supreme self. It is enough if one chants just Om to attain the highest state of bliss is the common understanding. |
| Ekachakradhhara | One who has the one wheeled chariot (known as Rathham in Samskruth) It is an epithet of the Sun god, Sūrya. | This is an imagery which describes the movement of the Sun and also the concept of Time. The Sun god is imagined to be travelling on a chariot with one wheel which is known as the Kāla Chakra, the wheel of Time. |
| Ekāmra | Ekāmreśhvara means the Lord of the single Mango tree | In South India , temples were constructed at places where certain trees were considered as the home of a particular deity.
Later these trees became Sthhalavrukṣhas or the sacred tree connected with that particular place where it is still worshipped. The famous Ekāmreśhvara temple in the temple-town of Kānchipuram (Thamizh Nāḍu) has the mango tree as the Sthhalavrukṣha. Goddess Pārvathi is said to have worshipped Śhiva in the form of a liṅga beneath this tree and was reunited with Him. A very ancient sculpture inside this temple depicts this scene with the mango tree sculpted in detail. |
| Ekākṣha | The Crow; The one eyed one; Reference here is to the story of Jayantha, Indhra's Son | Once Jayantha, the son of Indhra, the king of Heaven took the form of a crow. He troubled Sīthā and an annoyed Rāma poked the bird’s eyes blinding him in one. From then the crow also is referred to as the single eyed one. |
| Eka Pathni Vratha | Rāma | The prince of Ayodhya, an ancient Indian country was idolized amongst other things for his monogamy. That ruler is Rāma, who is also elevated to be the sixth incarnation of Lord Viṣhṇu. He stood committed to Sīthā, his noble wife. |
| Ekanāḍi | Having the same Nāḍi, which in the astrological context is a point to be matched between the bride and the groom amongst many such, leads to faults in the match. | In India , the matching of the natal charts for Marriage between two people is almost mandatory till date.
Nadi Dhoṣha (Faults in the match of Nāḍi) exists if proposed husband and wife have the same Nāḍi. |
| Ekodhara | Single Child | Eka meaning One and Udhara meaning the stomach and in this context, the womb, this adjective is for the Single child. |
| Ekānu | Ekāṇujīvi- Unicellular Organism. Eka – one; aṇu –cell; jīvi – with life; | The ancient Indians termed all organisms by their birth origin in the early ages itself displaying their command in the scientific area too. |
| Eka chakrādhhipathi | Literal meaning – the owner of the single wheel. To be understood as the Unchallenged Sole Emperor | It is believed that Kings became Emperors when they brought many other Kings under them by winning wars, concluding treaties etc. This emperor remains unchallenged for supremacy and the wheel is the symbol of his success. |
| Ekabhukthā | He who takes a single meal a Day | There are many even now in India who for spiritual reasons contain their intake to one meal a day. This epithet signifies them. |
| Ekāha | 11th day of the Death Ceremony | In traditional Hindhu families, on the death of a person, various rites prescribed in the ancient texts are followed strictly. These extend up to 14 or 16 days. Amongst them the 11th day is called Ekāha and remains significant in the ceremony process as it contains many rites in one day ( Ekāha). |
