शान्ताकारं भुजगशयनं पद्मनाभं सुरेशं

विश्वाधारं गगनसदृशं मेघवर्णं शुभाङ्गम I

लक्ष्मीकान्तं कमलनयनं योगिहृदधयानगम्यं

वन्दे विष्णुं भवभयहरं सर्वलोकैकनाथम II

मेघश्यामं पीतकौशेयवासं

श्रीवतसाङ्कं कौस्तुभोदभासिताङ्गम I

पुणयोपेतं पुन्दारीकायताक्षम

विष्णुं वन्दे सर्वलोकैकनाथम II

The one who is reclining on a serpent has a lotus at his naval. He is the greatest of the Gods.He is the one on whom the universe is resting. He is as expansive as the sky. He is the colour of the monsoon cloud. ...with Lakshmi as his consort. He is the lotus eyed. He is the one on whom yogis meditate in their heart. Who is the remover of the fear of death....the Lord of the universe.

The one wearing bright yellow dress and shree in his heart. He is the one wearing kaustubh mala..he has the conch..the discus....I worship him.

He is sitting under the shade of a Parijata tree on a golden throne...his face is like a full moon...he who has got four hands...and Srivatsa in his heart and has Rukmini and Satyabhama by his side....

भूः पादौ यस्य नाभिर्वियदसुरानिलश्चन्द्रसूयौ च नेत्रे

कर्णावाषा शिरो द्यौर्मुखमपी दहनो यस्य वास्तेयमब्धिः I

अन्तस्थं यस्य विश्वं सुरनरखग गोभोगिगन्धर्वादैत्यैः

चित्रं रंरम्यते तं त्रिभुवनवपुषं विश्नुमीशं नमामि II

He ....whose feet form the earth ... his nabhi ..naval is the sky and his breath is all the air around. The sun and the moon are his eyes , the ears are the directions, and the head is the heaven. His face or mouth is fire. His stomach form the oceans.

Inside him is all the universe...including sura, nara, gandharva, daityas, deities, celestials, humans, birds, cows, serpents...He is the charming one...He is the greatest . He is Lord Vishnu who is every body of three worlds and in whom is the universe and I bow to him.

After the preface , in Mahabharata proper, the thousand names start...but traditionally
in parayanam there are certain dhyanasloka which are chanted.
ध्यानम
क्षीरोदनवत्प्रदेशे शुचिमाणिविलसत्सैकते मौक्तिकानाम
मालाक्लुप्तासनास्थः स्फटिकमणिनिभैर्मौक्तिकैर्मडिताड्गः I

शुभ्रैरभ्रैर्रदभ्रैरुपरि विरचितैर्मुक्तपीयूषवषैः
आनन्दी नः पुनीयादरिनलिनगदाशन्खपाणिर्मुकुन्दः II

The ocean of milk on a glorious throne of gold adorned with dazzling jewels and pearls as resplendent as crystal gems...that sand of the ocean which is glittering like gems. And he is having shower of nectar , because of which he is in great joy...bliss...may this Narayana who is Lord Mukunda with his mace and conch which is subduing the enemy ...sanctify us ...lift us.

After Bheeshma having answered the questions...

Preface to Vishnusahasranama concludes with these verses...

यतः सर्वाणि भूतानि भवन्त्यादियुगागमे I

यस्मिन्श्चा प्रलयं यान्ति पुनरेव युगक्षये II


तस्य लोकप्रधानस्य जगन्नाथस्य भूपते I
विश्नोर्नामासहस्रं में शृणु पापभयापहम II


यानि नामानि गौणानि विख्यातानि महात्मनः I
ऋषिभिः परिगीतानि तानि वक्ष्यामि भूतये II



From where all the creatures are born and where all the creatures are sustained and where all the creatures will be dissolved during pralaya ....that is Mahavishnu. That supreme Lord of the world Oh King... says Bheeshma..his 1000 names listen to me carefully...they will remove your sins and all fear...

