Thirty-five Names at the Last Time
Antakāla Pañcatriṃśan Nāma, “the thirty-five names at the last time”
The thirty-five names at the last time are the names of Bhagavān Vishṇu that a man near death recites as he lies on kuśa grass, contemplating Jagatpati Vishṇu. By them, and by dying in meditation on Vishṇu’s form, he is freed from all pāpas and merges in Bhagavān Acyuta. Śrī Kṛshṇa gives them to King Yudhishṭhira in the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa.
The setting
Yudhishṭhira asked what a householder should do at his last time. Śrī Kṛshṇa said: when a man knows his end is near, he should remember Bhagavān Vishṇu, Garuḍadhvaja. He bathes, wears clean white cloth, worships Nārāyaṇa with flowers and stotras, and gives cows, land, gold and cloth as he can. He turns his mind from kin, wealth and possessions, gives up the sense of “mine”, becomes calm towards friend and foe, and declares that all beings may be without fear of him and that he has no kin but Jagadguru Bhagavān Vishṇu, who is seated as a friend on every side of him. Holding Acyuta in his heart, he recites the name of Vāsudeva without pause. When death is very near he spreads kuśa with its tips to the south, lies with his head to the east or north, and contemplates Bhagavān Vishṇu with these names.
The thirty-five names
- Vishṇu
- Jishṇu, the victorious
- Hṛshīkeśa
- Keśava
- Madhusūdana
- Nārāyaṇa
- Nara
- Śauri
- Vāsudeva
- Janārdana
- Vārāha
- Yajñapurusha
- Puṇḍarīkāksha, the lotus-eyed
- Acyuta
- Vāmana
- Śrīdhara
- Kṛshṇa
- Nṛsiṃha
- Aparājita, the unconquered
- Padmanābha
- Aja, the unborn
- Śrīśa, lord of Śrī
- Dāmodara
- Adhokshaja
- Sarveśvareśvara, lord of all lords
- Śuddha, the pure
- Ananta, the endless
- Viśvarūpin, whose form is the universe
- Cakrin, bearer of the cakra
- Gadin, bearer of the gadā
- Śānta, the peaceful
- Śārṅgin, bearer of the Śārṅga bow
- Garuḍadhvaja, whose banner bears Garuḍa
- Kirīṭakaustubhadhara, wearer of the crown and the Kaustubha
- Avyaya, the imperishable
“To the Paramātmā so named I bow.”
The prayer after the names
“Jagannātha, I am yours alone. Dwell in me quickly. Let there be no difference between you and me, as between vāyu and ākāśa. I see you before me, Bhagavān Vishṇu, Śauri, Śrī Kṛshṇa, dark as the blue lotus, lotus-eyed. May you also see me.” So he recites with a one-pointed mind, remembering Hari, lord of all.
The phala
Reciting these, he bows to Bhagavān Vishṇu and keeps doing japa of oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya without pause. The man who gives up his prāṇas in meditation on Bhagavān Vishṇu, of gracious face, holding śaṅkha, cakra, gadā and padma, adorned with armlets, bracelets, earrings and the Śrīvatsa, in yellow silk, dark like a fresh rain cloud, is freed from all pāpas and merges in Bhagavān Acyuta.
When Yudhishṭhira asked for an easier way for the old and the sick, Śrī Kṛshṇa said: draw the mind back from all sides and give up the prāṇas remembering Govinda, for whatever one remembers when leaving the body, that one attains.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 126
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 126