Vishnu Sahasranama - Part 2 - Prologue (verses 11-20)

Verses 11-15 : (Hear youtube video for practice from 1.51 - 2.38)

"Anaadi nidhanam Vishnum sarva lokha Maheshwaram
Lokadyaksham Sthuvannithyam sarva dukhagthigo bhavedh" - 11

Anaadi nidhanam vishnum - Vishnu who has no beginning or end
Sarva lokha maheshwaram - The supreme lord of all worlds
Lokadyaksham sthuvannithyam - One who chants everyday (about) the one who presides all worlds
Sarva dukhagthigo bhavedh - All their miseries go beyond

"All the miseries will go away from the person, when he chants everyday and praises the glory of Lord Vishnu, the supreme lord who presides all worlds and who is without any beginning or end."

"Brahmanyam sarvadharmagyam lokaanam kirthivardhanam
Lokanaatham mahatbhuutham sarvabhuutha bhavodbhavam" - 12

Brahmanyam sarvadharmagyam - Who knows all dharmas and who has to be perceived through the vedas 

Lokaanam kirthivardhanam -  Who increases the fame of  beings who live in worlds

Lokanaatham mahatbhuutham - The master of all worlds and the greatest truth among all 

Sarvabhuutha bhavodbhavam -  Source behind the existence of all beings

"Vishnu, who alone knows all dharmas, has to be known through the vedas. He is the master of all worlds. He is the one who increases the fame of all beings in all worlds and the absolute truth/source behind the existence of all beings."

"Yeshame sarvadharmaanaam dharmo dikhathamo mathah

Yadbhakthyaa pundarikaaksham sthavairarcher narassadha" - 13

Yeshame sarvadharmaanam - This dharma, among all dharmas

Dharmo dikhathamo mathah - Is declared as the greatest
Yadbhakthyaa pundarikaaksham - With bakthi, worships the lotus eyed (lord)
Sthavairarcher narassadha - Singing the glory, everyday by beings

"Dharma for beings (humans)  is to worship the lotus eyed lord and sing and chant his glory with devotion, everyday. This is the greatest dharma among all dharmas."

"Paramam yo mahat tejah parmam yo mahat tapah
Paramam yo mahat brahmah paramam yah paraayanam" - 14

Paramam yo mahat tejah - Greatest of all lights
Paramam yo mahat tapah - Greatest of all penance
Paramam yo mahat brahmah - Brahmam, the absolute truth
Paramam yah paraayanam -  Greatest of all shelters

"(Worship he who is) The greatest of all lights, greatest of all penance, who himself is the absolute truth called brahmam and one who is the greatest of all shelters."

"Pavithraanam pavithram yo mangalaanaamcha mangalam

Daivatham devataanaamcha bhuthaanam yo avyayah pitaa" - 15

Pavithraanam pavithram yo - Holiest among all holy things
Mangalaanaamcha mangalam - Most auspicious among all auspicious things
Daivatham devataanaamcha - Supreme God among all Gods
Bhuthaanam yo avyayah pitaa - Who is without death and hence (eternal) father of all beings

"(Worship he who is) The holiest (pure)  among all holy things, the most auspicious among all auspicious things, the supreme lord of lords, and the one who is the eternal father of all beings in all worlds."

Verses 16-20 : (Hear youtube video for practice from 2.38 - 3.24 )

"Yatha sarvaani bhuthaani bhavanthyaadi yugaagamae
yasmimcha pralayam yanthi punareva yugakshayae" - 16

Yatha sarvaani bhuthaani - (The eternal father) From whom, all beings in the world
Bhavanthyaadi yugaagamae - Emanated at the beginning of the initial yuga
Yasmimcha pralayam yanthi - To whom, (all beings) during the final dissolution
Punareva yugakshayae -  Go back at the end of the world

"The eternal indestructible father, from whom, all beings, originated at the beginning of the initial yuga, and to whom, all beings, merge together, during the final dissolution, which happens at the end of the final yuga".

"Tasya loka pradhaanasya jagannaadhasya bhoopathe
Vishnornaama sahasramme shrunupaapa bhayaapaham" - 17

Tasya loka pradhaanasya - The pillar on which the entire universe rests
Jagannaadhasya bhoopathe - The master of Universe (Oh King!!)
Vishnornaama sahasramme - The thousand names of Lord vishnu
Shrunupaapa bhayaapaham - (Listen, oh king!)  which drives away all sins and all fears

"Oh King (Yudishtra), listen!!! I will tell you the thousand names of Lord Vishnu, the master of the Universe, the pillar on which the entire Universe rests. Oh king! these thousand names of Lord Vishnu, will dispel all fears and wash out all fears".

