Before the names
The opening
Invocation · The Frame
Invocation
6 verses and 1 prose line
शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम्।śuklāmbaradharaṃ viṣṇuṃ śaśivarṇaṃ caturbhujam|
प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत् सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये॥ १ ॥prasannavadanaṃ dhyāyēt sarvavighnōpaśāntayē|| 1 ||
One should meditate on Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Lord, who wears a white garment, who is bright as the moon, and who has four arms and a serene, gracious face; so may every obstacle be stilled.
Bhāvam
The hymn begins with a picture before any praise: the moon-bright Lord in white, four-armed, His face serene. The reciter is asked to look at Him before speaking, and the fruit named is near and modest: that nothing may stand in the way of what is to follow.
In this verseViṣṇu
यस्य द्विरदवक्त्राद्याः पारिषद्याः परश्शतम्।yasya dviradavaktrādyāḥ pāriṣadyāḥ paraśśatam|
विघ्नं निघ्नन्ति सततं विष्वक्सेनं तमाश्रये॥ २ ॥vighnaṃ nighnanti satataṃ viṣvaksēnaṃ tamāśrayē|| 2 ||
I take refuge in Viṣvaksēna, whose attendants, more than a hundred in number and led by the elephant-faced one, strike down obstacles without ceasing.
Bhāvam
After the meditation on the Lord, the reciter turns to those who serve Him. The tradition honours Viṣvaksēna as the chief of the Lord's attendants, and here the reciter takes refuge in him, for the whole company under him is ever at the work of striking down what hinders.
In this verseViṣvaksēnaThe attendants of Viṣvaksēna
व्यासं वसिष्ठनप्तारं शक्तेः पौत्रमकल्मषम्।vyāsaṃ vasiṣṭhanaptāraṃ śaktēḥ pautramakalmaṣam|
पराशरात्मजं वन्दे शुकतातं तपोनिधिम्॥ ३ ॥parāśarātmajaṃ vandē śukatātaṃ tapōnidhim|| 3 ||
I bow to Vyāsa: the great-grandson of Vasiṣṭha and grandson of Śakti, the stainless son of Parāśara, the father of Śuka, a treasure-house of austerity.
Bhāvam
Five generations of one family stand in this verse, from Vasiṣṭha to Śuka, with Vyāsa at the centre, so that the sage is greeted together with his whole line. The tradition holds that through Vyāsa the Mahābhārata, and the hymn within it, came to the world, and the reciter greets him before taking up what he handed down.
व्यासाय विष्णुरूपाय व्यासरूपाय विष्णवे।vyāsāya viṣṇurūpāya vyāsarūpāya viṣṇavē|
नमो वै ब्रह्मनिधये वासिष्ठाय नमो नमः॥ ४ ॥namō vai brahmanidhayē vāsiṣṭhāya namō namaḥ|| 4 ||
Obeisance to Vyāsa, whose form is that of Viṣṇu, and to Viṣṇu, whose form is that of Vyāsa. Obeisance indeed, and obeisance again and again, to the treasure-house of sacred wisdom, Vyāsa of Vasiṣṭha's line.
Bhāvam
The verse makes a circle: Vyāsa is Viṣṇu in form, and Viṣṇu is Vyāsa in form. The tradition does not part the sage who gave the hymn from the Lord it praises, and so the bow is a double one, to the teacher and through him to the Lord.
अविकाराय शुद्धाय नित्याय परमात्मने।avikārāya śuddhāya nityāya paramātmanē|
सदैकरूपरूपाय विष्णवे सर्वजिष्णवे॥ ५ ॥sadaikarūparūpāya viṣṇavē sarvajiṣṇavē|| 5 ||
Obeisance to Viṣṇu: to Him who knows no change, who is pure and eternal, the Supreme Self, whose form is ever one and the same, and who is victorious over all.
