The Thousand Names

The word sahasra in the title of the Stotram means "one thousand." The central Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram consists of 107 stanzas containing the thousand names of Sri Maha Vishnu. Every one of the Thousand Names in Vishnu Sahasranamam is full of significance in that it refers to one particular quality, guna, characteristic, or attribute of Paramatma. (yāni nāmāni gauṇāni, where the emphasis is that each name indicates a guna of Vishnu). One could legitimately ask the question: Why were these 1000 names chosen?

Does the Parama Purusha get defined by these thousand names? The obvious answer is that God is Infinite and Indescribable and can only be experienced but cannot be translated into words and communicated from one to another. The Vedas conclude that God is neither accessible to words nor mind (yatō vācō nivartantē aprāpya manasā saha – Taittiriya Upanishad). In Isavasya Upanishad, it is said that you cannot reach (understand) the Paramatma with the human mind (reasoning) alone, even if you spend all your life.

This holds even though the mind can travel (think) faster than anything known to us, including the speed of light (anējadēkaṃ manasō javīyaḥ).

Given the Infinite nature of the Paramatma, who is not governed or constrained by any of the physical laws as we know them, the choice of a thousand names of Vishnu by Bhishma should be recognised as a representation of some of the better-known qualities of Sriman Narayana that are repeatedly described in our great epics, Vedas, Puranas, etc., and sung by the holy sages frequently.

As was indicated earlier, the thousand names are strung together in a poetic form by Sri Vedavyasa. While identifying the thousand names of Narayana from this poetic composition describing the qualities of the Infinite Paramatma, the different revered acharyas have come up with slightly different sets of thousand names.

This is partly because of the ability of these great Acharyas to enjoy the indescribable Parama Purusha in their ways based on the unique philosophies they have propounded.

Of the thousand names, some are repeated: For example, in Sri Parasara Bhattar's choice of the thousand names, two names occur four times, 12 names occur three times, and 82 names arise twice. When a name appears more than once, the revered commentators interpret the meaning differently in each instance, depending on the context in which the name occurs. They have also quoted extensive evidence from ancient scriptures supporting their interpretation.

The commentators have emphasised that the recurrence is not the result of a dosha (deficiency of being repetitive) in the composition.