Introduction

The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma is embedded in the Anuśāsanaparva of the Mahābhārata. This parva continues the themes explored in the Śāntiparva and offers precepts and guidelines on Dharmic governance with Bhīṣma and Yudhiṣṭhira as the principal interlocutors. The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma appears in Chapter-134 of this Parva and is initiated by a series of six questions Yudhiṣṭhira poses to Bhīṣma on the identity and nature of the supreme being and the means to attain him. Bhīṣma responds to each of these questions and then proceeds to string together a garland of a thousand names spanning the transcendental and emanative forms, incarnations, archa-mūrtis, and antaryāmi forms of the supreme being represented by Viṣṇu and extolled through a thousand names.

The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma contains 960 Sphuṭa-nāmas – names that are single names or single words and there is no ambiguity with regard to whether these are single or double names. There are 30 Éka-nāmas – names that contain more than one word but are seen as and considered by all commentators as referring to only one name. 6 Éka-anéka-nāmas occur in the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma – these are typically double nāmas made up of more than one word and can be construed to be either one nāma or two nāmas.¹

When we add up these nāmas, we come up with 996 nāmas:

• 960 (Sphuṭa-nāmas) + 30 (Éka-nāmas) + 6 (Éka-anéka-nāmas) = 996 nāmas

Bhāṣyakāras (Commentators) arrive at a thousand nāmas by considering four of the Éka-anéka-nāmas as double nāmas and two of the Éka-anéka-nāmas as single nāmas using the following formula:

• 960 (Sphuṭa-nāmas) + 30 (Éka-nāmas) + (4 X 2) (Éka-anéka-nāmas) + 2 X 1 (Éka-anéka-nāmas) = 960 + 30 + 8 + 2 = 1,000 nāmas

It must be noted that this is a reference only to unique nāmas. Some nāmas are repeated and if these are also considered, the absolute total number of nāmas in the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma is well over a thousand. Based on Parāśara Bhattar’s count²

• 2 nāmas are repeated 4 times
• 3 nāmas are repeated 12 times
• 82 nāmas are repeated twice

Repetition of nāmas however, must not be construed to be either a redundancy or a fault in the construction of the garland of verses. The nāmas contextually differ in their meaning based on where they are located, both within the verse-string as well as in the stotra itself.

The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma is not just a catalog of nāmas set to verse but rather a developing idea of the Supreme being from the macrocosm to the microcosm. Furthermore, if the Bhagavad-Gītā is seen as Tattvam, then the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma can be seen as Tattva-darśanam, with Bhīṣma accorded the role of the Tattva-darśi – this too is the līlā (divine play) of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa as we shall see in the next section.

It is also important to note that while there are several Sahasranāmas dedicated to almost all deities, the word Sahasranāma however, is synonymous with the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma alone. As Sri Radhakrishna Shastri³ points out in his Tamizh commentary, the uniqueness comes from the fact that the great Kṣetrajña, Kṛṣṇa himself, listened to and acknowledged the greatness of this Sahasranāma – this accords the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, the pride of place among all Sahasranāmas. Furthermore, Śaṅkara himself placed a lot of importance on the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma – not only was it his first work, he also mentions it in his celebrated Dvādaśamañjarikā (more popularly known as Bhaja Govindam).

गेयं गीता नाम सहस्रं

ध्येयं श्रीपति रूपम्–अजस्रम् |⁴

geyaṃ gītā nāma sahasraṃ

dhyeyaṃ śrīpati rūpam-ajasram |

Read and recite from the Gītā, chant the thousand names while contemplating on the eternal and supreme form of that Śrīpati (Viṣṇu).

There are more than 40 commentaries and/or translations of the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma in many languages including three commentaries from the three philosophical streams of Advaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Dvaita by Śaṅkara, Parāśara Bhattar and Sri Satyasanda Tirtha respectively. Parāśara Bhattar’s commentary lays great emphasis on the Saguṇa Sauśīlyam and Saulabhyam (compassionate goodness of disposition and ease with which devotees can approach him) of Nārāyaṇa while Śaṅkara’s emphasis is on the Nirguṇa Īśatvam (Paratattvam) and Īśvaratvam (Aiśvaryam) (supreme essence and substratum of all and the sovereignty of the supreme absolute) of Nārāyaṇa.

Bhīṣma As The Conduit For The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma

There is an interesting anecdote in Parāśara Bhattar’s commentary⁵ where he speaks of how Kṛṣṇa is in conversation with Yudhiṣṭhira, when he seems to get distracted and then tells Yudhiṣṭhira, “Bhīṣma is on the bed of arrows, like a fire slowly cooling. He is contemplating on me. My mind goes to him…” and then further adds “I am now with him by my will. O king of Bharatas, if this head of the family of the Kurus passes away there will be the danger of knowledge diminishing and perishing. Hence it is, that I urge you to go to him.”

