The Viṣṇu Sahasranāma (“thousand names of Viṣṇu“) appears in the Anuśāsana Parva of the Mahābhārata (chapter 149). On the arrow-bed of Kurukṣetra, Bhīṣma — the grand patriarch — instructs the grief-stricken Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, and at Yudhiṣṭhira's request recites the thousand names as the supreme means of liberation and welfare. The text is revered as Smṛti and carries the authority of both itihāsa and stotra.
In Sri Vaishnava tradition, the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma is chanted daily after morning worship, often in community settings, and its recitation is considered among the most potent forms of nāma-saṅkīrtana. Parāśara Bhaṭṭar (son of Kūrattāzhvān and disciple of Rāmānuja) composed the Bhagavad Guṇa Darpaṇam — a detailed commentary interpreting every name in the light of Viśiṣṭādvaita and revealing Nārāyaṇa's infinite kalyāṇa-guṇas. Ādi Śaṅkarācārya also wrote a well-known commentary, but the Sri Vaishnava understanding, centered on Bhaṭṭar's work, reads the names as affirmations of Bhagavān's personal excellence, not as negations or metaphors.
The text begins with the verse viśvaṃ viṣṇur vaṣaṭkāro and includes names that span Bhagavān's divine nature (nitya-vibhūti), His grace toward bound souls (baddha-jīvas), His role as the supreme means (upāya), and His supremacy over all devas. Regular recitation is held to purify the mind, remove sins, and foster unwavering devotion.