मनन Manana · ReflectStep 12 of /18
Viṣṇu Sahasranāma · Ślokas 81–90
Names 757–846
Listen to the chant, and read the meaning under each verse. A narrated version is on its way.
Śloka 81 · Bearer of radiance and weapons
Śloka 81
तेजोवृषो द्युतिधरः सर्वशस्त्रभृतां वरः ।
प्रग्रहो निग्रहो व्यग्रो नैकशृङ्गो गदाग्रजः ॥
tejovṛṣo dyutidharaḥ sarvaśastrabhṛtāṃ varaḥ |
pragraho nigraho vyagro naikaśṛṅgo gadāgrajaḥ ||
Meaning
Tejovṛṣa: through the sun he showers down rain. Dyutidhara: he bears a radiant form. Sarvaśastrabhṛtāṃvara: he is the best of all who carry weapons. Pragraha: he receives the leaf and fruit his devotees offer, and with his grace he reins in the senses that run wild like horses. Nigraha: he holds all things in check. Vyagra: he has no end; or he is ever eager to fulfil his devotees' wishes. Naikaśṛṅga: he has four horns, as the Veda says. Gadāgraja: he is the elder brother of Gada; or he appears first through the sacred mantras.
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 82 · The fourfold lord
Śloka 82
चतुर्मूर्तिश्चतुर्बाहुश्चतुर्व्यूहश्चतुर्गतिः ।
चतुरात्मा चतुर्भावश्चतुर्वेदविदेकपात् ॥
caturmūrtiś caturbāhuś caturvyūhaś caturgatiḥ |
caturātmā caturbhāvaś caturvedavid ekapāt ||
Meaning
Caturmūrti: he has four forms, Virāṭ, Sūtrātmā, Avyākṛta and Turīya; or bodies of white, red, yellow and dark blue. Caturbāhu: he has four arms, a name that belongs to Vāsudeva. Caturvyūha again: here, the four persons, in the body, in the sacred metres, in the Vedas, and the great person. Caturgati: he is the goal of all four stages and orders of life. Caturātmā again: his mind is clear of desire and hate. Caturbhāva: from him come the four aims, dharma, wealth, pleasure and freedom. Caturvedavit: he knows the four Vedas truly. Ekapāt: all beings are but one foot of him.
Word by word
Śloka 83 · Hard to reach, hard to hold
Śloka 83
समावर्तोऽनिवृत्तात्मा दुर्जयो दुरतिक्रमः ।
दुर्लभो दुर्गमो दुर्गो दुरावासो दुरारिहा ॥
samāvarto 'nivṛttātmā durjayo duratikramaḥ |
durlabho durgamo durgo durāvāso durārihā ||
Meaning
Samāvarta: he skilfully turns the wheel of saṃsāra. Anivṛttātmā: being everywhere, he is never withdrawn from anything. Durjaya: no one can conquer him. Duratikrama: none dare disobey him, for in fear of him, the Kaṭha Upaniṣad says, the fire burns and the sun shines. Durlabha: he is hard to gain, except by devotion ripened over a thousand births. Durgama: he is hard to know. Durga: he is hard to reach, past many obstacles. Durāvāsa: even yogīs find him hard to keep in the heart. Durārihā: he slays the wicked asuras.
Word by word
Śloka 84 · The thread of the universe
Śloka 84
शुभाङ्गो लोकसारङ्गः सुतन्तुस्तन्तुवर्धनः ।
इन्द्रकर्मा महाकर्मा कृतकर्मा कृतागमः ॥
śubhāṅgo lokasāraṅgaḥ sutantus tantuvardhanaḥ |
indrakarmā mahākarmā kṛtakarmā kṛtāgamaḥ ||
Meaning
Śubhāṅga again: now he is the beautiful form we are to meditate upon. Lokasāraṅga: like a bee drawing honey, he takes the essence of the worlds; or he is reached through Om, which is that essence. Sutantu: the universe is a fine thread spread out from him. Tantuvardhana: he lengthens that thread, and also draws it back. Indrakarmā: his deeds are like Indra's. Mahākarmā again: here his great works are space and the other elements. Kṛtakarmā: nothing is left for him to achieve. Kṛtāgama again: the Vedas, Śaṅkara says, are the very breath of this great being.
