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Sri Vishnu Saharanamam 1 Stanza-refers to Sri Vishnu or Sri Ganesha ?
Vishnu Sahasranama or Vishnu Sahasranamam(Sanskrit: विष्णुसहस्रनामम्Viṣṇusahasranāmam), is a list of 1,000 names (sahasranama) of Sri Vishnu, the main deities in Hinduism and the supreme God in Vaishnavism. It is also one of the most sacred and popular stotras in Hinduism.
The Vishnu Sahasranama as found in the Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata is the most popular version of the 1,000 names of Vishnu. Other versions exists in the Padma Purana, Skanda Purana and Garuda Purana. There is also a Sikh version of the Vishnu Sahasranama, found in the text Sundar Gutka.
(en.wikipedia.)
Each name eulogizes one of His countless great attributes.
There is one opinion that
Bhishma did NOT create or compose the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram.
It was not even ‘created’ by Vyasa. Those divine names were seen by Vyasa in his mind. So, Vyasa is the “Rishi” of that hymn.
“विष्णोर्नामसहस्रस्य वेदव्यासो महानृषिः।
छन्दोऽनुष्टुप्तथा देवो भगवान्देवकीसुतः॥” (MBH 13-149-14)
“Of Vishnu’s thousand names Vedavyasa is the great seer. The meter in which it is composed is anushtup and the deity is the son of Devaki”.
And Bhishma himself tells that this hymn was composed by Vyasa.
“इमं स्तवं भगवतो विष्णोर्व्यासेन कीर्तितम्।
पठेद्य इच्छेत्पुरुषः श्रेयः प्राप्तुं सुखानि च॥” (MBH 13-149-143)
“This hymn in praise of the illustrious SRI Vishnu composed by Vyasa, should be recited by that person who wishes to acquire happiness and that which is the highest benefit (viz., emancipation).”.
Bhishma might have learnt from Vyasa, and he repeated the thousand names to Yudhishthira.
The First Stanza of this Great Stothra:
शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् |
प्रसन्न वदनं ध्यायेत् सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये ||
śuklāmbaradharam viṣṇum
śaśi varṇaṁ chaturbhujam
prasanna vadanam dhyāyēt
sarva vighnōpaśāntayē
Shuklambaradharam Vishnum
Shashi Varnam Chaturbhujam
Prasanna Vadanam Dhyayet
Sarva Vighnopashantay
சுக்லாம் பரதரம் விஷ்ணும் சசி வர்ணம் சதுர்புஜம்
பிரசன்ன வதனம் த்யாயேத் சர்வ விக்னோப சாந்தயே
ONE EXPLANATION
This is a prayer addressed to Sri Vishnu and not Sri Ganesha?
One should meditate for the removal of all obstacles upon Sri Vishnu who is clad in white garments, who has a lustre like the moon, who has four arms and a beneficent face.
(Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari)
Some suggest this invocation/dhyāna is to Sri Viṣhṇu, some say it is to Sri Gaṇeśha.
Dhyānaṁ is considered thought , reflection , prayer i.e. bringing the devatā to one's mind. Yet this has a deeper significance as you would expect. It is a mental representation of the personal attributes of the devatā one is adoring or worshiping.
It is easy to see why this invocation would be to Sri Viṣhṇu , as it is in His sahasranāma (1,000 names); but why would one invoke Sri Gaṇeśha even for the Sri Viṣhṇu sahasranāma ?
Another View is that , It is vedic tradition to invoke the remover of obstacles, Vighnarāja, for all auspicious occasions i.e blessings, pūja-s, etc. first. So, from this point of view the stotra could be viewed as invoking Sri Ganesha’s blessings for the fruitful completion of the Sri viṣhṇu sahasranāma hymn.
Now let us go to the meaning of the Fisrt SanZa word by word:
caturbhujaṁ = catur + bujaṁ
catur is 4; bhuja is a hand; it is also a trunk of an elephant! It also means a bend, a curve or a coil shape. Hence the connection with an elephant's trunk.
With this word caturbhujaṁ it informs us of 4 hands, or 4 curves or 4 trunks. Both śrī Viṣhṇu-ji or as śrī Gaṇeśa- are depicted with 4 hands.