Later, addressing Bhīṣma, Kṛṣṇa adds “O best of Bharatas, what you are going to say to Dharmaraja will be ever established in this world as the word of the Veda. The past, present, and future are clear to you, old in wisdom, as the fruit in the palm of the hand, I have known you. You have created by your penance the world of movables and immovables… no decay for you… nor delusion… your mind will always be clear and calm like the moon cleared of clouds…”

It is then that Bhīṣma is conferred with the adhikāra to speak on and chant the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma. Each word used by Kṛṣṇa is important because it tells us that here too Bhīṣma is only Nimitta (the instrument or cause). Seen from this angle, we can conclude that when Bhīṣma speaks, it is really Kṛṣṇa speaking. 

If we were to take an objective look at Bhīṣma’s character and characterization and use the events in his life as an allegory and a means to deliver lessons on Dharma, we would see that Bhīṣma is symbolic of the superego – the gargantuan ego that is so taken in by its own image of its greatness that it sees nothing but its own virtues. When it stares at its own reflection, all it sees is its own projection of itself – minus the warts.

Why would Devavrata make that pratijñā, that oath which gave him his name that made him into Bhīṣma? He was a master of Raja Dharma and Raja Dharma demanded that he take his rightful place as the next king of Hastinapura. Śāntanu and his desire was only an excuse, the larger more critical reason was to massage his own ego – that he would make this giant sacrifice that would immortalize him across time. Even in his previous life as one of the eight Vasus, he was the chief protagonist, Dyu (also known as Prabhāsa), of the ill-fated attempt to capture Vasiṣṭha’s cow Nandini – then too his ego got the better of him and the curse was particularly harsh on him – a long and largely painful existence on earth. His ego continued to manifest in many other ways – be it the abduction of the princesses Amba, Ambika, and Ambālika or the

choice of his dress and overall presentation – the all-white dress including the armor and weapons, which added to his fair complexion – that is why he was called Śveta-vīra – he had to stand out and be seen as distinct and distinguished – in battle, recall how Vyasa says that the all-white Bhīṣma stood out starkly in the hustle and bustle of battle. His refusal to fight Śikhaṇḍī even if it meant the destruction of the armies of Duryodhana – all manifestations of an ego that was so caught up in itself.

When Kṛṣṇa says that there can be no victory for Dharma (the pāndava side) without the killing of Bhīṣma, he knows what he is saying. Furthermore, at an allegorical level, it is a message that no progress can be made unless the ego is shot down. In that sense, Bhīṣma is the chattering ego in Arjuna’s head that prevents him from seeking the truth and getting the job done. When you examine the 18-day battle carefully it is a play of what Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna in the Gita (also 18 chapters) “These warriors are already dead Arjuna, says Krishna…” and that is how it ends – with five on one side and three on the other. On the 10th day when Bhīṣma is brought down, hundreds of arrows have to be shot, and even then, he does not die, lying on his bed of arrows, every last drop of sap sucked out of him.

At one point in the battle, Kṛṣṇa is so frustrated with Arjuna’s reluctance to fight Bhīṣma that he picks up a chariot-wheel and advances on Bhīṣma – the wheel is symbolic – held vertically, it is the Dharma Chakra, the wheel of Samsaacra and when on the horizontal plane it is the flying discus of liberation that severs the earthly connection. When Kṛṣṇa advances, Bhīṣma steps forward – the ego demands the grand death at the hands of the greatest Kṣetrajña but Krishna does not grant him that. In finally placing Śikhaṇḍī in front of Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa delivers the final blow to the ego. For several days and weeks more, every last drop is drained out of him and it is then that Krishna says, that he is “one with Bhīṣma” and it is then that Krishna asks Bhīṣma to chant the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, for he knows that now, finally, after so many years of struggle, Bhīṣma has finally found the truth – therefore when Bhīṣma speaks, it is actually Kṛṣṇa who is speaking – therefore the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma too is a direct gift from Nārāyaṇa himself.

The Nārāyaṇa Manifestations In The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma Or The Categories Of The Thousand Names Of Vishnu

The thousand names speak of the various ways in which that supreme being, seen in and as Viṣṇu manifests in the universe – broadly, the 1000 names can be classified under 7 heads or categories, i.e., names that speak of or describe a particular guṇa of Bhagavān. 

