Viṣṇu Sahasranāmamश्रीविष्णुसहस्रनामस्तोत्रम्
Devanāgarī

Script

Glossary

The words of the hymn

The words a reader meets in the meanings and the names, each told plainly: the parts of the recitation, the Sanskrit left in English, His marks and weapons, the beings and worlds of the hymn, and the tradition that reads it. 138 entries in 9 parts.

A

  1. Ācāryaआचार्यācāryaA teacher who knows the scriptures, lives by them and teaches them, and leads the pupil to the Lord.
  2. Acyutaअच्युतacyutaAcyuta means the One who never falls from His glory and never lets go of those who hold to Him.
  3. Ādityasआदित्यādityaThe Ādityas are the twelve sons of Aditi, bright gods of the sun, the youngest of whom the tradition knows as Vāmana.
  4. Advaitaअद्वैतadvaitaAdvaita, 'not two', is Ādi Śaṅkara's school of Vēdānta; Viśiṣṭādvaita, 'one with distinctions', is Rāmānuja's.
  5. Āgama and Pāñcarātraआगमāgamaपाञ्चरात्रpāñcarātraĀgama is sacred teaching handed down; Pāñcarātra is the Vaiṣṇava Āgama that guides temple worship and speaks of the Lord's five forms.
  6. The agesयुगyugaThe ages, yugas, are the four great turns of time that the tradition reckons in a cycle, begun and turned by the Lord.
  7. Āḻvārआळ्वार्āḻvārOne of the twelve Tamil saint-poets whose hymns to the Lord are, for the Śrīvaiṣṇavas, a Tamil Vēda.
  8. AncestorsपितृpitṛThe ancestors, pitṛs, are the departed fathers, honoured with offerings and counted among the classes of beings who come from the Lord.
  9. Anuśāsana Parvaअनुशासन पर्वanuśāsana parvaThe thirteenth book of the Mahābhārata, the Book of Instruction, in which Bhīṣma teaches from his bed of arrows and speaks the Sahasranāmam.
  10. Anuṣṭubhअनुष्टुभ्anuṣṭubhAnuṣṭubh is the metre of this hymn: four quarters of eight syllables, two quarters to a line.
  11. AsurasअसुरasuraAsuras are the mighty rivals of the gods, the demons whom the Lord overthrows in many of His deeds.
  12. Aśvinsअश्विन्aśvinThe Aśvins are the twin horsemen of the Vēdas, healers of the gods, and in the epic the divine fathers of Nakula and Sahadēva.
  13. AttendantsपरिवारparivāraThe attendants are the eternal servants of the Lord in Vaikuṇṭha, among them Viṣvaksēna, Śēṣa, Garuḍa and the living weapons.
  14. Auspiciousमङ्गळmaṅgaḻaWhat brings good and keeps harm away; the hymn calls the Lord the Supreme Auspiciousness, whose name, form and glance all bless.
  15. Austerityतपस्tapasThe heat of effort and will: the discipline by which seers are strengthened and cleansed, and which in the Lord is great knowledge.
  16. AvatāraअवतारavatāraAn avatāra is a descent: the Lord's coming down into the world in a form such as Rāma or Kṛṣṇa, to help and protect.

