मनन Manana · ReflectStep 11 of /18
Viṣṇu Sahasranāma · Ślokas 71–80
Names 661–756
Listen to the chant, and read the meaning under each verse. A narrated version is on its way.
Śloka 71 · He who is Brahman
Śloka 71
ब्रह्मण्यो ब्रह्मकृद् ब्रह्मा ब्रह्म ब्रह्मविवर्धनः ।
ब्रह्मविद् ब्राह्मणो ब्रह्मी ब्रह्मज्ञो ब्राह्मणप्रियः ॥
brahmaṇyo brahmakṛd brahmā brahma brahmavivardhanaḥ |
brahmavid brāhmaṇo brahmī brahmajño brāhmaṇapriyaḥ ||
Meaning
Brahmaṇya: he cherishes all that is called brahman, which Śaṅkara says means tapas, the Veda, the brāhmaṇas and true knowledge. Brahmakṛt: he brings all these into being. Brahmā: as Brahmā he creates the world. Brahma: he is Brahman itself, being, knowledge and the infinite. Brahmavivardhana: he makes tapas and dharma grow. Brahmavit: he knows the Veda and its meaning. Brāhmaṇa: as a brāhmaṇa he teaches the Veda to the whole world. Brahmī: all that is brahman belongs to him. Brahmajña: he knows the Vedas, for they are his own self. Brāhmaṇapriya: brāhmaṇas are dear to him, and he to them.
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 72 · The great sacrifice
Śloka 72
महाक्रमो महाकर्मा महातेजा महोरगः ।
महाक्रतुर्महायज्वा महायज्ञो महाहविः ॥
mahākramo mahākarmā mahātejā mahoragaḥ |
mahākratur mahāyajvā mahāyajño mahāhaviḥ ||
Meaning
Mahākrama: his strides are mighty, and the Veda prays, may wide-striding Viṣṇu grant us well-being. Mahākarmā: his works are great, the making and keeping of the universe. Mahātejā: his radiance lights the sun and every other light. Mahoraga: he is the great serpent, for he says in the Gītā, of serpents I am Vāsuki. Mahākratu: he is the great sacrifice, like the aśvamedha. Mahāyajvā: he performs sacrifice for the good of the world. Mahāyajña: he is the greatest offering, for of sacrifices, he says, I am japa, the quiet repeating of his name. Mahāhavi: the whole universe is the oblation offered into Brahman.
Word by word
Śloka 73 · He is the hymn itself
Śloka 73
स्तव्यः स्तवप्रियः स्तोत्रं स्तुतिः स्तोता रणप्रियः ।
पूर्णः पूरयिता पुण्यः पुण्यकीर्तिरनामयः ॥
stavyaḥ stavapriyaḥ stotraṃ stutiḥ stotā raṇapriyaḥ |
pūrṇaḥ pūrayitā puṇyaḥ puṇyakīrtir anāmayaḥ ||
Meaning
Stavya: all praise him, and he praises no one. Stavapriya: he delights in praise. Stotra: the hymn that sings his qualities is Hari himself. Stuti: he is the very act of praising. Stotā: he is the one who praises. Raṇapriya: he loves battle, bearing his five great weapons to protect the world. Pūrṇa: he is full, holding every power and every good. Pūrayitā: he fills all beings with plenty. Puṇya: he is holy, and removes sin by mere remembrance. Puṇyakīrti: his fame makes people holy. Anāmaya: no illness born of karma, inside or outside, can touch him.
Word by word
Śloka 74 · Swift as the mind
Śloka 74
मनोजवस्तीर्थकरो वसुरेता वसुप्रदः ।
वसुप्रदो वासुदेवो वसुर्वसुमना हविः ॥
manojavas tīrthakaro vasuretā vasupradaḥ |
vasuprado vāsudevo vasur vasumanā haviḥ ||
Meaning
Manojava: he is swift as the mind, being everywhere at once. Tīrthakara: he made and taught the sacred sciences; as Hayagrīva he slew Madhu and Kaiṭabha and taught Brahmā the Vedas. Vasuretā: his seed is gold, for he dropped his power into the waters and it became the golden egg. Vasuprada: by his grace Kubera became lord of treasure. Vasuprada again, at once: now he gives the highest wealth, liberation. Vāsudeva again: he is the son of Vasudeva. Vasu again: all beings dwell in him, and he in them. Vasumanā again: his mind rests equally in all things. Havi: he is the oblation itself.
Word by word
Śloka 75 · Pure being, best of the Yadus
Śloka 75
सद्गतिः सत्कृतिः सत्ता सद्भूतिः सत्परायणः ।
शूरसेनो यदुश्रेष्ठः सन्निवासः सुयामुनः ॥
sadgatiḥ satkṛtiḥ sattā sadbhūtiḥ satparāyaṇaḥ |
śūraseno yaduśreṣṭhaḥ sannivāsaḥ suyāmunaḥ ||
Meaning
Sadgati: he is the refuge of the good, those who know that Brahman truly is. Satkṛti: his deeds are good, for he protects the world. Sattā: he is pure being, one without a second. Sadbhūti: he is being that always is and always shines. Satparāyaṇa: he is the highest goal of those who know the truth. Śūrasena: his army holds heroes such as Hanumān. Yaduśreṣṭha: he is the best of the Yadus. Sannivāsa: he is the home of the wise. Suyāmuna: he is surrounded by the good people of the Yamunā, Devakī, Vasudeva, Nanda, Yaśodā, Balarāma and Subhadrā.