These names ...various glorious attributes of the lord...they are being sung again and again...so listen with attention...for i say this for the benefit of the mankind.



Parashar Bhattar says rishis like Narada , Sanat Kumara have sung these names with great love. And Vyasa has gone to vedas and collected these like a bee collects honey from various flowers. And has strung it in a Namavali and given it to us.



This is where the preface comes to an end.

After addressing the last question first Pitamah Bheeshma comes to the question of ...what is the supreme goal?

To this he says...he who is supreme radiance , supreme ruler, supreme Brahman.. he is your supreme goal.

And finally he answers the first question...who is the supreme God?

पवित्राणां पवित्रं यो मंगलानां च मंगलम I

दैवतं देवतानां च भूतानां योऽ व्ययः पिता II

He is the most purest , holiest of the holy, he is the most auspicious of the auspicious, he is the God of all Gods, of all the creatures he is the undecaying father, he is the origin, holy rivers are holy because of him, he removes spiritual ignorance. He says having done the churning of all the shastras and having deliberated on them again and again...what is the firm conclusion? meditate on "Narayan Hari".

Parashar Bhattar says anything which is pavitram is pavitram because of bhagvat sambandha....whatever is pure is pure because of it is related to the lord...otherwise what is pure?....

Pitamah Bheesham replies to Udhishthiras's questions.....starting with the last question first...which was... what is it by reciting which human beings can attain freedom from bondage of birth and death...

The lord of the world the God of Gods the infinite one, one not within the limitations of time space or materiality. The supreme lord... praising him with bhakti...with 1000 names by engaging oneself in the chant of 1000 names constantly one is freed from bondage.

Then Bheeshma says ...by offering worship to him...this lord Vishnu with bhakti, by contemplating on him, by singing his praise, by prostrating in front of him...by these methods of mind speech and body offering to the lord ....is the way to do it...royal path to salvation...

Parashar Bhatta says according to him the highest dharma is to offer worship with highest bhakti to पुंडरिकाक्ष and why is this the best dharma ? because there is no himsa in this , by doing japa or nama you are not creating any trouble for any other creature in the world, there is also no dependence on anybody or anything, there are no restrictions...only thing is you have to do it with bhakti.

Lord Krishna in "Bhagvad Gita " has said that among yagnas i am " Japayagna'.....

Vishnusahasranama is considered one of the five jewels of epic Mahabharata..and this great stotram can be broadly divided into four parts. Preface (poorvapithika), Dhyanaslokam, then the stotram main, and ofcourse the Falasruti.



When Udhishthira goes to Bheeshma as per Sri Krishna's advice...he wanted to know more from Pitahmah Bheeshma . He wanted to know which is the most desirable thing to attain and how to attain that, which should give ultimate happiness. It should be easy to do but the fruits should be fantastic. He says you have told me all the dharma but what is your own view on this?



So we come back to the stotram which sage Vaishampayana is telling king Janamejay


श्रुत्वा धर्मानशेषेण पावनानी च सर्वशः I
युधिष्ठिरः शांतनवं पुनारेवाभ्याभाषत II
after listening to all the dharma in entirety , in its totality which gives you prosperity here and now and hereafter, Udhishthira again addressed the son of Shantanu-Bheeshma.



Udhishthira asks...
किमेकं दैवतं लोके किं वाप्येकं परायणं I
स्तुवन्तः कं कमर्चन्तः प्राप्नुयुर्मानावाश्शुभमII
को धर्मः सर्वधार्माणां भवतः परमो मतः I
किं जपन मुच्यते जन्तुर्जन्मा संसार बन्धनात II

Who is the cognised God in the world...

what is the one supreme goal that one should seek...

who or what is that god, worshipping whom,and practicing whom, mankind can achieve "shubham"...

what according to you , your belief, your evaluation is the highest dharma....

and lastly

what is it by reciting which, a human being can attain freedom from bondage of birth and death...

