What does word “Narayana “ mean?

What does  word “Narayana “ mean?

Summarized   and Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

(Though I have heard   this story before I happen to see it again in Tamil in the post of Balasubramanian  Nannilam Ranganathan . Thanks to him )

Sage Narada   once went to   a  sage asked,

:What is the meaning   of   Narayana and he ,

Told him, “He who sleeps    on    water” but,

Narada   was not convinced and he went  to Narayana himself.

Lord Narayana   said  “I myself do not know,

Better   go and ask the bee in shores  of Narmada,

And poor Narada   chased   that bee   all over and asked,

“What does  Narayana mean? “ and the  bee  died  that instant

Naraada  after  some time  again met Lord Narayana ,

And asked him the    same   question   once more,

And he in his   great majesty   said , “Is it so ,

Then you go and ask that  parrot that   you see there?”

Narada   in right earnest   went to the parrot and asked,

The same question    and the parrot   died instantly and as ,

Per direction of Lord Narayana , Narada   asked  this question,

To a cow   which  died and later  he was directed  to the prince of Benares.

Sage Narada   was greatly scared   but   after some  prodding  ,

From Narayana    went and asked the same question   to the prince,

And he replied, I was the bee and  hearing “Narayana “, I was born,

As the parrot  and hearing it again I was born as a cow   and now as prince of Kasi.

Then sage Narada   understood that  “Narayana”

Means “that   which makes you  born   as greater  being”,

And  also means, “that   which takes  a person ,

To Salvation “when   he   has exhausted  all his sins.,”