Can ladies recite Sri Vishnu sahasranamam?

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavatas:

vasuchak wrote:DATE: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 23:48:59 -0800 (PST) "Mukkur Sri Lakshmi Narasimhachar was of the view that ladies should not recite Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam"

My Reply:

It is not only Mukkur Swami but also so many Acharyas say that ladies should not recite “Sri Vishnu Sahasranaama”. Unfortunately, they have not provided the reason why.

 

As indicated in our "Guidelines"-

"Wherever any views are expressed, they should be based on appropriate authority (PramaaNams) from the Srisooktis of Acharyas of Bhagavad Ramanuja - Swami Desika Satsampradayam. A bland directive of “Do’s and Don’ts on anushTaanams without such PramaaNams (authority) from the scriptures may be considered as mere blah-blah and are likely to be trashed by the readers whom they seek to educate"

 

With reference to “Sri Vishnu Sahasranaama” recital, Paarvati asks Lord Siva:

“kEnOpaayEna laghunaa vishNOr naama sahasrakam/

paTyatE paNDitair nityam SROTUM ichchaami aham prabhO //

 

Paarvati said “Srotum ichchaami” NOT “PaTitum ichchaami”

She wanted to “Hear” leaving the “PaTitum” (Recital) part to the Pundits.

This may be the reason why Mukkur Swami and others advised that ladies should NOT recite but can listen to the recital by Pundits.

 

In spite of the best efforts of these Acharyas for centuries, the recital of “Sri Vishnu Sahasranaama” did not become so widely popular UNTIL Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi came on the scene and made it extremely popular by singing the StOtram.

 

And, she is a WOMAN!

 

Today, thanks to Smt. M.S., it has become so popular that in every household people especially women are singing the stOtram almost daily and reverberating the whole atmosphere holy as never before!

 

In my posting, I have merely stated that the view that there is “an alternate view” without being judgmental about the advice of Sri Mukkur Swami and other Acharyas.

 

I have also given the PramaaNam for this view

1. There is a slOkam which says -

Srthree soodra dvija bandhoonaam trayee na sruti gOcharaa:/

Iti Bhaaratam aakhyam kripayaa muninaa kritam//

Meaning

“Sage Vyaasa out of his infinite compassion to redeem womenfolk, soodras, brahmins who fallen off BraahmaNatvam by neglecting their duties prescribed for them and those who are not considered fit to hear the Vedas has composed Mahaabhaarata acclaimed as the fifth Veda”

 

2. In the Phala sruthi, it is stated –

Ya idam sruNuyaat nityam yas chaapi parikeertayEt/

Na asubham praapnuyaat kinchit sOmutra iha cha maanava: //

Meaning

“Anyone who listens (sruNuyaat) as also anyone who recites (parikeertayEt) this StOtram will never ever face inauspiciousness in this life (Iha) and in the after-life (amutra)”

vEdaantagO BraahmaNa: syaat, kshatriyO vijayee bhavEt /

vaisyO dhana samruddha syaat Soodra: sukham avaapnuyaat//

Meaning

“So listening/ reciting - Brahmins will become well versed in the vEdas, Kshatrityas will become victorious, Vaisyas will become wealthy and Soodras will become happy”

 

It is clear, therefore, that all can listen/ recite this “Sri VishNu Sahasra naama stOtram” and none is debarred!

 

Scholars may provide appropriate authority, if any, for the classic view against the recital by women.

 

Hope this clarifies.

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

[Guest guest]

Note: forwarded message attached.

