Visnu Sahasra-Nama: A Study

Dr. T.M.P. Mahadevan was born in 1911 and was educated in Madras. An earnest Advaitin by training and temperament. Dr. Mahadevan has since his graduation in philosophy with a brilliant First Class Honours in 1933, been engaged in intensive research and teaching. Several of his works, noted for scriptures and religion in general and advaita vedanta in particular. They include The Philosophy of Advaita-with special reference to Bharatitirtha Vidyaranya, Gaudapada-A Study in Early Advaita, Time and Timeless, Outlines of Hinduism, Sambandha-Vartika of Suresvaracarya, The Idea of God in Saiva Siddhanta, Ramana Maharshi and His Philosophy of Existence, Sankaracarya, andThe Sage of Kanci, besides contributions to learned symposia published in India and abroad.

In 1948-49 Dr. Mahadevan lectured at Cornell and other American universities on Indian Philosophy and Vedanta. He has participated in several international conferences, including the cultural meeting of the Royal National Foundation at Athens in 1966. He was the General President of the Indian Philosophical Congress held at Nagpur in 1955. He is the Area Secretary of the Union for the Study of Great Religions. At present he is the Director of the Centre of Advanced Study in Philosophy, in the University of Madras. In recognition of his services to the causes of religion, philosophy, and culture at home and abroad, the Government of India gave him the award of Padmabushan in 1967.

Dr. T.M.P. Mahadevan passed way in 1983 at the age of 72.

At the invitation of the University of Madras, I delivered two lectures under the auspices of the ‘Dewan Bahadur K. Krishnaswamy Rao Endowment on the 29th and the 30th of April 1970. I chose for my theme ‘The One- thousand Names of Visnu’.

In these lectures I have sought to explain the place of bhakti, a constituent of which is reciting the names and glories of God, as the most potent auxiliary on the practical side of Advaita. And, these lectures, as the title suggests, are based upon a study of the Visnu-sahasra-nama. It is hoped that the contents of this book will engage the attention of the scholar as well as the general reader.

I am grateful to the authorities of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan for publishing these lectures under their popular Book University series, and to the University of Madras for permission given for the publication.