Bhāvam
Each description sets Him against the loss that touches everything else: He does not change, is not stained, does not end, does not alter in form, and is not overcome. It is of such a Lord that the next verse says remembrance alone sets one free.
In this verseViṣṇu
यस्य स्मरण मात्रेण जन्मसंसारबन्धनात्।yasya smaraṇa mātrēṇa janmasaṃsārabandhanāt|
विमुच्यते नमस्तस्मै विष्णवे प्रभविष्णवे॥ ६ ॥vimucyatē namastasmai viṣṇavē prabhaviṣṇavē|| 6 ||
By the mere remembrance of Him one is set free from the bond of birth and the round of rebirth. Obeisance to that Viṣṇu, the all-mighty.
Bhāvam
The promise is given before the hymn is begun: remembrance of the Lord alone loosens the bond of rebirth. The same bond is named again in Yudhiṣṭhira's question, so that the invocation and the question look at the same thing, which is release.
In this verseViṣṇu
ओं नमो विष्णवे प्रभविष्णवे॥ōṃ namō viṣṇavē prabhaviṣṇavē||
Om. Obeisance to Viṣṇu, the all-mighty.
Bhāvam
The closing words of the previous verse are taken up again with the sacred syllable before them, as a salutation standing alone. With it the invocations end and the telling begins.
In this verseViṣṇu
The Frame
13 verses
श्रीवैशम्पायन उवाचśrīvaiśampāyana uvāca Vaiśampāyana
श्रुत्वा धर्मानशेषेण पावनानि च सर्वशः।śrutvā dharmānaśēṣēṇa pāvanāni ca sarvaśaḥ|
युधिष्ठिरः शान्तनवं पुनरेवाभ्यभाषत॥ १ ॥yudhiṣṭhiraḥ śāntanavaṃ punarēvābhyabhāṣata|| 1 ||
Vaiśampāyana tells how Yudhiṣṭhira, having heard the duties of dharma in full, and all that purifies in every way, addressed Śantanu's son once more.
Bhāvam
Here the telling passes from voice to voice: Vaiśampāyana recounts what was said between Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma. The verse also says where the hearer stands: much has been taught already, and Yudhiṣṭhira comes back with one thing more to ask, the question to which the whole hymn is the reply.
In this verseBhīṣmaYudhiṣṭhiraŚantanu
युधिष्ठिर उवाचyudhiṣṭhira uvāca Yudhiṣṭhira
किमेकं दैवतं लोके किं वाऽप्येकं परायणम्।kimēkaṃ daivataṃ lōkē kiṃ vā’pyēkaṃ parāyaṇam|
स्तुवन्तः कं कमर्चन्तः प्राप्नुयुर्मानवाः शुभम्॥ २ ॥stuvantaḥ kaṃ kamarcantaḥ prāpnuyurmānavāḥ śubham|| 2 ||
Yudhiṣṭhira asks: in all the world, who is the one God, and what is the one final refuge? By praising whom, and by worshipping whom, may human beings gain what is good?
Bhāvam
Having heard so many duties, Yudhiṣṭhira asks for one thing: one God and one refuge, the point on which the rest can rest. He asks it for human beings and not for himself alone, and what he hopes they will gain is simply what is good.
को धर्मः सर्वधर्माणां भवतः परमो मतः।kō dharmaḥ sarvadharmāṇāṃ bhavataḥ paramō mataḥ|
किं जपन् मुच्यते जन्तुर्जन्मसंसारबन्धनात्॥ ३ ॥kiṃ japan mucyatē janturjanmasaṃsārabandhanāt|| 3 ||
Yudhiṣṭhira goes on: of all duties, which do you hold to be the highest? By reciting what is a living being freed from the bond of birth and the round of rebirth?
Bhāvam
Two questions again, the highest way and the recitation that frees. Bhīṣma answers the first with devotion that finds its voice in praise, and the second with the thousand names themselves.
