Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram - Dasasloki Gunotkarsha By Bheeshmacharya
A Commentary on the Opening Verses of
Sri Vishnu Sahasranama
(Bheeshma - Yudhishthira Samvaada)
The Scene: A
Battlefield Dialogue
The Great War
of Mahabharata has ended. Prince Yudhishthira, though victorious, is mentally
depleted, haunted by the suffering and death the war left in its wake. Seeking
the "Supreme Path" and the "Supreme Dharma," he approaches
the dying grandsire, Bhishma, who lies upon a bed of arrows. At the suggestion
of Lord Krishna, Bhishma prepares to impart his final, most precious wisdom:
the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama.
The entire discourse is built upon six fundamental questions asked by Yudhishthira in the Anushasana Parva:
❓ 6 Questions, 1 Answer…
किमेकं दैवतं लोके किं वाप्येकं परायणम् ।
स्तुवन्तः कं कमर्चन्तः प्राप्नुयुर्मानवाः शुभम् ॥
को धर्मः सर्वधर्माणां भवतः परमो मतः ।
किं जपन्मुच्यते जन्तुर्जन्मसंसारबन्धनात् ॥
kimekaṃ
daivataṃ loke kiṃ vāpyekaṃ parāyaṇam |
stuvantaḥ kaṃ kamarcantaḥ prāpnuyurmānavāḥ śubham ||
ko dharmaḥ sarvadharmāṇāṃ bhavataḥ paramo mataḥ |
kiṃ
japanmucyate janturjanmasaṃsārabandhanāt ||
This divine
discourse is triggered by a precise crisis of intellectual and spiritual
inquiry. At the conclusion of the Kurukshetra war, King Yudhishthira approaches
Bheeshmacharya on his bed of arrows and poses six fundamentals, escalating
queries (Shad-Prashna) to discover the ultimate axis of human life:
1. Who is the one Supreme Deity above all? (Kim ekam daivatam
loke?)
2. What is the ultimate, absolute refuge? (Kim vāpyekam parāyaṇam?)
3. By praising whom do human beings attain auspicious welfare? (Stuvantaḥ kam?)
4. By worshipping whom do they achieve liberation? (Kam arcantaḥ?)
5. What is considered the highest, most superior Dharma of all? (Ko
me sarva-dharmāṇām dharmaḥ paramo mataḥ?)
6. By what repetition or chanting can a bound soul cross the ocean
of birth and death? (Kim japan mucyate jantuḥ janma-saṁsāra-bandhanāt?)
The Single
Answer from Bhishma…
Bhishma identifies Bhagawan
Vishnu (the all-pervading Supreme Truth) as the singular answer to all six
inquiries. He responds with the following core insights:
·
The Supreme Being: The one
God and ultimate refuge is the Eternal Father of all creatures, who
is the most auspicious and pure.
·
The Greatest
Practice: Mankind attains true peace and prosperity by always praising and
worshipping the "Lotus-Eyed One" (Pundarikaksha) with
devotion.
·
The Greatest Dharma: Among
all paths, the most superior dharma is the constant adoration of
the Supreme God through hymns and meditation.
·
The Path to
Liberation: One who daily chants the Thousand Names (Sahasranama)
of the Lord is released from the bondage of Samsara (the cycle
of rebirth) and all sorrows.
भीष्माचार्यकृत-दशश्लोकी-गुणोत्कर्षः (1-10)
जगत्प्रभुं देवदेवमनन्तं पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
स्तुवन्नामसहस्रं पुरुषः सततोत्थितः ॥ १ ॥
तमेव चार्चयन्नित्यं भक्त्या पुरुषमव्ययम् ।
ध्यायन् स्तुवन्नमस्यंश्च यजमानस्तमेव च ॥ २ ॥
अनादिनिधनं विष्णुं सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् ।
लोकाध्यक्षं स्तुवन्नित्यं सर्वदुःखातिगो भवेत् ॥ ३ ॥
ब्रह्मण्यं सर्वधर्मज्ञं लोकानां कीर्तिवर्धनम् ।
लोकनाथं महद्भूतं सर्वभूतभवोद्भवम् ॥ ४ ॥
एष मे सर्वधर्माणां धर्मोऽधिकतमो मतः ।
यदद्भक्त्या पुण्डरीकाक्षं स्तवैरर्चेन्नरः सदा ॥ ५ ॥
परमं यो महत्तेजः परमं यो महत्तपः ।
परमं यो महद्ब्रह्म परमं यः परायणम् ॥ ६ ॥
पवित्राणां पवित्रं यो मङ्गलानां च मङ्गलम् ।
दैवतं देवतानां च भूतानां योऽव्ययः पिता ॥ ७ ॥
यततः सर्वाणि भूतानि भवन्त्यादियुगागमे ।
यस्मिंश्च प्रलयं यान्ति पुनरेव युगक्षये ॥ ८ ॥
तस्य लोकप्रधानस्य जगन्नाथस्य भूपते ।
विष्णोर्नामसहस्रं मे शृणु पापभयापहम् ॥ ९ ॥
विष्णुं जिष्णुं महाविष्णुं प्रभविष्णुं महेश्वरम् ।
अनेकरूप दैत्यान्तं नमामि पुरुषोत्तमम् ॥ १० ॥
jagatprabhuṁ devadevam anantaṁ puruṣottamam |
stuvannāmasahasreṇa puruṣaḥ satatotthitaḥ || 1 ||
tameva cārcayannityaṁ bhaktyā puruṣamavyayam |
dhyāyan stuvannamasyanśca yajamānastameva ca || 2 ||
anādinidhanaṁ viṣṇuṁ sarvalokamaheśvaram |
lokādhyakṣaṁ stuvannityaṁ sarvaduḥkhātigo bhavet || 3 ||
brahmaṇyaṁ sarvadharmajñaṁ lokānāṁ kīrtivardhanam |
lokanāthaṁ mahadbhūtaṁ sarvabhūtabhavodbhavam || 4 ||
eṣa me sarvadharmaiṇāṁ dharmo'dhikatamo mataḥ |
yadbhaktyā puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ stavairarcennaraḥ sadā || 5 ||
paramaṁ yo mahattejaḥ paramaṁ yo mahattapaḥ |
paramaṁ yo mahadbrahma paramaṁ yaḥ parāyaṇam || 6 ||
