In the first week of November 2016, Srimathy was for the
first time performing “Shashti Vratham”, comprising of very strict dietary
intake combined with a mind that is focused on Shri Subrahmanya Swamy for six
days. Skanda Shashti celebrations were to be conducted on Saturday, the 5th
of November at the local temple here. It was felt that on the morning of the 5th,
a Sahasranama Homam for Shri Subrahmanya Swamy should be performed at the house
prior to going to the temple. The Subrahmanya Sahasranama Stotram used in the
Homam is presented here in audio mp3 format for the benefit of all devotees of
Lord Subrahmanya. During the Homam, “Svaha” is added to every couplet of the
stotram along with the offering of oblations into the Homa Agni.
This Subrahmanya Sahasranamam, also called Murugan Sahasranamam or Kartikeya Sahasranamam is from Skanda Puranam and the
associated Rishi is Brahma as He converses with Sage Narada as is divulged by
Sutha Maharishi to the Rishis of Naimishaaranya – one can visualize the
sanctity of the venue already ! It might be noted that the flow of this
specific hymn feels different from thousand name hymns presented here for other
Goddesses. May be because of the “Guna” or Quality of Shri Subrahmanya Swamy that
it is so – in the sense that Lord Subrahmanya is one who can provide Divine
Knowledge, otherwise known as Brahma Vidya and is also associated with Speech
and Powers of Speech – the words will sound so also. This Sahasranamam is
slightly difficult to recite, but one needs to stay focused and persevere
towards success. It may be easier to consider the hymn into three parts – the first
part that ends around verse 22 ( approximately the first 8 minutes of the audio
) which is somewhat tongue twisting because of “Sandhi” ( or conjunctions in
Sanskrit ), the second part which ends around verse 68 ( approximately at 16
minutes of the audio ) which gets easier because of lesser levels of Sandhi and
the last part which is past the 16 minutes of the audio to the end which flows
even more easily.
The Subrahmanya Sahasranama Stotram presented here is
supposed to wash away sins and purify one’s self and eliminate diseases; as one listens to it or
recites it, this claim ( as expounded in the hymn itself ) can be “felt” by the
psyche. This is a long hymn. 25 MB
And now the audio: 26 minutes 57 seconds long.
( Mobile devices: click download; then play.)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5yrewH-M1znVFk0NHVnb3B6bE0/view?usp=sharing
NOTE: BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY LARGE FILE ABOUT 25 MEGABYTES, YOU WILL HAVE TO DOWNLOAD AND THEN LISTEN. On mobile devices and some computers, you may get the message -- This file is too large for Google to scan, download anyway? -- You will have to answer "YES" and then listen after download. On some computers, when you hit the play button, if nothing seems to happen, click the Download arrow at the top, click download anyway and then listen. Sorry for the inconvenience -- but this is a big file and praise to Sri Subrahmanya Swamy -- His Grace is magnificent !
There are three errors in the audio pronunciation as given
here:
Verse 30/1st line: Audio should be “Guhaashrya” not “Gunaashraya”
; Verse 43/2nd line: Audio should be “Jamabhari” not “Jamabhara”; Verse 62/1st
line: Audio should be “Dharma” not “Dhurma”.
The Sanskrit lyrics can be found at :
http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_subrahmanya/subrasahasra.pdf
Om Shree Subrahmanya Namo Namaha !
