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.

Metaphor Between Cosmic Dance Of Shiva And Dance Of Sub Atomic Particles

We all know that Nataraja is the dancing form of Lord Shiva and he is considered as the supreme God of "Naatya" - dance. Tandava, the divine dance performed by him is the source of creation, preservation and destruction. But do we know that this dance has an amazing scientific concept hidden in it? Let us close our eyes for a second and think about Atom and its Spin. Can we draw some amazing connection here?? Yes, we can and that is the base idea of this article. It tries to establish the parallels between Shiva's cosmic dance and Subatomic spin.  As usual, I have already found that I am not the only one to look at mythological concepts from a scientific perspective, but there are many many people who have already thought about these ideas. Hence I have website links to share, which can throw a good insight into the subject matter. Let us proceed further......

QUICK VIEW :

Key concept	Shiva's cosmic dance compared with dance of subatomic particles
Spiritual perspective	Tandava, the dance of Shiva ; Lasya, the dance of Goddess Parvati ; the different kinds of dances, Soundaryalahari - verse 41 which talks about Shivasakthi dance.
Views of modern physics	Atoms, Subatomic particles, Movements inside an atom, Electric Universe, Views of Fritjof Capra, Nataraja statue at CERN, European center of Nuclear research
Parallels	Sub atomic particles compared with "Trinity" Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva ; The spin inside atom compared with the cosmic dance of Shiva which is the source for creation, preservation and destruction

Tandava :

The name "Tandava" actually came from "Tandu" an attendant of Shiva, who taught 108 "karana"s to Baratha, the author of "Natya Shastra". "Karana" is the combination of hand gestures with feet to form a dance posture. These 108 karanas are discussed by Baratha in the 4th chapter ("Tandava lakshanam") of "Natya Shastra". 

Tandava symbolizes the cosmic cycle of creation and destruction. It deals with the following five principle manifestations of eternal energy :

• Shrishti - Creation
• Sthiti - Sustenance
• Samhara - Destruction
• Tirobhava - Illusion
• Anugraha  - Grace, blessing

There are many types of "Tandavas". The most famous among them is "Aananda Thandava" which portraits bliss and ecstasy and "Rudra Thandava" which portraits destruction and violence.

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Lasya :

"Lasya" is a gentle form of dance performed by Goddess Parvati. It is filled with grace and beauty She performs this dance in response to Shiva's "Tandava". There are two kinds of this dance namely "Jarita Lasya" and "Yauvaka Lasya".

By Kesavan Muthuvel (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Soundaryalahari  (Shloka 41) describes Shivasakthi dance :

Soundaryalahari, is not only a Shloka (prayer) but also a textbook of "Tantra". It describes about many Yantras and gives instructions on Puja and offerings. In that Shloka, verse 41 talks about Shivasakthi dance in Muladhara chakra. According to "Kundalini Yoga" there are six main Chakras in human body where "Kundalini" energy arises from the bottom to the top. In each chakra, Shiva and Sakthi reside in different forms. As such, Sakthi resides as "Samaya" (performing Lasya dance) and Shiva resides as "Aananda bhairava" (performing Tandava dance) in Muladhara chakra. Here it is considered as the creation dance and Shiva Sakthi are termed as Janaka Janani (father and mother). Please click the following link to read the entire text and meaning of this particular verse 41 :

https://sites.google.com/site/soundaryalahare/Home/slokas-41-50

And watch the following video clip (from start to 0.19 seconds) :

Atoms - Basis for everything in the Universe :

Atoms are the tiniest particles which constitute the base for everything in this Universe, from air to water, whale to mobile phone and so on.....Every solid, liquid and gas is made up of atoms. Without atoms, there is no existence of life. Such atoms are further divided into subatomic particles called Protons, Neutrons and Electrons .

By The original uploader was Fastfission at English Wikipedia
 [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)
 or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)],
 via Wikimedia Commons

Subatomic particles vs. Trinity personification :

Many world traditions make a mention about "Trinity" with reference to God. Specifically, in Sanathan dharma we have the main trinity, "Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva". We always refer them as Mummoorthy. Similarly, we also have a female version of trinity called "Sarasathi, Lakshmi and Parvati". These female Goddesses are termed as energy sources for the male Gods, to perform their tasks, Creation, Sustenance and Destruction respectively. We also talk about Parabrahmam, the Supreme God, who is beyond everything. The trinity gods are only the acting agents of the Supreme formless God. This can be understood from the popular tamil saying "அணுவுக்குள் அணுவான ஆதாரமே ".....

