Viṣhṇu Sahasranāmam 11




Viṣhṇu Sahasranāmam 11

arjuna uvāca padma-patra viśā-lākṣa padmanābha surōttama | bhaktānā manu-raktānāṁ trātā bhava janārdana || 23 || Arjuna said: Oh GodWho has eyes, Like the petals of lotus, Oh God, Who has a lotus, On his stomach, Oh God, Who has eyes, Seeing all things, Oh God, Who is the Lord, Of all devas, Please be kind, And be shelter, To all your devotees, Who come to you with love. śrī bhagavān uvāca yō māṁ nāma sahasrēṇa stōtu-micchati pāṁḍava | sōha mēkēna ślōkēna stuta ēva na saṁśayaḥ || 24 || || stuta ēva na saṁśaya ōṁ nama iti || The Lord Said: He who likes, Oh Arjuna, To sing my praise, Using these thousand names, Should know Arjuna , That I would be satisfied, By his singing of, Even one stanza , vyāsa uvāca vāsanād vāsu-dēvasya vāsitaṁ tē jaga-trayam | sarva-bhūtani vāsōsi vāsudēva namōstu tē || 25 || || śrī-vāsudēva namōstuta ōṁ nama iti || Vyasa said: My salutations to you Vasudeva, Because you who live in all the worlds, Make these worlds as places , Where beings live, And also Vasudeva, You live in all beings, As their soul. Om Nama salutations to Vasudeva. Pārvati Uvāca kēnō-pāyēna laghunā viṣṇōr-nāma-sahasrakam | paṭhyatē paṁḍitair-nityaṁ śrōtumicchāmyahaṁ prabhō || 26 || Parvathi said: I am desirous to know oh Lord, How the scholars of this world, Will chant without fail, These thousand names , By a method that is easy and quick. īśvara uvāca srī rāma rāma rāmēti ramē rāmē manōramē | sahasranāma tattulyaṁ rāma nāma varānanē || 27 || (Chant this shloka 3 times) || śrī rāmanāma varānana ōṁ nama iti || (2x) Lord Shiva said: Oh beautiful one,I play with Rama always, by chanting Rama Rama and Rama. Oh lady with a beautiful face, Chanting of the name Rama, Is same as the thousand names. Om Nama Rama Nama Rama. Brahmō uvāca namō stvanaṁtāya sahasra-mūrtayē sahasrapādākṣiśirōrubāhavē | sahasranāmnē puruṣāya śāśvatē sahasrakōṭiyugadhāriṇē namaḥ || 28 || || sahasrakōṭiyugadhāriṇē nama ōṁ nama iti || Brahma said: Salutations to thee oh lord, Who runs the immeasurable time, Of thousand crore yugas, Who has no end, Who has thousand names, Who has thousand forms, Who has thousand feet, Who has thousand eyes, Who has thousand heads, Who has thousand arms, AndWho is always there. Om Nama He who runs thousand crore yugas. sanjaya uvāca yatra yōgēś-varaḥ kr̥ṣṇō yatra pārthō dhanur-dharaḥ | tatra śrīrvijayō bhūtirdhruvā nītirmatirmama || 29 || Sanjaya said: Where Krisna, the king of Yogas, And where the wielder of bow, Arjuna is there, There will exist all the good, All the the victory, All the fame, And all the justice. In this world. Śrī bhagavān uvāca ananyāściṁtayaṁtō māṁ yē janāḥ paryupāsatē | tēṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yōgakṣēmaṁ vahāmyaham || 30 ||
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkr̥tām | dharma-saṁsthā-panārthāya saṁbhavāmi yugē yugē || 31 ||
ārtā viṣaṇṇāḥ śithilāśca bhītāḥ ghōrēṣu ca vyādhiṣu varta-mānāḥ | aṁkīrtya nārāyaṇa-śabda-mātraṁ vimukta-duḥkhāḥ sukhinō bhavaṁti || 32 || Kayena vaachha mana-sendhriyerva Buddhyatma-naavaa prakrute-svabha-vaat Karomi yadyat sakalam parasmai Naaraayana-yeti samar-payami Sarvam shree-krishnar-pana-mastu Sri Bhagavan said: I would take care, Of worries and cares of Him, Who thinks and serves me, Without any other Thoughts, To take care of Dharma, To protect those who are good, And to destroy all who are bad. I will be born from time to time. If he who is worried, If he who is sad, If he who is broken, If he who is afraid, If he who is severely ill, If he who has heard tidings bad, Sings Narayana and Narayana, All his cares would be taken care of.




Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam
Vishnu Sahasranamam contains 1008 names of Sri Maha Vishnnu. It is a response by Bhismacharya, the grandsire of the Kurus, to questions posed by Yudhishtira, the eldest of the Pandavas, on matters relating to Dharma and Karma.
Bhishmacharya was acknowledged to be one of the 12 most knowledgeable people. The other eleven being Brahma , Narada, Siva, Subramanya , Kapila , Manu, Prahlada , Janaka , Bali, Suka and Yama.
In the Mahabharatha war, as Bhishma awaited the sacred hour to depart from his physical body, Sri Krishna, who senses Yudhishtira’s uneasy mind, guides him to Bhishma to gain insight into this precious knowledge.
Yudhistira presented Bhisma with 6 questions.
Question 1.   Kim ekam daivatam loke?
Who ("kim") is the greatest ("ekam") Lord ("daivatam") in the world ("loke")?
Answer 1.
Pavitraanaam pavitram yo mangalanaam cha mangalam
Daivatam devatanam cha Bhootaanam yo avyahah pitaa
He who is ("yo") the very sanctity ("pavitram") that sanctifies all sacred things ("pavitraanaam"); he who is most auspicious ("mangalam"); he who is the god ("devataa") of gods ("daivatam"); he who is the eternal ("avyayah") father ("pitaa") of all creatures ("bhootaanaam") is the one god – VISHNU.
 
Question 2.  
Kim vaapyekam paraayanam?
Who is the one ("ekam") refuge ("paraayanam") for all?
Answer 2.
Paramam yo mahat-tejah Paramam yo mahat-tapah
Paramam yo mahat-brahma Paramam yah paraayanam.
He who is the great ("mahat") effulgence ("tejah"); He who is the Great controller ("tapah"); He who is the Supreme All-Pervading Truth; ("brahma") he who is the Highest (Param) Goal (Ayanam)-the Lord Vishnu.
 
Question 3.
Stuvantah kam praapnuyuh Maanavah subham
By glorifying ("sthuvantah") whom ("kam") can man ("manavah") reach the Auspiciousness ("shubam") (peace and prosperity)?
 
Answer 3.
Jagat-prabhum deva-devam Anantam purushottamam
Stuvan naama-sahasrena Purushah satatotthitah.
The supreme ("uttamam") Purusha, who is ever up and dong for the welfare of all, the Lord ("prabhum") of the world ("jagat") the endless ("anantam") – Sri Maha Vishnu.
Question 4.  
(Kam archantah) praapnuyuh  Maanavaah subham?
By worshipping ("archantah") whom can a man reach auspiciousness (peace and prosperity)?
Answer 4.  
Tameva cha archayan nityam Bhaktyaa purusham avyayam
Stuvan naama-sahasrena Purushah satatthitah.
By meditating upon ("sthuvan naama"), by ("cha") worshipping ("archayan") and by prostrating at the same Purusha, man can reach true Auspiciousness.
Question 5.  
Ko dharmah sarva-dharmaanaam Bhavatah paramo matah?
What ("ko") is, in thy opinion, the Greatest Dharma?
Question 6.  
Kim japan muchyate jantuh Janma-samsaara-bandhaaat?
By ("kim") doing japa of what can “creatures” (jantu) go beyond ("mutchyate") the bonds ("bandhanaath") of samsara?
Answers 5 & 6.
Anaadi-nidhanam vishnum Sarvaloka-maheshvaram
Lokaadhyaksham stuvan nityam Sarva-duhkha-atigo bhavet.
Both questions are answered here: - the greatest Dharma is the one Vishnu, who has neither a beginning (Aadi) nor an end (Nidhanam), the supreme Lord ("maheshwaram") of the world. All creatures can go beyond the bonds of samsar, “and he goes beyond all sorrows” who daily ("nityam") chants ("stuvan") the sahasranaamas and within glorifies “the knower of the world” (Lokaadhyaksha).
The supreme is described as that from which the whole world of names and forms had risen in the beginning of the creation, that in which the world continues to exit, that into which alone the world can merge back during the ‘Dissolution’ (Pralaya); this supreme is VISHNU.
After answering the questions, Bhisma recites the Vishnu Sahasranama or the 1000 names of the Lord, and reminds him that by meditating on these names or by invoking the names through Archana (offering), our minds can be lifted to higher consciousness.
Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam   was compiled and written by Saint Vyasa Mahamuni after the Mahabharatha War. Vishnu Sahasranamam consists of 142 slokas. Excepting 13 slokas at the beginning and 22 at the end, the remaining 107 slokas contain the thousand names of God
There are exactly 1,031 single “Names” of the Lord in the 1000-Name-Chant (Sahasranaama). The extra 31 Names are to be considered each as an adjective qualifying (Viseshana) the immediately following noun. When one makes Archanaa to the Lord the correct dative case is to be used. There are 20 double-names in the first 500 Names and 11 double-names in the second half of the chant. There is one indeclinable (Avyaya) word used, and it (896th) should be used in the dative for Archanaa as Sanaat Namah; so too the 929th Name in the chant, being a plural noun, should be used in Archanaa as Sadbhyo Namah.
Wherever Vyassa employs the masculine gender, it denotes Vishnu, the Lord of Lakshmi. When it is feminine it is indicative of His Might, Glory or power (devataa) that is manifest everywhere. When the term is in neuter gender, it means Pure Brahman, the infinite Reality.
In the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, which is one of the minor Upanishads, Naarada approaches Brahmaa to enquire what is the way out for man to evolve in these hard days of extrovertedness, which is unavoidable in the Kali yuga. ”Repetition of the names of Naaraayana is sufficient enough”, was the reply given.