Vishnu Devotion & Surrender Devotional Verse
The first verse of the Vishnu Sahasranama, the hymn of a thousand names of Vishnu from the Mahabharata. Sanskrit text, transliteration and meaning.
Sanskrit
ॐ विश्वं विष्णुर्वषट्कारो भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभुः ।
भूतकृद्भूतभृद्भावो भूतात्मा भूतभावनः ॥
These two lines are the first verse of the thousand names. Each name is a word of the verse.
Transliteration (IAST)
om viśvaṃ viṣṇur vaṣaṭkāro bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhuḥ |
bhūtakṛd bhūtabhṛd bhāvo bhūtātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ ||
Meaning
Om. The universe; Vishnu, the all-pervading; the one invoked by the sacred call “vaṣaṭ”; the lord of what was, what is and what will be; the maker of beings; the supporter of beings; being itself; the self of all beings; the one who makes beings grow.
Source / Textual Reference
Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva (Book 13): verse 14 of chapter 135 in the Sanskrit edition on Wisdomlib. In editions of the stotra it is verse 1
The chapter number differs by edition: 135 in the Sanskrit text we compared, 149 in Ganguli’s English translation. Text compared with Sanskrit Documents (the stotra, where this is verse 1) and the Mahabharata Sanskrit text on Wisdomlib.
Traditional Significance
The Vishnu Sahasranama is the hymn of a thousand names of Vishnu. In the Mahabharata it is told by Bhishma to Yudhishthira. It is one of the most widely read and chanted hymns of the Vaishnava tradition, and many commentaries have been written on it, including one attributed to Shankara.
The hymn ends with a section on the fruits of reading it. Those words belong to the tradition’s own praise of the text; this page does not repeat them or promise any result.
Traditional Practice
It is read or chanted at home, in temples and in groups, often in the morning. How often and when are matters of family or community custom.
Related Content
- Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, a mantra of Vishnu
- Gita 4.7, “whenever dharma weakens”
- Krishna Janmashtami