Word by word
Śloka 76 · Home of beings, tamer of pride
Śloka 76
भूतावासो वासुदेवः सर्वासुनिलयोऽनलः ।
दर्पहा दर्पदो दृप्तो दुर्धरोऽथापराजितः ॥
bhūtāvāso vāsudevaḥ sarvāsunilayo 'nalaḥ |
darpahā darpado dṛpto durdharo 'thāparājitaḥ ||
Meaning
Bhūtāvāsa: all beings live in him, as the Harivaṃśa says. Vāsudeva again: now he covers the universe with his māyā, as the sun covers the world with its rays. Sarvāsunilaya: he is the home of every living being. Anala again: his powers have no limit. Darpahā: he crushes the pride of those who leave the path of dharma. Darpada: he gives the righteous their rightful dignity. Dṛpta: he is ever joyful in his own bliss. Durdhara again: he is very hard to hold in meditation, for he is beyond every form. Aparājita: no enemy within or without has ever conquered him.
Word by word
Śloka 77 · Of countless forms
Śloka 77
विश्वमूर्तिर्महामूर्तिर्दीप्तमूर्तिरमूर्तिमान् ।
अनेकमूर्तिरव्यक्तः शतमूर्तिः शताननः ॥
viśvamūrtir mahāmūrtir dīptamūrtir amūrtimān |
anekamūrtir avyaktaḥ śatamūrtiḥ śatānanaḥ ||
Meaning
Viśvamūrti: the whole universe is his form. Mahāmūrti: his form is vast as he rests on the serpent Śeṣa. Dīptamūrti: his form is shining knowledge, or the radiant body he takes at will. Amūrtimān: he has no body made by karma. Anekamūrti: he takes many forms in his avatāras to help the world. Avyakta: though he has many forms, none of them can pin him down. Śatamūrti: he is pure awareness, and the hundred forms are made by his own thought. Śatānana: he has a hundred faces, for he is the universal form.
Word by word
Śloka 78 · One, many, and That
Śloka 78
एको नैकः सवः कः किं यत् तत्पदमनुत्तमम् ।
लोकबन्धुर्लोकनाथो माधवो भक्तवत्सलः ॥
eko naikaḥ savaḥ kaḥ kiṃ yat tat padam anuttamam |
lokabandhur lokanātho mādhavo bhaktavatsalaḥ ||
Meaning
Eka: he is one, without a second of any kind. Naika: through māyā he is many. Sava: he is the Soma sacrifice. Ka: he is happiness, for happiness is Brahman. Kim: he is What, the one to be sought above all. Yat: he is Which, from which all beings come forth. Tat: he is That, the all-pervading, as in Om Tat Sat. Padam-anuttamam: he is the goal sought by those who long for freedom, with nothing higher. Lokabandhu: he is the friend of the worlds, like a father. Lokanātha: the worlds pray to him. Mādhava again: he was born in the line of Madhu. Bhaktavatsala: he loves his devotees tenderly.
Word by word
Śloka 79 · The golden one, still and moving
Śloka 79
सुवर्णवर्णो हेमाङ्गो वराङ्गश्चन्दनाङ्गदी ।
वीरहा विषमः शून्यो घृताशीरचलश्चलः ॥
suvarṇavarṇo hemāṅgo varāṅgaś candanāṅgadī |
vīrahā viṣamaḥ śūnyo ghṛtāśīr acalaś calaḥ ||
Meaning
Suvarṇavarṇa: he is golden in colour, as the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad says. Hemāṅga: his limbs are gold, the golden person seen in the sun. Varāṅga: his limbs are beautiful. Candanāṅgadī: he wears delightful armlets. Vīrahā again: he slays the mighty asuras to protect dharma. Viṣama: no one is equal to him. Śūnya: he is like the void, free of every attribute. Ghṛtāśī: all his wishes have melted away. Acala: he never moves, for nothing in him ever weakens. Cala: yet he moves, as the wind.
Word by word
Śloka 80 · Without pride, giver of honour
Śloka 80
अमानी मानदो मान्यो लोकस्वामी त्रिलोकधृक् ।
सुमेधा मेधजो धन्यः सत्यमेधा धराधरः ॥
amānī mānado mānyo lokasvāmī trilokadhṛk |
sumedhā medhajo dhanyaḥ satyamedhā dharādharaḥ ||
Meaning
Amānī: he is pure awareness, so he never mistakes anything else for himself. Mānada: he lets the world wander in that mistake through māyā, he honours his devotees, and he frees the wise from false pride. Mānya: all honour him, for he rules all. Lokasvāmī: he is master of the fourteen worlds. Trilokadhṛk: he upholds the three worlds. Sumedhā: his wisdom is beautiful. Medhaja: he is born of sacrifice. Dhanya: he is blessed, every aim fulfilled. Satyamedhā: his wisdom never fails. Dharādhara: he holds up the earth through his forms such as Śeṣa.
Word by word
Reflection
Here is a strange and lovely thought to sit with: the hymn you are chanting is Viṣṇu himself. In this group Śaṅkara reads Stotra, the hymn, Stuti, the praise, and Stotā, the one who praises, as names of the same Lord, so the singer, the song and the one sung to are not three. The group opens with Brahman in every shape, the Veda, the brāhmaṇa, the Creator, and then the great sacrifice, where even the oblation is the whole universe offered back into him. It moves on to Sattā, pure being, and then to a wonderful row of tiny words: Ka, Kim, Yat, Tat. Happiness, What, Which, That. He is the happiness we chase, the question we keep asking, the source from which everything comes, and the That beyond every name. And yet he stays close: Lokabandhu, a friend to the worlds like a father, Bhaktavatsala, tender to his devotees, Amānī, without a trace of pride. Carry away Tat, That: the smallest word, holding the whole of Brahman.
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.