The Viśṇu Ṣahasranāma, which consists of a thousand names in praise of the Lord, is located within the Mahābhārata. This great epic is presented as a dialogue between Ugraśravas and a group of Mahāriṣis, led by Śaunaka. These r̥śis were performing a yāga over many years in the Naimiśaraṇya forest. When Ugraśravas came to visit them, they requested that he share any knowledge from his travels that might be useful. In response, he narrated the Mahābhārata, which he had heard from Sage Vaiśampāyana. The Mahābhārata is famously a story within a story; Sage Vaiśampāyana had received it from Sage Veda Vyāsa himself while reciting it to King Janamejaya. As the narrative of the Mahābhārata unfolds, it brings forth the dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma, which is the very source of this Viśṇu Ṣahasranāma. We shall now see this dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma as related by Sage Vaiśampāyana.
श्रीवैशम्पायन उवाच ---
श्रुत्वा धर्मानशेषेण पावनानि च सर्वशः ।
युधिष्ठिरः शान्तनवं पुनरेवाभ्यभाषत ॥ ७॥
Śrī Vaiśampāyana said — Having heard the various dharmas without exception, as well as the purifying acts in all their forms, Yudhiṣṭhira once more addressed Bhīṣma, the son of Śāntanu.
Having received the exhaustive exposition of dharmas and karmas—those yielding results in this world and the next, as well as those leading to the ultimate goal of mokṣa—Yudhiṣṭhira had gained an understanding of the actions enjoined and prohibited for the attainment of life's purposes. He was further enlightened on the nature of atoning karmas designed to purify one in every aspect. Such Vaidika dharmas, comprising diverse rituals and prayers, serve to cleanse the mind from the binding influence of likes and dislikes and to neutralize the effects of adharma.
Nevertheless, Yudhiṣṭhira sensed that some profound truth remained undisclosed. He sought a sādhana capable of encompassing all human aspirations—a path that was easy to practice, inherently enjoyable, and requiring minimal physical exertion, yet capable of bestowing a great result. Therefore, he once more questioned Bhīṣma, the son of Śāntanu.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच ---
किमेकं दैवतं लोके किं वाप्येकं परायणम् ।
स्तुवन्तः कं कमर्चन्तः प्राप्नुयुर्मानवाः शुभम् ॥ ८॥
Yudhiṣṭhira said — Who is the one supreme deity in the world spoken of in all the śāstras? What is the one ultimate goal/refuge? By praising whom, and worshipping whom do human beings attain auspiciousness?
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses six profound inquiries to Bhīṣma. To each of these six questions, Bhīṣma reveals Lord Viṣṇu as the singular resolution, subsequently reciting the thousand-fold names of the Lord. Though distinct in their expression, all six inquiries are essentially interconnected.
His first question is loke kim ekam daivatam- who is the one Lord that is spoken of in all the shastras, by whose order alone all the other devatas function? He the word loke refers to the shastras.
The second inquiry is loke kim ekam parāyaṇam?—What is the parama-ayanam, the ultimate refuge spoken of in all the śāstras? What is the one end to be accomplished by all, and gaining which there remains nothing more to be achieved. What is that knowing which the knots of the heart are broken, all doubts are resolved, and all one’s karmas are destroyed, bringing an end to the cycle of rebirth? What is that knowing which mokṣa, characterized by limitless happiness, is attained and where there is no more fear, for there is no second thing? What is that entering which there is no coming back, and knowing which one becomes that very reality? What is that path leaving which there is no other for a human being? That can only be one thing: Brahman, for the Upaniṣads declare, "Brahmavit Brahmaiva bhavati"—the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman itself. Thus, the ultimate goal of human existence is addressed through this second question.
Who is that one supreme deity in this world? By knowing and understanding whom, by praising whose infinite glories, and by seeking and worshipping whom, do human beings attain total auspiciousness, encompassing both svarga and the ultimate liberation of mokṣa?
को धर्मः सर्वधर्माणां भवतः परमो मतः ।
किं जपन्मुच्यते जन्तुर्जन्मसंसारबन्धनात् ॥ ९॥
Among all the dharmas, which dharma is, in your view, the highest? By chanting what does a jīva gain liberation from the bondage of saṃsāra, which is fraught with repeated births?
sarva-dharmānām- Among all the dharmas that you have told me, which according to your view is the parama dharma, the highest means, by which one can accomplish the ultimate goal?
Kim japan - Chanting and repeating which mantra, jantu -the jiva born of ignorance, janma- samsara-bandhanāt mucyate -would accomplish the end, which is a release from the bonds of samsara, a release from this life of becoming. Janma - birth stands for all the effects of ignorance. So what japa would release a person from ignorance and the bondages caused by its effects.
Although Yudhiṣṭhira specifically inquired after the means for release from the bondage of saṃsāra, Śaṅkara clarifies that the chanting of the Viśṇu Ṣahasranāma is also efficacious for gaining one’s welfare within saṃsāra, attained as an auspicious result of this pious recitation.
We will see Bhiśma's replies to these six questions in the next post.
Om