1. Brahman: He is the paratattva, the very essence, the essence of all essences – the screen on which everything is played out as it were. He is the “Ekam” the one without a second, beyond names, forms, guṇas , and everything else – the all-pervading, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent being – experienced as the Sat-Chit-Ananda (Saccidānanda)- Nārāyaṇa as Brahman is that (he) which (who) reveals itself (himself) to itself (himself).
2. Jagatkāraka-īśvara: In the primal state, he is embedded and dissolved in the Brahman, i.e., in the paratattva – then, animated by the Māya Śakti of that Brahman, that paratattva-Brahman projects itself as the world of forms, names and guṇas. This world is a result of the sankalpa of that Brahman, of that paratattva.
   It is this that is the triune of Brahma, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. Again, seen through the Pāñcarātra āgama, the five forms of Para Vāsudeva, with the ananta-kalyāṇa guṇas , and the vyūha forms of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha representing the cosmic forces of consciousness, intellect, mind, and ego and with Para Vāsudeva dimensionally beyond these…
   Seen as Pañcakṛtya, we have Brahma, Viṣṇu, Rudra (Maheśvara), Īśvara, and Sadāśiva responsible for the 5 functions of Sṛṣṭi (creation), Stithi (Sustenance), Laya (dissolution), Tirodana (veiling of the true nature of the ultimate reality) and Anugraha (unveiling/revelation of the truth)… and then again approachable as the Para Vāsudeva, Parameśvara, and the Parāśakti (Mahādevī)
3. Jagat-niyama kāraka-Īśvara: That very same paratattva, that Brahman has manifested as the Dikdevas, Dikpāla and the Devas – Agni, Vāyu, Yama and so on – for maintaining order and ensuring sustenance – that essence, the paratattva has taken all these multifarious forms and names
4. Ātma / Ātmasvarūpa: That Brahman, that is the cause of all that we see in the world has entered into it and dwells within each being as the atman veiled by its own māya and clothed by the śarīra. This is the meaning of the name Viṣṇu – he who envelops, pervades everything and has also invaded, interpenetrated, and entered everything and into all beings – within and without
5. Karma-phala-daatha: He who decides, determines, and hands over to each the fruits of their actions.
6. Antaryāmī: The in-dwelling “seer” the eternal ‘Sākṣī the silent observer and witness dwelling within – the conscience-keeper who shows the path of Dharma
7. Dīnavatsala: The benevolent and compassionate friend, father, mother, guide, guide, guru, and protector of his devotees.

Over the course of the 1,000 names, all of these characteristics and kalyāṇa-guṇas become clear and manifest…

The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma As A Window Into The Landscape Of Sanātana Dharma

In traversing through the nāmas that fall under the categories mentioned above, the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma gently opens a window, one for each nāma that helps us look into the landscape of Dharma. To understand an aspect of Dharma, through the nāma and what it conveys in terms of the Supreme being personified in the form of Viṣṇu reclining on the great serpent of interminable coils Ādiśeṣa, who represents eternal time. Viṣṇu, in reclining on the great Ādiśeṣa himself sends out the message that he is the one being in the universe who has transcended even Kāla and its inexorable cycle of Saṃsāra.

For those who are overwhelmed by the vastness of the ocean of Sanātana Dharma, the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma offers an opportunity to take a step-ladder approach – this happens when one takes up one nāma at a time and sits with it, contemplates on it and follows the thread of where it leads – then the possibilities open up and thread(s) leads one to explore the many nodes and sub-nodes in the intricate web of Dharma. The Bhagavad-Gītā, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa), Veda-Vedānta, Purāṇas all gradually open up their wisdom under the shining light of the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma. 

Furthermore, there is no contradiction or confusion in the seven categories of manifestations seen in the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma. The first six represent the abstract aspect of Nārāyaṇa. It is the seventh form, Dīnavatsala, worshipped as an Arca-Mūrti (a Vigraha or icon that is established, consecrated and worshiped) that one is able to relate to, in the initial stages. When the bond with the Arca-Mūrti deepens, then the voice of the Antaryāmī starts to resonate more clearly and starts to guide us from within. From the Antaryāmī flows the realization of the intricate connections of the web of life – that the microcosm is a reflection of the macrocosm and vice versa. The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma follows a similar pattern – a gradual unfoldment that deepens one’s Bhakti as also the understanding of Dharma.

A Dialogue That Ends In A Monologue

Yudhiṣṭhira poses six questions to Bhīṣma – this is how the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma begins. Bhīṣma goes on to answer the six questions and then chants the thousand names. 