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Shrimathey Ramanujaaya NamahaShrimathey Nigamaantha Maha Deshikaya Namaha If one wants to play cricket, one needs to follow the rules. If one wants to become a permanent resident of the USA, he has to follow the rules If one has to live a normal life, he has to respect the laws of the country he resides in We can go on and on like this. However, the crux of this is that if you want to play any game, play it by the rules stipulated. If you do not want to follow the rules, you have to give up the game. You cannot start playing the games and also impose your own rules. The reasons for not advocating recital of Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam by ladies has certainly been given to us by our compassionate Acharyas. The Vedas prohibit their recitation by women amongst others. Hence if one has respect for the Vedas, she would

abide by it. Mukkur Lakshmi Narasimhachariar was very vocal in his lectures that the Vishnu Sahasranamam represented a summarised version of the entire Vedas and gave plenty of examples to prove it. So he concluded that our Acharyas did not recommend the Vishnu Sahasranamam for ladies because it was a summarised version of the Vedas which was proscribed for them. As for Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam becoming popular, in every staunch Sri Vaishnava home, it was and is very much in vogue since time immemorial irrespective of the venerable MS. My father keeps repeating very often that during his younger days, it was mandatory for the recital of Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam before dinner. Even since my younger days, we have been reciting it every Saturday, although a few slip ups happen in between. TTD conducts Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam recital on all Saturdays at 5.15 p.m at all its offices in a uniform manner. The recital by MS of Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam is not very relevant to us Sri Vaishnavas. She has done it under the guidance of the late Paramacharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. It was rendered in the Smartha version devoid of the very second shloka which extolls the greatness of Sri Vishvaksena. This is not at all acceptable to Sri Vaishnavas. The respected sage had also apparently told her that she could recite it because she was a sage in her earlier life and that she was born as MS due a particular sin committed during the earlier birth. She was also told that she could recite Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam as an exception and not that it was a general rule that ladies could recite it. However, this advice was conveniently ignored and has infact been the source of popularising the work to ladies which goes contrary to the rules. After Adi Shankara who followed Perumal's advice in the Varaha purana to confuse human beings, the Paramacharya has been faithful to Adi

Sankara to letter and spirit. The relevant shloka is as follows: "Tvam hi Rudra Mahaabhaago moha shaastraani kaaraya, Darshayitvaa alpamaayaasam phalam sheegram pradarshaya". Meaning - hey great Rudra, compose shastras that confuse people so that you can show them that with minimal effort they can attain the fruits quickly. This could also be one of the reasons why the Paramacharya asked MS to recite the Vishnu Sahasranamam. He has also made a very vain attempt in asking Ananthakrishna Shastri to write a book Shatabhooshani trying to repulse Swami Desika's attacks on Advaitam through his masterpiece Shatadooshani. However, it was a tremendous failure after Kozhialam Swami's 'Para matha niraakrithi' and Uttamoor Swami's 'Paramaartha Bhooshanam' running to more than a thousand pages in chaste Sanskrit. It is ideal for the Sri Vaishnava Sampradayam to take a leaf out of its own Acharyas than resort to the likes of MS, Paramacharya,

Ramana Maharishi, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Vivekananda and the like. Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan, Shrimathey Ramanujaaya NamahaShrimathey Nigamaantha Maha Deshikaya Namaha Ram Anbil <Ramanbil wrote: Dear Bhagavatas: vasuchak wrote:DATE: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 23:48:59 -0800 (PST) "Mukkur

Sri Lakshmi Narasimhachar was of the view that ladies should not recite Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam" My Reply: It is not only Mukkur Swami but also so many Acharyas say that ladies should not recite “Sri Vishnu Sahasranaama”. Unfortunately, they have not provided the reason why. As indicated in our "Guidelines"- "Wherever any views are expressed, they should be based on appropriate authority (PramaaNams) from the Srisooktis of Acharyas of Bhagavad Ramanuja - Swami Desika

