This is the first of a series of blog posts where the beautiful composition of Soundarya Lahari, composed by Sri Adi Shankaracharya is discussed along with a song in Tamil for each of the 100 verses which explains meaning of the verse in simple language.
The Tamil composition was done by Mrs. R. Visalakshi (W/o A. R. Krishna Iyer) sometime in the 1960's. The songs were passed on to my mother, Mrs. Kalpagam Sivaramakrishnan through her guru Late. Parvatham Mami in Nanganallur.
The 100 verses of Soundarya Lahari should not be interpreted merely as a poem. They give a formulaic method to achieve almost every possible power. The shlokas are set in Shikharini metre, wherein there are four lines in each stanza with 17 syllables in each line.
The first part of Soundarya Lahari, called as Ananda Lahari, consisting of the first 41 verses talks about the non-physical attributes of the Mother Goddess.
The first sloka of Ananda Lahari goes thus :
Sanskrit Text :
शिवः शक्थ्यायुक्तो यदि भवत: शक्तः प्रभवितुं
न चे देवं देवो न खलु कुशलः स्पन्दितुमपि
अत: त्वां आराध्याम् हरि हर विरिञ्चदिभिरपी
प्रणन्तुं स्तोतुं वा कथं अकृत-पुण्यः प्रभवति
shivah shakthyA yuktO yadi bhavatah shaktah prabhavitum
na ce devam devO na khalu kushalah spanditumapi
atah tvAm ArAdhyAm hari-hara-virinchAdibhir apI
praNantum stOtum vA katham akrta-puNyah prabhavati
The nature (represented by Siva) becomes functional only with the presence of energy (Shakti). There is no purpose of the existence of one without the other and neither can anything else exist. Therefore, O the one worshipped by the Holy Trinity, one needs to have done virtuous deeds in their previous lives to have the enlightenment to worship and sing your praises.
Pooja Vidhi and Proposed Result
If one chants this verse 1000 times every day for 12 days, and offers cooked raw rice (Havis) as prasadam, one would succeed in all ventures and all obstacles would be removed.
The Tamil composition was done by Mrs. R. Visalakshi (W/o A. R. Krishna Iyer) sometime in the 1960's. The songs were passed on to my mother, Mrs. Kalpagam Sivaramakrishnan through her guru Late. Parvatham Mami in Nanganallur.
The 100 verses of Soundarya Lahari should not be interpreted merely as a poem. They give a formulaic method to achieve almost every possible power. The shlokas are set in Shikharini metre, wherein there are four lines in each stanza with 17 syllables in each line.
The first part of Soundarya Lahari, called as Ananda Lahari, consisting of the first 41 verses talks about the non-physical attributes of the Mother Goddess.
The first sloka of Ananda Lahari goes thus :
Sanskrit Text :
शिवः शक्थ्यायुक्तो यदि भवत: शक्तः प्रभवितुं
न चे देवं देवो न खलु कुशलः स्पन्दितुमपि
अत: त्वां आराध्याम् हरि हर विरिञ्चदिभिरपी
प्रणन्तुं स्तोतुं वा कथं अकृत-पुण्यः प्रभवति
Transliteration :
shivah shakthyA yuktO yadi bhavatah shaktah prabhavitum
na ce devam devO na khalu kushalah spanditumapi
atah tvAm ArAdhyAm hari-hara-virinchAdibhir apI
praNantum stOtum vA katham akrta-puNyah prabhavati
Meaning :
The nature (represented by Siva) becomes functional only with the presence of energy (Shakti). There is no purpose of the existence of one without the other and neither can anything else exist. Therefore, O the one worshipped by the Holy Trinity, one needs to have done virtuous deeds in their previous lives to have the enlightenment to worship and sing your praises.
Pooja Vidhi and Proposed Result
If one chants this verse 1000 times every day for 12 days, and offers cooked raw rice (Havis) as prasadam, one would succeed in all ventures and all obstacles would be removed.
Tamil Interpretation :
பகவதி பரமானந்த பைரவி, பரப்ரம்ஹ ரூபிணி,
ஜகத்தை சிருஷ்ட்டி செய்ய சக்தி உம்மைக்கூடி
ஜெகதீசன் இருந்ததனால் சமர்த்தரானார் அம்மா
ஹரிபிரம்மாதியோர் ஆவலாய் பூஜிக்கும்
அரிதான பாதத்தை அனுதினம் துதி செய்ய
பூர்வ ஜன்மாந்திர புண்யமில்லா விட்டால்
புகழை விசாலம் பாட புத்தி கூடுமோ அம்மா
Vocal Rendering (by Kalpagam Sivaramakrishnan) :
Ragam : Ananda Bhairavi
Taalam : Aadi
Ragam : Ananda Bhairavi
Taalam : Aadi
Good Initiative. Very Comprehensive... The Audio bit is the icing on the cake..
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you, Jana..
Awesome...keep up the good work. Would like to see all the 100 verses here!!. All the best.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite Shloka but Sir I think that the first line of the verse is not interpreted correctly here in the meaning.
ReplyDeleteShakti represents energy but Shiva does not represent Nature since Nature is the manifestation of energy itself. I think Shiva represents Purusha, that which excites Prakriti (represented by Shakti). Shiva is the soul while Shakti is the matter. Shiva is the observer while Shakti is the Observation. Shiva is the internal self while shakti is the external non-self. Hence each of them have no meaning without the other.