Pūrvapīṭhikā
1
shuklaambaradharam vishnum shashivarnam caturbhujam
prasannavadanam dhyaayet sarvavighnopashaantaye
2
yasya dviradavaktraadyaah paarishadyaah parashshatam
vighnam nighnanti satatam vishvaksenam tamaashraye
3
vyaasam vasishthanaptaaram shakteh pautramakalmasham
paraasharaatmajam vande shukataatam taponidhim
4
vyaasaaya vishnuroopaaya vyaasaroopaaya vishnave
namo vai brahmanidhaye vaasishthaaya namo namah
5
avikaaraaya shuddhaaya nityaaya paramaatmane
sadaikarooparoopaaya vishnave sarvajishnave
Uttarapīṭhikā
170
aartaa vishannaashshithilaashca bheetaah ghoreshu ca vyaadhishu vartamaanaah
sankeertya naaraayanashabdamaatram vimuktaduhkhaassukhino bhavanti
A simple place to start
This is the Vishnu Sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu, written in plain English letters with no accent marks, for first-time readers and children. It is one of the most loved prayers in the Hindu world. Each of the thousand names points to something about Vishnu: how vast he is, how kind, how close. The names come from the Mahabharata, the great epic, where the grandfather Bhishma, resting on a bed of arrows after the war, teaches them to the young king Yudhishthira as an easy and complete way to reach God. There are a thousand names, so a full reading takes a while, and most people chant a portion, or learn a handful at a time and build up. People all over the world chant it, in many languages, in great temples like Tirumala and through movements like the Chinmaya Mission and ISKCON, and in ordinary homes, for calm, for courage, and simply out of love. You do not need to know Sanskrit to begin. The tradition even says that the single name Vaasudeva, said with love, carries the worth of them all. So start small and go at your own pace.