Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra & Its Meanings. http://home.attbi.com/~surfings/sahasra/index.html

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sri: Jai Sreemannarayana!

 

The two great Acharyas (Adi Sankara and Parasara Bhatta ) about 1200 and 1000

years ago

wrote the commentaries and meaning for Sri Vishnu SahasraNama.

Based on these commentaries,

Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra & Its Meanings in English by Sri Krishnamachari

Swami

(This is a great service) Please find them at:

 

http://home.attbi.com/~surfings/sahasra/index.html

 

The Organization

Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram as printed for chanting purposes consists of

three sections:

· A prolog, which gives the background on why the Stotram was imparted to the

great and just Yudhishthira by Bhishma.

· The thousand names of Vishnu, organized in a poetic format in 107 stanzas, in

the anushtup chandas, (a meter with eight syllables in a quarter), with two

quarters per line, and two lines per stanza.

· The phala sruti, or a recounting of the benefits that can accrue by chanting

the Stotram.

The above is the typical organization of many stotrams, for example, the

Lakshmi Ashtottara Satanama Stotram with which many of us are familiar.

 

The Prolog

In the introductory part of the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, Yudhishthira asks

Bhishma six questions, related to how mankind can attain happiness. These are

contained in two stanzas starting with "kim ekam daivatam loke" in the Stotram.

These questions are:

· Who is the One (Supreme) Deity?

· What is the highest goal of life?

· By praising which Deity's auspicious qualities will human beings attain

prosperity in this world as well as bliss in the next?

· By meditating on which Deity will human beings attain prosperity in this

world as well as bliss in the next?

· By reciting which mantra will man be released from the bondage of the cycle

of birth and death?

· Of the three means referred to above (i.e., recitation, praise or archana,

and meditation), which is the best means for attaining the grace of the Supreme

Deity based on your vast experience and knowledge?

 

Bhishma's response to the above questions follows in the next ten stanzas.

In his considered opinion, a person tides over all the sorrows in this world by

reciting with undiluted devotion the Thousand Names of the Eternal Person,

worshiping Him always with devotion,

meditating upon Him,

glorifying Him,

saluting Him by prostrating before Him,

and adoring Him (dhyayan, stuvan, namasyamsca, yajamanas tameva ca).

 

Bhishma adds that of all the dharmas, the dharma or practice involving service

done to the Lotus-eyed

Lord Krishna, without any desire for benefit, through worship (archana) and

hymnal praise (stava),

is the best dharma.

 

Note: Praising is easy, involving only speech, and does not involve any

material sacrifice or bodily exertion.

It is open to all, and does not need help from, or dependence on, others.

Other kinds of worship might require money or other resources to perform the

worship, or the need to impose

on other people for their involvement (e.g., a priest to give instructions on

the method of worship etc.).

For the purpose of chanting the name of God, there is also no constraint on the

asrama

(i.e., brahmacharya, grihasta, etc.) to which a person belongs, unlike, for

example, the constraints that the

vedas place in performing the ceremonial rites with sacrificial fire.

 

There is also no requirement regarding time, place, status of purity, etc., for

the chanting of the stotram.

The key element of the act of chanting as a means to attain the Lord's grace is

the sincerity and purity of mind,

and there is no other constraint or consideration.

 

In summary, Yudhishthira asks Bhishma: "Given my despair and sorrowful state of

mind, I want to expend the least effort and get the most benefit out of it,

viz. relief from my despair. Please tell me the means for this." And Bhishma's

response is "Chant the thousand names of Lord Krishna WITH DEVOTION. This does

not require any effort other than the willingness to chant. This is the best

way to get relief from all miseries, sorrows, and sins".

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