Soundarya Lahari : ( 24/04/2013. )

31/03/2019 THE SOUNDARYA LAHARI : STANZAS 1 TO 10. STANZA - 4. "twadanyah paanibhyaam abhaya varado daivata ganah twam aekaa naiva asi prakatita vara abheety abhinayaa bhayaat traatum daatum phalam api cha vaancaa samadhikam saranyae lokaanaam tavahi charanaa vaeva " twadanyah = other than you paanibhyaam = by the hands ( by empty gesture ) abhaya varado = bestowers of protection from fear and boon daivata ganah = the assembage of gods twam ekaa = you alone naiva asi = you do not thus prakatita = display vara abheety = bestowing of boon and protection from fear abhinayaa = by gesture bhayaat traatum = protecting from fear daatum phalam api cha = and giving reward vaancaa samadhikam = in excess of that desired saranyae lokaanaam = oh refuge of the worlds! ( Sakti ) tava = your hi = indeed charanaa eva = even feet nipunaa = are expert. "Other than you, the assemblages of gods assure protection from fear and gesticulate this by the Abhay...

01/03/2019 THE SOUNDARYA LAHARI : STANZAS 1 TO 10. STANZA - 3. * avidyaanaam antas timira mihira dweepa nagaree jadaanaam chaitanya stabaka makaranda sruti jharee daridraanaam chintaamani gunanikaa janma jaladhau nimagnaanaam damshtraa mura ripu varaahasya bhavati. * avidyaanaam - for the spiritually ignorant; antah timira - inner darkness; mihira dweepa nagaree - the island city of the sun (a division of the terrestrial world from where the sun is said to rise); jadaanaam - for the dull witted; chaitanya - pure intelligence; stabaka makaranda - honey of the (Kalpaka flower) cluster (of the wish yeilding Kalpaka tree); sruti jharee - flowing stream; daridraanaam - for the impoverished; chintaamani gunanikaa - necklace of the Cintamani (the wish yeilding gem); janma jaladhau - in the ocean of births; nimagnaanaam - those immersed; damshtraa - the tusks; mura ripu - the enemy of (the demon) Mura; varaahasya - of the boar (an incarnation of Vish...

10/02/2019 THE SOUNDARYA LAHARI : STANZAS 1 TO 10. 2. taneeya amsam paamsum tavacharana pankaeruha bhavam virinchis sanchinwan virachayati lokaan avikalan vahatyaenam Saurih katham api sahasraena Sirasaam harah samkshudwainam bhajati bhasmod doolana vidhim. taneeya amsam paamsum - minute dust tava - your charana pankaeruha - lotus feet bhavam - present in virinchis - Virinchi (Brahma) sanchinwan - gathering virachayati - makes (Creation) lokaan avikalan - all the worlds vahatyaenam  - carries this (Preservation) Saurih - Shouri (Vishnu) katham api - some how sahasraena Sirasaam - by a thousand heads (as the serpent Adisesha,the tamasic form of Vishnu, who supports the world with his thousand heads) harah - Hara (Siva) samkshudwainam - having powdered this (Destruction) bhajati - observes bhasmod doolana - sprinkling sacred ash vidhim - injunction "O! Bhagavati, Virinchi (the Creator) carefully gathers the minute dust from Thy celebrated lotus feet to...

21/12/2018 3. Notwithstanding any of the early narration , the fact remains that the Saundaryalahari is an amazing lyric, in terms of providing a multitude of insights for the modern and intellectually critical reader : religious, spiritual, literary, musical and historical. It is a work that carries the stamp of Sri Sankara, which is an ability to enchant all, regardless of race, religion or language, till the end of time. Om Sree Lalitambikayai namah : THE SOUNDARYA LAHARI : Jagad Guru Sri Sankaraacharya’s Immortal Creation THE SOUNDARYA LAHARI : STANZAS 1 TO 10. 1. Siva Saktyaa yukto yadi bhavati Saktah prabhavitum na chae daevam daevo na khalu kusalah spanditum api atas twaam aaraadhyaam hari hara virinchaadibhir api pranastum stotum vaa katham akrita punyah prabhavati. O! Bhagavati! Only if Parama Siva is enjoined with You, the Sakti, He is empowered to create. The same Lord is indeed powerless even to move sans Thy company. O! Mother, the celebrities such as Ha...

17/11/2018 2. The second point is that the unbroken line of teachers of the four amnayas have handed this work down the generations as flowing from Sri Sankara himself. This cannot be brushed aside lightly. Does not nyaya or the science of logic accept the words of an apta (trustworthy individual) as a mode of proof ? A critical reader will do well to eschew the illogical debate of authorship along the lines set out above and instead concentrate on the puzzle of the Saundaryalahari with it’s two parts which are distinct in terms of content and style (shailee). It is true that the Ananda Lahari dealing with saktism has a degree of poetic elegance and felicity of language and phrase somewhat lacking in the latter half of the work. The fifty one verses dealing with the divine beauty of the Universal Mother from the top of her gem studded crown to her sacred feet is couched in a style that is comparatively forced with only the occasional word or phrase or line reminiscent of...

27/10/2018 1. The Saundaryalahari (wave of beauty) is an unique lyrical composition. It combines the virtues of a devotional poem, a foundation text for saktisim (sakti worship) and a mantra sastra all in one. It consists of two parts : the first, called the Anandalahari (wave of bliss) consisting of forty one verses and the second called Saundaryalahari, composed of fifty nine verses. Notwithstanding this, the entire set of hundred verses are referred to as the Saundaryalahari. An additional three verses are accepted by some, bringing the number of verses to one hundred and three. Traditionally the work is ascribed to Sri Sankara, but some dispute this. Their contention is that the master of advaita vedanta postulating the non duality of the self and the  absolute, could not have composed a devotional work, glorifying the duality of Sakti and Siva. And that the intellectual purity of the paramahamsa parivrajaka acharya could not have concerned itself with tantra, yantr...

13/10/2018 5. A child is more familiar with the mother than with the father, because the former is very kind, loving, tender, affectionate and looks after the wants of the child. Whenever the child wants anything, it runs with out-stretched hands to the mother, rather than to the father. If she hears the cry of the child, she leaves her domestic work and runs immediately to look after the child. In the spiritual field also, the aspirant or the devotee—the spiritual child—has intimate relationship with the Mother Durga than with the Father Siva. Lord Siva is quite indifferent to the external world. He is a Tyagi and a Virakta. He wears the garland of skulls of His devotees, rubs the whole body with Vibhuti or holy ash and remains in the crematorium in an intoxicated state. He is absorbed in contemplation of the Self. He remains in a state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi. He has handed over the power-of-attorney to His consort, Durga. It is Mother Durga only who looks after the affairs ...