South-Indian Nomenclature

I don't recall the exact time, but I do remember being asked by somebody - "Why are you South Indians named after Gods?"

At that time I didnt have any answer. I knew I was named after my paternal grandmother and my sister named after my maternal grandmother. My mother was named after her grandmother and so on....

May be today I have a better answer. The following is a story that I came across in the Bhagavatham (ok that happens to my favorite book! :) )

There was once a very noble brahmin called Ajamila. He lived his life very piously. He was a good husband, good father and good son.

One day when Ajamila went to the forest to collect fuel wood, he saw a women of low morals and fell in love with her. Taken up by her, Ajamila abandoned his family and his righteous life and went to live with her. He made a living by theft, fraud and gambling. He had ten sons with her. The last one was named "Narayana". Ajamila was very fond of his son, Narayana. He only thought of Narayana, day in and day out, while eating and sleeping.

This way he passed many years of his life. Finally one day, he saw two hideous looking creatures with nooses in their hands. They were coming towards him with great speed to cast their nooses around him. These were the messengers of Lord Yama - the God of death. They had come to take Ajamila. Ajamila did not realise that he was about to die, he was so scared that he called out to his son Narayana. That very moment there appeared two beautiful godly figures, with mace and discus in their hands. They were the messengers of Lord Narayana himself. They heard Ajamila call Narayana and immediately came to his aid.

Then there was a great debate between the messengers of Lord Yama and Lord Narayana. Finally, the messengers of Lord Narayana declared, that though Ajamila had forgotten his divine nature, he had uttered the holy name of the Lord at the time of his death. The mere uttering of the Lord's name is enough to absolve one of all sins. Hence, Ajamila had been rid of all his sins. The messengers of the Lord of Death did not have any answer to this. So, they left Ajamila. Now, Ajamila realized what happened and led the rest of his life piously, in the constant thought of the Lord.

When I read this story I understood why we have God's name. Parents are most attached to their children. So, naming their children after God at least makes them repeat the name (Nama Japam) which itself is enough to purify one's mind.