Now let us apply this philosophical thought to the subatomic particles. If atoms are everything in this Universe, and if there could not be any life existence without atoms. then can we say the subatomic particles are symbolically referred as "Trinities called "Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva???? When we look closely into the properties of the subatomic particles, we can somewhat agree to this concept. Among the subatomic particles, Protons have positive electric charge, Electrons have negative electric charge and Neutrons have no electric charge

Let me share the links which provide a connection between Trinity personification and Subatomic particles. Generally they emphasize "Proton" with positive electric charge as "Vishnu ; "Electron" with negative electric charge as "Brahma" and "Neutron" with no electric charge as "Shiva (but there are variations in these).  Please carefully go through the following links to make your own judgement about this concept. This is just an idea...... an attempt to analyze the deep concepts of philosophy in relation with modern science..

http://www.ishafoundation.org/blog/sadhguru/masters-words/devi-a-dynamic-force/
https://sites.google.com/site/vvmpune/essay-of-dr-p-v-vartak/shiva-lingam
http://rootshunt.com/physicswithreligion/physicswithreligion.htm
http://www.oshoworld.com/tantra_medi/otantra.asp?news_id=39
http://www.crystalinks.com/vedic.html

Atomic Spin :

Look at the above video and observe the movements inside an atom. If we say dance is nothing but movement, everything in this Universe dances, Sun, moon, planets, stars and the smallest of small, atoms too. Not only atoms, but even their subatomic particles move. Without such spin, there is no atom at all. And if there is no atom, there is no life at all.

Fritjof Capra :

He is an Austrian born American Physicist and the founding director of "Center for Ecoliteracy" in Berkely, California. He is also an author of many books. His famous work, "The Tao of Physics" which talks about the parallels between modern physics and eastern mysticism, was written in 1975.
Very recently, he has explained that....

"Modern physics has shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the birth and death of all living creatures, but is also the very essence of inorganic matter. For the modern physicists, then Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter."

http://www.fritjofcapra.net/shivas-cosmic-dance-at-cern/
http://www.indiainnings.in/108Facts/nataraja

Nataraja Statue at CERN - The European Organization for Nuclear Research :

Kenneth Lu [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

This is the statue of Shiva, engaged in dance in the form of Nataraja at CERN in Geneva. This statue, symbolizing Shiva's cosmic dance of creation and destruction, was given to CERN by the Indian Government to celebrate the research center's long association with India. A special plaque next to the Shiva statue explains the significance of the metaphor of Shiva's cosmic dance with quotations from "Fritjof Capra"......

"Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art and modern physics".

(source : wikipedia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nataraja

Watch this video clip which talks in detail about Shiva's cosmic dance (The introductory Shloka is Vishnu Sahasranama though.....) :

I am not able to provide certain links as they are very long to copy and paste. But if you type "Shiva cosmic dance atom" in google, you can find lots of interesting information about the same. I encourage you all to search and find more details about this beautiful symbolic representation. This is just a starting point where we have got some parallels between mythology and modern science. But I am very sure that more and more science advances, more and more light will be thrown on our ancient philosophical treasures. Thank you all for reading and please don't forget to share your thoughts.


References :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandava

http://www.asianart.com/articles/karanas/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/Cosmic-dance-of-Shiva/articleshow/10485316.cms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom
http://zeenews.india.com/news/west-bengal/veteran-artist-captures-lord-shivas-cosmic-dance-on-canvas_1498954.html
http://www.realityquests.info/shiva-dance/
http://www.quantumdiaries.org/2011/11/10/in-the-shadow-of-shiva/

Significance Of Number Seven

Number "Seven"...... It has its own significance in many world traditions and religions. In this article, let us explore the importance of this number in Sanathan Dharma tradition. "Sapta" is the sanskrit name for this number. 

In Indian astrology, Navagrahas play an important role. For each Graha, a number is assigned. (see the below chart for the list). Among the Navagrahas, the number seven is assigned to "Ketu". 

Symbolically, the number seven represents the Earthly plane.  There are 14 worlds according to Sanatan dharma scriptures and they are categorized as 7 higher and 7 lower worlds. The 7 higher words are (in descending order), Satya, Tapa, Jana, Mahara, Svarga, Bhuvar, Bhu respectively. Bhu loka is nothing but the planet Earth. If you take all 14 worlds together, there are six worlds above Earth and seven below Earth. 

To know about the fourteen worlds in details, please click this link :

http://connectsciencetodivinity.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-fourteen-72-worlds-lokas.html

SAPTA DVIPAS ( SEVEN ISLANDS) :  

According to Puranas, there are seven islands, namely Jambudvipa, Plaksadvipa, Salmalidvipa, Kusadvipa, Krauncadvipa, Saakadvipa and Pushkaradvipa.

