Significance of Vishnu Sahasranama

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grandfather, was lying on his deathbed. With his passing away, his irreplaceable

wisdom, based on the experiences of his long life of virtue, righteousness and

devotion, was about to be lost to the world. Sage Vyasa and Sri Krishna advised

Yudhishthira, who himself was an epitome of righteousness and virtue, to seek

the advice of Bhishma on any and all aspects of life on which he had any

doubts. Yudhishthira did as advised, and a series of dialogs ensued between the

two, witnessed by Lord Krishna Himself, and by other great sages including

Vedavyasa. Yudhishtira, after listening to the discourse on dharma from

Bhishma, asked him six questions. 1. ‘Kimekam dhaivatham loke’, who is the

supreme deity? 2. ‘Kimvaapyekam parayanam’, which is the supreme goal? 3&4.

Sthuvanthah kam, kamarchanthah praapnuyurmaanavaasshubham’, praising whom and

worshipping whom men attain

happiness? 5.Ko dharmah sarvadharmaanaam bhavathah paramo mathah,’ what is, in

your opinion , the best dharma of all? 6.Kim japan muchyathe janthuh janma

samsarabhandhanaath,’ meditation on whom leads one to salvation?

Bhishma replies the last question first, ‘Jagatprabhum devadevam anantham

purushoththamam’, meditating on the Lord of devas, who is the Master of the

world, the infinite being , and the Supreme Purusha leads one to salvation.

Jagat denotes the world of sentient and insentient beings. The Lord is called

Jagatprabhu as He is the one who ordains salvation as well as dharma. This

answers the sixth question fully. Devadevam means ‘Lord of gods,’ devas,

including Brahma. He is also Anantha, infinite, which implies

desakalavasthuparichchinnarahithathvam , not limited by space, time and form.

He is

Purshoththama, The Supreme Person as He is ksharaaksharaabhyaam

kaaryakaaranaabhyam uthkrshtah, who is above the mutable and immutable, above

cause and effect, that is, He is transcendent and imminent. Poornathvath

purushah, all pervading and puri sayanaath purushah, indweller of all bodies

Pura is the whole universe which is His sarira. Then Bhishma

proceeds to answer the third and fourth questions, ‘By praising and worshipping

whom men attain their wishes.’ Sthuvannamasahasrena and thameva archayan

nithyam, only through reciting His thousand names and worshipping Him daily men

attain their goal, namely, salvation. He is avyaya, changeless and

akshayagunasampanna endowed with innumerable auspicious qualities enjoyed

always by His devotees sadha anubhavanthyah. Then Bhishma goes on to say how

to worship Him. Nithyam and bhakthya.

Nithyam, every moment and bhakthya, with pure devotion. The ritual of worship

is outlined asdhyaayan, sthuvan, namasyan and yajamaana. Contemplation like

continuous drip of nectar, avichchinna amrthadhara is dhyana, namaskaara,

bowing down is physical while sthuthi, namasankirthana, singing His praise, is

verbal worship. Yajamaana implies atmasamarpana , offering our self to the Lord.

This describes the pure worship performed with enthusiasm, endeavouring to

please the Lord and to show gratitude for making the devotee His own, however

undeserving, through His infinite mercy. This is the bhakthiyoga in a nutshell

as outlined in the Vedas and which is shown as the royal path to salvation.

Merits of Recitation: Believers in the recitation of the Sahasranama claim that

it brings unwavering calm of mind, complete freedom from stress and eternal

knowledge. Sections from Swami Tapasyananda's

translation of the concluding verses of Vishnu sahasranama, state the following:

"Nothing evil or inauspicious will befall a man here or hereafter who daily

hears or repeats these names.. Whichever devoted man, getting up early in the

morning and purifying himself, repeats this hymn devoted to Vasudeva, with a

mind that is concentrated on Him, that man attains to great fame, leadership

among his peers, wealth that is secure and the supreme good unsurpassed by

anything. He will be free from all fears and be endowed with great courage and

energy and he will be free from diseases. Beauty of form, strength of body and

mind, and virtous character will be natural to him.... One who reads this hymn

every day with devotion and attention attains to peace of mind, patience,

prosperity, mental stability, memory and reputation.... Whoever desires

advancement and happiness should repeat this devotional hymn on Vishnu composed

by Vyasa....Never will defeat attend on a man who adores the

Lotus-Eyed One [KamalNayani], who is the Master of all the worlds, who is

birthless, and out of whom the worlds have originated and into whom they

dissolve." Six reasons are generally identified for the greatness of the

Stotram. These are: 1. It is the essence of the Mahabharata.2. Sages such as

Narada, the Alwars, and composers including Saint Tyagaraja have made repeated

references to the "Thousand Names of Vishnu" in their devotional works.3. The

person who strung together the thousand names as part of the Mahabharata and

preserved it for the world was none other than Sage Vedavyasa, the foremost

knower of the vedas, and considered an incarnation of Vishnu (vyasaya vishnu

rupaya vyasa rupaya vishnave namo...).4. It is the considered opinion of

Bhishma that it is the best and easiest of all dharmas, or the means to attain

relief from all bondage.5. It is widely accepted that the chanting of this

Stotram

gives relief from all sorrows and leads to happiness and peace of mind.6. It is

in conformity with the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, Narayaneeya, etc.

Shirdi Sai Baba, commentating about the merits of Vishnu sahasranama (Ref

Chapter XXVII Shri Sai Satcharitra) , said: "Oh Shama, this book is very

valuable and efficacious, so I present it to you, you read it. Once I suffered

intensely and My heart began to palpitate and My life was in danger. At that

critical time, I hugged this book to My heart and then, Shama, what a relief it

gave me! I thought that Allah Himself came down and saved Me. So I give this to

you, read it slowly, little by little, read daily one name at least and it will

do you good." http://groups.msn.com/