B

  1. The bed of arrowsशरशय्याśaraśayyāThe couch of arrows on which Bhīṣma lay at Kurukṣētra, waiting for the sun to turn north, and from which he taught.
  2. Bhagavad GītāगीताgītāThe Lord's song to Arjuna on the field of Kurukṣētra, seven hundred verses in the sixth book of the Mahābhārata.
  3. Bhagavad Guṇa Darpaṇamभगवद्-गुण-दर्पणम्bhagavad-guṇa-darpaṇamParāśara Bhaṭṭar's Sanskrit commentary on the thousand names, the 'Mirror of the Lord's Qualities', which reads each name as a quality.
  4. Bhagavānभगवान्bhagavānBhagavān is the Lord who has bhaga, the six great excellences, in full; it is the worshipper's own word for Him.
  5. Blissआनन्दānandaJoy without limit: the Lord is bliss itself, and every joy that any creature knows is a trace of it.
  6. Bowशार्ङ्गśārṅgaThe bow is Śārṅga, the Lord's bow, which He bears to stand between His own and every danger.
  7. Brahmāब्रह्माbrahmāThe four-faced Creator, born on the lotus from the Lord's navel; in the hymn a being He makes and dwells in, not Brahman.
  8. Brahmanब्रह्मन्brahmanThe Supreme Reality, great beyond measure and making others great, which the tradition holds to be the Lord Himself; not Brahmā the Creator.
  9. BullवृषभvṛṣabhaThe bull is the image of strength and of dharma, and Vṛṣabha is the Lord who showers blessings as rain falls on the fields.

C

  1. The churning of the oceanसमुद्र-मन्थनsamudra-manthanaThe churning is the tale of gods and asuras turning the Milk Ocean with Mount Mandara for nectar, the Lord bearing the mountain.
  2. Commentaryभाष्यbhāṣyaA teacher's exposition of a text, word by word; the hymn has two great ones, Ādi Śaṅkara's and Parāśara Bhaṭṭar's.
  3. Conchशङ्खśaṅkhaThe conch is Pāñcajanya, which the Lord holds in one hand; it is one of the signs by which His own know Him.

D

  1. Daityasदैत्यdaityaThe daityas are the sons of Diti, a great kind of asura, whom the Lord ends in whatever form they come.
  2. DāmōdaraदामोदरdāmōdaraDāmōdara means the Lord who let Yaśōdā bind Him with a cord, the One whom nothing can hold, bound by love alone.
  3. DeityदेवताdēvatāThe deity of a mantra is the one it addresses; the nyāsa names the Lord of this hymn as Kṛṣṇa, Mahāviṣṇu and Nārāyaṇa.
  4. Devotionभक्तिbhaktiLoving worship of the Lord, shown in remembering, praising and bowing to Him; the hymn counts it the highest dharma.
  5. Dharmaधर्मdharmaWhat upholds: right conduct and the order that holds the world together, and the Lord as dharma itself, its guardian and its teacher.
  6. Dhyānaध्यानdhyānaA dhyāna is a meditation: the verses that set the Lord's form before the mind's eye before the names are said.
  7. Discusचक्रcakraThe discus is Sudarśana, the Lord's chief weapon, a wheel of fire that turns in His hand to guard the good.

F

  1. Field and knower of the fieldक्षेत्रkṣētraक्षेत्रज्ञkṣētrajñaThe body is the field where a soul lives and acts; the Lord is Knower of the field, knowing every body and soul.
  2. The five weaponsपञ्चायुधpañcāyudhaThe five weapons are the conch, sword, discus, bow and mace, which the tradition counts as living attendants that guard the Lord.
  3. Four armsचतुर्भुजcaturbhujaThe four arms of the Lord bear His signs: the conch, the discus, the mace and the lotus.
  4. The four classesवर्णvarṇaThe four classes of the old scheme are brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra, and the hymn names a fruit for each.
  5. Four-tuskedचतुर्दंष्ट्रcaturdaṃṣṭraFour-tusked means having four great teeth, a mark of a great person that the tradition also hears as the Man-Lion's fangs.

