Some scholars opine that the eighteen Puranas represent the different limbs of Lord Hari (Vishnu) - vishnuh puraanaavayavo harih. It is said that there are eighteen Mahapuranas comprising more than four lakhs of slokas. As the name itself suggests, they are new (relevant) though very ancient as far as their dates are concerned puraa api navam. Puranas are a real treasure – house of the ancient wisdom of the sages. It has the same import as the former Vishnusahasranama, viz, the greatness and glory of Lord Vishnu. However there is another Vishnusahasranama in the Uttarakhanda of the Padma Purana where Siva enlightens Parvati on the cure to all ills which is the recitation of the thousand Names of the Lord. Three main commentaries by the three different schools of Indian philosophy viz, Advaita, Dvaita and Visishtadavaita by Sankara, Madhya and Parasara Bhatta respectively, are available. To this, Bhishmacharya spells out the divine and potent thousand Names of the Lord, and reciting them is the sure way to salvation.

Yudhishthira enquires of Bhishmacharaya as to how a man is relieved of this bondage of birth and transmigration. In this category falls the popular Vishnusahasranama, which Bhishmacharya addressed to Yudhishthira in the immediate presence of Lord Krishna, in the Anusaasana parva of the Mahabharata. In this age of Kali, fraught as it is with the ills of worldly existence, the only way to obtain peace of mind in this world and hope for salvation after death is by reciting the glorious names of the Lord (naama sankeertana).

Vishnu sahasranamam pdf