Sahasranama

**Ramakrishna** · 03 July 2010, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by sanjaya

My father has recently been teaching me how to recite the Vishnu Sahasranama. Unfortunately since I don't live at home it's a slow process. He's able to recite all 1008 names of Sri Vishnu without even glancing at the paper. I don't know that I'd ever be that well-practiced. Seriously, how do you guys do this?

Namaste sanjaya,

Wow! That is quite an accomplishment. I assume he's been reciting it for many years now? I can imagine that's the only way one can be able to chant all 1,008 names without even glancing at the paper. Years and years of practice.

Hopefully you and I will be near that level someday

Jai Sri Krishna

**Ramakrishna** · 03 July 2010, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by Sahasranama

Here's one of my older post on the Vishnu Sahasranama with some links:

http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...16&postcount=9

My favorite sahasranamas are Vishnu Sahasranama and Lalita Sahasranama. I don't chant them daily, but when I feel like it.

The precursor of all sahasranamas is the vedic Shatarudriya which lists 300 names of Rudra.

Namaste Sahasranama,

Thank you for that. I had a feeling you would know something about the sahasranamas.

Jai Sri Krishna

**Arjuni** · 15 April 2011, 01:24 AM

Namasté, all,

I'm late to this thread, but I laughed to see Sanjaya's how do people do that?! post; that was my exact reaction to people who can chant a sahasranāma from memory. When I feel overwhelmed by the seeming impossibility of learning a thousand of anything, though, I remind myself that we all unconsciously memorise huge amounts of far-less-significant text daily. Just think of all of the stupid song lyrics, advertising logos and jingles, and other nonsensical word-patterns that worm themselves into our memories! How much more powerful is the mind when harnessed upon something it actually loves and wants to know...

Ramakrishna, since you asked for resources, a lengthy discourse on the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma is here. And the Indra Sahasranāma of Sri Kāvyakaṇṭha is hosted on the same site, here; I'll provide the stotram as well if there's interest.

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

**Sahasranama** · 15 April 2011, 02:31 AM

I have read somewhere from an Indian that most people will be able to memorise a Sahasranama stotra easily after chanting it daily for one or two weeks. I have not been so consistent with any stotra, because I often change my mind about what stotra I will chant.

**Adhvagat** · 15 April 2011, 02:49 AM

Is this stotra reciting part of a sadhana more like in a meditative manner or a more studying manner? Or either depending on preference?

**Sahasranama** · 15 April 2011, 02:54 AM

Originally Posted by Pietro Impagliazzo

Is this stotra reciting part of a sadhana more like in a meditative manner or a more studying manner? Or either depending on preference?

Anyway you like it, you can use the individual names in puja to offer flowers or you can meditate on the individual names as a large mala with AUM...... namah etc, the 1000 names become a mala of names. You can also do agnihotra with these names AUM ...... svaha. You can chant it as a stotra in front of the deity or use it as kirtana or meditation. You can also take up the commentaries and study the meaning of individual names. You can also listen to it, some people have made great music out of these sahasranama stotras, especially the lalitha sahasranama stotra in south India has been used a lot for musical renditions. If you try to memorise it, it will be a good mental exercise. Some Sanskrit teachers in the past used to have their students memorise the Vishnu Sahasranama stotra before they started the study of Sanskrit.

**sanjaya** · 15 April 2011, 09:33 AM

Originally Posted by Ramakrishna

Hopefully you and I will be near that level someday

Jai Sri Krishna

I hope so too.

Here, nine months after this thread started, I still need to see the words on paper to recite it. I guess I've never been that good at memorization, but I'm still going to keep trying!

By the way Indraneela, thanks for the link!

**Ramakrishna** · 22 February 2013, 10:21 PM

Sita Ram,

Can anybody kindly provide an audio rendition of Ganesha Sahasranama?

Thank you.

Hail the Lord of Obstacles,
Who makes us stronger!

Jai Sri Ganesh!

**ShriBala** · 23 February 2013, 05:51 PM

Deleted...

**Ramakrishna** · 25 February 2013, 11:10 PM

Namaste ShriBala,

Originally Posted by ShriBala

Jai Shri Ram!

Are you looking for some specific rendition as this is pretty widely available on YT and also an audio only mp3?
For example, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DIZIYM_tQo . Plenty of free, online converters available to extract the mp3 out of a YT video.

Thank you. I have seen Youtube videos of Ganesha Sahasranama, but they vary greatly, with each in different orders and large differentials in total length. From my understanding, there are two major versions of this sahasranama. One version is from the Ganesha Purana and the other is completely different, with each name beginning with 'g'. I find it difficult to tell which version is being chanted and also the wholeness of each rendition. Coinciding with this is my difficulty in finding complete English text lists of the sahasranama, with most in varying orders and extending to no more than 108 names. In essence, I am seeking a rendition of the Ganesha Sahasranama that I can 'follow along with'; one that coincides with a textual form of the chanting. I am quite surprised at the seeming lack of availability for such an organized, coherent form and rendition of this sahasranama, put perhaps my longings are toO specific, and/or this sahasranama just is not as popularly available as others.

Jai Sri Ram