Vishnu Sahasranamam · विष्णु सहस्रनाम
The thousand names of Vishnu as taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira in the Mahabharata, with the dialogue that introduces them and the verses on the fruits of reciting them.
Part 1 / 4: Purva bhaga: Yudhishthira's questions and Bhishma's answer
श्रुत्वा धर्मानशेषेण पावनानि च सर्वशः । युधिष्ठिरः शान्तनवं पुनरेवाभ्यभाषत ॥
śrutvā dharmānaśeṣeṇa pāvanāni ca sarvaśaḥ । yudhiṣṭhiraḥ śāntanavaṃ punarevābhyabhāṣata ॥
सब प्रकार से पवित्र करने वाले सभी धर्मों को सुनकर युधिष्ठिर ने शांतनु-पुत्र भीष्म से फिर पूछा।
Having heard all the dharmas that purify in every way, Yudhishthira spoke again to Bhishma, the son of Shantanu.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच किमेकं दैवतं लोके किं वाप्येकं परायणम् । स्तुवन्तः कं कमर्चन्तः प्राप्नुयुर्मानवाः शुभम् ॥
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca kimekaṃ daivataṃ loke kiṃ vāpyekaṃ parāyaṇam । stuvantaḥ kaṃ kamarcantaḥ prāpnuyurmānavāḥ śubham ॥
युधिष्ठिर ने कहा: संसार में एक देवता कौन है, और एक परम आश्रय क्या है? किसकी स्तुति और किसकी पूजा करके मनुष्य कल्याण पाते हैं?
Yudhishthira said: Who is the one God in the world, and what is the one highest refuge? Praising whom and worshipping whom may people attain what is good?
को धर्मः सर्वधर्माणां भवतः परमो मतः । किं जपन्मुच्यते जन्तुर्जन्मसंसारबन्धनात् ॥
ko dharmaḥ sarvadharmāṇāṃ bhavataḥ paramo mataḥ । kiṃ japanmucyate janturjanmasaṃsārabandhanāt ॥
सब धर्मों में आप किस धर्म को सबसे श्रेष्ठ मानते हैं? किसका जप करके प्राणी जन्म और संसार के बंधन से मुक्त होता है?
Which dharma, of all dharmas, do you hold to be the highest? By reciting what is a living being freed from the bondage of birth and worldly existence?
भीष्म उवाच जगत्प्रभुं देवदेवमनन्तं पुरुषोत्तमम् । स्तुवन्नाम सहस्रेण पुरुषः सततोत्थितः ॥
bhīṣma uvāca jagatprabhuṃ devadevamanantaṃ puruṣottamam । stuvannāma sahasreṇa puruṣaḥ satatotthitaḥ ॥
भीष्म ने कहा: जो मनुष्य सदा तत्पर होकर जगत के स्वामी, देवों के देव, अनंत पुरुषोत्तम की सहस्र नामों से स्तुति करता है,
Bhishma said: One who is ever ready, praising with the thousand names the lord of the world, the god of gods, the infinite, the supreme person,
तमेव चार्चयन्नित्यं भक्त्या पुरुषमव्ययम् । ध्यायन् स्तुवन्नमस्यंश्च यजमानस्तमेव च ॥
tameva cārcayannityaṃ bhaktyā puruṣamavyayam । dhyāyan stuvannamasyaṃśca yajamānastameva ca ॥
और जो भक्ति से उस अविनाशी पुरुष की नित्य पूजा करता है, उनका ध्यान, स्तुति और नमस्कार करता है और उन्हीं का यजन करता है,
and who always worships that imperishable person with devotion, meditating, praising and bowing to him, and offering worship to him alone,
अनादिनिधनं विष्णुं सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् । लोकाध्यक्षं स्तुवन्नित्यं सर्वदुःखातिगो भवेत् ॥
anādinidhanaṃ viṣṇuṃ sarvalokamaheśvaram । lokādhyakṣaṃ stuvannityaṃ sarvaduḥkhātigo bhavet ॥
आदि-अंत रहित, सब लोकों के महेश्वर, लोकों के अध्यक्ष विष्णु की नित्य स्तुति करने वाला सब दुखों से पार हो जाता है।
praising always Vishnu, without beginning or end, the great lord of all the worlds, the overseer of the world, goes beyond all sorrow.
ब्रह्मण्यं सर्वधर्मज्ञं लोकानां कीर्तिवर्धनम् । लोकनाथं महद्भूतं सर्वभूतभवोद्भवम् ॥
brahmaṇyaṃ sarvadharmajñaṃ lokānāṃ kīrtivardhanam । lokanāthaṃ mahadbhūtaṃ sarvabhūtabhavodbhavam ॥
(उनकी स्तुति करते हुए जो) ब्रह्मण्य हैं, सब धर्मों के ज्ञाता, लोकों की कीर्ति बढ़ाने वाले, लोकनाथ, महान सत्ता और सब प्राणियों के उद्भव के स्रोत हैं।
(Praising him who is) devoted to the Veda, the knower of all dharma, who increases the fame of the worlds, lord of the world, the great being, the source of all beings.
