श्री विष्णु सहस्रानामं
ശ്രീ വിഷ്ണുസഹസ്രനാമം
Shri Vishnusahasranaamam
 |
| Lord MahAvishnu - courtesy - ISCKON |
Shri VishnusahasranAmam literally translates into THE THOUSAND NAMES OF LORD VISHNU, where Sahasra means Thousand and NAmam means names.
These are believed to be the narrated by BhIshma Pitamaha on his deathbed during the battle of MahAbhArata. As I run through wikipedia...I found some more vital info...
According to the 149th chapter of Anushāsanaparva in the epic Mahabharata, the names were handed down to Yudhisthira by the famous warrior Bhishma who was on his death bed at the battle of Kurukshetra. Yudhisthira asks Bhishma the following questions:
kimEkam dhaivatam lokE?
Who is the Ultimate Lord of the world?
kim vaapyEkam parAyaNam?
Who is the one refuge of all?
stuvantam kam prApnuyuh mAnavah subham?
By glorifying whom, can man attain peace and prosperity?
kam archanat prApnuyuh mAnavaah subham?
Worshipping whom can man reach auspiciousness?
kO dharmah sarva dharmANaam bhavatah paramO matah?
What is, in thy opinion, the greatest Dharma?
kim japam mucyatE jantur janma samsAra bandhanAth?
By doing Japa of what, can creature go beyond the bonds and SamsArA (cycle of birth and death)?
And BhIshma answers by reciting the thousand and eight names of the Lord. By meditating on these names while hearing (Shruti) or chanting them (Smriti) or offering (ArchanA).
Now, at Vedic Reflections, I try my best to provide you with the English transliteration & translation along with the purport of the shloka (verse). The accuracy is completely dependent on my interpretation of the Sholka as well as a few other sites and manuscripts that I have gne through.
Many of you might be thinking, how can a mere recital of a name lead to salvation??? I found the answer at www.trsiyengar.com-
"Indeed, such a long recital of nAmAs glorifying the Lord and His splendor is rare in the world. Yet a rational person is apt to question how mere words and their repetition can create such great power.. Just imagine for a moment that you are in an assembly, and the lecturer begins his talk with the word “boat”. You can at one grasp the image of a boat, and there is calmness of mind. Suddenly then, if someone in the assembly, utters the word “snake”, will your calmness continue? It therefore follows that vak (utterance) and artha (meaning) together infuse a subtle energy either positively or negatively. The thousand naamas are storehouses of proven spiritual content that can easily uplift our minds. Indeed the expression NaMa is made up of Na for Naramandala and Ma for manas, our Mind. NaMa, the chanting of which helps to unite our nervous system and Mind. The main body of Sri Vishnu Sahasranama consists of 107 stanzas which contain the one thousand names of Sri Maha Vishnu. Every one of the one thousand names is full of significance and refers to one particular guna (quality, characteristic, or attribute) of Paramatma. These names invoke a sense of bonding with the Lord. The meanings of the names give us an understanding and depth of God as there is a deep connection between the name and the named."
I will be skipping a few lines from the Prelude and the Epilogue....but the main shloka shall be kept intact...and will be revealed on a daily basis. One ShlokamAla a day.
Until then....allow me..
NamaskAra
Comments