Mention Sahasranama and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that one is talking about Vishnu Sahasranama. There are other Sahasranamas in praise of other deities, but these are prefixed with the names of the deities. If one says Sahasranama without a prefix, then it is assumed that one is talking about the Vishnu Sahasranama.
But who was the author of Vishnu Sahasranama? Like the Bhagavad Gita, Sahasranama too is part of the Mahabharata. Although the author of the Mahabharata is Vyasa, we know that the Gita came from Lord Krishna. So, since Bhishma was the one who gave the Sahasranama to Yudishtra, would it therefore not follow that Bhishma was the author of the Sahasranama? The right answer would be that the Sahasranama came from Sage Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse.
Bhishma uses the phrase “rishibih parigeetaani,” indicating that the thousand names of the Lord had already been recited by rishis. So, the names were not ones that Bhishma came up with. Sage Vyasa had collected all the names recited by the sages together and Bhishma was only stating what was already there. Since Vyasa was the one who compiled the names together, naturally Bhishma cannot be the author and the credit goes to Vyasa.
In the Sahasranama, before the actual praise of the Lord begins, there are verses that speak of the greatness of the Sahasranama, its content and the greatness of its author. Vyasa’s greatness is shown by mentioning his family connections. He was the great grandson of sage Vasistha, the grandson of sage Sakthi, the son of sage Parasara and the father of sage Suka. Vyasa is considered an avatara of Vishnu, another reason for the greatness of the Sahasranama.