श्रीभीष्म उवाचśrībhīṣma uvāca Bhīṣma
जगत्प्रभुं देवदेवमनन्तं पुरुषोत्तमम्।jagatprabhuṃ dēvadēvamanantaṃ puruṣōttamam|
स्तुवन्नामसहस्रेण पुरुषः सततोत्थितः॥ ४ ॥stuvannāmasahasrēṇa puruṣaḥ satatōtthitaḥ|| 4 ||
Bhīṣma begins his answer: a man who is ever diligent, and who praises with a thousand names the Lord of the world, the God of the gods, the Endless One, the Supreme Person; the sentence runs on through the verses that follow.
Bhāvam
The reply names both sides of the act at once: the One who is praised, in four of His titles, and the man who praises, ever diligent, with a thousand names. The thousand names are announced here, in the first verse of the answer, and the praise is meant to be a steady habit and not a single occasion.
In this verseViṣṇu
तमेव चार्चयन्नित्यं भक्त्या पुरुषमव्ययम्।tamēva cārcayannityaṃ bhaktyā puruṣamavyayam|
ध्यायन् स्तुवन्नमस्यंश्च यजमानस्तमेव च॥ ५ ॥dhyāyan stuvannamasyaṃśca yajamānastamēva ca|| 5 ||
The same man worships that very Person, the imperishable, always and with devotion; he meditates on Him, praises Him and bows to Him, and he offers his sacrifices to Him alone.
Bhāvam
Worship, meditation, praise, bowing and sacrifice stand together in this verse, and each is given to Him alone. Devotion is named as the spirit of it, and the mind, the voice and the body all have their share.
In this verseViṣṇu
अनादिनिधनं विष्णुं सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम्।anādinidhanaṃ viṣṇuṃ sarvalōkamahēśvaram|
लोकाध्यक्षं स्तुवन्नित्यं सर्वदुःखातिगो भवेत्॥ ६ ॥lōkādhyakṣaṃ stuvannityaṃ sarvaduḥkhātigō bhavēt|| 6 ||
Such a man, ever praising Viṣṇu, who has neither beginning nor end, the great Lord of all the worlds and their overseer, goes beyond all sorrow.
Bhāvam
The sentence that opened two verses earlier closes here with its promise: to pass beyond every sorrow. The promise rests on constancy, for the Lord is without beginning or end, and the praise is to be 'always'.
In this verseViṣṇu
ब्रह्मण्यं सर्वधर्मज्ञं लोकानां कीर्तिवर्धनम्।brahmaṇyaṃ sarvadharmajñaṃ lōkānāṃ kīrtivardhanam|
लोकनाथं महद्भूतं सर्वभूतभवोद्भवम्॥ ७ ॥lōkanāthaṃ mahadbhūtaṃ sarvabhūtabhavōdbhavam|| 7 ||
He is the friend of the Vēdas and of those who keep them, the knower of every dharma, the One who adds to the glory of the worlds. He is the Protector of the worlds, the great Being, from whom the existence of all beings springs.
Bhāvam
The last verse spoke of His greatness; these speak of how He stands towards the world. He befriends what is holy, knows every dharma, guards the worlds and is the source of all beings, so the one who is praised is also the one who cares for those who praise.
In this verseViṣṇu
एष मे सर्वधर्माणां धर्मोऽधिकतमो मतः।ēṣa mē sarvadharmāṇāṃ dharmō’dhikatamō mataḥ|
यद्भक्त्या पुण्डरीकाक्षं स्तवैरर्चेन्नरः सदा॥ ८ ॥yadbhaktyā puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ stavairarcēnnaraḥ sadā|| 8 ||
Of all dharmas, this is the one I hold to be the most excellent: that a man should always worship the lotus-eyed Lord with devotion, through hymns of praise.
Bhāvam
This is the reply to Yudhiṣṭhira's question about the highest dharma, given as Bhīṣma's own judgement, 'in my view'. The highest dharma is named as devotion that has found its voice in praise, and the thousand names are exactly such a hymn.