So what of this 4 and śrī Gaṇeśa- He too is 4 armed, and also , he owns the 4th tithi ( lunar day) of the the month. So, Srī Gaṇeśa-ji is not foreign to this number 4.
prasanna - is placid , tranquil ; clear , bright; gracious , kind , kindly disposed towards ; favorable. Note that 'pras' is to extend, spread, diffuse; 'anna' is food and what is eaten. So , one can be 'eating' or consuming the grace or tranqulity that is extened (pras) by the Supreme. But where do I get 'Supreme' from? Anna is a noun for Sri viṣhṇu
vadanaṁ or vadana is one's face or contenence; When we combine this with prasanna, we have the One with the tranquil , clear, gracious face (vadana). Yet this vadana is the act of speaking , talking , sounding.
So we have One with a pleasing face, and pleasing speech.
dhyāyet is dhyā, thinking meditating + aye(t) is in interjection, in inquiry. It is used here to say I meditate upon I bring to mind, I think of . In this case we are bringing to mind the Supreme.
sarva is whole , entire , all , every ; sarveṇa means completely. Note too sarva is a noun for śiva. Also in the masculine gender it is a word indicating Sri kṛiṣṇa.
vighnopaśāntaye = vighna +upa +śānta+ye ; vighna is breaker or destroyer, this word also means an obstacle , impediment , hindrance , opposition. Upa has mutiple used and definitons. The one that applies here is 'extinction' ; śāntais stopped, rendered ineffective , appeased , pacified , tranquil , calm , due to the word being rooted in 'śam' . Hence we have upaśānta meaning calmed, appeased, pacified. How so by the destroyer, the 'extinction' of obstacles.
Hence it seems that this hymn easily points to either śrī Viṣhṇu-ji or as śrī Ganeṣa-
How so?
One by calling out viṣṇuṁ as a proper noun or in the masculine gender as 'all prevading'. It is also sensible to see too how the subject can also be śrī Ganeṣa-as the hymn clearly points to vighnopaśāntaye.
Veda Vyāsa wished to keep it like this, as there is a lesson offered - The Supreme is one, yet is known by different names.
(hindudharmaforums)
Sources: Many web sites
( This post is for sharing knowledge only, no intention to violate any copy rights )
Vishnu Sahasranama or Vishnu Sahasranamam(Sanskrit: विष्णुसहस्रनामम्Viṣṇusahasranāmam), is a list of 1,000 names (sahasranama) of Sri Vishnu, the main deities in Hinduism and the supreme God in Vaishnavism. It is also one of the most sacred and popular stotras in Hinduism.
The Vishnu Sahasranama as found in the Anushasana Parva of the Mahabharata is the most popular version of the 1,000 names of Vishnu. Other versions exists in the Padma Purana, Skanda Purana and Garuda Purana. There is also a Sikh version of the Vishnu Sahasranama, found in the text Sundar Gutka.
(en.wikipedia.)
Each name eulogizes one of His countless great attributes.
There is one opinion that
Bhishma did NOT create or compose the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram.
It was not even ‘created’ by Vyasa. Those divine names were seen by Vyasa in his mind. So, Vyasa is the “Rishi” of that hymn.
“विष्णोर्नामसहस्रस्य वेदव्यासो महानृषिः।
छन्दोऽनुष्टुप्तथा देवो भगवान्देवकीसुतः॥” (MBH 13-149-14)
“Of Vishnu’s thousand names Vedavyasa is the great seer. The meter in which it is composed is anushtup and the deity is the son of Devaki”.
And Bhishma himself tells that this hymn was composed by Vyasa.
“इमं स्तवं भगवतो विष्णोर्व्यासेन कीर्तितम्।
पठेद्य इच्छेत्पुरुषः श्रेयः प्राप्तुं सुखानि च॥” (MBH 13-149-143)
“This hymn in praise of the illustrious SRI Vishnu composed by Vyasa, should be recited by that person who wishes to acquire happiness and that which is the highest benefit (viz., emancipation).”.
Bhishma might have learnt from Vyasa, and he repeated the thousand names to Yudhishthira.