pavitrāṇāṁ pavitraṁ yo maṅgalānāṁ ca maṅgalam |
daivataṁ devatānāṁ ca bhūtānāṁ yo'vyayaḥ pitā || 7 ||
yatataḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni bhavantyādiyugāgame |
yasmiṁśca pralayaṁ yānti punareva yugakṣaye || 8 ||
tasya lokapradhānasya jagannāthasya bhūpate |
viṣṇornāmasahasraṁ me śṛṇu pāpabhayāpaham || 9 ||
viṣṇuṁ jiṣṇuṁ mahāviṣṇuṁ prabhaviṣṇuṁ mahēśvaram |
anēkarūpa daityāntaṁ namāmi puruṣōttamam || 10 ||
This document compiles the Dasha-Sloki Gunotkarsha—a meticulously selected sequence of ten foundational verses delivered by Bheeshmacharya as the direct, definitive answer to these questions.
While these verses traditionally form the
introductory dialogue (Poorvabhaga), they serve a far deeper purpose
under the light of Tattvavada. They
constitute a deliberate, concentrated exalting of the infinite, flawless
attributes (Gunotkarsha) of Lord Narayana, systematically demonstrating
that He alone satisfies all six inquiries of the seeking soul.
The Spiritual Caliber of the Preceptor: Bheeshmacharya as an Aparoksha Jnani…
To fully
appreciate the absolute authority of the Dasha-Shloki, the seeker must
realize that Bheeshmacharya is no ordinary soul. In accordance with the Puranic
revelations and the Taratamya framework of the Madhva School, he is a Daivamsha
Sambhoota—a divine descent of Dyaus, the chief of the celestial Asta-Vasus.
He is a highly evolved Devata and a realized Aparoksha Jnani who
possesses direct, uninterrupted perception of the Supreme Lord.
When Yudhishthira (Dharmaraja) approaches him with his six foundational queries, Bhishma does not speak from intellectual hesitation or theoretical speculation. Instead, his response is a spontaneous, ecstatic overflow of his own inner realization. Crucially, this discourse is not a product of independent volition; it is Sri Krishna Himself who acts as the inner regulator (Antaryami), granting the ultimate prerana (divine inspiration) to Bheeshmacharya to speak these eternal truths. Lying on a bed of arrows, with the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna standing directly before him, this great vasu devata uses his final moments to deliver absolute tattva-nirnaya, definitively re-establishing Hari Sarvottamatva as the ultimate, unshakeable truth of all existence.
The
Theological Foundation: Hari Sarvottamatva
Central to the
philosophy of Sri Madhvacharya (Ananda Tirtha) is the unshakeable truth of Hari
Sarvottamatva—that Lord Vishnu is the Supreme Absolute Reality, possessing
infinite auspicious attributes (Nirdoṣa-Kalyāṇa-Guṇa-Paripūrṇa), entirely independent (Svatantra), and supreme over all
other entities.
Bheeshmacharya
does not speak here as a worldly grandfather, but as a realized preceptor (Acharya).
Before delivering the one thousand names, he establishes the intellectual and
meditative framework for the devotee. Through these ten verses, he methodically
demonstrates that:
1. The Universe is Real (Jagat Satyatva): Sri Hari is Jagatprabhu and Jagannatha—the
active, independent controller of a real, objective universe, completely
rejecting the notion that creation is an illusion (Mithya).
2. Cosmic Hierarchy (Taratamya): Vishnu stands unrivaled at the apex of the spiritual
hierarchy. He is Devadevam and Maheshvaram—the Lord whom even the
highest presiding deities (Abhimani Devatas like Chaturmukha Brahma,
Mukhya Prana, and Rudra) worship and depend upon.
3. The Absolute Independent Cause: He is strictly the Efficient
Cause (Nimitta Karana) who projects, vitalizes, and restfully shelters the souls
during creation (Srishti) and dissolution (Pralaya).
Purpose of
this Script
This Dasha-Shloki
structure has been curated to maintain absolute philosophical unity. By
intentionally bypassing the operational and structural verses (which detail the
Rishi, Metre, and Mantra tokens), this script provides an uninterrupted stream
of pure contemplation (Anusandhana).
It transitions
the seeker from an understanding of the Lord's cosmic majesty into a state of
absolute, personal surrender (Prapatti). This sequence ensures that when
the devotee proceeds to the chanting of the thousand names, their intellect is
firmly anchored in the truth of their own eternal dependency (Paratantratva)
on the grace (Prasada) of the independent Bimba (the Lord
within).
Commentary continues in succeeding posts...
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