Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram

Category:

Invocation:

MEDITATION ON VISHNU

śuklāṁbaradharaṁ viṣṇuṁ śaśivarṇaṁ caturbhujam |
prasannavadanaṁ dhyāyet sarvavighnōpaśāṁtaye || 1 ||

One should meditate for the removal of all obstacles
upon Vishnu who is clad in white garments,
who has lustre like the moon,
who has four arms and a beneficent face.

yasya dviradavaktrādyāḥ pāriṣadyāḥ paraḥ śatam |
vighnaṁ nighnanti satataṁ viṣvakasenaṁ tamāśraye || 2 ||

I take refuge in Viṣvaksena who always eliminates all hindrances,
The commander of the elephant-faced attendants and the numerous others.

vyāsaṁ vasiṣṭhanaptāraṁ śakteḥ pautramakalmaṣam |
parāśarātmajaṁ vaṁde śukatātaṁ tapōnidhim || 3 ||

Vyāsa is the great grandson of Vāsiṣṭha and the grandson of Shakti.
He is the son of Parāśara and the father of Śūka.
I offer my obeisance to the Vyāsa
who is free from all defects and is a repository of austerities.

vyāsāya viṣṇurūpāya vyāsarūpāya viṣṇave |
namō vai brahmanidhaye vāsiṣṭhāya namō namaḥ || 4 ||

My repeated salutations to Vyāsa who is the form of Vishnu
and to Vishnu who is the form of Vyāsa
—sage Vyāsa who is a descendant of Vāsiṣṭha
and who is a treasure of Knowledge of Brahman.

avikārāya śuddhāya nityāya paramātmane |
sadaikarūparūpāya viṣṇave sarvajiṣṇave || 5 ||

I offer my obeisance to Vishnu,
Who is devoid of all mutations,
Who is by nature pure and eternal,
Who is endowed with a form which is uniform at all times
and Who is the victor over all.

yasya smaraṇamātreṇa janmasaṁsārabaṁdhanāt |
vimucyate namastasmai viṣṇave prabhaviṣṇave || 6 ||

ōṁ namō viṣṇave prabhaviṣṇave ||

My salutations to that Supreme Being Vishnu,
by a mere thought of Whose name
all persons are freed from the bonds of Samsāra.
Salutations to the omnipotent Being Who is signified by the Prāṇava.

śrī vaiśaṁpāyana uvāca

śrutvā dharmānaśeṣeṇa pāvanāni ca sarvaśaḥ |
yudhiṣṭhiraḥ śāṁtanavaṁ punarevābhyabhyāṣata || 7 ||

Śrī Vaiśampāyana said:

— Having heard all the Dharmas in their entirety
(without anything having been left out)
and having learnt about all purificatory acts,
Yudhiṣṭhira again addressed Bhīshma as follows;

śrī yudhiṣṭhira uvāca

kimekaṁ daivataṁ lōke kiṁ vāpyekaṁ parāyaṇaṁ |
stuvaṁtaḥ kaṁ kamarcaṁtaḥ prāpnuyurmānavāḥ śubham || 8 ||

Yudhiṣṭhira asked:

—Who is the One Supreme Being which the Scriptures declare?
What is the one Supreme Goal which should be sought?
By the recitation of what mantra is a person released
from the bonds of repeated birth and death?
Which in your opinion is the highest form of religion?

kō dharmaḥ sarvadharmāṇāṁ bhavataḥ paramō mataḥ |
kiṁ japanmucyate jaṁturjanmasaṁsārabaṁdhanāt || 9 ||

What spiritual path is that,
which according to thy judgment is the foremost of all paths?
What are those mantras by reciting which
a being becomes freed from the bonds of birth and death.