G

  1. Gandharvasगन्धर्वgandharvaThe gandharvas are the heavenly singers and musicians who serve the gods, and who, like all beings, live within the Lord.
  2. GarlandवनमालाvanamālāThe garland is the vanamālā, a long garland of woodland flowers called Vaijayantī, which hangs from the Lord's neck to His feet.
  3. GodsदेवdēvaThe gods (dēvas) are the shining ones of the Vēdas, high beings who hold their offices by the Lord's leave.
  4. GōkulaगोकुलgōkulaThe cowherd settlement on the Yamunā where the child Kṛṣṇa was brought up by Nanda and Yaśōdā.
  5. The golden wombहिरण्यगर्भhiraṇyagarbhaThe golden womb, hiraṇyagarbha, is the shining germ of creation, a name the hymn gives to the Lord twice.
  6. Gōvindaगोविन्दgōvindaGōvinda means the finder of the earth, the keeper of cows, and the One known through the sacred word.
  7. GraceकृपाkṛpāThe Lord's free kindness to those who come to Him, which the hymn sees in His glance, His forgiving and His giving.
  8. The great elementsमहाभूतmahābhūtaThe great elements are the five stuffs of the world, space, air, fire, water and earth, which are the Lord's body.
  9. GuṇaगुणguṇaQuality: every name tells a quality of the Lord, and the same word names the three strands of nature, sattva, rajas and tamas.

H

  1. HariहरिhariHari means He who takes away sorrow and sin, and also the Lord of the dark-green, emerald hue.
  2. Hastināpuraहस्तिनापुरhastināpuraThe city of the Kuru kings on the Gaṅgā, where Yudhiṣṭhira ruled after the war.
  3. His chestवक्षस्vakṣasThe tradition places Śrī on the right of the Lord's chest, marked by the Śrīvatsa; the Kaustubha jewel also adorns the chest.
  4. HṛṣīkēśaहृषीकेशhṛṣīkēśaHṛṣīkēśa means the Lord of the senses, the master of the powers by which every being sees, hears and acts.

I

  1. The Imperishableअक्षरakṣaraThat which never falls or wastes away: the Lord, who is the same through all change, and the syllable Ōṃ that names Him.

J

  1. Janārdanaजनार्दनjanārdanaJanārdana means He whom the people beseech, and also He who puts down the wicked who trouble them.

K

  1. Karmaकर्मkarmaDeed and the fruit it bears: the teaching that actions shape what a soul meets, in this life and in later births.
  2. Kaustubhaकौस्तुभkaustubhaThe Kaustubha is the great jewel the Lord wears on His chest, which rose from the Milk Ocean at the churning.
  3. KēśavaकेशवkēśavaKēśava is the Lord of lovely locks and rays and the slayer of Kēśin, the horse-demon.
  4. Kurukṣētraकुरुक्षेत्रkurukṣētraThe plain of the Kurus, in the north of India, where the great war was fought and Bhīṣma fell.

L

  1. Life-breathप्राणprāṇaThe breath that keeps a body alive; the Lord is the Life-breath of the living and the giver of each breath.
  2. The Lord in the temple imageअर्चाarcāArcā is the Lord's presence in the consecrated temple image, a form that all may see, worship and serve.
  3. The Lord withinअन्तर्यामिन्antaryāminThe Lord within is the Lord dwelling in every being as its inner ruler and Self, nearest to each soul.
  4. Lotusपद्मpadmaThe lotus is the flower of His navel, eyes, hand and heart, a sign of purity and beauty rising clean from the water.
  5. Lotus eyes and red eyesपुण्डरीकाक्षpuṇḍarīkākṣaलोहिताक्षlōhitākṣaThe Lord's eyes are lotuses, long and fair, tinged red at the corners, which the Śrīvaiṣṇava teachers read as joy and love.

