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Nilakantha, in his commentary, explains the signification's thus: rudrah, 'The pranas are the rudras for they cause all this to cry out,' declares scripture: Hence, He is the life of all; mahadevah, He who is worshipped by all other gods.
In commenting on the Siva-sahasranama, Nilakantha does not ado the stance of the Siva-cult; he follows the Advaita view that there is no difference between Siva and Visnu. And so, wherever the names of Visnu occur, he takes each one of them in its normal sense, as referring to Visnu. Thus, harih is the destroyer of the danger that confronted Gajendra; He is the universal destroyer; mali, adorned with the garland, vanamala; vamanah, He who subdued Bali. Nilakantha, like Sri Sankara, holds that in all the puranas it is the one godhead that is praised by the names indicating Visnu or Siva.
A text of the Suta-Samhita says: "Those whose minds are bigotted, look upon Brahma Visnu, and Siva as different, and ignore their unity. "Mother, the Supporter, Brahma ... Rudra, the many headed" - these names occurring in the Visnu-sahasranama include the appellations of Siva and Brahma. Similarly, in the Siva-sahasranama we come across such names as "Mahadeva, undecaying, Hari, the Lord of the ganas, Prajapati" indicating Brahma and Visnu.
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