मनन Manana · ReflectStep 5 of /18
Viṣṇu Sahasranāma · Ślokas 11–20
Names 95–188
Listen to the chant, and read the meaning under each verse. A narrated version is on its way.
Śloka 11 · Unborn and never slipping
Śloka 11
अजः सर्वेश्वरः सिद्धः सिद्धिः सर्वादिरच्युतः ।
वृषाकपिरमेयात्मा सर्वयोगविनिःसृतः ॥
ajaḥ sarveśvaraḥ siddhaḥ siddhiḥ sarvādir acyutaḥ |
vṛṣākapir ameyātmā sarvayogaviniḥsṛtaḥ ||
Meaning
Aja: the unborn, who never was born and never will be. Sarveśvara: lord of all lords. Siddha: ever perfect. Siddhi: the one lasting attainment; every heaven passes away, but he does not. Sarvādi: the beginning of all beings. Acyuta: he never slipped, and never will slip, from his own glory. Vṛṣākapi: dharma itself, and the great boar who lifted the earth from the waters. Ameyātmā: whose nature cannot be measured. Sarvayogaviniḥsṛta: free of every attachment; or beyond the reach of every system of yoga.
Word by word
Words joined in recitation are shown split. Where sounds change at the joins, the dictionary form is given under the word.
Śloka 12 · True, equal, never fruitless
Śloka 12
वसुर्वसुमनाः सत्यः समात्माऽसम्मितः समः ।
अमोघः पुण्डरीकाक्षो वृषकर्मा वृषाकृतिः ॥
vasur vasumanāḥ satyaḥ samātmā 'sammitaḥ samaḥ |
amoghaḥ puṇḍarīkākṣo vṛṣakarmā vṛṣākṛtiḥ ||
Meaning
Vasu: the dweller in all; and among the Vasus, he is Agni. Vasumanāḥ: whose mind is great, untouched by desire, hatred and pride. Satya: the true, the opposite of the unreal. Samātmā: the same in all beings, moved by neither love nor hate. Asammita: nothing else can measure him. Sama: always the same, free of change. Amogha: worship of him is never wasted; he leaves no prayer unanswered. Puṇḍarīkākṣa: seen in the lotus of the heart; or the lotus-eyed. Vṛṣakarmā: whose deeds are dharma. Vṛṣākṛti: he takes form to establish dharma.
Word by word
Śloka 13 · Many-headed, deathless, pure-named
Śloka 13
रुद्रो बहुशिरा बभ्रुर्विश्वयोनिः शुचिश्रवाः ।
अमृतः शाश्वतस्थाणुर्वरारोहो महातपाः ॥
rudro bahuśirā babhrur viśvayoniḥ śuciśravāḥ |
amṛtaḥ śāśvatasthāṇur varāroho mahātapāḥ ||
Meaning
Rudra: he makes beings weep when he withdraws them; or he drives away sorrow and its cause. Bahuśirā: the many-headed. Babhru: he bears up the worlds. Viśvayoni: the source of the universe. Śuciśravāḥ: whose names are pure and worth hearing. Amṛta: the deathless, free from decay. Śāśvatasthāṇu: eternal and unshakable. Varāroha: the highest goal; those who climb to it never return. Mahātapāḥ: whose tapas is knowledge, vast enough to bring forth the world.
Word by word
Śloka 14 · Lord of the Vedas
Śloka 14
सर्वगः सर्वविद्भानुर्विष्वक्सेनो जनार्दनः ।
वेदो वेदविदव्यङ्गो वेदाङ्गो वेदवित् कविः ॥
sarvagaḥ sarvavidbhānur viṣvakseno janārdanaḥ |
vedo vedavid avyaṅgo vedāṅgo vedavit kaviḥ ||
Meaning
Sarvaga: he reaches everywhere, being the cause of all. Sarvavidbhānu: he knows all and shines; when he shines, all things shine after him. Viṣvaksena: demon armies scatter the moment he readies for battle. Janārdana: he punishes the wicked; or people pray to him for every good. Veda: he is the Veda, the lamp of wisdom. Vedavit: he knows the Veda as it truly is. Avyaṅga: perfect, lacking nothing. Vedāṅga: the Vedas are his limbs. Vedavit again: he who reflects on the Veda. Kavi: the seer; there is no seer but him.
Word by word
Śloka 15 · Overseer, fourfold and four-armed
Śloka 15
लोकाध्यक्षः सुराध्यक्षो धर्माध्यक्षः कृताकृतः ।
चतुरात्मा चतुर्व्यूहश्चतुर्दंष्ट्रश्चतुर्भुजः ॥
lokādhyakṣaḥ surādhyakṣo dharmādhyakṣaḥ kṛtākṛtaḥ |
caturātmā caturvyūhaś caturdaṃṣṭraś caturbhujaḥ ||
Meaning
Lokādhyakṣa: the witness overseeing all the worlds. Surādhyakṣa: lord of the gods who guard the world. Dharmādhyakṣa: he sees right and wrong directly, to give each its fruit. Kṛtākṛta: he is both effect and cause. Caturātmā: fourfold in creating, protecting and dissolving the world. Caturvyūha: he shows himself as Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Caturdaṃṣṭra: four-fanged as Narasiṃha; or four-horned, as the Veda sings. Caturbhuja: the four-armed.
