Sloka 4 Text
vyāsāya viṣṇu rūpāya vyāsarūpāya viṣṇave |
namo vai brahmanidhaye vāsiṣṭhāya namo namaḥ || 4 ||
Meaning
Salutations to Sage Vyasa who is in the form of Vishnu and to Vishnu who is in the form of Vyasa!
Salutations again and again unto him, who is a reservoir of the vedas and who is in the lineage of Sage Vasishtha.
Poetic Meaning (link)
Salutations, again and again, to VyAsa, a visible aspect of Lord Vishnu and to Lord Vishnu who, in turn, is also a visible aspect of VyAsa, the sage descended from Vasistha and a veritable treasure of vedik knowledge of Brahman.
Comment
Readers may kindly note that we are still in the Purvabhagam of the Sahasranamam, which is not strictly the Vishnu Sahasranamam, but are introductory slokas which provide the context to the slokas. After having explained the lineage of Veda Vyasa in the third sloka,
This sloka is probably the highest form of praise to Sage Vyasa who is regarded as the one who classified the Vedas and also authored Vishnu Sahasranamam. Veda Vyasa is compared to Lord Vishnu and more importantly, Vishnu to Veda Vyasa. Such is the significance of the contribution of Veda Vyasa in Hinduism that God is compared to him.
[The role of "Vyasa" in the context of Hinduism should be understood. The wikipedia entry on Vyasa is a good read on this.]
The context in which the Vishnu Sahasranamam has been rendered has been aptly summarised in a website by an author called "Lakshi". The explanation offered by the author is quoted below:
"It is interesting to contemplate on the circumstances under which Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram came into existence. Yudhishthira, the eldest of the five Pandavas, was mentally depleted because of the war with the Kauravas and the misery of death and suffering that was created by the war in which he had been a major player. Bhishma, his dear grandfather, was lying on his deathbed. With his passing away, his irreplaceable wisdom, based on the experiences of his long life of virtue, righteousness and devotion, was about to be lost to the world. Sage Vyasa and Sri Krishna advised Yudhishthira, who himself was an epitome of righteousness and virtue, to seek the advice of Bhishma on any and all aspects of life on which he had any doubts. Yudhishthira did as advised, and a series of [dialogues] ensued between the two, witnessed by Lord Krishna Himself, and by other great sages including Vedavyasa.
In one of these sessions, Yudhishthira sought Bhishma's advice on the easiest and best means by which mankind can attain lasting happiness, peace of mind, and relief from all bondage and sorrows. This was the setting in which Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram was imparted, with the welfare of future generations also in mind, by Bhishma to Yudhishthira, as part of the advice given by Bhishma in response to the above question...
Sri Vedavyasa is the rishi of Sri Vishnu's one thousand names, i.e., the sage who strung together the thousand names as they were revealed by Bhishma to Yudhishthira. Anushtup (eight syllables per quarter) is its meter. Lord Krishna, the son of Devaki, is the Lord being worshiped..." (link)
As stated above, Bhishma in his deathbed made known to Yudhishtra the goal of attaining lasting happiness. It is said that Sahadeva, one of the Pandavas, had etched Bhishma's advice in his memory. He recounted it to Veda Vyasa, who authored Vishnu Sahasranamam through Ganesha, who is said to have written what was dictated to him.
Sloka four of the Purvabhag of the Vishnu Sahasranamam is an obeisance to Veda Vyasa for his achievements as regards the compilation of Vedas, the Upanishads and for authoring the Mahabharata.
Vashishtaya refers to the lineage of Sage Vashishta. This reference makes it absolutely clear that the obeisance is not to the titular role of Vyasa but to Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa or Veda Vyasa. Veda Vyasa through this sloka is regarded as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. And Lord Vishnu is regarded as the "Visible Aspect" or the physical manifestation of Veda Vyasa!
