Month: April 2010

Dwadasha Stotra – 5

  1. O Lord, the one who resides everywhere, One who cannot be understood completely by anyone, One who has Vaikunta and other wonderful residences, One who is pure, One who is known as Supreme by knowledgeable people, One who is the Lord of Lakshmi, One who held Dhara (earth) as Varaha, One who held Govardhana and other hills, One who destroys Asuras, One who is holding this Universe, One who is the creator of Brahma who creates Rudra and others, One who is the best – grant us your direct knowledge and destroy the clutches of mortal life. Destroy the veil of ignorance that has engulfed us!
  2. O Lord Keshava – the One who is the cause of even Brahma and Rudra, O ruler of the world, O deity of the One holding the Pasha (Varuna), O Lord of the valorous, I pray to you. O Narayana, the One without any defects, the primordial reason behind this Universe, the One responsible for even the creators like nature, O complete one, O Supreme one, I bow and pray to you
  3. O Lord of Lakshmi, O Lord of the Supreme knowledge, O accomplisher of the devotees’ desires, the One who is the hurdle to the desires of the evil, O preacher of knowledge, the One having a pure Dhyana, I bow to you. O Lord who is proclaimed by the Vedas, O protector of the cows, O destroyer of the gross & subtle bodies enclosing the soul, I pray to you, the One who is worshipped by Skanda and Sanandana
  4. O Lord – the One who is omnipresent in this Universe, the One whose very nature is to create, the One who swallows this Universe (during Pralaya), the One with only (and always complete) happiness, the destroyer of evil people, the One who establishes Dharma very effectively, I especially pray to you. The destroyer of the evil Daitya known as Madhu, the destroyer of Danavas, the One gives pleasure to Devatas, the One who is proclaimed in the Vedas, I bow in reverence to you!
  5. O Lord – the One who is not bound by any regulation, the valorous One, the One who follows the established path in order to educate the world, the One whose engagement always is to establish the righteous path, the One who destroys the world merely by a “Hum-kaara”, the One who is beyond Vedas, time, attributes, the Universe and all souls, I pray to you. O giver of good to noble souls, O giver of sorrow to evil, O giver of knowledge to devotees, the One proclaimed by the Sama Veda, O destroyer of anger and other evil in righteous people, the One who is bearing everything, I bow to you
  6. O Lord – the One who has Lakshmi in his chest, the One whose very nature is bliss, the One who is bearing this earth (as Varaha), the One bearing the liberated souls, I bow to you. O Lord of the senses, the One with beautiful hair, the Lord (bearer) of Brahma, Rudra and others, the Lord of those who surrender, the One who is the Lord of even the powerful, the One who governs the various arts, the One who governs both material and spiritual joy – I pray to you!
  7. O Lord – the One who is the reason for everything auspicious, the One with radiance like that of Sun which makes a Lotus bloom, the One who is bearing all the beings, the One who is bearing this Universe, I pray to you. The One who is present within and even outside of this Universe, the One who is far by virtue of being at the end of the hierarchy, the One who gives happiness to the noble souls, the Supreme One, I bow to you
  8. This song in praise of Lord Hari, composed by Sri Anandatirtha Muni, will act like the Sun in showing the path of salvation to those who sing this with devotion. This song is very capable of increasing devotion towards Lord Hari

