Shree Bheeshmã Uvacha
Jagath prabhum deva devam antham purushothamam
Sthuvan nãma sahasréna purusha saththo thithaha
Jagath prabhum deva devam antham purushothamam
Sthuvan nãma sahasréna purusha saththo thithaha
The supreme ("uttamam")
Purusha, who is ever up and working for the welfare of all, the Lord ("prabhum")
of the world ("jagat") the endless ("anantam")
– Sri Maha Vishnu.
Thameva chãr chayanth nithyam bhakthya purusha mavyayam
Dhayãyan sthuvan namasyamsha yajamãnas thamevacha 10
Dhayãyan sthuvan namasyamsha yajamãnas thamevacha 10
By meditating upon ("sthuvan
naama"), by ("cha") worshipping
("archayan") and by prostrating at the same
Purusha, man can reach true Auspiciousness.
Anãdhinidhanam vishnum sarva lokamahesvaram
Lokãdhyaksham sthuvan nithyam sarva dhukkã thigo bhavéth
Lokãdhyaksham sthuvan nithyam sarva dhukkã thigo bhavéth
The greatest Dharma is the
one Vishnu, who has neither a beginning (Aadi) nor an end
(Nidhanam), the supreme Lord ("maheshwaram")
of the world. All creatures can go beyond the bonds of samsar, “and he goes
beyond all sorrows” who daily ("nityam") chants
("stuvan") the sahasranaamas and within
glorifies “the knower of the world” (Lokaadhyaksha).
Brahmanyam sarva dharmangyam lokãnãm keerthivardhanam
Lokanãtham mahath bhootham sarva bhootha bhavothbhavam
Lokanãtham mahath bhootham sarva bhootha bhavothbhavam
Esha mé sarvadharmãnãm dharmodhi kathamo mathaha
Yath bhakthyã pundari kãksham sthavai rar-chén nara ssatha
Yath bhakthyã pundari kãksham sthavai rar-chén nara ssatha
Paramam yo mahath teja paramam yo mahath thapaha
Paramam yo mahath brahma paramam ya parãyanam
Paramam yo mahath brahma paramam ya parãyanam
He who is the great ("mahat")
effulgence ("tejah"); He who is the Great
controller ("tapah"); He who is the Supreme
All-Pervading Truth; ("brahma") he who is the
Highest (Param) Goal (Ayanam)-the
Lord Vishnu.
(Answer 1.)
Pavitraanaam pavitram yo
Daivatam devataanam cha
He who is ("yo") the very sanctity ("pavitram") that sanctifies all sacred things ("pavitraanaam"); he who is most auspicious ("mangalam"); he who is the god ("devataa") of gods ("daivatam"); he who is the eternal ("avyayah") father ("pitaa") of all creatures ("bhootaanaam") is the one god – VISHNU.
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(Question 2. ) Kim vaapyekam paraayanam?
(Answer 2.)
Paramam yo mahat-tejah Paramam yo mahat-tapah
Paramam yo mahat-brahma Paramam yah paraayanam.
Paramam yo mahat-brahma Paramam yah paraayanam.
He who is the great ("mahat") effulgence ("tejah"); He who is the Great controller ("tapah"); He who is the Supreme All-Pervading Truth; ("brahma") he who is the Highest (Param) Goal (Ayanam)-the Lord Vishnu.
By glorifying ("sthuvantah") whom ("kam") can man ("manavah") reach the Auspiciousness ("shubam") (peace and prosperity)?
Answer 3.
Jagat-prabhum deva-devam
Stuvan naama-sahasrena
Purushah satatotthitah.
Stuvan naama-sahasrena
Purushah satatotthitah.
The supreme ("uttamam") Purusha, who is ever up and dong for the welfare of all, the Lord ("prabhum") of the world ("jagat") the endless ("anantam") – Sri Maha Vishnu.
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Question 4. (Kam archantah) praapnuyuh Maanavaah subham?
auspiciousness (peace and prosperity)?
Answer 4. Tameva cha archayan nityam
Stuvan naama-sahasrena
By meditating upon ("sthuvan naama"), by ("cha") worshipping ("archayan") and by prostrating at the same Purusha, man can reach true Auspiciousness.
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Question 5. Ko dharmah sarva-dharmaanaam
What ("ko") is, in thy opinion, the Greatest Dharma?
Question 6. Kim japan muchyate jantuh
By ("kim") doing japa of what can “creatures” (jantu) go beyond ("mutchyate") the bonds ("bandhanaath") of samsara?
Answers 5&6.
Anaadi-nidhanam vishnum
Lokaadhyaksham stuvan nityam
Both questions are answered here: - the greatest Dharma is the one Vishnu, who has neither a beginning (Aadi) nor an end (Nidhanam), the supreme Lord ("maheshwaram") of the world. All creatures can go beyond the bonds of samsar, “and he goes beyond all sorrows” who daily ("nityam") chants ("stuvan") the sahasranaamas and within glorifies “the knower of the world” (Lokaadhyaksha).