Word by word
Śloka 16 · Food, enjoyer and conqueror
Śloka 16
भ्राजिष्णुर्भोजनं भोक्ता सहिष्णुर्जगदादिजः ।
अनघो विजयो जेता विश्वयोनिः पुनर्वसुः ॥
bhrājiṣṇur bhojanaṃ bhoktā sahiṣṇur jagadādijaḥ |
anagho vijayo jetā viśvayoniḥ punarvasuḥ ||
Meaning
Bhrājiṣṇu: radiant, the very essence of light. Bhojanam: the food; nature itself, which is enjoyed. Bhoktā: the enjoyer, as the Person within. Sahiṣṇu: he subdues demons like Hiraṇyākṣa. Jagadādija: first-born of the world, as Hiraṇyagarbha. Anagha: without sin. Vijaya: he excels all in wisdom, detachment and greatness. Jetā: by his very nature he surpasses every being. Viśvayoni again: the cause of all. Punarvasu: he dwells again and again in bodies as their knower.
Word by word
Śloka 17 · The dwarf who grew tall
Śloka 17
उपेन्द्रो वामनः प्रांशुरमोघः शुचिरूर्जितः ।
अतीन्द्रः सङ्ग्रहः सर्गो धृतात्मा नियमो यमः ॥
upendro vāmanaḥ prāṃśur amoghaḥ śucir ūrjitaḥ |
atīndraḥ saṅgrahaḥ sargo dhṛtātmā niyamo yamaḥ ||
Meaning
Upendra: above even Indra, as the gods praise Kṛṣṇa. Vāmana: the dwarf who begged from King Bali. Prāṃśu: the tall one; that dwarf grew until the sun and moon reached only his chest, then his navel, then his knees. Amogha again: here, whose acts never fail. Śuci: he purifies those who remember him. Ūrjita: of mighty strength. Atīndra: surpassing Indra in wisdom and glory. Saṅgraha: he gathers all back at the end. Sarga: creation itself. Dhṛtātmā: ever steady in his own nature. Niyama: he appoints each being to its work. Yama: the inner controller.
Word by word
Śloka 18 · Knower of all, honey-sweet
Śloka 18
वेद्यो वैद्यः सदायोगी वीरहा माधवो मधुः ।
अतीन्द्रियो महामायो महोत्साहो महाबलः ॥
vedyo vaidyaḥ sadāyogī vīrahā mādhavo madhuḥ |
atīndriyo mahāmāyo mahotsāho mahābalaḥ ||
Meaning
Vedya: the one to be known by all who seek the highest good. Vaidya: knower of every science. Sadāyogī: ever present, ever revealed. Vīrahā: slayer of mighty demons, to protect dharma. Mādhava again: here, Lord of Mā, which is knowledge. Madhu: sweet like honey, giving great joy. Atīndriya: beyond the senses. Mahāmāya: whose māyā deludes even the greatest magicians. Mahotsāha: ever ready to create, protect and dissolve the world. Mahābala: stronger than the strongest.
Word by word
Śloka 19 · The great one who held mountains
Śloka 19
महाबुद्धिर्महावीर्यो महाशक्तिर्महाद्युतिः ।
अनिर्देश्यवपुः श्रीमानमेयात्मा महाद्रिधृक् ॥
mahābuddhir mahāvīryo mahāśaktir mahādyutiḥ |
anirdeśyavapuḥ śrīmān ameyātmā mahādridhṛk ||
Meaning
Mahābuddhi: wiser than the wise. Mahāvīrya: of great power, which brings forth the cosmos. Mahāśakti: of immense strength. Mahādyuti: shining within and without, the light of lights. Anirdeśyavapu: whose form cannot be pointed out as this or that. Śrīmān again: full of divine glory. Ameyātmā again: here, whose understanding no being can measure. Mahādridhṛk: he held up the great mountains, Mandara at the churning of the ocean and Govardhana to shelter the cows.
Word by word
Śloka 20 · Refuge of the good, Govinda
Śloka 20
महेष्वासो महीभर्ता श्रीनिवासः सतां गतिः ।
अनिरुद्धः सुरानन्दो गोविन्दो गोविदां पतिः ॥
maheṣvāso mahībhartā śrīnivāsaḥ satāṃ gatiḥ |
aniruddhaḥ surānando govindo govidāṃ patiḥ ||
Meaning
Maheṣvāsa: wielder of the mighty bow. Mahībhartā: he lifted the earth when it sank into the great waters. Śrīnivāsa: on whose chest Lakṣmī ever dwells. Satāṃ gatiḥ: refuge of the good, who brings them every aim of life. Aniruddha: no one can obstruct him. Surānanda: he gladdens the gods. Govinda: he found the earth hidden away by a demon; or the lord of the cows, as Indra named him; or the giver of speech. Govidāṃ patiḥ: lord of those who know the sacred word.
Word by word
Reflection
In these ten ślokas the Lord keeps stepping down into our world, and each time he does, he turns out larger than we imagined. He is Vṛṣākapi, the great boar who lifts the sunken earth from the waters. He is Narasiṃha with his four fangs. Above all he is Vāmana, the little dwarf who asks King Bali for three steps of land. Śaṅkara retells the moment from the Harivaṃśa: the instant the water of the gift touched his hands, the dwarf became the cosmos. The sun and moon reached his chest, then his navel, then sank below his knees. That is the picture of this group: the measureless one, Ameyātmā, taking on a measure for our sake. The names of greatness gather round him, great wisdom, great strength, great radiance, and he holds up Mandara and Govardhana alike. Yet he is also Amogha, the one whose worship is never wasted. Carry Govinda with you: the one who found the lost earth, the giver of speech, the lord of the cows, a name which, Śaṅkara reminds us from the Purāṇas, burns away the sins of a hundred births when it is remembered even once.
Your reflection
How well do you know these verses?
The audio plays each verse chanted; its meaning is written under it, and a narrated version is on its way. Tap a word for its meaning. Space plays and pauses.