Visnusahasranamastotra, Uttara-khanda, Padma Purana 72.335) Brahmānda Purana said: sahasra-namnam punyanam, trir-avrttya tu yat phalam ekavrttya tu krsnasya, namaikam tat prayacchati This translates to: "The pious results (punya) achieved by chanting the thousand holy names of Vishnu (Vishnusahasranama-Stotram) three times can be attained by only one utterance of the holy name of Krishna." Lord Krishna Himself said: yo mam nama sahasrena stotum icchati pandava sohamekena slokena stuta eva na samsaya This translates to: :"Arjuna, One may be desirous of praising by reciting the thousand names. But, on my part, I feel praised by one sloka. There is no doubt about it.” From the oldest scriptural text in Hinduism, the Rig Veda; I.156.3b, it states: "O ye who wish to gain realization of the Supreme Truth, utter the name of "Vishnu" at least once in the steadfast faith that it will lead you to such realization." Commentaries The Vishnu Sahasranama has been the subject of numerous commentaries: Adi Shankara of Advaita Vedanta wrote a definitive commentary on the Sahasranama in the 8th century. Parasara Bhattar, a follower of Ramanuja, wrote a commentary in the 12th century, detailing the names of Vishnu from a Vishishtadvaita perspective, in the book titled Bhagavath Guna Dharpanam (or Bhagavad Guna Dharpana, meaning reflections of the Lord's qualities). Madhvacharya of Dvaita Vedanta asserted that each name in the sahasranama has a minimum of 100 meanings. Vidyadhiraja Tirtha (died 1392) (disciple of Jayatirtha) of Dvaita Vedanta wrote a commentary on Vishnu Sahasranama called . Satyanidhi Tirtha (died 1660) of Dvaita Vedanta wrote Vishnu Sahasranama Vyakhyana, a commentary on Vishnu Sahasranama. Satyasandha Tirtha (died 1794) of Dvaita Vedanta wrote Viṣṇusahasranāmabhāṣya, a commentary on Vishnu Sahasranama. See also Hare Krishna Sandhyavandhanam Brahmin Bhadrakalpikasutra Vaijanthimala Notes Bibliography Footnotes References . With an English Translation of Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada's Commentary . Sanskrit and English, with an English translation of Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada's commentary. Further reading Sanskrit & Hindi: Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, Gita Press, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh 273005, India Sanskrit & English: The Thousand Names of Vishnu and the Satyanarayana Vrat, translated by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir, Napa. Other translations: Sanskrit & Gujarati: Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram; translated by Shri Yogeshwarji, India @ www.swargarohan.org Sanskrit & English: Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram; translated by Swami Vimalananda, Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, Tiruchirapalli, India, 1985 External links The original Sanskrit at Wikisource. Excerpt from the Mahabharata translation by Ganguly at Sacred Texts. Vaishnava texts Sahasranama Mahabharata Names