Bhagavān Shaṅkarācārya has instructed all mortals to benefit by reciting the divine names of Srīmannārāyaṇa – gēyaṁ gītā nāmasahasram. Kalau kēśava kīrtanāt – reciting the thousand names of the Lord is the easiest way to escape from the brutality of Kaliyuga. The Bhagavadgītā teaches the tattva of Paramātman whereas Viṣṇu Sahasranāma describes the svarūpa of Paramātman. In other words, Gītā is vācya and Sahasranāma is vācaka. By considering the pramāṇa – vācya vācakayōrabhēdaḥ – we can conclude that both Bhagavadgītā and Viṣṇu Sahasranāma are the same, i.e. refer to the glories of the same non-dual Paramātman. By reciting a single name of the Lord, one is relieved from pains and sins. Viṣṇu Sahasranāma is a māla or garland of thousand potent names of the Lord, recitation, and anusandhāna of which is the sure most cure for saṁsāra. Each name is like an atom bomb, packed with infinite energy. The way to utilize this energy is by a constant repetition of the names with devotion and contemplation. It is very important to understand the meaning of each of the names. However, anubhūti (experience) is greater than artha (mere meaning). One has to thus experience the names to know their actual purport and thus the Supreme.
Shaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya describes the characteristics of a Stōtra as follows:
namaskārastathāśiśca siddhāntōktiḥ parākramaḥ |
vibhūtiḥ prārthanā cēti ṣaḍvidhaṁ stōtralakṣaṇam ||
1. Offering namaskāra to the Lord by means of words.
2. Describing the boons or blessings granted by the Lord.
3. Describing the sidhdānta or philosophy of a particular school of thought associated with the deity.
4. Describing the valor and heroics of the deity.
5. Describing the vibhūti or mahimā of the deity.
6. Praying the Lord (which involves describing the place of prayer, need and the cause for the prayer, and also the expected boon).
The name `Viṣṇu’ is explained as below in Agni Purāṇa:
jyōtīṁṣi viṣṇurbhuvanāni viṣṇur
vanāni viṣṇurgirayō diśaśca |
nadyassamudrāṇi sa ēva sarvam ||
Who is Viśṇu? He is that Paramapuruṣa who is the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, oceans, directions, and everything seen and unseen. Thus, the word Viśṇu does not merely refer to Viśṇu, the husband of Lakṣmī and one of the trinity, but to the formless Parabrahman, non-different from the Self, who is all-pervading. It is this Virāṭpuruṣa who is described as having thousands of heads and eyes – sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt. A similar description of the Virāṭpuruṣa is also seen in the Viśvarūpa darśana yōga of Bhagavadgītā – anēkabāhūdara vaktranētram. How did the Virāṭpuruṣa, one above names and forms, get a thousand names? This is explained by Bhagavān Vēdavyāsa in the verse – yāni nāmāni gauṇani, etc. The word `gauṇa’ has to be observed carefully here. Gauṇa is a derivative of guṇa and hence the names are guṇa vācakas of the Lord. The Lord, though without attributes, appears with attributes for the sake of devotees and the sages praise his auspicious attributes with these sacred names. Every name speaks of an auspicious attribute of the Lord. The śāstras declare – darśanāt r̥ṣiḥ – the seer is the r̥ṣi. What does the r̥ṣi see – the Para Tattva. When we say the r̥ṣi is draṣṭā – it does not mean merely that the r̥ṣi had a vision of a saguṇa form of the Lord with four hands. It means the sage experienced the Paratattva fully, the only way for which is to experience the identity of the Self and the Supreme in all its glory. Vocal expressions of their divine experience of Paramātman are these thousand names. As these names are revealed by the sages, they become sacred like the śruti and possess infinite auspicious energy.
Viṣṇu Sahasranāma has 108 ślōkas. Each verse is like a valuable gem and the entire Sahasranāma becomes a sacred rosary or japamālā of 108 beads. Thus, this is a sacred Mantra and not merely a stōtra. The number 108 is very significant. 1 is Brahmavācaka and denotes the principle of ēkamēvādvitīyaṁ brahma. 0 denotes the phenomenal world – mithyā jagat. The number 8 signifies the prakr̥ti (aṣṭa prakr̥ti). Thus, when Brahma in conjugation with prakr̥ti results in the phenomenal world. To get rid of the dual word and reach the pure Brahman, this Sahasranāma of 108 verses is a powerful tool. Also, 1+0+8 = 9. Any multiple of 9 results similarly in a nine when the digits are added. Thus, the number 9 signifies avyaya Paramātman. The goal thus of reciting this Sahasranāma is to realize that Paramātman, who is one’s own self.
The importance of Japa and Nāmasaṅkīrtana has been highlighted in Viṣṇu Purāṇa and Manusmr̥ti. But Bhagavān Vyāsa does not assume that the reader has read other scriptures and understands the significance of nāma-japa. So the question by Dharmarāja – kiṁ japan mucyatē jantuḥ janmasaṁsārabandhanāt? Bhīṣma, the old wise man replies – stuvannāmasahasrēṇa. This is further supported in Mahābhārata – japastu sarvadharmēbhyaḥ paramō dharma ucyatē. The Lord confirms the same in Gītā – yajnānāṁ japayajnō’smi.