There is an interesting story of how Sri Adi Shankaracharya came to write about the commentary on Vishnusahastranama. First he wanted to write on Lalita Sahastranama..so he sent his disciple Padmapada to fetch the scroll which contained Lalita Sahastranama, when the disciple came back and gave the scroll to Adi Sankara , he realised it was Vishnusahastranama. This happened couple of times , finally Adi Sankara asked Padmapada what the matter was and he said what to do...when I go inside there is one girl standing inside the room and handing me the scroll and asking me to give it to you. So immediately Adi Sankara went inside. It was goddess Ambal herself....saying rather than write about me why don't you write about my brother's names..

According to another legend, it is said that he heard a voice asking him to write about Vishnusahastranama. As it may be, this was the first commentary he wrote. Adi Sankara is known as "Bhashyakara" that is writer of commentary. On various topics he has written commentaries, but he started writing with Vishnusahatranama....

Many great scholars have written the commentary on the Vishnusahastranama. Most illustrious being Parasharbhatta and Adi Shankaracharya.

Around 11th or 12th century...Parasharbhatta's father was a prosperous " kultalaivar" in Kanchipuram district.. also a very close devotee of Sri Ramanujan. When Ramanujan left Kanchipuram and went to Shrirangam his disciple also gave up all his land and property and along with his wife went to serve his master. He also renounced all his material pursuits and lived a life of a brahmin..living on bhiksha. In due course, with the blessings of Lord Ranganatha, the couple was blessed with twins. Sri Ramanujan named them Parashara and Vyasa. These kids all most grew up in the temple very near to the lord. So in that sense they were the foster babies of lord Ranganatha and goddess Ranganayaki herself..Parashara grew up to be a great bhakta and scholar both in sanskrit and tamil. Later Sri Ramanujan appointed him the chief pontiff of the vaishnava faith. Such is his greatness that when we say bhattar we mean Parasharbhatta only.. under the command of Sri Ramanujan he wrote the commentary on Vishnusahastranama and called it 'Bhagvadgunadarpana"...mirror of glorious qualities of god.

About the greatness of Vishnusahastranama....why it is so great .. bhattar attributes six qualities to Vishnusahastranama...

First and foremost it is the essence of Mahabharata he says...

Secondly because the rishis have sung it, chanted it again and again...

Then it was compiled by Vedacharya none other than Vedavyasa...

It was expounded by Bheeshma as highest of truth, highest of tatva...

It has been accepted by all the elders as pinnacle of dharma...

Its teachings are in congruence..alignment with the Bhagvad Gita and other scriptures...

After the war was over and pandavas had returned to Hastinapura....one day early morning, Udhishthira saw Sri Krishna was in deep meditation and Udhishthira wondered why the lord himself should be in dhyana and SriKrishna told him that.. Bhishma...." lying in the battle field has gathered his senses in his mind, gathered his mind in his intellect, his intellect in his Atman, and in his Atman he has now enshrined me by the power of his contemplation". Then SriKrishna told everybody that Bhishma is wanting to give up his body and before he does that, they all should go to him and get all their doubts on dharma clarified from him.

So they all go the battle field and when Sri kKrishna tells Bhishma that Udhishthira has come and he has some doubts, Bhishma looks at Sri Krishna in great pain..and says I am not even able to speak now ...for so many days I am lying in the battle field on the beds of arrows ....world is setting around me..now I want to give up...hearing this the Lord runs his eyes over Bhishma's body and Bhishma feels strength coming back to him and he tells Sri Krishna that I feel like a young man again...strong as a yuva...then he starts explaining all the dharma...

