Dhanur/Margashirsha Masa - Rare Hymn on Lord Vishnu

[K.N.RAMESH]

Courtesy:Sri.K.Muralidharan Iyengar 

Dear All,

Greetings and Namaste. It has been a quite sometime since my last post - it was not due to dearth of hymns but due to lack of time amidst tight work schedule.

Tuesday (16-Dec-2014) marks the beginning of Dhanur/Margashirsha Masa as per solar calendar. As Lord Krishna corroborates in Bhagavad Gita that he is Margashirsha amongst all the months, this month is perhaps the most sacred of all with two of most sacred Vrats on Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva occurring in this month (Vaikuntha Ekadashi and Ardra Darshanam).

In this connection, I am happy to share a short and sweet prayer by Sage Markandeya to Lord Vishnu taken from Skanda Puranam, Vaishnava Khanda, Utkhala Upa-khanda, Chapter 3 and appears as part of Purushottama Kshetra Mahatmyam (Puri Jagannath). Pleased with his prayer, Lord Vishnu shows His cosmic form on top of a banyan tree leaf, a boon given only to Sage Markandeya amongst all Rishis.

The overriding theme of this prayer is beseeching Lord's grace to go beyond the Samsara. May We also pray to Lord Narayana with this sacred prayer during this month!

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