Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - (1)

[Guest guest]

Another Note:

 

The book by Sri Parthasarathy K. E., who happens to be my Grandfather,

is under reprint and is likely to be published end of this year, My Dad

(Narasimhan K. E.) is working with the publishers and told me that, the

book will be published simultaneously in US and India.

 

-Venkatesh

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhakti Members-

With your permission and encouragement, I am planning a periodic mailing

of the VishNu SahasranAmam and its translation to this list. This will,

hopefully, over a period of time, put this divine shloka in the

electronic format. I am very aware of the monumental nature of this task

and pray that I be able to complete this. This reformatting will

primarily be based on translations of Sri SankarAchArya's and Sri ParAshara

Bhattar's commentaries (taken from two publications -

(1) from Ramakrishn Mutt (Swami Tapasyananda's translation) and

(2) by Sri K.E.Parthasarathy)

 

This will give us an oppurtunity for a side-by-side comparison of these

2 authoritative commentaries, representing, respectively, the Advaita and

Vishsistadvaita schools. I will truncate the introduction given in these

two books, but will reproduce in full the commentaries of the two AchAryas.

If anybody has any problem with this please contact me at:

sgsrini

 

With this, I begin the reformatting.

 

 

Om Sri Maha Ganapathaye Namaha-

 

TRANSLITERATION

---------------

For the transliteration we use the following notation (suggested by

Sri Mani Varadarajan)

 

For the Vowels:

 

a A i I u U R RR e E ai o O au M [H or :]

 

For the Consonants:

 

k kh g kh 'n

c ch j jh ~n

T Th D Dh N

t th d dh n

p ph b bh m

y r l v S sh s h L

 

Nasals can be interchanged with 'n' somewhat freely since it is still

intelligible.

 

 

INTRODUCTION (Abridged Version)

------------

 

The name of God is everything. Its glory is as inestimable as the glory

of God Himself. The VishNu SahasranAmam says that nAmas (names) are GauNa

i.e. based on GuNas or attributes - yAni nAmAni GauNAni. They are not

mere empty sounds. The BhAgavata PurANa says that the names of the Lord

are each expressive of the fame, exploits and greatness of the Lord. As

the Lord's excellences are infinite, so His names are also Infinite.

 

In seeking God through praise and worship, there are three forms of

approach; firstly to describe in varied and poetic manner the greatness

and glory of God; secondly, to expatiate on His varied glory by several

significant attributes in the form of manifold names and lastly to invoke

His grace and succor by the repetition of only one name of His. Under the

first category comes all poetic Hymns, under the second SahasranAmam,

AshTottara nAmam and the nAmAvalis sung in the Bhajans; and under the

last comes nAma PArAyaNa or the repetition of a single name, RAma,

KrishNa, Siva etc.

 

The SahasranAma Stotras addressed to some particular diety and invoking

Him with a thousand names are found scattered in the Epics and PurANas.

Several of them are about Devi (Lalitha, Lakshmi etc.), Ganesha, Shiva,

but there is only one SahasranAma Stotra in praise of VishNu. VishNu

SahasranAmam is a part of the ShaniI Parva of the MahAbhArata.

MahAbhArata is itself considered to be a commentary on the SahasranAmam

Tradition says that it was composed by Sanaka, one of the KumAras

(eternally living Youths) and was transmitted to BhIshma. Although

composed long ago and sung here and there by the pupils of VyAsa, the

wide and formal publication of the Stotra appears to have been reserved

for a formal delivery of it in the famous Dharmashetra Kurukshetra from

the purest and holiest lips of BhIshma. Thus, the first SahasranAma

archana was done to KrishNa by the old BhIshma in his dying moments. It

is also significant that KrishNa himself induced YudhishThira to learn

the great virtues and tenets at the feet of BhIshma and among these

expositions of BhIshma, the VishNu SahasranAmam is set as a rare gem in a

diadem.

 

BhIshma recited it in the presence of Sri KrishNa to the PAndava brothers

when he was questioned by YudhishThira, unsatisfied even after hearing all

forms of Dharma capable of effecting complete purification:

 

"Kimekam daivatam loke kim vApyekam parAyaNam,

stuvantaH kamkam arcantaH prApnuyur mAnavAH Subham"

 

[ In this universe who is the one Divinity (at whose command all

beings function)? What is that one supreme Status which one

should seek to attain? Who is that Divinity by praising whom and

by worshipping whom a man attains the good? ]

 

The thousand names of VishNu is the answer that BhIshma gives to this

enquiry.

Today of all SahasranAmas, VishNu SahasranAma is known as 'the

SahasranAma'. The collections of the thousand names is believed to have a

mystic power of its own. It is also considered as a MahA mantra of which

Devakinandana, the son of Devaki is the Sakti or power. According to

orthodox tradition, a devotee should daily chant the UpaniSad pertaining

to his SAkhA, the GitA, Rudram, PuruSasUkta and VishNu SahasranAmam. It

is believed that if one cannot do all this on any day, chanting VishNu

SahasranAmam alone is sufficient. BhaTTar has considered that uttering

even one of the holy names is as good as a thousand and is potent to

grant to the devotees all benefits and that such a name is equivalent to

a mantra like the twelve syllabled OM Namo Bhagavate VAsudevAya or the

eight syllabled OM Namo NArAyaNAya. Apparently BhaTTar has in mind the

memorable verse in the Tiruvoimozhi (Bhagavad Vishya) of NammAlvar, which

states: "Our protector is the great Lord NArAyaNa whose greatness is sung

by a SahasranAmam, each name of which is thousand by itself and is

capable of protecting all the worlds. Further, each name of God is

capable of doing good in a thousand ways".

 

VishNu SahasranAmam can be chanted by all, without any distinction of

caste, creed or sex. It can be chanted at any time and no special

rituals are obligatory on one chanting it. Hopefully, these translations

of the commentaries of Sri Sankara and ParAsara BhaTTar will stimulate in

all of us an unquenchable thirst for the enjoyment of God-knowledge- His

GuNAs and glories- and, lift us from the SAmsAric narakA and immerse us in

the ocean of Ananda.

 

-Srivilliputhur Gopalan Srinivasan

 

-----------------------To be Continued------------------------------