यस्य वै नाममहिमा श्रुत्वा मोक्षमवाप्नुयात् । तन्मुखं तु महत्तीर्थं तन्मुखं क्षेत्रमेव च
Hearing the glory of whose name grants liberation—such a mouth is itself a great pilgrimage, such a mouth is indeed a sacred field.
यन्मुखे रामरामेति तन्मुखं सर्वकामिकम् । कानि वै तस्य नामानि कति वीर्याणि सुव्रत
The mouth that utters 'Rāma, Rāma' is the fulfiller of all desires; O virtuous one, what are His names, and how many are His powers?
तत्सर्वं च विशेषेण मम ब्रूहि पितामह । ब्रह्मोवाच- व्यापकोऽयं सदा विष्णुः परमात्मा सनातनः
Tell me all of this in detail, O Pitāmaha. Brahmā said: Viṣṇu is ever-pervading, the supreme soul, eternal.
अनादिनिधनः श्रीमान्भूतात्मा भूतभावनः । यस्मादहं हि संजातो सोऽयं विष्णुः सदावतु
He is without beginning or end, glorious, the soul of all beings, the creator of all existence; from whom I myself was born—may that Viṣṇu always protect.
सोऽयं कालस्य कालो वै सोऽयं मम तु पूर्वजः । अक्षयः पुंडरीकाक्षो मतिमानव्ययः पुमान्
He is the time of time itself, He is my elder; imperishable, lotus-eyed, wise, and unchanging.
शेषशायी सदा विष्णुः सहस्रशीर्षा महत्प्रभुः । सर्वभूतमयः साक्षाद्विश्वरूपो जनार्दनः
Viṣṇu ever rests on Śeṣa, thousand-headed, the great Lord; He is the essence of all beings, manifest, the universal form, Janārdana.
कैटभारिरयं विष्णुर्धाता देवो जगत्पतिः । तस्याहं नामगोत्रं च न वेद्मि पुरुषर्षभ
This Viṣṇu is the slayer of Kaiṭabha, the creator, the Lord of the world; O best of men, I do not know His full names and lineages.
वेदवाद्यप्यहं तात नाहं ज्ञाता कदाचन । अतस्त्वं गच्छ देवर्षे यत्रास्ति किल विश्वराट्
Though I am versed in the Vedas, O dear one, I have never known them; therefore, O sage among the gods, go to where the Lord of the universe is.
स च तत्त्वं मुनिश्रेष्ठ सर्वं ते कथयिष्यति । स एव पुरुषः श्रीमान्कैलासाधिपतिः सदा
He, O best of sages, will tell you everything in truth; that illustrious Lord, the ruler of Kailāsa, always.
सर्वेषां विष्णुभक्तानामयं श्रेष्ठः परात्परः । पंचवक्त्रो ह्युमाकांतः सर्वदुःखनिबर्हणः
He is the highest among all devotees of Viṣṇu, supreme beyond the supreme; five-faced, beloved of Umā, remover of all suffering.
विश्वेश्वरो विश्वनाथः सर्वदा भक्तवत्सलः । तत्र गच्छ सुरश्रेष्ठ तत्सर्वं कथयिष्यति
He is Lord of the universe, master of all, ever affectionate to devotees; go there, O best of gods, he will tell you everything.
पितुर्वचनमाकर्ण्य तत्र गंतुं प्रचक्रमे । विज्ञातुं नाममाहात्म्यं कैलासभवनं प्रति
Hearing his father's words, he set out to go there, to learn the greatness of the Name, towards the abode of Kailāsa.
यत्र विश्वेश्वरो देवो नित्यं तिष्ठति भूतिदः । ददर्श नारदस्तत्र देवं तं सुरपूजितम्
There, where the Lord of the universe, the giver of all beings, always resides, Nārada saw that god, worshipped by the gods.
कैलासशिखरासीनं देवदेवं जगद्गुरुम् । पंचवक्त्रं दशभुजं त्रिनेत्रं शूलपाणिनम्
He saw the god of gods, the teacher of the world, seated on the summit of Kailāsa, five-faced, ten-armed, three-eyed, holding a trident.
कपालिनं सखट्वांगं तीक्ष्णं शूलासिधारिणम् । पिनाकधारिणं भीमं वरदं वृषवाहनम्
Bearing a skull, with a staff, wielding sharp trident and sword, holding the bow Pināka, formidable, bestower of boons, riding the bull.