When we talk about the greatness of Vishnusahastranama ...lets recollect the setting... we know that it comes in the epic Mahabharata....it comes in the Anushasanik Parva of Mahabharata...before Anushasanika Parva is the Shanti Parva, containing 15000 verses all told by Bheeshma to Udhishthira explaining all there is to know about dharma in three parts...Rajanushasanikparva , Apaddharmaparva, and Mokshadharmaparva. This doesn't end here and continues in Anushasanikparva... but before Pitamaha Bhishma goes on to Vishnusahastranama lots of other things are explained...

there are details about atithi satkara, he talks about karma fala, then he talks about superiority of free will over fate ( purushartha over daivam) don't think you are a victim , you have a role to play. Then he talks about where all prosperity (lakshmi resides and where all she does not). Anushasanikaparva also gives us Shiva Sahastranama, it talks about teerth mahima, Ganga mahima (glory of the Ganges) , talks about importance of stree raksha. How women should be protected in the kingdom..then vivaha dharma..weeding as a dharma, then there are lot of details about go mahima(cow worship) protection of cows. Story of Nachiketa comes here in the Bharatam..Nachiketa overcoming death, story of Kartikeya, Muruga utpatti, Tarakasura vadham comes again, then shraddha karma is also explained in detail like tithi, nakshtram for shradham. Grhasthashram dharma, upavasa then demerits of himsa, demerits of mans bhakshanam( non-veg) are explained. Then various types of dana like swarna (gold) dana, go dana, bhoomi dana, kanya dana, vidya dana ...glory of all these dana is explained. Then it also talks about death and punarjanma,then about moksha dharma, then about vairagya...in trying for salvation main thing is vairagyam so vairagyaprdhanata is explained. Then pashupata yoga, shivalinga mahima, shivalinga pooja mahatmya. it also talks about Shiva and Parvati's conversation on stree dharma which shiva tells parvati to explain because he says that if a lady tells only then the other ladies will listen. After that is vishnu mahima .....

And then comes Vishnusahasranama.....

Prayer is the order of the month and what better way to prey to Lord Vishnu than chanting his nama..that is Vishnusahastranama. chanting this has been holy practice across India.One feels lot of joy just listening to M S Subbulakshmi's voice..God knows how many houses she must have reached just by chanting this stotra alone.

Vishnusahastranama is the treatise on dharma, in the sense , it is told by Bheeshma who is a seema vruksha of Dharma, to Udhishthira who is a Dharmaputra, in the presence of SriKrishna who himself is a Dharmadhyaksha and where...on the Dharmakshetra which is Kurukshetra. Each name is a mantra in itself. It said that whoever your Eshtadevata may be.. is also included in the nama.

It is said that Vishnusahastranama was very dear to Shirdi Saibaba also.
Once upon a time when baba was in Shirdi there was a sadhu who was staying with him, who had ananya bhakti towards Rama, and it was his daily routine to chant Vishnusahatranama in the morning..there was another rustic devotee of baba by the name Shama. One day when the sadhu was chanting ,baba sent him on an errand and in meantime gave sadhu's book on sahatranama to shama and said " this is a very powerful mantra and book i will tell you something Oh Shama ... once in my life i was in deep trouble , suffering, my heart in palpitation I thought I was going to die , at that time I took this book and kept it close to mu heart and felt immediate relief as if Allah had come.You take this and read from it. Start chanting Vishnusahatranama" as expected sadhu was very upset on hearing this. Baba calmed him ...there was a lesson for a sadhu also and Shama also...baba actually tricked them both..he told Shama.. one word one nama at a time...that was baba's leela...even today recitation of Vishnusahatranama is very common in baba temples... That is the greatness of this stotram....

Om Namo Narayana....

Today is vaikuntha ekadashi. This day is celebrated in grand manner across tamilnadu in all Vishnu temples. Vaikuntha Dwara or Vaikunth Vaasal ( entry to heaven) of the temple which is at the north of the temple is opened only for a day for the devotees to pass thru.
Crowds that throng Tirupati Balaji temple or Shrirangam in trichy or Parthasarathi temple in Chennai...needs to be seen to be believed.....
Ekadashi is mentioned in puranas and is associated with Lord Vishnu.

Legend has it that lord himself opened the doors of his abode for two demons. And the demons asked for the boon that whoever listens to their story and see the image of Lord coming out of Vaikuntha Dwara will reach Vaikuntha .

