We did the last post on Vishnu Sahasranamam almost a year back. The last post was on Sloka 12, which reads
anādinidhanaṁ viṣṇuṁ sarvalōkamaheśvaram |
lōkādhyakṣaṁ stuvannityaṁ sarvaduḥkhātigō bhavet || 12 ||
The meaning of Slokam 12, as per Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari, is:
"One who is ever engaged in praising the Lord who is without beginning and end, the All pervading- One, the Ruler of the Universe, the Supervisor of the worlds, the One Who is to be known from the Vedas, Who is Himself the Knower of all Dharmas, the One Who is constantly engaged in the Universal Welfare, Lord of the Universe, and the Cause of all beings — such a devotee transcends over all the sorrows of this material world."
In the last post, we highlighted the difference of views as to whether Slokam 12 was in reply to the third or the fifth question posed by Yudhishtra. Slokas 8 and 9 are:
The third and the fifth questions of Yudhishtra were:
3. Which is the deity that is to be worshipped?
5. Which is the greatest Dharma?
Sri UVe Velukkudi Krishnan in his lectures on the Vishnu Sahasranamam states that the 12th Sloka is in reply to the third and not the fifth question. In these series, we will go by that order.
In reply, Bhishma answers these in the twelfth sloka.
Slokam 13:
Transliteration
brahmaṇyaṃ sarva dharmajñaṃ lokānāṃ kīrti-vardhanam |
lokanāthaṃ mahadbhūtaṃ sarvabhūta-bhavodbhavam || 13 ||
Meaning:
"Verily He is champion of the devotees, conversant with all duties and injunctions, the enhancer
of fame and achievement of all people, the master of all the universe, exceedingly wonderful, and
the cause of the origination of all beings." (Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari)
Comment:
The sense that the slokam conveys, word by word, is as follows:
brahmaṇya: relating to brahman
sarva: whole, entire, all, every
dharmajñaṃ: Knowing the law or what is right
lokānāṃ: of the people/ devotees
kīrti: fame
vardhanam: enhancement/ increase
lokanāthaṃ: lord of the worlds (universe)
mahadbhūtaṃ: exceedingly wonderful
sarvabhūta: all beings
bhavodbhavam: cause of the origination
Originally, as posted, we commented that Slokam 13 was in reply to question 5 of Yudhishtra, which is: "Which is the greatest Dharma and none greater than that?": To this question, Bhishma replies in terms of Slokam 13. We also stated that in reply to the question as to which or who is the greatest dharma, Bhishma says that Sri Vishnu is the greatest dharma in terms of Sloka 13.
It is interesting to note that some commentaries do not link this Slokam to any of the questions that Yudhishtra asks. See, for example, S. Suryamurthy's commentary. Likewise, KE Parthasarathy's commentary also does not attribute this sloka to any question. Following this, we do not link this Slokam to any of the questions posed by Yudhishtra.
References:
M Monier- Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary (2002 ed: 2020 reprint) (p. 511,
https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/ (Dictionary)
S. Suryamurthy, Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam (Tamil)(2017).
KE Parthasarathy, Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam with Commentaries of Sri Sankaracarya & Sri Parasara Bhattar (1966)