युधिष्ठिर उवाच —

किमेकं दैवतं लोके किं वाप्येकं परायणम् ।

स्तुवन्तः कं कमर्चन्तः प्राप्नुयुर्मानवाः शुभम् ॥ ८॥^6,7

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca —

kimekaṃ daivataṃ loke kiṃ vāpyekaṃ parāyaṇam

stuvantaḥ kaṃ kamarcantaḥ prāpnuyurmānavāḥ śubham

Yudhiṣṭhira asks: (1) Who is the one deity in the world, the one supreme goal (2) Who is that one being who should be worshipped (3) the one whom men should praise and worship (4) in order to attain the greater good and all that is auspicious 

को धर्मः सर्वधर्माणां भवतः परमो मतः ।

किं जपन्मुच्यते जन्तुर्जन्मसंसारबन्धनात् ॥ ९॥

ko dharmaḥ sarvadharmāṇāṃ bhavataḥ paramo mataḥ

kiṃ japanmucyate janturjanmasaṃsārabandhanāt

Yudhiṣṭhira continues: (5) What or Which is the highest Dharma among all Dharmas, in your considered opinion? (6) By meditating and contemplating on which deity and by chanting which men can attain peace and prosperity here and then be able to transcend the ocean of Saṃsāra and break the bonds that tie them to the cycle of birth-death-birth?

These were the six questions asked by Yudhiṣṭhira. Bhīṣma goes on to answer the six questions in great detail:

भीष्म उवाच —

जगत्प्रभुं देवदेवमनन्तं पुरुषोत्तमम् ।

स्तुवन् नामसहस्रेण पुरुषः सततोत्थितः ॥ १०॥

Bhīṣma uvāca —

jagatprabhuṃ devadevamanantaṃ puruṣottamam

stuvan nāmasahasreṇa puruṣaḥ satatotthitaḥ

Bhīṣma answers the sixth question first – “That man will be free from all sorrows, who extols that supreme master of the entire universe and the master of all the Devas by chanting the Sahasranāma – he who is the best of all puruṣas – the Puruṣottama”

तमेव चार्चयन्नित्यं भक्त्या पुरुषमव्ययम् ।

ध्यायन् स्तुवन् नमस्यंश्च यजमानस्तमेव च ॥ ११॥

tameva cārcayannityaṃ bhaktyā puruṣamavyayam

dhyāyan stuvan namasyaṃśca yajamānastameva ca

He then answers the fourth question: “Adoring and extolling that undecaying, indestructible, immutable, and eternal puruṣa – meditating upon him, contemplating on his nāmas, the worshipper derives the fruits of his worship

अनादिनिधनं विष्णुं सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् ।

लोकाध्यक्षं स्तुवन्नित्यं सर्वदुःखातिगो भवेत् ॥ १२॥

anādinidhanaṃ viṣṇuṃ sarvalokamaheśvaram

lokādhyakṣaṃ stuvannityaṃ sarvaduḥkhātigo bhavet

Then the third question is answered: That Viṣṇu who is the eternal being – beginningless and endless, him a man (desirous of attaining the highest goal) must worship, the all-pervading being who is unaffected by the six changes common to all beings (beginning with birth and ending with death), the master and supreme overseer of the entire universe. 

ब्रह्मण्यं सर्वधर्मज्ञं लोकानां कीर्तिवर्धनम् ।

लोकनाथं महद्भूतं सर्वभूतभवोद्भवम् ॥ १३॥

brahmaṇyaṃ sarvadharmajñaṃ lokānāṃ kīrtivardhanam

lokanāthaṃ mahadbhūtaṃ sarvabhūtabhavodbhavam

He continues to respond to the third question: “He who is dear to Brahma and the protector of Dharma, as also the Vedas, the supreme Brahman, the master of all the worlds and him from who everything and everyone emanate and spring forth at the time of birth and subside into at the time of death.”

एष मे सर्वधर्माणां धर्मोऽधिकतमो मतः ।

यद्भक्त्या पुण्डरीकाक्षं स्तवैरर्चेन्नरः सदा ॥ १४॥

eṣa me sarvadharmāṇāṃ dharmo’dhikatamo mataḥ

yadbhaktyā puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ stavairarcennaraḥ sadā

He then answers the fifth question: “I consider this (chanting of the Sahasranāma) as the greatest of all Dharmas, superior to everything else – the adoration of that puṇḍarīkākṣa with devotion and Bhakti.
 

