THE VISHNU SAHASRANAMA
A PRESENTATION BY STUDENTS OF BALA VIDYA MANDIR
ADYAR, CHENNAI
INTRODUCTION
Devotional prayer in the
Hindu tradition takes two forms.
A silent repetition of a
divine name or of a
verse in praise of a
diety is referred to as
Japa. An audible chant of
such names or verses is
called the Stotra. Of the
latter the Sahasranama form, especially
the Vishnu Sahasranama, devoted
to the Lord Vishnu and
the Lalita Sahasranama, devoted
to the Goddess Shakti, have
a special place in the
everyday devotional routine of
the people.
The Vishnu Sahasranama, or
the 1000 names of the
Lord Vishnu appears
in the Shanti Parva of
the Mahabharata and are articulated
by Bhishma, in response
to Yudhishtira's question as to
who was the Supreme Being
whose praise and worship
was sure to bring salvation.
The unique feature of this event is that Bhishma gave his answer in the
presence of Krishna Himself.
The very first name with
which the Vishnu Sahasranama
starts, is `Viswam' commonly
understood as `this world'
or `this existence'. And when
one notes that this word
derives from the root `Vis',
which means to enter, to
be present in, to support,
or to pervade, one starts
seeing the deeper reference
to the Divine Omnipresence that
pervades all existence. Multiply
this example of this
first name a thousand fold,
and one sees the magnificient
sweep and depth of the
Sahasranama. In conclusion, it
stresses one great fundamental
truth : that a thousand
names or forms, all point
to but one ultimate God.
PROCEED TO DHYANA SLOKAS OF THE VISHNU SAHASRANAMA
PROCEED TO SLOKAS 1 TO 20 OF VISHNU SAHASRANAMA
RETURN TO OUR PRESENTATIONS PAGE