Satsampradayam. A bland directive of “Do’s and Don’ts on anushTaanams without such PramaaNams (authority) from the scriptures may be considered as mere blah-blah and are likely to be trashed by the readers whom they seek to educate" With reference to “Sri Vishnu Sahasranaama” recital, Paarvati asks Lord Siva: “kEnOpaayEna laghunaa vishNOr naama sahasrakam/ paTyatE paNDitair nityam SROTUM ichchaami aham prabhO // Paarvati said “Srotum ichchaami” NOT “PaTitum ichchaami” She wanted to “Hear” leaving the “PaTitum” (Recital) part to the Pundits. This may be the reason why Mukkur Swami and others advised that ladies should NOT recite but can listen to the recital by Pundits. In spite of the best efforts of these Acharyas for centuries, the recital of “Sri Vishnu Sahasranaama” did not become so widely popular UNTIL Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi came on the scene and made it extremely popular by singing the StOtram. And, she is a WOMAN! Today, thanks to Smt. M.S., it has become so popular that in every household people especially women are singing the stOtram almost daily and reverberating the whole atmosphere holy as never before! In my posting, I have merely stated that the view that there is “an alternate view” without being judgmental about the advice of Sri Mukkur Swami and other Acharyas. I have also given the PramaaNam for this view 1. There is a slOkam which says - Srthree soodra dvija bandhoonaam trayee na sruti gOcharaa:/ Iti Bhaaratam aakhyam kripayaa muninaa kritam// Meaning “Sage Vyaasa out of his infinite compassion to

redeem womenfolk, soodras, brahmins who fallen off BraahmaNatvam by neglecting their duties prescribed for them and those who are not considered fit to hear the Vedas has composed Mahaabhaarata acclaimed as the fifth Veda” 2. In the Phala sruthi, it is stated – Ya idam sruNuyaat nityam yas chaapi parikeertayEt/ Na asubham praapnuyaat kinchit sOmutra iha cha maanava: // Meaning “Anyone who listens (sruNuyaat) as also anyone who recites (parikeertayEt) this StOtram will never ever face inauspiciousness in this life (Iha) and in the after-life (amutra)” vEdaantagO BraahmaNa: syaat, kshatriyO vijayee bhavEt / vaisyO dhana samruddha syaat Soodra: sukham avaapnuyaat// Meaning “So listening/ reciting - Brahmins will become well versed in the vEdas, Kshatrityas will become victorious, Vaisyas will become

wealthy and Soodras will become happy” It is clear, therefore, that all can listen/ recite this “Sri VishNu Sahasra naama stOtram” and none is debarred! Scholars may provide appropriate authority, if any, for the classic view against the recital by women. Hope this clarifies. Dasoham Anbil Ramaswamy

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[noclsankar 0]

mr.srimathey ramajan, your words are full of hate and disrespect to mahaperiyava. if you like only god vishnu, it is different. you can worship him. but you should not look down upon the great paramacharya. he is the saint of this century and none can equal him. you can quote his opinion, that is different. you can differ from is opinion, that is your view. but you should not disgrace him . it is a great sin to disgrace the great like him. we are human are cursed with lot of bad activities and thinkings. womanising, eating at many places , not following 3 times sandhyavandanam. when we have such dificiencies with us who are you to disgrace the great paramacharya. it is like dog barking on the son. measure your words.

[Guest palepu Raghu]

Viashnavas as they claim to be whatever views they hold are very quick to pull down Advaita I'd His holiness Adi Sankara because they are under the impression that Sankara means shiva so not acceptable forgetting the fact out of ignorance or intentional to showing disrespect. The holy Rinity are one and only 3 in appearance as we infer to various duties as Brahma, Visnu and Maheswara for creation, sustenance, devolution or shristi, sit it and laya and the basically forgetting are of nothing without Saraswati, sreelaxmi and Lalita, the Mother or Adi Para Shakthi . I think the three namams on the forehead whether ||| or otherwise will always never agree as they are not ready to give up thei EGOS and will and keep on confusing us. Let us do what our individual soul feels happy and satisfied without Egos and do practice in doing and living and set an example for others to follow. All these restrictions are creation of Individuals who think they are INTILLIGENT to realise or experience GOD! It's an individual experience and not same for everyone and once u realise GOD that is it! OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYA. OM AIM HRIM SHRIM SHREE MATRE NAMAH or what ever u feel is right practice it without doubt or confusion.

[hinduism♥krishna 0]

First thing , according to varna dharma ,

Shudras and women are not allowed to hear Veda. But I think Vishnu nama is from Mahabharata.

 

Yet women are not allowed to chant it. Because according to Shastra rules about any deity's sahastranama is that reciter should be a Dvija ( Twice born ) and Shastras don't prescribe Dvija sanskara for woman.

 

So women shouldn't chant it .....