Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra 48 with Audio
from Anushasana Parva of Mahabharatha
Based on Poojya Bannanje Govidacharya's Discourse in Kannada

447) Yajñaḥ - ಯಜ್ಞಃ

The creation of the universe itself is a Yajña (sacred sacrifice).

Bringing together things scattered in various places into one place is Yajña.

Coming from different directions and uniting in one place to gain knowledge is Jñāna Yajña (sacrifice of knowledge).

At the beginning of creation, when everything existed in atomic form (paramāṇu), it was this Lord who brought it all together and created the universe—He is Yajñaḥ.

The Yajña we perform is also a symbol of this cosmic creation.

The Yajña kuṇḍa (sacrificial altar) is the womb that caused creation;

The blazing fire within it is jīva (life);

The offering of ghee (tuppa) is the vīrya (seed/potency) that is the cause of creation.

The one who knows everything that exists, the one who resides in the Yajña itself—such a Lord is called Yajñaḥ.

448) Ijyaḥ - ಇಜ್ಯಃ

The Lord who is worshipped by all is Ijyaḥ.

Here, Ijya means “the one who is worshipped by everyone.”

In a yajña (sacrificial ritual), we are not worshipping the fire itself—

we are offering worship to Agni-Nārāyaṇa (the Lord in the form of fire) through the fire.

If we perform yajña without this understanding, we would merely be inhaling smoke and may perish!

Our worship, beginning from Agni-Nārāyaṇa, connects to Sūrya-Nārāyaṇa (the Sun deity),

and ultimately reaches Nara-Nārāyaṇa (the Supreme Person).

For this reason, the yajña performed for the deities is always done during daylight.

Through the seven colors of fire,

the power of yajña merges into the seven colors of the sun,

and through the atmosphere, becomes auspicious for the world.

Thus, the Lord who is worshipped through such yajñas is called Ijyaḥ.

449) Mahejyaḥ - ಮಹೇಜ್ಯಃ

Among all the divine powers worshipped through yajñas, the “greatest” of those powers is Mahejyaḥ.

Here, maha means “great,” “exalted,” “worthy of worship,” etc.

Mahah + Ijya = Mahejyaḥ - ಮಹಹ+ಇಜ್ಯ-ಮಹೇಜ್ಯ; mahah also means festival, celebration, or joyous occasion.

As the saying goes, “sarva deva namaskāraḥ keśavaṁ pratigacchati - ಸರ್ವ ದೇವ ನಮಸ್ಕಾರಃ ಕೇಶವಂ ಪ್ರತಿಗಚ್ಛತಿ”—every act of worship to any deity ultimately reaches Keśava (Lord Vishnu).

The one who accepts the worship performed during all festivals is the indwelling Supreme Lord within all deities.

For example, in the festival Hanuman Jayanti, we worship Āñjaneya (Hanuman),

but no worship reaches him unless Śrī Rāma accepts it.

Not just festivals—even birthdays, weddings, or any joyful celebration—

the one who accepts that worship is none other than the Lord Mahejyaḥ.

Take a birthday, for instance: when we celebrate the birth of a child,

as previously explained, when a soul is born, along with that soul,

the Lord also takes a form as bimba rūpa (reflected indwelling form) to serve as its protector.

Thus, when we celebrate a birthday, we are also celebrating the birth of the Lord in that bimba form.

If a person lives for 100 years, it means the Lord in the form of the bimba resided within that person for 100 years.

That’s why the Lord is called śatarṣi - ಶತರ್ಷಿ (the hundred-seer).

Now consider marriage, love, companionship, and relationships:

if the Lord seated within us had not sown the seed of love, there would be no affection between people.

Sometimes, without knowing why, we become emotionally attached to someone.

And other times, without any clear reason, we feel averse to someone.

You may have heard people say: “I don’t know why, but I don’t like him.”

This is because of our past karma and the Lord within us who either nurtures or withholds the seed of love.

True mutual love and harmony between husband and wife lasting till the end of life is extremely rare.

Everyone desires such a relationship, but very few attain it.

Hence, even marriage and wedding anniversaries belong to the Lord.

We are merely instruments in the celebration.