We can attain śuddhi using air, water, earth, and fire. However, there is always a chance of the first three getting polluted themselves when in contact with the unclean. However, fire is different. It not only remains pure in spite of anything offered into it but also transforms the offered object into itself i.e. heat and light. Thus, the transforming ritual of Japa is compared to a Ya~jna by which the jīva burns the veil of avidyā to realize itself as non-different from Chidagni. Like the animals of the jungle run at the sight of the lion, reciting the Lord’s name destroys all sins (Viṣṇu Purāṇa). The same is further elaborated in Br̥hannāradīya –
harirharati pāpāni duṣṭacittairapi smr̥taḥ |
anicchayō’pi samspr̥ṣṭō dahatyēva hi pāvakaḥ ||
When one touches fire, whether willingly or unwillingly, he is burnt. That is the nature of fire – to burn. Similarly, the names of the Lord, when recited even by a rogue, even if unwillingly, do their work of destroying his sins. Further, the fruit of reciting these divine names is described thus – pāpabhayāpaham – some interpret this verse thus – destroys the fear of sins. I think the correct interpretation would be – the recitation of the thousand names destroys sin and fear. Because of one’s actions which are prohibited by the śruti, sins are accrued, which leads to bhaya or fear. The Upaniṣad says – dvitīyādvai bhayaṁ bhavati – the fear results from the second. Fear is always because of duality – fear of mortality, fear of disease, fear of pain, fear of loss, fear of limitations – all these are fruits of Dvaita. When the self is realized as the sole entity – the Brahman – there is no other entity to fear! Thus, pāpa which hinders cittaśuddhi required to perceive the infinite Brahman, is the cause and bhaya is the effect. The powerful Sahasranāma of the Lord destroys both the cause and the effect.
How does the recitation of these divine names lead us to the Lord? The moment we recite a name, say śrīnivāsa, the auspicious form of the Lord begins to form in our minds. This is followed by a flash of his auspicious attributes, powers, and māhātmya. We then ponder deep into the Tattva of the Lord and further contemplation on him leads us to that Tattva. Thus, nāmajapa leads to rūpābhivyakti, tattvānusandhāna and further to anubhūti and aikya, in gradual steps.
The Mahābhārata reveals the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma in the Anuśāsanika parva. When Bhīṣma was lying on the bed of arrows, Yudhishthira, along with Lord Kr̥ṣṇa, approached him with some questions in order to understand Paramātma Tattva. Now it was the Lord who inspired Dharmaja to raise these questions, it was he who empowered Bhīṣma to answer questions and it was he who stood there silently and heard the discussion. Thus, he was the kathaka, pr̥cchaka, and the śrōtā!
If we further examine the power of the Lord’s name:
nārāyaṇēti vāgvallī caturakṣarapallavā |
dharmārthakāmamōkṣāṇāṁ phaladā nātra saṁśayaḥ ||
The word Nārāyaṇa has four letters and these four letters are capable of granting the four Puruṣārthas to the devoted. What is the fruit of reciting this Sahasranāma? śūdrō sukhamavāpnuyāt – one who is a śūdra, i.e. a person reciting the Sahasranāma as a kāmya karma expecting materialistic benefits, gets his desire granted. Any person, even if Brāhmaṇa by birth, is a śūdra in essence if his pursuit is for sukha and not jñāna is the clear indication of Lord Bādarāyaṇa here.
As said before, it is the Virāṭpuruṣa called Nārāyaṇa who is praised with these thousand names. It is not just the saguna-mūrti Viṣṇu or Kr̥ṣṇa who is the subject of this hymn. To prove that the hymn is Brahmavācaka, one can see names which uphold śiva-kēśavābhēda – stāṇuḥ, śivaḥ, sarva~jnaḥ, rudraḥ, śarabhaḥ, mahābhūtaḥ, bhūtāvāsaḥ, mahēśwaraḥ, bhimaḥ, paramēśvaraḥ, īśvaraḥ, īśānaḥ, etc. one needs to carefully observe that the names covered here also address the principles of other philosophies like Buddhism, Jainism, etc. The names – siddhārthaḥ, sarva~jnaḥ, śāstā, mahābuddhiḥ, bhagavān, niravāṇam, etc., are epithets of Buddha. śuddhaḥ, vīraḥ, vardhamānaḥ, śramaṇaḥ, etc. are epithets of Jina. Thus, it is the divine Paramātman who is the essence of all philosophies and it is that Brahman who is the chief subject of this hymn.
There are several names which are repeated in the Sahasranāma, like – nandanaḥ, nanadaḥ, śrīvāsaḥ, śrīpatiḥ, śrīdaḥ, śrīnidhiḥ, śrīvibhāvanaḥ, śrīkaraḥ, śrīmān, śatānanaḥ, etc. As these names have different meanings in different contexts, the stōtra has been declared to be free from punarukti dōṣa by the scriptures.