M

  1. MaceगदाgadāThe mace is Kaumōdakī, the Lord's club, borne to break the strength of the proud and to guard His own.
  2. MādhavaमाधवmādhavaMādhava is read three ways: the Spouse of Śrī, the One of Madhu's line, and the Lord of true knowledge.
  3. MadhusūdanaमधुसूदनmadhusūdanaMadhusūdana means the slayer of the asura Madhu, the Lord who ends what rises against the good.
  4. MahābhārataमहाभारतmahābhārataThe great epic of the Kuru house and its war, traditionally ascribed to Vyāsa, in which this hymn stands.
  5. Mantraमन्त्रmantraA mantra is a sacred word, verse or formula, held to protect and bless the one who dwells on it.
  6. Marutsमरुत्marutThe Maruts are the storm and wind gods who attend Indra, called in different tellings the sons of Rudra or of Diti.
  7. MāyāमायाmāyāMāyā is the Lord's wonder-working power, by which He makes the world and veils Himself from those who do not seek Him.
  8. Metreछन्दस्chandasA metre is the fixed measure of a verse; seven are chief in the Vēdas, and this hymn is in Anuṣṭubh.
  9. The Milk Oceanक्षीरसागरkṣīrasāgaraThe Milk Ocean is the sea of milk where the Lord is pictured at rest on Śēṣa, with Śrī beside Him.
  10. Mukundaमुकुन्दmukundaMukunda means the Giver of liberation, the name that ends the meditation verse on the shore of the Milk Ocean.

N

  1. NaimiṣaनैमिषnaimiṣaThe forest where Śaunaka held a twelve-year sacrifice and the bard Sauti recited the Mahābhārata to the gathered sages.
  2. NāmāvaḻiनामावळिnāmāvaḻiThe nāmāvaḻi is the list in which each name is offered on its own as ōṃ, the name in the dative, namaḥ.
  3. NārāyaṇaनारायणnārāyaṇaNārāyaṇa means the home and goal of all beings, the One in whom they live and who lives within them.
  4. NectarअमृतamṛtaNectar, amṛta, is the drink of the deathless, won at the churning of the Milk Ocean, and the word also means immortality itself.
  5. Nyāsaन्यासnyāsaThe nyāsa is the short preface that names a mantra's seer, metre, deity and other parts before it is recited.

O

  1. ObeisanceनमःnamaḥNamaḥ, in English obeisance, salutation or homage, is the word of reverent bowing that closes each offering of a name.
  2. ŌṃओंōṃŌṃ is the sacred syllable that begins and ends a recitation; the hymn also calls the Lord Himself the saving ōṃ.

P

  1. Padmanābhaपद्मनाभpadmanābhaPadmanābha means He from whose navel the lotus grows, on which Brahmā, the maker of the worlds, is born.
  2. Perumāḷपेरुमाळ्perumāḻThe Tamil name for the Lord as the Great One, used above all of Him in His temple image.
  3. Phalaśrutiफलश्रुतिphalaśrutiThe phalaśruti, 'the hearing of the fruits', is the closing section that tells what reciting the hymn brings.
  4. PinकीलकkīlakaThe pin, kīlaka, is the part that fastens the mantra; this hymn's pin is the Bearer of the conch, the sword and the discus.
  5. Powerशक्तिśaktiThe power, śakti, of a mantra is the force by which it acts; this hymn's power is Dēvakī's son and the Creator.
  6. Prajāpatisप्रजापतिprajāpatiThe Prajāpatis are the lords of creatures, the great fathers of the generations, and the Lord is the Prajāpati of them all.
  7. Primal matterप्रकृतिprakṛtiThe unconscious stuff of bodies and worlds, unformed before creation; the Lord rules it and the souls alike.
  8. PurāṇaपुराणpurāṇaOne of the ancient tellings of creation, the lines of gods and kings, and the Lord's deeds, such as the Bhāgavata.
  9. PuruṣaपुरुषpuruṣaThe Person: the Lord, who fills and dwells in all, and Puruṣōttama, the Highest of Persons, above souls bound and freed.

