Restored from the archives of our earlier website. The Ṣoḍaśanāma Stotram is one of the three prayers recited in the daily Tri-Sandhya practice.
Among the treasures of Sanatana Dharma is a compact, complete map of devotion: sixteen names of Lord Vishnu, each assigned to a moment of human life. Whatever you are doing — eating, travelling, marrying, fighting, dreaming, dying — there is a name to hold. This is the Śrī Viṣṇoḥ Ṣoḍaśanāma Stotram, recited daily by devotees in the Tri-Sandhya windows.
Auṣadhe cintayet viṣṇuṃ, bhojane ca janārdanam ॥1॥
śayane padmanābhaṃ ca, vivāhe ca prajāpatim ॥2॥
yuddhe cakradharaṃ devaṃ, pravāse ca trivikramam ॥3॥
nārāyaṇaṃ tanutyāge, śrīdharaṃ priyasaṅgame ॥4॥
duḥsvapne smara govindaṃ, saṅkaṭe madhusūdanam ॥5॥
kānane nārasiṅhaṃ ca, pāvake jalaśāyinam ॥6॥
jalamadhye vārāhaṃ ca, gamane vāmanaṃ caiva ॥7॥
parvate raghunandanaṃ, sakala kāryeśu mādhavam ॥8॥
Source: Śrī Viṣṇoḥ Ṣoḍaśanāma Stotram
The sixteen names, moment by moment
Meditate upon Vishnu while taking medicine, and upon Janardana while eating.
Upon Padmanabha while lying down, and upon Prajapati during marriage.
Upon Chakradhara in battle, and upon Trivikrama while travelling.
Upon Narayana at the hour of death, and upon Sridhara with your beloved.
Upon Govinda in bad dreams, and upon Madhusudana in difficulty.
Upon Narasimha in the forest, and upon Jalaśāyī — the Lord resting on the ocean — when fire rages.
Upon Varaha when struggling in water, and upon Vamana while on the move.
Upon Raghunandana when lost in the mountains — and upon Mādhava in all activities.
The last name is the key
Notice how the stotram ends: fifteen names for fifteen situations — and then one name that covers everything. Sakala kāryeśu mādhavam: in ALL activities, remember Mādhava.
This is no coincidence. As we explain in the companion article The Importance of Chanting the Name ‘Mādhaba’ in the Present Times, the Bhavishya Malika teaches that Mādhaba is the reserved name of this age — the name by which Maa Radha Rani first addressed the Lord, the name the Lord kept aside for the rescue of His devotees at the end of Kali Yuga. The ancient stotram and the 600-year-old prophecy converge on the same instruction for the same era: whatever else you do, keep Mādhava on your tongue.
Recite the sixteen names in your Tri-Sandhya — morning, noon and evening — along with the Dashavatara Stotram and the Durga-Mādhaba Stuti. Download the complete Tri-Sandhya guide free from our Resources page.
Jay Shree Madhaba