According to another legend Lord Vishnu took the form of Ekadashi to kill demon Muran to protect the devas. Therefore it is said whoever worships Ekadashi will reach Vaikuntha.

So praying to Lord Vishnu is the order of the day !!

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya !!

Today begins the auspicious tamil month of Margazhi. Temples in tamilnadu open early and people make it a daily ritual to visit them every morning.

Dakshinayana begins in the month of Aadi and this month marks the begining of an end of Dakshinayana...There is a belife that Lord Vishnu goes to sleep for this period so...month of Margazhi is the dawn of devas...

Margazhi is considered auspicious for vishnu bhaktas as well as shiva bhaktas. Vaikuntha Ekadashi which is also known as mokshada ekadashi , arudra darshanam, datta jayanti, geeta jayanti are few important days to come this month.

Another high point of this month is drawing of kolams and lot of chanting of different stotras...

Margazhi has lot of spiritual significan as Lord Krishna says in Bhagvad Gita.. " among the twelve months i am margazhi" So its all about the Lord himself....

Ganapati bappa moraya....

INDEPENDENCE DAY....Most important day in the life of a nation...so it is for us today. Nation is almost all the time symbolised by her flag...Indian tricolour...consisting of orange symbolising courage, white symbolising peace and truth, and green symbolising prosperity...

The need to have our own flag was first felt in 1857 and thought started rolling. Later 1st flag was designed by sister Nivedita, then in 1904 Madam Kama , Veer Savarkar and Shyamji Krishna Varma designed a flag which was hoisted by Madam Kama in Germany during 1st world war. this was also known as Berlin committee flag. in the year 1916 Lokmanya Tilak along with Annie Besant designed another flag. Mr Pingali Venkaiya of Andhra designed a flag after researching flags of 30 nations for 5 years came up with a flag with 2 colours orange and green and a charkha. but Gandhiji asked him to add white so this became the tricolour..this was the congress flag... in 1931 a 7 member committee was formed to look into this matter. Then in 1947 another ad hock committee was formed to come up with the task of designing the national flag. stalwarts like Dr Rajendra Prasad, Dr Ambedkar, Sarojini Naidu, K M Munshi, Rajagopalachari and Maulana Azad formed this committee.This committee replaced the charkha with the Ashok Chakra or Dharma Chakra which symbolizes wheel of law. it also intends to show there is life in movement....and so we got our national flag some 21 days before 15th Aug 1947... first prime minister of independent India Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the tricolour from red fort on august 16th 1947....it was the dream of Netaji Subhashchandra Bose to see this happen... so despite the gloom..poverty..lack of accountability..corruption..illiteracy....................JAI HIND..............

Fifth day of this auspicious month of Shravan ...Nagpanchami...there are stories associated with all our festivals so here goes the one for this day...Once upon a time there lived a Brahman with his family. He had four sons who were married, it was a festival day of nagpanchami so the girls decided to visit their parents homes..the youngest girl had no where to go so she prayed to nag devata to be her family. The all knowing "Adishesha " bhagvan came in the guise of a Brahman claiming to be girls mama. Though the father-in-law had some doubts the girl confirmed him as her mama. So the mama took her to his home in the "varula" and instructed his wife to look after the girl. Many months passed like this...time came when naga's wife gave birth to babies..girl was asked to hold the lamp in her hand...the babies started crawling around her legs, she got scared and dropped the lamp burning few baby tails...soon it was time for the girl to go home... again the nag devata as Brahman took the girl home... many years passed thus...when the babies grew up they asked their mother about their burnt tails. The mother told them about the girl...boys got angry and went looking for the girl..when they reached her house it was this day of nag panchami and the girl was praying to the lord for her brother's well being...their happiness...with elaborate poojas and naivedyam of milk and modaks ...seeing this the boys were very pleased and happy , they stayed the night and when they left, they left the "navaratna necklace" for the girl....blessing her with happiness and prosperity...so says the puranas......

Friend....friendship....