Therefore, in every festival, the one who is ultimately worshipped is none other than the Lord Mahejyaḥ.

On Go Pūjā (cow worship day), we worship cows;

on Tulasi Pūjā, we worship the holy Tulasi plant.

But cows and Tulasi are symbols—reflections of the Divine.

In this way, in every festival, the Lord who manifests through these symbols and is worshipped is called Mahejyaḥ - ಮಹೇಜ್ಯಃ.

450) Kratuḥ - ಕ್ರತುಃ

In yajñas (sacrificial rituals), many different procedures were prevalent during the Vedic period—

three-day yajñas, six-day yajñas, Chāturmāsya yajñas, and so on.

In such yajñas, three times a day offerings (āhuti) are made to the Lord.

This process continues on every day of the yajña.

This ritual act is called Kratu.

The Lord who enables us to perform this Kratu through our hands,

and who accepts it every single day—He is Kratuḥ.

For a Kratu to be performed properly (sāṅga), we must have:

·         Faith,

·         Willpower,

·         Energy for action, and

·         Favorable conditions.

Standing behind us, guiding all these activities,

is the Lord who is the embodiment of knowledge,

and the one who frees us from the bondage of karma—

that Supreme Being is Kratuḥ - ಕ್ರತುಃ.

451) Satram - ಸತ್ರಮ್

Satram also conveys the meaning of yajña (sacrificial ritual).

When a ritual is performed at home for oneself, facing the sacred fire (agni), it is called yāga.

When many people come together and perform such rituals collectively, it becomes a Satrayāga - ಸತ್ರಯಾಗ (group yajña).

The Lord who protects all, and who governs everything uniformly and impartially—

He is Satram.

452) Satāṅgatiḥ - ಸತಾಂಗತಿಃ

The Lord who is filled with sāttvika (pure and virtuous) qualities,

who always walks the path of knowledge,

and who bestows special love and protection upon the sajjana-s (righteous ones) and vidvān-s (learned scholars)—

He is Satāṅgatiḥ.

A perfect example of this is found in the Mahābhārata:

The Lord protected the sāttvika Pāṇḍavas and punished the Kauravas who wronged them,

along with every person who aided in their betrayal.

Thus, the protector of righteousness and virtue is the Lord Satāṅgatiḥ.

453) Sarvadarśī - ಸರ್ವದರ್ಶೀ

The one who sees everything and also makes everything visible—He is Sarvadarśī.

We are aware only of events and actions from our present birth.

We have no knowledge of the karmas we performed in our past lives that have resulted in this current birth.

But the Lord knows the conditions and outcomes of all our births,

across all time, and throughout all lifetimes.

The consequences of actions from our past births never fail to reach us.

We are born already bound by relationships from previous lives—this is the cycle of karma.

The one who knows all of this completely and clearly is the Lord Sarvadarśī.

454) Vimuktātmā - ವಿಮುಕ್ತಾತ್ಮಾ

The Lord who is free from all prejudices and attachments is Vimuktātmā.

He does not grant knowledge or ignorance, poverty or wealth, out of hatred or personal favoritism.

Rather, He dispenses them impartially, based on each individual’s karma phala (results of actions).

Detached and unaffected, He continuously carries out the processes of creation, sustenance, and dissolution,

in a perfectly orderly and regulated manner.

For such a Lord, the name Vimuktātmā—“the completely liberated Self”—is most fitting.

Even for those who have attained moksha (liberation),

it is this Lord Vimuktātmā who remains the supreme controller, even within that liberation.

455) Sarvajñaḥ - ಸರ್ವಜ್ಞಃ

The one who knows everything is Sarvajñaḥ (the All-Knower).

The Lord, who is the very embodiment of knowledge and is complete in every way, is called Sarvajñaḥ.

456) Jñānamuttamam - ಜ್ಞಾನಮುತ್ತಮಮ್

“Jñā - ಜ್ಞಾ” means “one who knows,” and “Jñānam” means “knowledge.”

The Lord is not only the embodiment of the highest knowledge (Jñānasvarūpa) but also the possessor of supreme knowledge.

The Lord, who is the infinite and unsurpassed form of knowledge beyond all else,

is called Jñānamuttamam — the Supreme Knowledge.