"Yaani naamaani gaunaani vikhyaataani mahaatmanah
Rishibih parigeethani taani vakshyaami bhuthaye" - 18

Yaani naamaani gaunaani - (Make you familiar) with the names
Vikhyaataani mahaatmanah -  Those which proclaim the glory of the supreme being
Rishibih parigeethani -Well chanted and sung by the Rishis
Taani vakshyaami bhuthaye - Know them, for the welfare of all beings

"I will help you to get familiar with the names, which proclaim the glory of the supreme being and are well chanted and sung by the Rishis. Know these names, for the welfare of all beings."

"Rishirnaamnaam sahasrasya vedavyaso mahamunihi
Chando anushtub thathaadevo bhagavaan devakisuthah" - 19

Rishir naamnaam sahasrasya - (Rishi) of these thousand names of Vishnu
Vedavyaso mahamunihi - The great Rishi, Veda Vyasa
Chandoasushtub thathaadevo - The vedic meter is "Anushtub", the presiding deity
Bhagavaan devakisuthah - The Lord, who is the son of Devaki

"The great sage, Veda Vyasa, is the Rishi (composer) of these thousand names of Vishnu. The vedic meter in which it is composed is "Anushtub" and the presiding deity (of these thousand names) is Lord Vishnu, who is the son of Devaki".

(Please click the following link to know about vedic meters) :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_meter

"Amrutaam Shutbhavobijam shakthir devakinandhanah
trisaamaa hridhayam tasya  shaanthyarthe viniyujyathe" - 20

Amrutaam shuthbhavobijam - (Its) root is one who is born in (chandra) lunar race
Shakthir devakinandhanah -  (Its) power is the son of Devaki
Trisaamaa hridhayamtasya - (Its) heart is the one who is glorified in thrisama (sama veda)
Shaanthyarthe viniyujyathe - (Its) purpose is the attainment of peace


"The root (of these thousand names) is the one who is born in chandra vamsa (lunar race), the power (of these names) is the beloved son of Devaki, The heart (of these names) is the one who is glorified in trisaama (the third veda, samaveda) and the purpose of it (the names) is to attain peace

Vishnu Sahasranama - Part 1 - Prologue (verses 1-10)

The Meaning : (Our journey starts now!!!!)

This is a part by part attempt to mindfully learn the sloka and hence it is split into many parts and will be updated periodically. Hear the youtube video for practicing, The first ten verses are included here along with the accurate seconds (for youtube).

PROLOGUE 

Verses 1 - 5 : (Hear the youtube video from start to 0.56)

"AUM"  :  Please refer to my previous post (link below) regarding this syllable.

http://connectsciencetodivinity.blogspot.com/2015/03/aum-sound-of-universe.html

"Shuklam baradaram vishnum sashivarnam chaturbujam
Prasanna vadhanam dhyayet sarva vignopa shanthaye" - 1

Shuklam baradaram vishnum - Vishnu, who is dressed in white
Sasi varnam -  Who is in the color of moon
Chaturbujam - Who is having four arms
Prasanna vadhanam - Who has an ever-smiling, happy and pleasant face
Dhyayet - I meditate upon thee
Sarva vignopa shanthaye - Eradicate all obstacles in my way.

"I meditate on the ever-smiling face (roopam) the almighty Vishnu, who is dressed in white, who is in the color of moon and who is having four arms. Let him remove all obstacles in my way".

"Vyasam vasishtanaptharam shaktheh pouthramakalmasham
Parasarathmaajam vandhe shukathatham taponidhim" -2

Vyasam vasishtanaptharam - Vyasa, the great grand son of  sage Vasishta
Sakthe pouthramakalmasham - The grand son of sage Sakthi
Parasarathmaajam vandhe - The son of sage Parashara
Shukathatham taponidhim -  The father of Shuka Rishi

"I bow before great Rishi Vyasa , who is the great grand son of Rishi Vasishta, the grand son of Rishi Sakthi and the son of Rishi Parashara. I bow before Rishi Vyasa who is the father of Shuka Brahma Rishi".