There are several Sahasranāmas of Lord Mahāviṣṇu. Why do we hold this particular version from Mahābhārata as the most sacred of these? Here are the reasons.
1. Mahābhāratasārattvāt – Mahābharata being the essence of all the scriptures is known as the fifth Veda. It embeds in itself both the Karmakāṇḍa and Jñānakāṇḍa. That being the case, this hymn is very sacred as it is considered to be the essence of Mahābhārata itself! Yudhishthira, a mumukṣu, had a doubt – kō dharmaḥ sarva dharmāṇāṁ bhavataḥ paramō mataḥ – what is the best path? Karma, Jñāna, Bhakti, śaraṇāgati – and Bhīṣma said – Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, the samanvaya of all of the above is the best way to liberation – śāstrēṣu bhārataṁ sāraṁ tatra nāma sahasrakam.
2. r̥ṣibhiḥ pariganataḥ – As explained earlier, the names in the Sahasranāma were `seen’ and `experienced’ by the sages. Hence these names are divine revelations of the Parama Tatva.
3. Vēdācārya samāhārāt – If we observe the r̥ṣi of this Sahasranāma, the traditional usage is to utter the name of Bhagavān Vēdavyāsa. Just now we said that the names were experienced by various seers. Then how is it that we claim Vēdavyāsa alone to be the r̥ṣi of this hymn? It is Vēdavyāsa who collected the thousand gems and made a garland – mālā and hence he is the r̥ṣi of this mālāmantra. The names were individually experienced by the different sages (vyaṣṭi) but it was Vēdavyāsa who experienced the mālāmantra (samaṣṭi). We say vyāsāya viṣṇurūpaya and kēśavaṁ bādarāyaṇam – Vyāsa is none but Nārāyaṇa himself! As the set of names were put together by Nārāyana himself, the Sahasranāma is sacred.
4. Bhīṣmōtkr̥ṣṭamatattvataḥ – Bhīṣma, the realized soul, has declared this Sahasranāma as the best way to attain salvation – ēṣa mē sarvadharmāṇāṁ dharmō’dhikatamō mataḥ.
5. Parigrahātiśayataḥ – This hymn has been prescribed as a cure for incurable diseases in āyurvēda. Scriptures prescribe Homa with the Sahasranāma for some diseases. Bāṇa Bhaṭṭa describes the practice of recitation of Sahasranāma outside the labor room (sūtikā gr̥ha) to guard the mother and child to ensure safe delivery. As indicated by the phalaśruti, every being, irrespective of varṇa and āśrama can recite the Sahasranāma and benefit from it. This parigrahātiśayatvam, which is not present even for the Vedas, makes the Sahasranāma very special.
6. Gītadyaikārthataḥ – As explained before, the Sahasranāma advocates the same Tattva as Gītā and Brahmasūtra. The fact that Shankara chose to comment upon this Sahasranāma along with Brahmasūtra, Vēdānta, and Gītā, speaks of its significance.
Because of the above six reasons, the Sahasranāma is considered the essence of all scriptures.
One should learn the r̥ṣyādi nyāsa, śāpōddhāra (explained in Agastya Samhitā), etc. from Sadguru, understand the correct procedure and then recite the Sahasranāma correctly, clearly, and with devotion. By performing Puruṣasūkta nyāsa before the Sahasranāma, one gets the fruit of reciting the Sahasranāma one thousand times.
Though different dhyāna ślōkas have been prescribed for the Sahasranāma, the hymn itself indicates the form which is to be meditated upon during the recital. If one observes the names carefully, the very first name referring to a mūrta rūpa of Bhagavān is Nārasimhavapuḥ followed by śrīmān – which translates to Lakṣmīnr̥simha. Narasimha is that Advaita sthiti free from dvaita. Now, when the Lord first appeared, he was described thus by Vyāsa – na mr̥gō na manuṣaḥ – neither a beast nor human! Why did not Vyāsa say – mr̥igaśca mānuṣaḥ – a being who is both mr̥ga and manuṣya? This is in line with the Tattva of the Vēdāntin who describes the unqualified Brahmin as `nēti nēti’ – not this or that! The world is full of dualities – like the day and night. At sandhyā however, the dualities end and tranquility is attained. It is this state of Turīyatva beyond dvaita that the Lord represents by bearing the form of Narasimha and to signify the same, the āvirbhāva of the Lord happened during sandhyā. Narasimha is Trimūrtyatmaka – trinity in one. The Tattva Virāṭ Brahman is most explicit in Nr̥simha svarūpa. Hence, the best of the Bhāgavatas – Prahlāda – who among the various kinds of Bhaktas, was a Jñāna-bhakta – was blessed with the vision of the most special form of the Lord. At the state of samādhi or sandhyā, the samatva of mind occurs and tranquility is attained. In such a state, the consciousness or prajñā is called Ritambharā Prajñā. r̥tam means the great truth and bharā means to bear it. That state of consciousness that can perceive the great truth (of the ātman) is the Ritambharā Prajñā and this state is possible by the anugraha of Lord Nr̥simha. Nr̥simhōpāsana through the recitation and anusandhana of the sacred Sahasranāma is the easy way to attain oneness with the Lord.