Śrī Viṣṇu Divya Sahasranāma Stotra Mahā Mantra Bhāṣyam: A Commentary on the One Thousand Divine Names of Lord Viṣṇu

Previously published as The Subba-Rao Sahasra-Bhashyam by Sri Mantha Venkata Subbarao.

Śrī Viṣṇu Divya Sahasranāma Stotra Mahā Mantra Bhāṣyam

A Commentary on the One Thousand Divine Names of Lord Viṣṇu

Upon the field of Kurukṣetra, as the great war fell silent, the grandsire Bhīṣma lay upon his bed of arrows and gave to the world its most luminous garland of prayer — the thousand sacred Names of Lord Viṣṇu. Spoken to Yudhiṣṭhira in the presence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma has been, for thousands of years, a refuge for the devoted heart: a hymn that calms the mind, purifies the spirit, and draws the seeker ever nearer to the Infinite.

This volume opens that treasure, Name by Name. Here is the complete hymn in its original Sanskrit, with clear transliteration and a devoted, verse-by-verse commentary that unfolds the meaning hidden within each Divine Name — so that the reader does not merely recite the Names, but comes to know, love, and dwell within them. Drawing upon the Vedas, the Upaniṣads, the Bhagavad-Gītā, and the great commentarial tradition of Śaṅkara and Parāśara Bhaṭṭar, it makes the wisdom of the ancients accessible to every sincere heart, in simple and reverent English. A complete alphabetical index of all one thousand Names is included, so any Name can be found and contemplated at a moment's turning.

Yet this book is itself an offering. It is the fruit of fourteen years of quiet devotion — composed by the author upon a humble tablet, typed patiently with a single finger, one word at a time, day after day and year after year. What began as notes upon a glowing screen grew, through this “digital penance,” into a lifetime's labour of love, laid at the feet of the Lord.

And its fruits, too, are given away. The author seeks no profit from this work. All net proceeds from every copy sold are dedicated, in their entirety, to the raising of the Śrī Shyām Sundar Jagannātha Temple at Shāntipuram — a spiritual sanctuary being established in Greater Houston under the care of Vijay Milan Center USA, a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization. It is a fitting circle: a commentary upon the Thousand Names, offered so that a home may rise where those very Names will forever be sung. In purchasing this book, you become a partner in that offering — your reading becomes a gift, and your gift becomes a temple.

mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi sannyasya — the work is done, and its fruit surrendered: kept for nothing, given for all.

Guru-kṛpā hi kevalam — by the grace of the Guru alone.

To learn more about the temple project, visit: shantipuram.vijaymilancenterusa.org