In this verseViṣṇu
परमं यो महत्तेजः परमं यो महत्तपः।paramaṃ yō mahattējaḥ paramaṃ yō mahattapaḥ|
परमं यो महद्ब्रह्म परमं यः परायणम्॥ ९ ॥paramaṃ yō mahadbrahma paramaṃ yaḥ parāyaṇam|| 9 ||
He is the highest and greatest radiance, the highest and greatest austerity, the highest and greatest Brahman, and the highest final refuge.
Bhāvam
The word paramam, 'highest', is struck four times, once for each of radiance, austerity, Brahman and refuge. The last of them is the word Yudhiṣṭhira used when he asked for the one refuge, and here it is answered: He is that refuge.
पवित्राणां पवित्रं यो मङ्गळानां च मङ्गळम्।pavitrāṇāṃ pavitraṃ yō maṅgaḻānāṃ ca maṅgaḻam|
दैवतं देवतानां च भूतानां योऽव्ययः पिता॥ १० ॥daivataṃ dēvatānāṃ ca bhūtānāṃ yō’vyayaḥ pitā|| 10 ||
He is the purifier of all that purifies and the auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, the God of the gods, and the imperishable Father of all beings.
Bhāvam
Three times the verse says 'of the ...' and each time He is named the very thing, the highest of its kind: the purifier among purifiers, the good among goods, the divinity among divinities. It answers Yudhiṣṭhira's question about the one God, and it adds that the God of the gods is also the imperishable Father of every being.
यतः सर्वाणि भूतानि भवन्त्यादियुगागमे।yataḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni bhavantyādiyugāgamē|
यस्मिंश्च प्रलयं यान्ति पुनरेव युगक्षये॥ ११ ॥yasmiṃśca pralayaṃ yānti punarēva yugakṣayē|| 11 ||
From Him all beings come to be when the first age comes; and into Him, again, they go to dissolution when the age comes to its end.
Bhāvam
Two small words carry the thought: yataḥ, 'from whom', and yasmin, 'in whom'. Beings come out of Him and, when the age closes, return into Him, so that He is the beginning of all that is and also the place where it rests.
तस्य लोकप्रधानस्य जगन्नाथस्य भूपते।tasya lōkapradhānasya jagannāthasya bhūpatē|
विष्णोर्नामसहस्रं मे शृणु पापभयापहम्॥ १२ ॥viṣṇōrnāmasahasraṃ mē śṛṇu pāpabhayāpaham|| 12 ||
Bhīṣma turns to Yudhiṣṭhira: hear from me, O king, the thousand names of Viṣṇu, the chief of the worlds and Lord of the universe, the names that take away sin and fear.
Bhāvam
This is the verse the long description was leading to. The 'who' and 'from whom' of the three verses before all lead to this 'of Him', and now the main word comes: hear. What is offered is the thousand names, and what they are said to do is take away both sin and the fear it brings.
In this verseViṣṇuYudhiṣṭhira
यानि नामानि गौणानि विख्यातानि महात्मनः।yāni nāmāni gauṇāni vikhyātāni mahātmanaḥ|
ऋषिभिः परिगीतानि तानि वक्ष्यामि भूतये॥ १३ ॥ṛṣibhiḥ parigītāni tāni vakṣyāmi bhūtayē|| 13 ||
I shall declare those names of the great-souled Lord that are renowned, that tell of His qualities, and that the seers have sung in full praise; I declare them for well-being.
Bhāvam
Bhīṣma says what kind of names these are before he gives them: names that speak of qualities, not bare labels, famous, and sung by the seers. It is the way the whole hymn is to be read, each name a quality of the Lord that the reciter may dwell on.
Text: prapatti.com, Śrīmad Āṇḍavan Āśramam edition prepared by Sunder Kidāmbi. Sources.