Dwadasha Stotra – 4

  1. One who has true and limitless bliss and intelligence, One who has unique and excellent capacity, One who is full of infinite attributes, One who is the Supreme, One who does not have death or decay, One who removes all sorrow, let that Lakshmi pati, the One who is most worthy of praise, protect me!
  2. Lord Hari has bliss even as he doesn’t need Shushupti (deep sleep). He is the personification of happiness. This Universe undergoes creation, destruction, etc merely by His wish and intelligence. The Vedas proclaim Him as such
  3. The Lord has created this wonderful Universe, full of vibrant and different creations. He has infinite strength, infinite attributes and is Supreme. One who meditates upon the Lord as being the personification of happiness will definitely obtain the abode of happiness that is salvation
  4. If one meditates upon the all-controlling and Supreme Lord, how can one’s mind and senses get polluted? Being self-satisfied always, the true nature of Lord Hari, the one without a birth, is always clean and unpolluted
  5. Worship that Lord Hari, who removes the ignorance engulfing the Jeeva, by destroying the powerful, natural enemies of one such as Kama, Krodha, etc using the sword called Manas (mind) which has been sharpened by using a sharpening instrument called the Vedas!
  6. He is the one who creates the creators of the world such as Brahma, Rudra, Indra, Surya and others. He is the one who protects them and destroys them. To those who worship His feet with devotion, He grants them His feet (salvation)
  7. There is none who is greater than, or equal to Lord Ramesha, the One who is complete, Supreme, One who is bliss and knowledge personified. There has never been anyone greater than Him, there never will be, there is none now!
  8. This stotra, in praise of Lord Hari, has been composed by the saint named Sukhathirtha. One who chants this with devotion will obtain the eternal and ultimate bliss that is Moksha

Dwadasha Stotra – 3

The third stotra in the series of 12 is perhaps the most important, in terms of revealing the philosophical tenets of Tattvavada. Sri Madhvacharya has done an amazing job of composing a stotra in praise of Vishnu while at the same time revealing the core principles of his philosophy. This stotra is truly a reflection into the genius of Sri Madhva.

  1. Do that (Karma – activity) which is appropriate and correct (for your Varna). Experience the results of such Karma performed. Stay firmly at the feet of Lord Hari with utmost reverence. Lord Hari is the Supreme One. Lord Hari is the Guru for all. Lord Hari is the father, mother and resort
  2. There is no other thing in this Universe which is superior to Him, who is the best amongst all and higher than even Lakshmi, who in turn is higher than Brahma and others. Therefore, enough of your engrossed thought about this material world. Engage your mind at the feet of the all-controlling Lord
  3. If one even attempts to think of the feet of Lord Hari, all the sins of such a person are instantly destroyed. The one who actually thinks (meditates) surely obtains the supreme position of Mukti. Why else should one give up thinking of Him?
  4. Listen to those words spoken (by Lord Veda Vyasa) through an oath and with raised hands – “There is none greater than Hari; There is none equal to Hari; He alone is above and superior to all the sentient beings”
  5. If Lord Hari was not the Supreme Being in this Universe, how come the Universe is under His control? If everything was not under His control (and consequently under our control), how come one does not have sustained (unlimited, continuous) happiness?
  6. Karma, ignorance, desire-hatred, time, sattva-rajas-tamas gunas, nature of souls and others are not responsible for this Universe. All those are insentient elements. The Vedas proclaim that this entire Universe consisting of sentient and insentient elements is under the control of Lord Hari, who is the Supreme Soul!
  7. It is not the opinion of the teacher of the world, Lord Veda Vyasa, that the difference between souls and Paramatma is merely transactional. Lord Hari Himself (Vyasa), in the (Maha)Bharata has replied to the question (of Janamejaya) “Are Purushas many? or one?” by saying “Sentient beings are many. Lord Hari is the best amongst them”
  8. Lord Brahma and other liberated souls, just like how they were distinct and placed in order of hierarchy from the Paramatma before liberation, are distinct and enjoy bliss according to their placement in the hierarchical order, even after Mukti. There exists excellent Pramanas to vouch for this fact!
  9. Composed by Anandatirtha, the one who has the name of Purna Prajna, these eight shlokas praising Lord Hari, if chanted by one with devotion, will surely bring the affection (grace) of Lord Hari

Vishnu Sahasra Nama Portal making excellent progress

Since the last few weeks, the Vishnu Sahasra Nama Portal has been seeing excellent progress. This is all due to the great help offered by Smt Harshala Rajesh.

Harshala has joined the portal as a co-author and in just a few weeks, has completed at least a few hundred pages. We are now close to 700 pages complete.

Of course, once the basic pages are complete, a lot of work is still left in terms of putting together notes for each name, the audio pronunciation guide for each shloka and so on. But the core work has suddenly gathered great traction and I am hopeful now that the basic layout should be complete in just a few months from now.

Thank you Harshala!