"Vyasaya vishnu roopaya vyasa roopaya vishnave
Namo vai brahma nidhaye vaasishtaya namo namaha" -3

Vyasaya vishnu roopaya - Vyasa who is vishnu  (vyasa is believed to be an incarnation of vishnu)
Vyasa roopaya vishnave - Vishnu who is vyasa
Namo vai brahma nidhaye - I bow before thee, who possess the treasure of vedic knowledge/ Brahmam
Vaasishtaya namo namaha - Many salutations to the one who is born in the family of Vasishta

"I offer my salutations many times to sage Vyasa, who is an incarnation of Vishnu ; and to Vishnu, who has taken the visible roopam of Vyasa, the sage who is born in the family of Vasishta and possess the treasure of "Brahma vidya"

"Avikaraya shudhaaya nithyaaya paramaathmane
Sadhaika roopa roopaya vishnave sarva jishnave" -4

Avikaraaya Shudhaaya - Vishnu, who is pure and not affected by change
Nithyaaya paramaathmane - who is eternal and the supreme soul
Sadhaika roopa roopaya - who has the consistent form in all times and ages
Vishnave sarva jishnave - I bow before thee, one who is the conqueror of all mortals.

"I bow before thee, Lord Vishnu, the pure, immutable, eternal and the supreme soul. I salute thee, who has the consistent form in all ages and one who is the conqueror of all mortal beings."

"Yasya smarana maathrena janma samsaara bandhanaath
vimuchyate nama tasmai vishnave prabha vishnave" -5

Yasya smarana maathrene - The mere contemplation of the name Vishnu
Janma samsaara bandhanaath - Frees one from the terrific cycle of birth and death
Vimuchyate nama tasmai - I bow before thee
Vishnave prabha vishnave - The all powerful Vishnu

"I salute the almighty Lord vishnu, the mere thought of whom, releases one for ever, from the terrific and never ending cycle of birth and death."

"Om namo vishnave prabha vishnave" 

"Salutations to the all powerful deity Vishnu"

Verses 6-10 : (Hear youtube video for practice from 0.56 - 1.50)

"Shri Vaishamphayana uvacha" 

"Sri Vaisamphaya said" (remember this sloka is part of Mahabaratha and will be in conversational style. Vaisamphaya is the sage who narrated the epic "Mahabaratha" to king Janamejaya and thereby to all human beings. Pandavas and Kauravas were king Janamejaya's ancestors.)

"Shrutvaa dharmaana seshaena paavanaani cha sarvashaha
yudishtirah shaanthanavam punare vaabhya baashatha" -6

Shrutvaa dharmaana seshaena - After hearing a lot about all the dharmas 

Paavanaani cha sarvashaha - Which eradicates sins completely, from one's life

Yudishtirah shaanthanavam - Yudhishtira addressed Shanthanu's son (Bhishma)

Punare vaabhya baashatha - The abode of everlasting peace, again (as follows)

"Yudhishtira, after hearing the Dharmas entirely from Bhishma, which are capable of eradicating all the sins in one's life and thereby purify the person, again asked Bhishma, the abode of everlasting peace, as follows"

"Yudhishttira uvacha"

"Yudishtira said"

"Kimekam daivatham loke kim vaapyekam paraayanam
sthuvanthahkam kamarchandham Praapnuyur maanavaashubham" - 7

Kimekam daivatham loke - Who is the one God in this wide world ?
Kim vaapyekam paraayanam - Who is the one ultimate shelter for all ?
Sthuvanthahkam kamarchandham - By glorifying whom and by praising whom with love
Praapnuyur maanavaashubham -  Men attain peace, prosperity and great salvation

"Grandpa! In this vast world, who is the one God ? who is the one shelter?  who is the one beings worship, praise and glorify and obtain peace, prosperity and ultimately, salvation?"

"Khodharmah sarvadharmaanam bhavathahparamo mathaha
Kimjapan muchyatejandhur janmasamsaara bhandhanaadh" - 8

Khodharmah sarvadharmaanam - Which dharma in all dharmas
Bhavathahparamo mathaha - Greatest of all and none is greater than that
Kinjapan muchyatejandhur - By which japa (chanting), living beings go beyond
Janmasamsaara bhandhanaadh - This terrific cycle of birth and death


"Among all the Dharmas, which is the greatest one ? none is greater than that? By chanting on which, can living beings go beyond this terrific cycle of birth and death and attain salvation?"