Word by word
Śloka 85 · Beautiful, merciful, victorious
Śloka 85
उद्भवः सुन्दरः सुन्दो रत्ननाभः सुलोचनः ।
अर्को वाजसनः शृङ्गी जयन्तः सर्वविज्जयी ॥
udbhavaḥ sundaraḥ sundo ratnanābhaḥ sulocanaḥ |
arko vājasanaḥ śṛṅgī jayantaḥ sarvavijjayī ||
Meaning
Udbhava again: he takes birth wherever he wills. Sundara: his beauty has no equal. Sunda: his heart melts with mercy. Ratnanābha: his navel is lovely as a jewel. Sulocana: his eyes are beautiful, and his vision is wise. Arka: he is worshipped by Brahmā and the gods, who are themselves worshipped. Vājasana: he gives food to the hungry. Śṛṅgī: at the great flood he became the horned fish. Jayanta: he conquers enemies, and gives victory to the devas. Sarvavijjayī: he knows all, and wins over enemies within, like desire, and without, like Hiraṇyākṣa.
Word by word
Śloka 86 · The great lake of bliss
Śloka 86
सुवर्णबिन्दुरक्षोभ्यः सर्ववागीश्वरेश्वरः ।
महाह्रदो महागर्तो महाभूतो महानिधिः ॥
suvarṇabindur akṣobhyaḥ sarvavāgīśvareśvaraḥ |
mahāhrado mahāgarto mahābhūto mahānidhiḥ ||
Meaning
Suvarṇabindu: he is golden even to the tips of his nails, as the Chāndogya says; or his mantra holds the sacred syllable and its dot. Akṣobhya: nothing shakes him, not desire, not the senses, not the foes of the devas. Sarvavāgīśvareśvara: he is lord over Brahmā and all the lords of speech. Mahāhrada: he is a great lake, and yogīs plunge into his bliss and rest there in peace. Mahāgarta: his māyā is a great chasm, hard to cross. Mahābhūta: past, present and future cannot limit him. Mahānidhi: all beings rest in him as their great home.
Word by word
Śloka 87 · The rain cloud and the nectar
Śloka 87
कुमुदः कुन्दरः कुन्दः पर्जन्यः पावनोऽनिलः ।
अमृताशोऽमृतवपुः सर्वज्ञः सर्वतोमुखः ॥
kumudaḥ kundaraḥ kundaḥ parjanyaḥ pāvano 'nilaḥ |
amṛtāśo 'mṛtavapuḥ sarvajñaḥ sarvatomukhaḥ ||
Meaning
Kumuda again: he gladdens the earth by lifting her burden. Kundara: he gives rewards pure as the kunda flower; or as the boar he split the earth. Kunda: he is clear as the kunda flower; or as Paraśurāma he gave away the earth. Parjanya: like a rain cloud he cools the three kinds of suffering and showers every blessing. Pāvana again: he purifies by mere remembrance. Anila again: he never sleeps in ignorance, and he is easy for devotees to reach. Amṛtāśa: he tastes the nectar of his own bliss. Amṛtavapu: his body is deathless. Sarvajña again: he knows all. Sarvatomukha: his faces are on every side.