परमं यो महत्तेजः परमं यो महत्तपः ।

परमं यो महद्ब्रह्म परमं यः परायणम् ॥ १५॥

paramaṃ yo mahattejaḥ paramaṃ yo mahattapaḥ

paramaṃ yo mahadbrahma paramaṃ yaḥ parāyaṇam

He then answers the second question: “He is the supremely lustrous one, the supreme light of consciousness, the supreme truth, the all-pervading one, the support and substratum of everything, the superior and ultimate goal of all beings”

पवित्राणां पवित्रं यो मङ्गलानां च मङ्गलम् ।

दैवतं दैवतानां च भूतानां योऽव्ययः पिता ॥ १६॥

pavitrāṇāṃ pavitraṃ yo maṅgalānāṃ ca maṅgalam

daivataṃ daivatānāṃ ca bhūtānāṃ yo’vyayaḥ pitā

Finally, he comes to the first question and answers it: “He who is the purest of the pure, the epitome of auspiciousness, the Deva of all Devatās and the father of all beings

In three further verses, he qualifies the personality of the supreme being:

यतः सर्वाणि भूतानि भवन्त्यादियुगागमे ।

यस्मिंश्च प्रलयं यान्ति पुनरेव युगक्षये ॥ १७॥

yataḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni bhavantyādiyugāgame

yasmiṃśca pralayaṃ yānti punareva yugakṣaye

He is the one from whom all beings come into existence at the beginning of each creative-cycle. He is also the one into whom all things dissolve at the end of a cycle

तस्य लोकप्रधानस्य जगन्नाथस्य भूपते ।

विष्णोर्नामसहस्रं मे श‍ृणु पापभयापहम् ॥ १८॥

tasya lokapradhānasya jagannāthasya bhūpate

viṣṇornāmasahasraṃ me śṛṇu pāpabhayāpaham

Hear from me now, the hymn of a thousand names of him who is the master of the universe, the most important being in the universe, who is the subject of all scriptures and discourse and who is the eraser of all pāpa and papa-karma.

यानि नामानि गौणानि विख्यातानि महात्मनः ।

ऋषिभिः परिगीतानि तानि वक्ष्यामि भूतये ॥ १९॥

yāni nāmāni gauṇāni vikhyātāni mahātmanaḥ

ṛṣibhiḥ parigītāni tāni vakṣyāmi bhūtaye

“And now, I shall enumerate the names that speak of his Guṇas, exalted by and praised by the Ṛṣis themselves, for securing that which everyone desires.”

After this, begins the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma – a garland of a thousand names strung together across 108 verses – a foray into the landscape of Sanātana Dharma. The very first verse encapsulates the beauty and glory of the supreme being: 

विश्वं विष्णुर्वषट्कारो भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभुः ।
भूतकृद्भूतभृद्भावो भूतात्मा भूतभावनः ॥ १॥

viśvaṁ viṣṇurvaṣaṭkārō bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhuḥ,
bhūtakṛdbhūtabhṛdbhāvō bhūtātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ. (1)

He who is the universal-all, pervading and invading everything and everyone, within and without, he who holds sway over everything and is receiver of the sacrificial offering, the master of the past, present, and future, the creator, organizer, and destroyer of the universe, the pure essence in and of all beings, from whom all beings spring forth and to whom all return…

All the other nāmas add to the above and further qualify the one master of the entire universe because there is no limit to the effulgence and glories of Nārāyaṇa and even a thousand names are insufficient to adequately capture the supreme glory of he who is beyond all names, forms and descriptions.

 

Note: This paper was presented at “Nirvighnam” – A conference on the texts and traditions of India, August 2022, Saptaparini, Hyderabad.

 

References

1. Bhagavad Guna Darpana Bhashya of Parāśara Bhattar; English translation by Pudukottai Sri U. Ve. A Srinivasaraghavachar Swamy. 1983; Sri Vishishtadvaita Pracharini Sabha. Mylapore, Madras. Pg: VI & VII
2. Vishnu Sahasranamam, Annotated commentary in English by Sri Narasimhan Krishnamachari, E-book from Sadagopan.org.
3. Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, Tamizh; C.V. Radhakrishna Shastri, Agastiyar Padipakkam (Publications); Trichy; 1986
4. Verse-28 of the Bhaja Govindam. Available at: https://shlokam.org/texts/bhaja-govindam-28/. Last Accessed: August-12, 2022
5. Bhagavad Guna Darpana Bhashya of Parāśara Bhattar; English translation by Pudukottai Sri U. Ve. A Srinivasaraghavachar Swamy. 1983; Sri Vishishtadvaita Pracharini Sabha. Mylapore, Madras. Pg: 12
6. Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, English Translation by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math; 2009
7. Sri Vishnu Sahasranam Stotram, English Translation by Prof. P. Sankaranarayana, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bhavan’s Book University; 2015