Thou art he that is the foremost of men,
Thou art endued with great wisdom,
Thou art he that takes first a share of the offerings in sacrifice,
Thou art imperceptible,
Thou art the sum-total of all the deities,
Thou art he, in whom penances predominate,
Thou art always in excellent Yoga,
Thou art auspicious,
Thou art armed with the thunderbolt,
Thou art the source whence the weapons called Prasas have taken origin,
Thou art he, whom Thy devotees attain to in diverse ways,
Thou art Guha (the celestial generalissimo),
Thou art the supreme limit of felicity,
Thou art identical with Thy creation,
Thou art he that rescues the creatures from death (by granting them Emancipation),
Thou art the cleanser of all including Brahma himself,
Thou art of the form of bulls and other horned animals,
Thou art he that is fond of mountain summits,
Thou art the planet Saturn,
Thou art Kubera, the chief of the Yakshas,
Thou art complete faultlessness,
Thou art he that inspires gladness,
Thou art all the celestials united together,
Thou art the cessation of all things,
Thou art all the duties that appertain to all the modes of life,
Thou art he that has an eye on his forehead,
Thou art he that sports with the universe as his marble ball,
Thou art of the form of deer,
Thou art endued with the energy that is of the form of knowledge and penance,
Thou art the lord of all immobile things (in the form of Himavat and Meru),
Thou art he that has subjugated his senses by various regulations and vows,
Thou art he whose objects have all been fulfilled,
Thou art identical with Emancipation,
Thou art different from him, whom we worship,
Thou hast truth of Thy penances,
Thou art of a pure heart,
Thou art he that presides over all vows and fasts (in consequence of Thy being the giver of their fruits),
Thou art the highest (being of the nature of the turiya state of consciousness),
Thou art the Brahman,
Thou art the highest refuge of the devotees,
Thou art he that transcends all bonds (being emancipate),
Thou art freed from the linga body,
Thou art endued with every kind of prosperity,
Thou art he that enhances the prosperity of Thy devotees,
Thou art that which incessantly undergoes change.
Vaisampayana said:
After having heard all the duties in their entirety, and all those sacred acts and objects that cleanse human beings of their sins, Yudhishthira once more addressed the
son of Santanu in the following words.
Yudhishthira said:
Who may be said to be the one god in the world? Who may be said to be the one object which is our sole refuge? Who is he by worshipping whom or hymning whose
praise human beings would get what is beneficial? What religion is that which, according to thy judgment, is the foremost of all religions? What are those mantras by
reciting which a living creature becomes freed from the bonds of birth and life?
Bhishma said:
One should always, with alacrity and throwing away all languor, hymn the praises of that Lord of the universe, that God of gods (Vasudeva), who is Infinite, and foremost
of all Beings, by uttering His thousand names. By always worshipping with reverence and devotion that immutable Being, by meditation on Him, by hymning His praise and
bowing the head unto Him, and by performing sacrifices unto Him, indeed by always praising Visnu, who is without beginning, and without end of destruction, who is the
Supreme Lord of all the worlds, and who is the Master and Controller of the universe, one can succeed in transcending all sorrow. Verily, He is devoted to the brahmanas,
conversant with all duties and practices, the enhancer of the fame and achievement of all persons, the master of all the worlds, exceedingly wonderful, and the prime cause
of the origin of all creatures. Even this, in my judgment, is the foremost religion of all religions, that is, one should always worship and hymn the praises of the lotus-eyed
Vasudeva with devotion. He is the highest Energy. He is the highest Penance. He is the highest Brahma. He is the highest refuge. He is the most holy of all holies, the most
auspicious of all auspicious objects. He is the God of all the gods and He is the immutable father of all creatures. On the advent of the primal Yuga, all creatures spring from
Him. On the expiration, again of a Yuga, all things disappear in Him.
Hear, oh King, the thousand names, possessed of great efficacy in destroying sins, of that foremost One in all the worlds, that Master of the universe, that is, Visnu. All
those names derived from His attributes, secret and well-known, of the high-souled Vasudeva, were sung by Rishis, I shall recite to thee for the good of all. They are,