Word by word
Śloka 88 · Easy to reach, the sacred trees
Śloka 88
सुलभः सुव्रतः सिद्धः शत्रुजिच्छत्रुतापनः ।
न्यग्रोधोऽदुम्बरोऽश्वत्थश्चाणूरान्ध्रनिषूदनः ॥
sulabhaḥ suvrataḥ siddhaḥ śatrujic chatrutāpanaḥ |
nyagrodho 'dumbaro 'śvatthaś cāṇūrāndhraniṣūdanaḥ ||
Meaning
Sulabha: he is easy to reach, with a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water offered with love. Suvrata again: his vows are excellent. Siddha again: his perfection depends on no one. Śatrujit: he conquers enemies. Śatrutāpana: he scorches the enemies of the devas. Nyagrodha: like the banyan, he stands above all and holds all beings below. Udumbara: he is beyond the sky, as its cause, and he feeds the world. Aśvattha: he is the tree of saṃsāra, roots above and branches below, that will not last till tomorrow. Cāṇūrāndhraniṣūdana: he slew Cāṇūra of the Andhra clan.
Word by word
Śloka 89 · Fire, sun, and the end of fear
Śloka 89
सहस्रार्चिः सप्तजिह्वः सप्तैधाः सप्तवाहनः ।
अमूर्तिरनघोऽचिन्त्यो भयकृद्भयनाशनः ॥
sahasrārciḥ saptajihvaḥ saptaidhāḥ saptavāhanaḥ |
amūrtir anagho 'cintyo bhayakṛd bhayanāśanaḥ ||
Meaning
Sahasrārci: he has a thousand rays, brighter than a thousand suns rising together. Saptajihva: as fire he has seven tongues of flame, which the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad names. Saptaidhāḥ: he has seven flames. Saptavāhana: as the sun he is drawn by seven horses. Amūrti: he has no form of flesh or limbs. Anagha again: he is free of sin and sorrow. Acintya: no thought can grasp him, for he is the witness of the thinker. Bhayakṛt: he brings fear to the wicked. Bhayanāśana: he ends the fear of those who keep their dharma, as Parāśara says in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa.
Word by word
Śloka 90 · Smallest and greatest
Śloka 90
अणुर्बृहत्कृशः स्थूलो गुणभृन्निर्गुणो महान् ।
अधृतः स्वधृतः स्वास्यः प्राग्वंशो वंशवर्धनः ॥
aṇur bṛhat kṛśaḥ sthūlo guṇabhṛn nirguṇo mahān |
adhṛtaḥ svadhṛtaḥ svāsyaḥ prāgvaṃśo vaṃśavardhanaḥ ||
Meaning
Aṇu: he is the subtlest of all. Bṛhat: he is the greatest of all. Kṛśa: he is thin, having no gross body. Sthūla: he is stout, for everything is he. Guṇabhṛt: he wields the three qualities to create, keep and dissolve the world. Nirguṇa: yet in truth he has no qualities at all. Mahān: he is great, beyond sound and touch and every sense. Adhṛta: nothing holds him up, though he holds up all. Svadhṛta: he rests in his own glory. Svāsya: his face is lovely as the heart of a lotus, and from it came the Vedas. Prāgvaṃśa: his line came first, and the universe followed. Vaṃśavardhana: he makes that line grow, and in time dissolves it.
Word by word
Reflection
Notice how many names in this group begin with dur, which means hard. Durjaya, hard to conquer. Durlabha, hard to gain. Durgama, hard to know. Durāvāsa, hard even for yogīs to keep in the heart. It can sound as though the door is shut. Then, a few ślokas later, comes Sulabha, easy to reach, and Śaṅkara recalls the Mahābhārata, which wonders how anyone could fail to seek freedom when the ancient Lord can be won with a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water, offered with love. Both are true. To pride and cleverness he is a fortress; to devotion he opens at once. The whole group is full of such pairs: four forms and a single foot, the rain cloud and the nectar, the subtlest and the greatest, the bearer of every quality and the one with none, held up by nothing yet resting in his own glory. Śaṅkara does not smooth these away. He lets each name show one face of a Lord too vast for any single word. Take Sulabha with you: the hardest goal of all, made easy by love.
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.