एष मे सर्वधर्माणां धर्मोऽधिकतमो मतः । यद्भक्त्या पुण्डरीकाक्षं स्तवैरर्चेन्नरः सदा ॥
eṣa me sarvadharmāṇāṃ dharmo'dhikatamo mataḥ । yadbhaktyā puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ stavairarcennaraḥ sadā ॥
मेरे मत में सब धर्मों में यही सबसे बड़ा धर्म है कि मनुष्य भक्ति से और स्तुतियों से सदा कमलनयन (भगवान) की पूजा करे।
In my view this is the greatest of all dharmas: that a person should always worship the lotus-eyed one with devotion and hymns.
परमं यो महत्तेजः परमं यो महत्तपः । परमं यो महद्ब्रह्म परमं यः परायणम् ॥
paramaṃ yo mahattejaḥ paramaṃ yo mahattapaḥ । paramaṃ yo mahadbrahma paramaṃ yaḥ parāyaṇam ॥
जो परम महान तेज हैं, परम महान तप हैं, परम महान ब्रह्म हैं, परम आश्रय हैं;
He who is the supreme great radiance, the supreme great austerity, the supreme great Brahman, the supreme refuge;
पवित्राणां पवित्रं यो मङ्गलानां च मङ्गलम् । दैवतं देवतानां च भूतानां योऽव्ययः पिता ॥
pavitrāṇāṃ pavitraṃ yo maṅgalānāṃ ca maṅgalam । daivataṃ devatānāṃ ca bhūtānāṃ yo'vyayaḥ pitā ॥
जो पवित्रों में पवित्र, मंगलों में मंगल, देवताओं के देवता और सब प्राणियों के अविनाशी पिता हैं;
the purest of the pure, the most auspicious of the auspicious, the god of gods, the imperishable father of all beings;
यतः सर्वाणि भूतानि भवन्त्यादियुगागमे । यस्मिंश्च प्रलयं यान्ति पुनरेव युगक्षये ॥
yataḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni bhavantyādiyugāgame । yasmiṃśca pralayaṃ yānti punareva yugakṣaye ॥
जिनसे युग के आरंभ में सब प्राणी उत्पन्न होते हैं, और युग के अंत में जिनमें फिर लीन हो जाते हैं:
from whom all beings come into being at the beginning of an age, and into whom they dissolve again at the end of the age:
तस्य लोकप्रधानस्य जगन्नाथस्य भूपते । विष्णोर्नामसहस्रं मे शृणु पापभयापहम् ॥
tasya lokapradhānasya jagannāthasya bhūpate । viṣṇornāmasahasraṃ me śṛṇu pāpabhayāpaham ॥
हे राजन, लोकों में प्रधान, जगन्नाथ विष्णु के सहस्र नाम मुझसे सुनो, जो पाप और भय को हरते हैं।
O king, hear from me the thousand names of Vishnu, the foremost in the world, the lord of the universe, which remove sin and fear.
यानि नामानि गौणानि विख्यातानि महात्मनः । ऋषिभिः परिगीतानि तानि वक्ष्यामि भूतये ॥
yāni nāmāni gauṇāni vikhyātāni mahātmanaḥ । ṛṣibhiḥ parigītāni tāni vakṣyāmi bhūtaye ॥
उन महात्मा के गुणों पर आधारित, प्रसिद्ध नाम, जिन्हें ऋषियों ने गाया है, मैं कल्याण के लिए कहूँगा।
Those names of the great one, describing his qualities and renowned, which the sages have sung, I shall now declare for the good of all.
About this text
The Vishnu Sahasranamam is found in the Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata. Lying on his bed of arrows, Bhishma answers Yudhishthira's questions about the one God and the highest dharma by teaching the thousand names of Vishnu. The text has three parts: the opening dialogue (purva bhaga), the 108 verses of names, which most traditions count as a thousand names, and the closing verses (uttara bhaga) on the benefits of recitation and the vision of Vishnu as the source and support of all. The names describe Vishnu's cosmic nature (the universe, the inner self, time), his qualities, and his avatars such as Narasimha, Vamana, Rama and Krishna. Adi Shankaracharya's commentary is the best-known explanation of the names; the short glosses here give only the plain sense, and many names have more than one traditional meaning. The invocation verses, nyasa and dhyana that many editions print before the names, and the additional verses after the Mahabharata text, vary between editions and are not included.
How it is recited
It is recited daily by many, especially on Thursdays, Ekadashi and in Vishnu worship, often in a group. A full recitation takes about half an hour. Customs vary, including the opening and closing verses that are added.
When it is recited
More for Vishnu
More Stotras
Sources & checks
- Editions compared
- Vishnu Sahasranamam, vignanam.org (2026), collated 2026-10-10, sha256 4ec850766083
- Vishnu Sahasranamam, stotranidhi.com (2026), collated 2026-10-10, sha256 bb41465ba9f2
- Vishnu Sahasranamam, sanskritdocuments.org (2026), collated 2026-10-10, sha256 bd955d1b0f6d
- Vishnu Sahasranamam, hindupad.com (2026), collated 2026-10-10, sha256 089a2faad6c5
- Vishnu Sahasranamam, bhaktibharat.com (2026), collated 2026-10-10, sha256 eabb335cb4eb
- Text checked
- Compared line by line across 15 independent sources; every line confirmed by at least 2 (SanatanVani editorial process)
- Meaning
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- : Published. Text compared line by line across independent sources (see the editorial policy).