śrī bhīṣma uvāca

jagatprabhuṁ devadevamanaṁtaṁ puruṣōttamam |
stuvannāmasahasreṇa puruṣaḥ satatōtthitaḥ || 10 ||

Bhīshma said:

— A person who is always engaged
in praising with the hymn of a Thousand Names;
the Lord of the Universe, the God of gods, and the limitless Supreme Being,

tameva cārcayannityaṁ bhaktyā puruṣamavyayam |
dhyāyan stuvannamasyaṁśca yajamānastameva ca || 11 ||

And engaged in worshipping Him with devotion,
meditating upon Him, glorifying Him, offering obeisance and adoring Him,

anādi nidhanaṁ viṣṇuṁ sarvalōkamaheśvaram |
lōkādhyakṣaṁ stuvannityaṁ sarvaduḥkhātigō bhavet || 12 ||

one who is ever engaged in praising the Lord
who is without beginning and end, the All-pervading-One,
the Ruler of the Universe, the Supervisor of the worlds,
the One Who is to be known from the Vedas,
Who is Himself the Knower of all Dharmas,
the One Who is constantly engaged in the Universal Welfare,
Lord of the Universe, and the Cause of all beings
—such a devotee transcends over all the sorrows of this material world.

brahmaṇyaṁ sarvadharmajñaṁ lōkānāṁ kīrtivardhanam |
lōkanāthaṁ mahadbhūtaṁ sarvabhūtabhavōdhbhavam || 13 ||

Verily He is champion of the devotees,
conversant with all duties and injunctions,
the enhancer of fame and achievement of all people,
the master of all the universe, exceedingly wonderful,
and the cause of the origination of all beings.

eṣa me sarvadharmāṇāṁ dharmōdhikatamō mataḥ
yadbhaktyā puṁḍarīkākṣaṁ stavairarcennaraḥ sadā || 14 ||

This worship of the Supreme Lotus-eyed Lord at all times
by a person endowed with devotion
is regarded by me as the greatest of all religious practices

paramaṁ yō mahattejaḥ paramaṁ yō mahattapaḥ |
paramaṁ yō mahadbrahma paramaṁ yaḥ parāyaṇam || 15 ||

He Who is the Supreme Effulgence;
Who is the Supreme Director;
Who is the Supreme Brahman;
and Who is the Supreme, Highest and Ultimate Goal;

pavitrāṇāṁ pavitraṁ yō maṁgalānāṁ ca maṁgalam |
daivataṁ devatānāṁ ca bhūtānāṁ yōvyayaḥ pitā || 16 ||

He Who is the purest of the pure
and the most auspicious amongst the auspicious,
The God of gods and the indestructible Progenitor of all beings.

yataḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni bhavaṁtyādiyugāgame |
yasmiṁśca pralayaṁ yāṁti punareva yugakṣaye || 17 ||

From Whom all beings originate in the beginning of the first Yuga
and in Whom they merge again at the end of the Yuga.

tasya lōkapradhānasya jagannāthasya bhūpate |
viṣṇōrnāmasahasraṁ me śruṇu pāpabhayāpaham || 18 ||

O King! Hear from me the Thousand Names
which remove sins and drive away fear.
The appellations of that Vishnu,
Lord of the Universe and Ruler of the World.

yāni nāmāni gauṇāni vikhyātāni mahātmanaḥ |
ṛṣibhiḥ parigītāni tāni vakṣyāmi bhūtaye || 19 ||

For the good of the world,
I shall tell you the holy names of the Supreme Being,
which are indicative of His attributes and glory,
well known and recited by the Rishis.

r̥ṣirnāmnāṁ sahasrasya vedavyāsō mahāmuniḥ |
chaṁdōnuṣṭup tathā devō bhagavān devakīsutaḥ || 20 ||

The Great Vedavyāsa is the Seer
of these Thousand Names of Vishnu,
the metre is the Anuṣṭup,
the Presiding Deity is Lord Krishna the son of Devakī.

amr̥tāṁśūdbhavō bījaṁ śaktirdevakinaṁdana: |
trisāmā hr̥dayaṁ tasya śāṁtyarthe viniyujyate || 21 ||

The seed is He-who-was-born-in-the-lunar-race;
its power is The Name, The-son-of-Devakī.
The heart is the One-who-is-lauded-by-the-three-Sama-hymns,
The purpose of its use is the attainment of peace.

viṣṇuṁ jiṣṇuṁ mahāviṣṇuṁ prabhaviṣṇuṁ maheśvaram |
anekarūpadaityāṁtaṁ namāmi puruṣōttamam || 22 ||

I pay my obeisance to Vishnu,
the Victorious, the All-pervading One,
the Mighty, the Lord of all,
the enemy of the demons of many forms
and the Best of Persons.