SAPTA SAMUDRA (SEVEN OCEANS) :

For each of the above dvipas, there are corresponding oceans too. Please refer the following table :

SAPTA RISHI (SEVEN SAGES) :

This refers to the famous seven sages.  For each Manvantara, there is a separate set of seven sages. Hence, the Saptarishis for our current Manvantara (which is ruled by Vaivasvata Manu) are Kashyapa, Atri, Vashishta, Viswamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadwaja.

SAPTA SWARA (SEVEN MUSICAL NOTES) :

In Sanatan Dharma, music and dance are also believed to be divine and celestial. The Veda that deals with these kinds of arts is known as "Gandharva Veda". Among the Gods, Nataraja and Saraswati are associated with dance and music. Among the demigods and other celestial beings, there are Nandi, Narada, Tumburu, Gandharvas and Apsaras. Swara is a musical note. Since music itself is considered to be divine, no wonder that number 7 finds its significance in this divine art too.. The seven musical notes are, Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni.

SAPTA PADI (SEVEN SACRED STEPS) :

This is an important ritual in Hindu marriage ceremony. As soon as the mangalsutra is tied, the newly married couple take seven steps around the holy fire.  Each step has a detailed meaning.

First step - To earn and provide livelihood for the family
Second step - Build physical, mental and spiritual powers
Third step - Earn and increase the wealth by righteous means
Fourth step - Acquire knowledge, happiness and harmony by mutual love and respect
Fifth step - To have cattle and children
Sixth step - For self control and longevity
Seventh step - To be true and loyal to each other and remain life long companions.

SAPTA CHIRANJEEVI (SEVEN IMMORTALS) :

The Puranas and the two Epics Ramayana and Mahabaratha give an account of the seven immortals, viz.. Ashwathaama, Mahabali, Vyasa, Hanuman, Vibhishana, Kripa and Parasurama. Look at the following shloka :

"Ashwathaama Balir Vyaso Hanumanash cha Vibhishana Kripacharya cha Parashuramam saptaita chiranjeevanam"

SAPTA GIRI (SEVEN HILLS) :

The popular holy shrine Thirumala, is known as saptagiri, as it is covered by seven hills. They are Vrushabhadri, Anjanadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Seshadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri.

Watch this video clip to know about the gods associated with each hill :

SAPTA KANNI (SEVEN VIRGIN ANGELS) :

In Hindu scriptures, especially in Devi Mahatmiyam, Sapta kannikas are mentioned as parivara devathas of Aadhiparasakthi. They are generally termed as "Saptamatrikas" (seven mothers) who are always depicted together. They have supreme significance in Tantrism and Shakthism (different sects of hinduism).

Shiva (Leftmost) with the Matrikas

By Daderot (I took this photograph.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

SAPTA PURI (SEVEN HOLY CITIES) :

These are the seven holy pilgrimage cities. These are where important avatars and spiritual masters are born. The pilgrimage centres are Ayodya, Mathura, Dwaraka, Ujjain, Kasi, Kanchi and Haridwar.

SAPTA NADHI (SEVEN HOLY RIVERS) :

These are the seven holy rivers namely, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri.

SAPTA CHAKRA (SEVEN ENERGY POINTS) :

There are subtle energy points in our body. They are classified as seven upper chakras and seven lower chakras. The upper seven chakras are the major energy points and hence termed as "sapta chakra". They are (in descending order), Sahasrara, Ajna, Vishuddha, Anahata, Manipura, Svadhishthana and Muladhara.

By Siddhasana.jpg: http://www.yogaartandscience.com/about/about.
html derivative work: Mirzolot2 (Siddhasana.jpg) [CC BY-SA 3.0
 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Apart from the above, we also have the following attributes for the number seven......

• Total number of days in a week = 7
• Total number of horses on Surya's (Sun God) chariot = 7
• Total number of classical planets = 7
• Saptamukhi Rudraksh (Rudraksh having 7 faces) is considered to give prosperity, contentment, peace of mind to one who wears and also believed that it removes bad luck and miseries. 
• Ratha saptami, is a festival which is observed on the 7th day of the bright fortnight (sukla paksha) in the month Maghaa. It is symbolically represented that the sun god surya, turns his ratha (chariot) pulled by seven horses, towards the northern hemisphere.

References :

http://www.sakthiolhi.org/sapthakannikas.html

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/numbers.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_(number)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saptarishi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swara
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/seekingshanti/2012/07/seven-steps-to-sacred-bliss-hindu-wedding-rituals/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_wedding