Vishnu Sahasranamam: Sloka 6: Yasya Smarana Maathrena

Sloka 6: Text

yasya smaraṇamātreṇa janmasaṁsārabaṁdhanāt |

vimucyate namastasmai viṣṇave prabhaviṣṇave || 6 ||

ōṁ namō viṣṇave prabhaviṣṇave ||

Meaning

Bow I before Him,

The all-powerful Vishnu,

The mere thought of whom.

Releases one forever,

Of the ties of birth and life.

Bow I before the all powerful Vishnu.

(Swami Krishnanda)

"My salutation to that all powerful deity, Visnu the mere contemplation of whose name frees all persons from the bonds of samsara, the terrific cycle of birth and death." (link)

Comment

Yasya: to be endeavoured

smaraṇa: the act of remembering

mātreṇa: merely

smaraṇamātreṇa: the mere contemplation

janma: birth

samsāra: cycle of birth and death

bandhanāt: from the material bondage

The term bandhanāt also appears in Canto 3 verse 23.57 of Srimad Bhagavadam where it is stated:

sāhaṁ bhagavato nūnaṁ

vañcitā māyayā dṛḍham

yat tvāṁ vimuktidaṁ prāpya

na mumukṣeya bandhanāt

which means: "My lord, surely I have been solidly cheated by the insurmountable illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for in spite of having obtained your association, which gives liberation from material bondage, I did not seek such liberation."

vimucyate: becomes freed/ liberated

namastasmai: Salutations to him

viṣṇave: All-pervading Lord Vishnu

prabhaviṣṇave: to Lord Viṣṇu, the most powerful

ōṁ namō viṣṇave prabhaviṣṇave: I bow before the all powerful Lord Vishnu

This is the last sloka of the Purvabhagam which does not figure out in Mahabharata. As said in the previous post, this sloka is also a salutation to Lord Vishnu. The previous sloka speaks of the nature of the Lord while this one is about why contemplation of the Lord's name is necessary: it releases one from the bonds of birth and death (samsara).