TWELVE HALLOWED NAMES OF THE LORD
Vengrai Parthasarathy
(The Dwādashnāma Panjara -a stotra in Sanskrit is often recited as a corollary to the Vishnu Sahasra Nāma Stotra . Citing the twelve names of Sri NarayaNa, the devotee prays for the Lord’s protection from all directions of the compass and to be ensconced, as it were, in an impregnable Armour / kavacha).
The prayer (condensed) goes thus, courtesy Sri P.B.Anangracharya:
May Keshava protect me from evil and all kinds of danger coming from the East, May Sri NārāyaNa protect me from the West, Sri Mādhava from above, Sri Govinda from the south, Sri Vishnu from the north, Sri Madhusoodana from the south-east, Sri Trivikrama from the south-west , Sri Vāmana from the North-west, Sri Sridhara from the North-east, Sri Hrishikēsha from below, Sri Padmanābha from all directions and Dāmodara from inside and outside me
Sri Nammalvar,the most eminent of the twelve god-immersed Tamil Apostles (Alvars), had eulogized Sri Nārāyana, citing the same twelve name–Panniru Nāmanga- but from a different perspective)
1) Kēsavan thamar……………………………………………… nārāyaNanAlē
For sevens of generations before me, I and my kin-folk have been devotees of Keshava chanting His name. We will continue to do so for generations to come..
Having obtained the great privilege of the Lord’s blessing, our lives have prospered..
The Lord is akin to a dark gem, The red-eyed NārāyaNa is the chief of the celestials and
His benediction and grace for me and my kin are fulfilling and elevating !
2) NāraNan……………………………………………………….en Mādhavanē
NārāyaNa is the unquestioned Lord of the seven worlds, the embodiment of the Vedha-s.
He is worshipped and praised by Sridevi and all pious-minded celestials as the primal cause and integral element of the the Vedha-s,
He is the first and foremost of the holy Trinity, the mighty one who broke the tusks and curbed the elephant Kuvalaya peeta, He is my father and patron and guide.
3) Mādhavan enradhē……………………………………………..….en Govindanē
The moment I said Mādhava the Lord entered into me.
He blessed that at no time hereafter shall any evil come near me.
The red-eyed Lord is insatiable ambrosia,
He, the garlanded Lord, is sweet like a lump of jaggery and banishes all our sins.
4) Govindan kuda……………………………………………………empirān vittuvē
O Govinda! O Gopala! O Pot-dancer!
Thus He made me call Him from the heart, hailing His eminence and His just and compassionate nature.
He induced me to sing and dance with His praise on my lips.
He purged me of my sins and transgressions;
He blessed me to reach for His feet for sevens of births and be for ever, His devotee.
5) Vittu ilangu…………………………………………… Madhusoodanan-thanakkē
The brilliant, gold-crowned Lord VishNu has feet and arms …………..
with the appearance of a mountain range, He has a swarthy complexion.His conch is snowy-white like the moon.
Madhusoodana wields His sunny discus which is effulgent with a red-glow. ,
6) Madhusoodanan………………………………………………….Trivikramanayē
I have no sanctuary other than Madhusoodanan.’s feet,
I stand to gain nothing from others.
I have spent all my life dancing and singing songs in His praise
While trying and before I could reach out to Him, He reached for me, edified and
blessed me.
The Lord Himself came to meet me and showered His blessings on me.
O What grace! What compassion!
7) Trivikraman………………………………………………………….en Vāmananē
The red-eyed Lord, has white crystal-like teeth. that glow in His ruddy mouth;
My father and Creator is Trivikrama
I have contemplated on His beauty and the elegance of His feet all my life,
The Lord ofshort-stature- Vāmana- is ever in my mind, which itself is His gift and blessing to me
8) Vāmanan en ………………………………………………………….en Sridharanē
O Vāmana!
O verdant-hued, lotus-eyed Lord Krishna! O father of love-god Manmatha!
Chanting your name and singing the glory of your feet thus, I am purified..
You have relieved me of my birth-associated pains,
You have driven away bad perceptions from me and blessed me with pure thoughts,
O Sridhara!.
How can I requite your grace and gifts?
9) Sridharan…………………………………………………………..en Hrishikēshanē
O Sridhara!
I have chanted your holy name all the time. You over-looked my gross transgressions and you have found residence in my heart,
Abiding in my heart you have up-lifted me for ever. .I shall ceaselessly praise you, shedding tears of gratitude, extolling your feet and sighing ‘O Hrishikēsha!’ for you day and night,!
10) Hrishikēshan……………………………………..…………….Parpanābhanayē
Hark, my mind! Having received spiritual instruction and matured, pray, pray unto the Lord with determination and faith. Contemplate on him constantly.
Keep uttering “ O Hrishikēsha!, my Lord and master of Deva-s! who vanquished the Asura-s of Lanka!” Worship him, for evermore.
11) Padmanābhan…………………………………………………….Dāmodharanē
Lord Padmanābha who has Lotus in His navel has made me His serf. He has given Himself to me. He is like the ever-giving karpakam tree, ambrosia-like;
the sky-coloured,Thiruvenkatam Udayan, chief of Gods, is my father—-
with the welt-mark* of the rope in His stomach.
(* the result of being tied to the mortar as punishment that little Krishna received from His mother Yashodha for stealing butter and similar pranks)
12) Damodaranai……………………………………………………….vaNNanayē
Lord Dāmodara! The unique one, Creator of the universe, the Lord who ingested the worlds (at the time of the deluge).
Siva and Brahma worship Him saying, ‘How can anyone comprehend Him’
When even they, who are an integral place part of His self, cannot fathom His nature who can?
13) VaNNa mā………………………………………………………….aNaivikkumē
Thirumal, the Chief of all Gods, is he not but the incarnate Kannan,
scintillating like a blue-gem’?
He has been eulogized by Nammalvar with a thousand songs of praise.
They who recite the select twelve pasuram-s from the collection will be transported to the Lord’s feet in paramapadham, the heaven of heavens.