R

  1. Rain-cloud hueमेघ-श्यामmēgha-śyāmaThe Lord's colour is the deep, cool dark of a rain-cloud, a hue the tradition loves as the colour of His giving.
  2. Rākṣasasराक्षसrākṣasaRākṣasas are fierce, shape-changing beings of the epics, often foes of the sacrifice, among them Rāvaṇa, though some, like Vibhīṣaṇa, are good.
  3. RefugeशरणśaraṇaA shelter and a last resort: the Lord is the one refuge for the frightened, and the goal where every road ends.
  4. Releaseमोक्षmōkṣaFreedom from the bond of birth and death, which the hymn promises to those who remember the Lord and which He alone gives.
  5. Rudraरुद्रrudraIn this hymn Rudra is a name of the Lord, 'He who drives away sorrow'; elsewhere it names a company of gods.

S

  1. Sacrificeयज्ञyajñaA sacrifice, yajña, is an offering made in the sacred fire; the hymn names the Lord as the rite, its master and its fruit.
  2. Sahasranāmamसहस्रनामsahasranāmaSahasranāmam means 'the thousand names'; here it is Bhīṣma's hymn of the Lord's thousand names in the Mahābhārata.
  3. Sāmanसामन्sāmanA Sāman is a sung melody of the Sāma Vēda, the Vēda of song; the hymn names the Lord as the Sāman itself.
  4. Sāman chantsत्रिसामाtrisāmāThe three Sāman chants of the name trisāmā are commonly named the Bṛhat, the Rathantara and the Vāmadēvya.
  5. SaṃsāraसंसारsaṃsāraThe round of birth, death and rebirth in which a soul wanders, bound by its deeds, until the Lord frees it.
  6. Sāṅkhyaसाङ्ख्यsāṅkhyaAn old school of thought, ascribed to Kapila, that reckons up the principles of matter and spirit.
  7. Śāstraशास्त्रśāstraA treatise or body of authoritative teaching, from the root śās, to teach and to rule.
  8. SeedबीजbījaThe seed, bīja, is the root from which a mantra's power is held to grow; this hymn's seed is the Source of the moon.
  9. SeerऋषिṛṣiA seer, ṛṣi, is one to whom a mantra was revealed; the nyāsa names Vyāsa as the seer of this hymn.
  10. Selfआत्मन्ātmanThe self within each being, and the Lord, who is the Self of all selves and dwells in every one as its ruler.
  11. SerpentsनागnāgaSerpents, the nāgas, are a race of snake-beings, children of Kadrū, and the greatest of them, Śēṣa, is the Lord's couch.
  12. Sin and meritपापpāpaपुण्यpuṇyaSin is the stain of wrong done and merit the fruit of good done; the Lord destroys sin, and merit is His gift.
  13. ŚivaशिवśivaIn this hymn Śiva, Sthāṇu, Śambhu, Īśāna, Śarva and Īśvara are names of the one Lord, each read by its own meaning.
  14. Ślokaश्लोकślōkaA śloka is a verse of two lines of sixteen syllables each, and the hymn's thousand names are set in 107 of them.
  15. SoulजीवjīvaThe individual self that lives in a body, knows and acts, and in the tradition's teaching is always the Lord's own.
  16. Source and the binding of the directionsयोनिyōniदिग्बन्धdigbandhaThe source, yōni, is where the mantra springs from; the binding of the directions, digbandha, is a ring of protection round the reciter.
  17. Śrīश्रीśrīŚrī is Lakṣmī, the Lord's consort and Mother of the worlds, never apart from Him; the word also means beauty and fortune.
  18. Śrīmanश्रीमन्śrīmanŚrīman means He who has Śrī, the Goddess Lakṣmī who is never apart from Him, and with Her all beauty and fortune.
  19. Śrīraṅgamश्रीरङ्गम्śrīraṅgamThe island temple-town in the Kāvērī where the Lord lies as Raṅganātha, the first of the 108 holy places of the Śrīvaiṣṇavas.
  20. Śrīvaiṣṇavaश्रीवैष्णवśrīvaiṣṇavaA devotee of the Lord Viṣṇu together with Śrī, in the tradition of Rāmānuja and the Āḻvārs.
  21. Śrīvatsaश्रीवत्सśrīvatsaThe Śrīvatsa is the curl of hair or mark on the right of the Lord's chest, where Śrī dwells.
  22. Surrenderप्रपत्तिprapattiTo give oneself and one's cares into the Lord's keeping and ask Him to be the protector: the Śrīvaiṣṇava way of taking refuge.
  23. SwanहंसhaṃsaHaṃsa is the white swan that takes the milk and leaves the water, as the Lord parts the real from the unreal.
  24. Swordनन्दकnandakaThe sword is Nandaka, the Lord's blade, which the tradition reads as the knowledge that cuts through ignorance.