भस्मांगं व्यालशोभाढ्यं शशांककृतशेखरम् । नीलजीमूतसंकाशं सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभम्
His body smeared with ashes, adorned with serpents, crowned with the crescent moon, dark as a rain cloud, shining like ten million suns.
क्रीडंतं तत्र देवेशं साष्टांगं दंडवत्पुनः । तं दृष्ट्वा तु महादेवो विस्मयोत्फुल्ललोचनः 6.71.
Seeing the Lord of the gods playing there, I again bowed down to him with eightfold prostration; beholding him, Mahadeva's eyes widened in astonishment.
वैष्णवानां परः श्रेष्ठः प्राह वाडवसत्तमम् । कस्मादिह समायातो वद देवर्षिसत्तम
The supreme best among the Vaishnavas addressed the foremost of the Vadavas: 'O excellent sage among the gods, tell me, why have you come here?
नारद उवाच- एकस्मिन्नेव काले तु गतोऽहं ब्रह्मणोंतिकम् । श्रुतं तत्र मया देव विष्णोर्माहात्म्यमुत्तमम्
Narada said: At one time, I went to Brahma's presence, and there, O god, I heard the supreme greatness of Vishnu.
ब्रह्मणा कथितं तत्र ममाग्रे देवसत्तम । नाम्नोऽस्य यावती शक्तिः सा श्रुता ब्रह्मणो मुखात्
There, O best of gods, Brahma himself spoke before me; all the power of his name I heard directly from Brahma's mouth.
तत्र पृष्टं मया पूर्वं विष्णोर्नामसहस्रकम् । तदाहं ब्रह्मणा चोक्तं नाहं जानामि नारद
There, I previously asked about Vishnu's thousand names; then Brahma told me, 'I do not know them, O Narada.'
जानात्ययं महारुद्रस्तत्सर्वं कथयिष्यति । महाश्चर्यं तु संप्राप्य ह्यागतस्तव सन्निधौ
He said, 'Great Rudra knows all this; he will tell you everything.' Having encountered this great wonder, I have come into your presence.
अस्मिन्कलियुगे घोरेऽल्पायुषश्चैव मानवाः । विधर्मेषु रता नित्यं नामनिष्ठा न वै पुनः
In this terrible Kali age, humans are short-lived and always delight in unrighteousness; they no longer remain steadfast in the names.
पाखंडिनस्तथा विप्रा धर्मेषु विरताः सदा । संध्याहीन व्रतभ्रष्टा दुष्टा मलिनरूपिणः
The Brahmins, too, are heretics, always turned away from dharma; neglecting the sandhya rites and vows, they are corrupt and impure in form.
यथा विप्रास्तथा क्षत्रा वैश्याश्चैव पुनः पुनः । एवं शूद्रास्तथान्ये च न वै भागवता नराः
Just as with the Brahmins, so too with the Kshatriyas and again the Vaishyas; likewise the Shudras and others—men are no longer devotees of Bhagavan.
शूद्रा द्विजातिबाह्याश्च कलौ विश्वेश्वर प्रभो । धर्माधर्मौ न जानंति हितं वाऽहितमेव वा
O Lord of the universe, O master, in Kali, Shudras and those outside the twice-born orders do not know dharma or adharma, nor what is beneficial or harmful.
एवं ज्ञात्वा ह्यहं स्वामिन्नागतः संनिधौ तव । पुनश्च नाममाहात्म्यं श्रुतं वै ब्रह्मणो मुखात्
Knowing this, O Lord, I have come into your presence; again I have heard the greatness of the name from Brahma's own mouth.
त्वं देवः सर्वदेवानां त्वं नाथो मम सर्वदा । त्रिपुरारिश्च विश्वात्मा धाता त्वं च पुनः पुनः
You are the god of all gods, you are always my master; you are the slayer of Tripura, the soul of the universe, and again and again the creator.
कथयस्व प्रसादेन विष्णोर्नामसहस्रकम् । सौभाग्यजननं पुंसां परं भक्तिकरं सदा
By your grace, tell me Vishnu's thousand names, which always bring supreme good fortune to people and foster the highest devotion.
ब्राह्मणानां ब्रह्मदं च क्षत्रियाणां जयप्रदम् । वैश्यानां धनदं नित्यं शूद्राणां सुखदायकम्
They grant knowledge of Brahman to Brahmins, victory to Kshatriyas, constant wealth to Vaishyas, and happiness to Shudras.