श्रीविष्णुसहस्रनाम (प्रारम्भ)

A litany of one thousand names of Vishnu from the Mahabharata. Imparted by the dying Bhishma to Yudhishthira on the field of Kurukshetra. Each name a doorway — a meditation on the infinite facets of the Divine.

The thousand names of Vishnu — Bhishma's final teaching, the great hymn of the Vaishnava tradition.

Meditation: Let us meditate on Vishnu, clad in white, moon-hued, four-armed and serene of face, for the stilling of all obstacles. Opening of the hymn: He is the universe; he is Vishnu; he is the sacred call of offering; he is lord of past, present and future; the maker, sustainer and very self of all beings — the source from which all beings arise.

The Vishnu Sahasranama — the 'thousand names of Vishnu' — appears in the Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata, where the dying Bhishma imparts it to Yudhishthira on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It is among the most recited Sanskrit hymns in the Vaishnava tradition.

Recited on Fridays, on Ekadashi, and on Vishnu's festivals — and as a daily practice for peace of mind, wellbeing, and a sustained remembrance of the Divine throughout an ordinary day.