Viṣṇusahasranāma

Viṣṇusahasranāma is an Adhyāya (sub-chapter) out of a total 168 from the 13th Parva (chapter) of the epic Mahābhārata, that is Anuśāsanaparva. They are a total of 18 Parvas. The Anuśāsanaparva is traditionally divided into 2 sub-parvas Dāna-dharma Parva (containing 152 Adhyāyas) and Bhīṣma-svargārohana Parva (containing the rest of the 16). The title Viṣṇusahasranāma means 1000 names of (supreme Hindu deity) Viṣṇu. In the text a dying Bhīṣma is giving king Yudhiṣṭhira a speech on spiritual philosophy and liberation after succumbing to his death during the Kurukṣetra war. The text is considered particularly important for the Vaiṣṇava school of Hindu philosophy. Viṣṇu is attributed to be paramount in the incarnation of beings and deities. 1000 names of Viṣṇu and similar themes are also present in the Padma, Garuḍa & Skanda Purāṇa texts. This Ms. is written in two parts. It contains the following speaker introduction titles Vaiśampāyana, Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma Uvāca. The 1st part starts from (f.1b–41a) and the 2nd part continues from (f.41a–49b). From verse no. 22 in (f.47a) there are 8 verses that are not found in the popular edition which contain the speaker titles Arjuna, Śrībhagavāna, Pārvati and Śrīmahādeva Uvāca. This Ms. is written 5 lines per folio. Both the cover and back page contain title enclosed in a rectangular frame created from the 3 vertical red margin and 3 horizontal ones with a flower on the edges of the frame. There are double red vertical margins on each side of the folio. The (Pūrṇavirāma) full stop style vertical brackets, speaker titles and significant words are in red. Mistakes are covered with white.