मनन Manana · ReflectStep 16 of /18
Viṣṇu Sahasranāma · Phalaśruti 14–22
All from one Being
Listen to the chant, and read the meaning under each verse. A narrated version is on its way.
Phalaśruti 14 · Held up by his power
Phalaśruti 14
द्यौः सचन्द्रार्कनक्षत्रा खं दिशो भूर्महोदधिः ।
वासुदेवस्य वीर्येण विधृतानि महात्मनः ॥
dyauḥ sacandrārkanakṣatrā khaṃ diśo bhūr mahodadhiḥ |
vāsudevasya vīryeṇa vidhṛtāni mahātmanaḥ ||
Meaning
Now Bhīṣma lifts his eyes to the whole of creation. The sky with its moon, sun and stars, all of space, the directions, the earth and the great ocean: all are held in place by the power of the great Vāsudeva.
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 15 · The world in Kṛṣṇa's hands
Phalaśruti 15
ससुरासुरगन्धर्वं सयक्षोरगराक्षसम् ।
जगद्वशे वर्ततेदं कृष्णस्य सचराचरम् ॥
sasurāsuragandharvaṃ sayakṣoragarākṣasam |
jagad vaśe vartatedaṃ kṛṣṇasya sacarācaram ||
Meaning
This whole world, with its gods and demons and heavenly singers, its yakṣas, serpents and rākṣasas, everything that moves and everything that is still, rests in the hands of Kṛṣṇa.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 16 · Body and self are his
Phalaśruti 16
इन्द्रियाणि मनो बुद्धिः सत्त्वं तेजो बलं धृतिः ।
वासुदेवात्मकान्याहुः क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञ एव च ॥
indriyāṇi mano buddhiḥ sattvaṃ tejo balaṃ dhṛtiḥ |
vāsudevātmakāny āhuḥ kṣetraṃ kṣetrajña eva ca ||
Meaning
The senses, the mind and the intellect, inner clarity, vigour, strength and steadiness, the body that is the field and the self that knows it: all of these, the wise say, are Vāsudeva himself.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 17 · Right conduct comes first
Phalaśruti 17
सर्वागमानामाचारः प्रथमं परिकल्प्यते ।
आचारप्रभवो धर्मो धर्मस्य प्रभुरच्युतः ॥
sarvāgamānām ācāraḥ prathamaṃ parikalpyate |
ācāraprabhavo dharmo dharmasya prabhur acyutaḥ ||
Meaning
Of all that the scriptures teach, right conduct comes first. Dharma springs from right conduct, and the Lord of dharma is Acyuta, the one who never falls away.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 18 · All from Nārāyaṇa
Phalaśruti 18
ऋषयः पितरो देवा महाभूतानि धातवः ।
जङ्गमाजङ्गमं चेदं जगन्नारायणोद्भवम् ॥
ṛṣayaḥ pitaro devā mahābhūtāni dhātavaḥ |
jaṅgamājaṅgamaṃ cedaṃ jagan nārāyaṇodbhavam ||
Meaning
The ṛṣis, the ancestors, the gods, the great elements and all they are made into, this whole world of moving and unmoving things: all of it has come forth from Nārāyaṇa.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 19 · All knowledge from Janārdana
Phalaśruti 19
योगो ज्ञानं तथा साङ्ख्यं विद्याः शिल्पादिकर्म च ।
वेदाः शास्त्राणि विज्ञानमेतत्सर्वं जनार्दनात् ॥
yogo jñānaṃ tathā sāṅkhyaṃ vidyāḥ śilpādikarma ca |
vedāḥ śāstrāṇi vijñānam etat sarvaṃ janārdanāt ||
Meaning
Yoga and knowledge, Sāṅkhya too, every branch of learning, the crafts and the arts, the Vedas, the sciences and all understanding: all of it comes from Janārdana.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 20 · One Being, many beings
Phalaśruti 20
एको विष्णुर्महद्भूतं पृथग्भूतान्यनेकशः ।
त्रींल्लोकान्व्याप्य भूतात्मा भुङ्क्ते विश्वभुगव्ययः ॥
eko viṣṇur mahad bhūtaṃ pṛthag bhūtāny anekaśaḥ |
trīṃl lokān vyāpya bhūtātmā bhuṅkte viśvabhug avyayaḥ ||
Meaning
Viṣṇu is the one great Being, who becomes countless separate beings. Pervading the three worlds as the self of every creature, he, the undying one, experiences all things.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 21 · Proclaimed by Vyāsa
Phalaśruti 21
इमं स्तवं भगवतो विष्णोर्व्यासेन कीर्तितम् ।
पठेद्य इच्छेत्पुरुषः श्रेयः प्राप्तुं सुखानि च ॥
imaṃ stavaṃ bhagavato viṣṇor vyāsena kīrtitam |
paṭhed ya icchet puruṣaḥ śreyaḥ prāptuṃ sukhāni ca ||
Meaning
Whoever wishes to reach the highest good, and to know happiness, should recite this hymn to the Lord Viṣṇu, proclaimed by Vyāsa.
Word by word
Phalaśruti 22 · They never meet defeat
Phalaśruti 22
विश्वेश्वरमजं देवं जगतः प्रभुमव्ययम् ।
भजन्ति ये पुष्कराक्षं न ते यान्ति पराभवम् ॥
viśveśvaram ajaṃ devaṃ jagataḥ prabhum avyayam |
bhajanti ye puṣkarākṣaṃ na te yānti parābhavam ||
Meaning
Those who worship the lotus-eyed Lord of all, the unborn God, the undying master of the world, never meet defeat.
Word by word
Reflection
This part of the hymn is called the phalaśruti, the hearing of the fruits. It promises a great deal: health, courage, prosperity, freedom from fear, and at the end, Brahman itself. Some people hear a list like this and feel a little uneasy. Is this a bargain? Recite, and receive? Śaṅkara has a gentler way of seeing it. Earlier, when Bhīṣma called the praise of these names the highest dharma, Śaṅkara asked why. His answer is beautiful in its plainness. This dharma harms no living creature. It needs no money, no priest, no helper. It has no rules about the right place or the right time. Anyone can do it, anywhere, with nothing but their own voice. So the fruits are not a price being paid. They are what naturally happens to a mind that keeps turning towards what is whole. Look at the last few verses again. They stop talking about what you will get, and start talking about what is: the sky, the stars, the senses, the self, all of it held by one Being. That is the real fruit. The world stops looking like a place of scattered things, and starts looking like his.
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.