मनन Manana · ReflectStep 17 of /18
Viṣṇu Sahasranāma · Phalaśruti 23–27
One verse, one name
Listen to the chant, and read the meaning under each verse. A narrated version is on its way.
Phalaśruti 23 · Arjuna's prayer
Arjuna said
Phalaśruti 23
पद्मपत्रविशालाक्ष पद्मनाभ सुरोत्तम ।
भक्तानामनुरक्तानां त्राता भव जनार्दन ॥
padmapatraviśālākṣa padmanābha surottama |
bhaktānām anuraktānāṃ trātā bhava janārdana ||
Meaning
The verses that follow are added in the tradition. Arjuna prays: O Lord with eyes wide as lotus petals, from whose navel the lotus grows, best of the gods, O Janārdana: protect the devotees who love you.
Word by word
Words joined in recitation are shown split. Where sounds change at the joins, the dictionary form is given under the word.
Phalaśruti 24 · One verse is enough
The Lord said
Phalaśruti 24
यो मां नामसहस्रेण स्तोतुमिच्छति पाण्डव ।
सोऽहमेकेन श्लोकेन स्तुत एव न संशयः ॥
yo māṃ nāmasahasreṇa stotum icchati pāṇḍava |
so 'ham ekena ślokena stuta eva na saṃśayaḥ ||
Meaning
The Lord replies: O son of Pāṇḍu, if someone wishes to praise me with the thousand names, know that I am praised even by a single verse of it. Of that there is no doubt.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 25 · Home of all beings
Vyāsa said
Phalaśruti 25
वासनाद्वासुदेवस्य वासितं भुवनत्रयम् ।
सर्वभूतनिवासोऽसि वासुदेव नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
vāsanād vāsudevasya vāsitaṃ bhuvanatrayam |
sarvabhūtanivāso 'si vāsudeva namo 'stu te ||
Meaning
Vyāsa says: Because Vāsudeva dwells in them, the three worlds are filled with him. You are the home of all beings, O Vāsudeva. Salutations to you.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 26 · Pārvatī asks for an easy way
Pārvatī said
Phalaśruti 26
केनोपायेन लघुना विष्णोर्नामसहस्रकम् ।
पठ्यते पण्डितैर्नित्यं श्रोतुमिच्छाम्यहं प्रभो ॥
kenopāyena laghunā viṣṇor nāmasahasrakam |
paṭhyate paṇḍitair nityaṃ śrotum icchāmy ahaṃ prabho ||
Meaning
Pārvatī asks Śiva: By what easy way do the wise recite Viṣṇu's thousand names every day? I wish to hear it, my Lord.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 27 · The name of Rāma
Īśvara said
Phalaśruti 27
श्रीरामरामरामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे ।
सहस्रनामतत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने ॥
śrīrāma rāma rāmeti rame rāme manorame |
sahasranāma tattulyaṃ rāmanāma varānane ||
Meaning
Śiva answers: Śrī Rāma, Rāma, Rāma. I delight in Rāma, who delights the mind. O lovely one, the name of Rāma alone is equal to the thousand names.
Word by word
Reflection
After a thousand names, the hymn ends by making everything small again. Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna that a single verse is enough. Śiva tells Pārvatī that a single name is enough: Rāma, said three times, the way people across India still say it, softly, under their breath, when they are tired, or grateful, or afraid. Is that a contradiction? Why learn a thousand names if one will do? Think of it this way. The thousand names are not a test you must pass. They are a long, slow way of getting to know someone. Name by name you have seen him as the universe and as the self, as the lion and as the friend, as the one who holds the discus and the one who has no form at all. Once you know someone that well, a single word is enough to call all of it to mind. That is what the one verse and the one name are. Not a shortcut around the thousand, but the thousand folded into one.
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.