Listening to pure words

One of the names of  Lord Vishnu in the Vishnu Sashasranama is Suchisravaah. In his commentary on the Vishnu Sahasranama, Parasara Bhattar interprets

this to mean One who listens to pure words. The Lord

Himself says in the Mahabharata that He listens only to pure words and does not pay heed to that which is undesirable. In the Mahabharata, Krishna did not stay with Duryodhana or with Drona or Bhishma. But He chose to stay in Vidura’s palace.He spent the night listening to

Vidura narrate His own ‘leelas.’ And what purer words can be found than those describing the Lord’s leelas? So the Lord showed that He was Suchisravaah, M.V. Anantapadmanabhachariar said in a discourse on the

Vishnu Sahasranama.

Sage Vyasa had written the Mahabharata, but the Mahabharata was a story of a war between cousins, and there was not enough about Lord Krishna in it. As for the sacred Vishnu Purana, it was mostly about Vedanta.

It was necessary for Vyasa to write something to celebrate

the Lord’s leelas as Krishna. So Vyasa wrote Srimad Bhagavatam. Wherever Bhagavatam is recited, Lord Krishna will appear there, for He is Suchisravaah.The Kurukshetra war saw the  death of many, Bhishma among them. As Bhishma lay on his bed of arrows, awaiting death, Yudhisthira asked him what one should do to have lasting peace of mind, and Bhishma recited to him the Lord’s thousand names and said the recitation of those names was the way to happiness.

As Bhishma recited the thousand names, Krishna listened to

him. Thus again, the Lord proved that He was Suchisravaah.

When Hanuman addressed  Rama, He was pleased with Hanuman’s knowledge, which was evident in his speech. Thus again the Lord proved that He was Suchisravaah.

Rama heard the story of His life narrated to Him by

His sons, Lava and Kusa, again proving that He would listen

with pleasure to blemishless words. It is not just in His vibhava form that the Lord displays  this tendency, but also in His  archa form. In temples, when the processional deity is taken  round, the Vedas and the Divya  Prabandham are recited, for this  too pleases the Lord.