Shloka 12
तस्य लोकप्रधानस्य जगन्नाथस्य भूपते । विष्णोर्नामसहस्नं मे शूणु पापभयापहम्
tasya lokapradhānasya jagannāthasya bhūpate | viṣṇor nāmasahasraṁ me śṛṇu pāpabhayāpaham ||
Bhīṣma said: O king, listen from me to the thousand names of Viṣṇu—of that Lord who is foremost among all worlds and the Master of the universe—whose recitation removes the fear born of sin.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that remembrance of the supreme Lord—here through the recitation of Viṣṇu’s thousand names—functions as a moral and spiritual remedy: it dispels the fear and burden produced by sinful action and supports a return to dharmic living.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma, lying on his bed of arrows, instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. This verse introduces the forthcoming recitation of the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma, urging the king to listen to a hymn praised as removing fear of sin.