First Sunday of august every year....friendshipday..celebrated since 1935 in the USA...this one day has seen lot of change...transition ....commercialization....people coming together...people killing each other...in the name of frienfship !! and of course lots of gifts...roses...chocolates...cards ...soft toys...and what not. From "Dosti" to "Dostana". From "Dost dost na raha..." to " Yeh dosati ham nahi todenge" Great friends like Krishna-Sudama, Krishna- Arjuna, Drona- Drupada, Karna- Duryodhan....friend who is a mate also a guide, a philosopher...friendship transcending time, friendship gone sour... to the modern day friendship of laurel-hardy.. even tom-Jerry...can't b with each other can't be without... And what a better way to start the day with your friend and with caramel pudding !! Friends are like crayons ...they all fill colour in your life....make life more meaningful,and u need them all to make your picture beautiful..... cheers to all friends out there....

Aum Gurubhyo Namaha !!

"GURUR BRAHMA GURUR VISHNU GURUR DEVO MAHESHWARAHA
GURU SAKSHAT PARABRAHMA TASMAI SHREE GURAVE NAMAHA..."
Ashadh shudha poornima....Gurupoornima.... day to remember our gurus...our learnings...all those who have helped us in our journey...all those who r with us now... i think its a day of contemplation..taking stock...to show our gratitude to all our teachers...at least in thought...this day is also known as Vyas poornima.....Vyasa... guru of gurus....veda vyasa....
"VYAASAAYA VISHNUROOPAAYA
VYAASAROOPAAYA VISHNAVE
NAMO VAI BRAHMANIDHAYE
VAASISHTHAAYA NAMO NAMAHA"
"salutations again and again to vyasa, the incarnate form of vishnu,and vishnu who has the form of vyasa, the treasure of brahma and grandson of vasistha."
son of sage parashara and satyavati was born on an island so also known as dwaipayana....
compiler of vedas, creator of puranas and bhagavatam,and of course mahabharatam...story of his sons ...

my salutations to all the vyasas in our world...

ashadhi ekadashi...

What is it that attracts lakhs and lakhs to pandhapur on this auspicious day of ashadhi ekadashi....vithoba pulling the strings and heart strings...to His pandhari. culmination of wari....people coming from all over the world...with this belief that Mauli is the one who is going to see me thru this ringan...cycle of life and death....
happened to visit a vittala temple in triplicane in Chennai today... temple is 100 years old. vithoba and rakhumai travelled from pandharpur in the year 1906 in a bullock cart...

not many devotees were present here ...it seems mejority have gone to pandhrpur with a wari. but tomorrow is the Dday and starting with abhishekam tomorrow morning festivities will continue on dwadashi also.

This is also called shayani ekadashi.It is believed that Lord Vishnu will be taking rest from tomorrow , till karthiki ekadashi.

according to puranas goddess ekadashi killed daitya Mrudumanya on this day. as far as the story goes lord shiva granted the boon to the asura that he can be killed only by a female form. soon enough asura Mrudumanya started troubling brahma , vishnu and mahesha...Gods took refuge in cave where they went without food for 3 days..and since it started raining this turned out to b great vrata for them...on the 3rd day from the breaths of the divine trimurties materialised goddess ekadashi...

palakhis of dyanadev and tukaram will reach pandharpur....and meet up with mauli.. journey comes to an end...we can only pray for blessings.....and His grace...

Pandharinath Maharaj ki Jay !!!!!

thursday...story telling..rather listening day...mahabharatm is in progress....in one of the end parvas where kunti, gandhari and dhritarashtra leave hastinapura for vanavasa.........
but the story teller goes back and forth as per the demands of the craft.and go back to dying bhishma who frm his death bed spoke to dharma raja....glory of the LORD....vishnu saharnama...among many other things ... many great people have tried writing commentery....we will be hearing the best ones in the comming weeks...

why can't every day be a thursday !!!

Myself....or....Him.....

"Look at the Moon ....thats beauty of GOD....Look at the Sun...thats power of GOD....and look at yourself in the mirror thats Winning representative of GOD....!!!