- Bhishma was the “Acharya” of that hymn
- Vyasa was the “Rishi” of that hymn
The First Stanza of this Great Stothra:
शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् |
प्रसन्न वदनं ध्यायेत् सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये ||
śuklāmbaradharam viṣṇum
śaśi varṇaṁ chaturbhujam
prasanna vadanam dhyāyēt
sarva vighnōpaśāntayē
Shuklambaradharam Vishnum
Shashi Varnam Chaturbhujam
Prasanna Vadanam Dhyayet
Sarva Vighnopashantay
சுக்லாம் பரதரம் விஷ்ணும் சசி வர்ணம் சதுர்புஜம்
பிரசன்ன வதனம் த்யாயேத் சர்வ விக்னோப சாந்தயே
ONE EXPLANATION
This is a prayer addressed to Sri Vishnu and not Sri Ganesha?
One should meditate for the removal of all obstacles upon Sri Vishnu who is clad in white garments, who has a lustre like the moon, who has four arms and a beneficent face.
(Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari)
Some suggest this invocation/dhyāna is to Sri Viṣhṇu, some say it is to Sri Gaṇeśha.
Dhyānaṁ is considered thought , reflection , prayer i.e. bringing the devatā to one's mind. Yet this has a deeper significance as you would expect. It is a mental representation of the personal attributes of the devatā one is adoring or worshiping.
It is easy to see why this invocation would be to Sri Viṣhṇu , as it is in His sahasranāma (1,000 names); but why would one invoke Sri Gaṇeśha even for the Sri Viṣhṇu sahasranāma ?
Another View is that , It is vedic tradition to invoke the remover of obstacles, Vighnarāja, for all auspicious occasions i.e blessings, pūja-s, etc. first. So, from this point of view the stotra could be viewed as invoking Sri Ganesha’s blessings for the fruitful completion of the Sri viṣhṇu sahasranāma hymn.
Now let us go to the meaning of the Fisrt SanZa word by word:
caturbhujaṁ = catur + bujaṁ
catur is 4; bhuja is a hand; it is also a trunk of an elephant! It also means a bend, a curve or a coil shape. Hence the connection with an elephant's trunk.
With this word caturbhujaṁ it informs us of 4 hands, or 4 curves or 4 trunks. Both śrī Viṣhṇu-ji or as śrī Gaṇeśa- are depicted with 4 hands.
So what of this 4 and śrī Gaṇeśa- He too is 4 armed, and also , he owns the 4th tithi ( lunar day) of the the month. So, Srī Gaṇeśa-ji is not foreign to this number 4.
prasanna - is placid , tranquil ; clear , bright; gracious , kind , kindly disposed towards ; favorable. Note that 'pras' is to extend, spread, diffuse; 'anna' is food and what is eaten. So , one can be 'eating' or consuming the grace or tranqulity that is extened (pras) by the Supreme. But where do I get 'Supreme' from? Anna is a noun for Sri viṣhṇu
vadanaṁ or vadana is one's face or contenence; When we combine this with prasanna, we have the One with the tranquil , clear, gracious face (vadana). Yet this vadana is the act of speaking , talking , sounding.
So we have One with a pleasing face, and pleasing speech.
dhyāyet is dhyā, thinking meditating + aye(t) is in interjection, in inquiry. It is used here to say I meditate upon I bring to mind, I think of . In this case we are bringing to mind the Supreme.
sarva is whole , entire , all , every ; sarveṇa means completely. Note too sarva is a noun for śiva. Also in the masculine gender it is a word indicating Sri kṛiṣṇa.
vighnopaśāntaye = vighna +upa +śānta+ye ; vighna is breaker or destroyer, this word also means an obstacle , impediment , hindrance , opposition. Upa has mutiple used and definitons. The one that applies here is 'extinction' ; śāntais stopped, rendered ineffective , appeased , pacified , tranquil , calm , due to the word being rooted in 'śam' . Hence we have upaśānta meaning calmed, appeased, pacified. How so by the destroyer, the 'extinction' of obstacles.
Hence it seems that this hymn easily points to either śrī Viṣhṇu-ji or as śrī Ganeṣa-
How so?
One by calling out viṣṇuṁ as a proper noun or in the masculine gender as 'all prevading'. It is also sensible to see too how the subject can also be śrī Ganeṣa-as the hymn clearly points to vighnopaśāntaye.
Veda Vyāsa wished to keep it like this, as there is a lesson offered - The Supreme is one, yet is known by different names.
(hindudharmaforums)
Sources: Many web sites
( This post is for sharing knowledge only, no intention to violate any copy rights )