Vishnu Sahasranama
As the great warrior Bhishma lay dying on a bed of arrows, Yudhishthira asked him: who is the one god, and by praising whom does a person reach peace? Bhishma's answer was a thousand names.
The verse
A question at the end of a war
The Kurukshetra war was over. Bhishma, the grand-uncle of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas, lay on a bed of arrows, waiting for the sun to turn north before he would leave his body. Yudhishthira, burdened with grief, came to him with questions. Among them: "Who is the one supreme god? Whom should one praise? By whose worship does one find peace?"
Where it is found
The answer — the Vishnu Sahasranama — is in the Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata (chapter 149 in many editions). Krishna himself stood before the dying Bhishma as he spoke. The first name of all is "viśvam" — the universe…
The journey continues for members
- The first names and what they mean
- Commentary and tradition
- Traditional practice
- A note on what mantras promise
Sources
- Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva
- Shankara bhashya on the Vishnu Sahasranama