"Shri Bhishma uvacha"

"Bhishma said"

"Jagathprabhum devadevam anantham purushothamam
sthuvannaama sahasrena purushah sathathothithaha" - 9

Jagathprabhum devadevam - Ruler of the Universe, God of all Gods
Anantham purushothamam - Infinite, endless, supreme person
Sthuvannaama sahasrena - (By) chanting the thousand names
Purushah sathathothithaha - Men, ever engaged in devotion, (are set free)


"Men, by means of chanting the thousand names of the endless supreme lord who is the king of the Universe and God of all Gods and by engaging themselves in pure devotion to this infinite purusha, (are released from this horrible cycle of birth and death.)"

"Thamevacharcha yannithyam bhakthyaa purushamavyayam
Dhyaayan sthuvan namasyancha yajamaanasthameva cha" - 10

Thamevacharcha yannithyam - One who worships and prays every day
Bhakthyaa purushamavyayam - With devotion to that supreme being who is not liable to change
Dhyaayan sthuvan namasyancha -  Meditates and chants
Yajamaanastha meva cha - Submits and surrenders completely, moves beyond (released)

"One who worships the unchanging ultimate lord with utmost love everyday, one who meditates and chants the glory of the supreme lord and surrenders to him completely, moves beyond this cycle of birth and death".

Introduction to Vishnu Sahasranama

In my humble efforts to know the meanings of Mantras,  I have started the section "Mantras and Meanings" in this blog.  When I thought of adding "Vishnu Sahasranama" in this section, the first notion came to my mind was "Who am I to write about this"? There are quite a few reasons for such thinking. On the first hand, I am not a person who is well-versed in Sanskrit; second : this is a lengthy sloka and it will be tough to learn the full meaning in one day and last, there are many translations already available with word by word meanings. Yet, something drives me to post it today and here I am. But let me brief few points beforehand :

• Instead of proceeding with the sloka directly, we will first start with some introductions for better understanding.
• Since this is a lengthy sloka, I am planning to add 5 paragraphs or verses each time for making it easy to understand. As such, this is not a complete blog post, but will be updated as and when and I will notify you when it is done.
• As always, I will be including many web links from where I compiled the information.
• The Manthras are given in English and split up for easy reading. Please do not expect perfect sanskrit way of writing. The numbering of the verses are also given by me only for easy learning and might not match with the numbers in the original sloka.
• I will be very happy if readers share their thoughts and knowledge. It is a collective effort and the ultimate aim is to learn this sloka with its meaning.
• I pray to Shri Maha Vishnu to give me the motivation and determination to complete this post fully and also to enlighten all of us in this journey. 

Vishnu Sahasranamam - A brief overview :

As most of you know, the term "sahasra" in Sanskrit, means 1000. Vishnu Sahasranama literally means the 1000 names of Vishnu . It is found in the "Anushasana parva" of the epic Mahabaratha which continues the theme of "Shanthi Parva". "Anushasana" can be referred as "Book of instructions" of Book of precepts". It has 2 sub parvas and 168 chapters. Bhishma, in his death bed, is surrounded by great sages Vasishta, Maithreya, Sanathkumara, Valmiki, Kapila and Narada and also by the Pandavas. Yudishtra asks for a counsel for which Bhishma gives answers. It includes duties of the King, officials of a kingdom and men and women. It also includes the importance of cows, their importance to household's food security, agriculture and wealth. Chapter 149 of this Anushasana parva recites "Vishnu Sahasranama" and in the list of 1000 names of Vishnu are the names of Shiva, Sharva, Sthanu, Ishana and Rudra.

By Ramanarayanadatta astri (http://archive.org/details/mahabharata
06ramauoft) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anushasana_Parva

The glory of Vishnu Sahasranama is disclosed by the following quote :

Adi Sankaracharya in Bhaja Govindam - Verse 27 :

"Geyam gita nama sahasram dhyeam sripathi rupamajasram
neyam sajjana sange chittham deyam dinajanaya ca vittam"

"Let your mouth chant Bhagavad Gita and Sahasranama everyday,  Let your heart be filled with Vishnu swaroopam, Let your mind be led towards the company of good (satsang) and let your wealth be distributed to the needy".

http://www.avgsatsang.org/hhsvs/pdf/BhajaGovindam_verse27.pdf


"Vishnu Sahasranama" in the divine voice of M.S.Subbulakshmi :


I have included below, the youtube video of "Vishnu Sahasranama" in order to make it easy for us to practice the sloka step by step when we learn the meanings.