The supreme is described as that from which the whole world of names and forms had risen in the beginning of the creation, that in which the world continues to exit, that into which alone the world can merge back during the ‘Dissolution’ (Pralaya); this supreme is VISHNU.
After thus answering all questions, “His thousand Name”, said Bheeshma, “I shall now advise you. Please listen to them with all attention”. This is how the Sacred Hymn, called as “The thousand names of Lord Vishnu”, is introduced in the Mahaabhaarata.
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Extra Comments: The Supreme cannot be defined and since He is the very substratum of all qualities, He cannot be denominated by any name, or indicated by any term, or defined in any language, or ever expressed, even vaguely, in any literary form. He is beyond both the “Known” and the “Unknown”. He is the very illumining Principle of Consciousness that illuminates all experiences.
And yet He has many manifestations and, therefore, He can have infinite names in terms of His manifestations. Definitions should directly describe the thing defined, and here we have a thousand indirect definitions with which the Real, the Infinite is being indicated in terms of the unreal and the finite. These “Thousand names of the Lord” have been coined and given out by the Rishis. They were collected and strung together into a joyous Hymn to Vishnu, a garland of devotion and reverence, by the poet-seer Vyaasa.
Since each of them is thus an indicative definition of the unknown in terms of the known, each term here is believed to rocket-us up into the realms of the divine experience, only when we have lifted our minds towards it through contemplation. Thus the Vishnu Sahasranaama is employed not only by the devotees, in the sweet attitude of ‘sporting with the Lord’, but these are also employed by the contemplative students of philosophy, as gliders to roam in the realms of inspired Higher Consciousness.
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More commentary: In the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, which is one of the minor Upanishads, we find the great devotee Naarada approaching Brahmaaji to enquire what is the way out for man to evolve in these hard days of extrovertedness, which is quite natural and unavoidable in the Iron-age (Kaliyuga).”Repetition of the names of Naaraayana is sufficient enough”, was the reply given.
It is to be carefully noted here that in the sixth question the enquiry was how can ‘creatures’ realise the Highest. Jantu means ‘that which is born’ (Janana-dharman). So all living creatures are fit for this easy path. ‘Creatures’ could even include the animal kingdom as it is described in the Puraanas in their own poetic language. In the Trikutaachala lake, the elephant that was caught by the crocodile is described as having been saved by the Lord (Gajendra Moksha). The story of Jadabharata is yet another example.
Sankara in his commentary describes here Japa as comprehensive of all the three types. (A) That which can be heard by others; (B) That which is heard by ourselves; (C) That which is mental.
Vishnu Sahasranaama can be employed in performing Japa of all these three kinds.
In the following “Thousand Names”, we meet with, though rarely, some repetitions. Exactly 90 names have been repeated in this Great Hymn; and of them, 74 are repeated twice, 14 are repeated thrice, and again 2 of them are found to have been repeated four times. Sometimes, the terms are repeated as such Vishnu- Vishnu, Siva-Siva etc. and sometimes different words with the same meaning are also employed (Sreepati- Maadhava; Pushkaraaksha- Kamalaaksha). These need not be considered as a defect, since this Hymn is a chant of His Glory .In a chant of glory (stuti) repetitions are acceptable-it is but a style of the emotional heart to repeat its declarations of love.
There are exactly 1,031 single “Names” of the Lord in the 1000-Name-Chant (Sahasranaama). The extra 31 Names are to be considered each as an adjective qualifying (Viseshana) the immediately following noun. When one makes Archanaa to the Lord the correct dative case is to be used. There are 20 double-names in the first 500 Names and 11 double-names in the second half of the chant. There is one indeclinable (Avyaya) word used, and it (896th) should be used in the dative for Archanaa as Sanaat Namah; so too the 929th Name in the chant, being a plural noun, should be used in Archanaa as Sadbhyo Namah.
It will also be found, as we study the significances of these Divine names, that Vyaasa has employed sometimes masculine gender, on other occasions feminine gender and some other times even neuter gender. Wherever it is masculine
,
it denotes Vishnu, the Lord of Lakshmi. and when it is feminine it is indicative of His Might. Glory or power (devataa) that is manifest everywhere, and when the term is in neuter gender, it means Pure Brahman, the infinite Reality.
.
,
it denotes Vishnu, the Lord of Lakshmi. and when it is feminine it is indicative of His Might. Glory or power (devataa) that is manifest everywhere, and when the term is in neuter gender, it means Pure Brahman, the infinite Reality.
.
This Archanaa is generally performed by devotees daily; if this is not convenient they perform this worship at least on their own birth-days, on eclipse days and on the day on which the Sun moves from one zodiac to another (the Samkraanti-day). This performance has been prescribed by the Sastra for warding off troubles arising from the position of planets, anger of the rulers, incurable diseases and ruthless enemies. The highest effect is for purifying the mind and thus gaining more and more inner-poise for the Saadhaka in meditation.
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