T

  1. The Tamil hymns of the Āḻvārsदिव्य प्रबन्धम्divya prabandhamThe Nālāyira Divya Prabandham, about four thousand Tamil verses by the twelve Āḻvārs, held by the Śrīvaiṣṇavas as a Tamil Vēda.
  2. The three worldsत्रिलोकtrilōkaThe three worlds are earth, the air between and heaven, bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and svaḥ, which the hymn calls the Lord's body.
  3. The traditionसम्प्रदायsampradāyaThe Śrīvaiṣṇava line of teaching, handed from teacher to pupil, whose reading of the hymn is the one given here.
  4. Trivikramaत्रिविक्रमtrivikramaTrivikrama means He of the three great strides, the Lord who as the dwarf Vāmana measured the worlds.

U

  1. Upaniṣadउपनिषद्upaniṣadA Vēdic text at the close of a Vēda that teaches the knowledge of the Self and of the Lord.

V

  1. Vaikuṇṭhaवैकुण्ठvaikuṇṭhaVaikuṇṭha is the Lord's own supreme abode, where nothing is dulled and the eternal ones and the freed serve Him with Śrī.
  2. Vaṣaṭवषट्vaṣaṭVaṣaṭ is the cry a priest utters as an offering is thrown into the fire; the hymn's third name calls the Lord Vaṣaṭkāra.
  3. VāsudēvaवासुदेवvāsudēvaVāsudēva means the One in whom all things dwell and who dwells in all, and is also the name of Vasudēva's son.
  4. VasusवसुvasuThe Vasus are a company of eight gods among the thirty-three; the word vasu also means wealth, as in several names.
  5. Vēdāntaवेदान्तvēdāntaThe 'end of the Vēdas', meaning the Upaniṣads and the teaching drawn from them about the Self and the Lord.
  6. VēdasवेदvēdaThe Vēdas are the four oldest sacred collections, held by the tradition to be the Lord's own word, heard and not made.
  7. Viṣṇuविष्णुviṣṇuViṣṇu means He who pervades, who enters and fills all that He has made, so that nothing is outside Him.
  8. Viṣvaksēnaविष्वक्सेनviṣvaksēnaViṣvaksēna is the commander of the Lord's host and keeper of the gate of Vaikuṇṭha, invoked at the start of the recitation.
  9. Vyūhaव्यूहvyūhaThe vyūha is the fourfold array in which the Lord shows Himself as Vāsudēva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, each with His own work.

W

  1. Weapon, eye and armourअस्त्रastraनेत्रnētraकवचkavacaIn a mantra's nyāsa the heart, weapon, eye and armour are limbs of the mantra, each set with names of the Lord.
  2. The world as His bodyशरीरśarīraThe Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition holds that all beings and the world are the Lord's body, and He is their inner Self.

Y

  1. Yakṣasयक्षyakṣaYakṣas are spirits of the earth, trees and water who guard hidden wealth, ruled by Kubēra, and kindly or wayward by turns.
  2. Yellow silkपीताम्बरpītāmbaraYellow silk, pītāmbara, is the Lord's garment, bright against His dark body, as the meditation verses picture Him.
  3. YōgaयोगyōgaUnion and discipline: the way by which a seeker is joined to the Lord, and the Lord as that way and its goal.