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TEXT OF THE 63 PRAYERS :31 to 40

 31. KRISHNA'S MIRACULOUS DARSHAN TO THE VASUDEVA COUPLE

तमद्भुतं बालकमम्भुजेक्षणं चतुर्भुजं शङ्खगदार्युदायुधम्।
श्रीवत्सलक्ष्मं गलशोभिकौस्तुभं पीताम्बरं सान्द्रपयोधसौभगम्॥
महार्हवैडूर्यकिरीटकुण्डल-त्विषा परिष्वक्त-सहस्रकुन्तलम्।
उद्दाम-काञ्च्यङ्गदकङ्कणादिभिर्विरोचमानं दर्शय पाण्डुरङ्ग॥

tamadbhutaM bAlakamambhujekshhaNaM caturbhujaM sha~NkhagadaaryudAyudham .
shrIvatsalakshhmaM galashobhikaustubhaM pItAmbaraM sAndrapayodhasaubhagam ..
mahArhavaiDUryakirITakuNDala-tvishhA parishhvakta-sahasrakuntalam .
uddAma-kA~nchya~Ngadaka~NkaNAdibhirvirocamAnaM darshaya pANDura~Nga..

Show me, Lord Panduranga! that unique fluminous orm of the miraculous baby Krishna at birth :  lotus-eyed, four arms, sporting the conch, mace and other weapons, with the luminous srivatsa mark on the chest,  and the shining Kaustubha on the neck, wearing a yellow cloth, possessed of the majesty and grace of a heavy rain-cloud; with locks gleaming with the lustre of the diadem and ear-rings studded with pprecious stones, beecked with splenderous ornaments like bracelets, armlets  and waist-girdle.

 

32. TO THE COSMIC FORM OF VISHNU

 

  भूः पादौ यस्य नाभिर्वियदसुरनिलश्चन्द्र-सूर्यौ च नेत्रे
कर्णावाशाः शिरो द्यौः मुखमपि दहनो यस्य वास्तेयमब्धिः।
अन्तःस्थं यस्य विश्वं सुरनरखगगो-भोगि-गन्धर्वदैत्यैः 
चित्रं रंरम्यते तं त्रिभुवनवपुषं विष्णुमीशं नमामि॥

bhUH pAdau yasya nAbhirviyadasuranilashchandra-sUryau ca netre
karNAvAshAH shiro dyauH mukhamapi dahano yasya vAsteyamabdhiH .
antaHsthaM yasya vishvaM suranarakhagago-bhogi-gandharvadaityaiH 
citraM raMramyate taM tribhuvanavapushhaM vishhNumIshaM namAmi ..

33. TO LORD SHIVA: DHYANA-SHLOKA OF SHIVA-SAHASRANAMAM

वन्दे शम्भुं उमापतिं सुरगुरुं वन्दे जगत्कारणं 

वन्दे पन्नगभूषणं मृगधरं वन्दे पशूनां पतिं।
वन्दे सूर्य-शशाङ्क वह्नि नयनं वन्दे मुकुन्द प्रियं 

वन्दे भक्त जनाश्रयंच वरदं वन्दे शिवंशङ्करम्॥

 

vande shambhuM  umaapatiM  suraguruM  vande jagatkaaraNaM,
vande pannagabhUshhaNaM mRRigadharaM, vande pashUnaaM patiM.
vande sUrya-shashaa~Nka vahni nayanaM, vande mukunda priyaM,
vande bhakta janaashrayaM ca varadaM, vande shivaM sha~Nkaram..


I salute (=prostrate before) the great God Shambhu, Who is the consort of Uma, Who is the teacher of devas, I salute the cause of this universe, I salute who wears snake as ornament, Who caries a deer in his hand, I salute the Lord of all beings, I salute him who has sun, moon and fire as eyes,
I salute him who is dear to Mukunda, I salute him who is the refuge of his devotees, Who is the one who gives them great status, And I salute Shiva and I salute Shankara.

 

34.  From Shankaracharya’s Shiva-mAnasa pUja

आत्मा त्वं गिरिजा मतिः सहचराः प्राणाः शरीरं गृहं

पूजा ते विषयोपभोगरचना निद्रा समाधिस्थितिः।
सञ्चारः पदयोः प्रदक्षिणविधिः स्तोत्राणि सर्वा गिरो

यद्यत्कर्म करोमि तत्तदखिलं शम्भो तवाराधनम्॥४॥


AtmA tvaM girijA matiH sahacarAH prANAH sharIraM gRRihaM

pUjA te vishhayopabhogaracanA nidrA samAdhisthitiH .

sancAraH padayoH pradakshhiNavidhiH stotrANi sarvA giro

yadyatkarma karomi tattadakhilaM shambho tavArAdhanam ..

 

O Lord, You are my Atma (Soul), Devi Girija (the Divine Mother) is my Buddhi (Pure Intellect), the Shiva Ganas (the Companions or Attendants) are my Prana and my Body is Your Temple, My Interactions with the World are Your Worship and my Sleep is the State of Samadhi (complete absorption in You), My Feet Walking about is  our Pradakshina (Circumambulation); all my Speech are Your Hymns of Praises,  Whatever work I do, all that is Your Aradhana (Worship), O Shambhu.

​35: FROM ADI SHANKARACHARYA'S SHIVANANDA-LAHARI: SHLOKA 29

​त्वत्पादाम्बुजमर्चयामि परमं त्वां चिन्तयाम्यन्वहं

 त्वामीशं शरणं व्रजामि वचसा त्वामेव याचे विभो।

वीक्षां मे दिश चाक्षुषीं सकरुणां दिव्यैश्चिरं प्रार्थितां 

शम्भो लोकगुरो मदीयमनसः सौख्योपदेशं कुरु॥

 

tvatpAdAmbhujamarcayAmi  paramaM tvAM cintayAmyanvahaM

tvAmIshaM sharaNaM vrajAmi vacasA tvAmeva yAce vibho /

vIkshhAM me disha cAkshhushhIM sakaruNAM divyaishciraM prArthitAM

shambho lokaguro madIyamanasaH saukhyopadeshaM kuru //

 

Oh All-pervading one! I worship Your lotus-feet; I meditate daily on You as The Supreme. I seek refuge in You as The Lord. Through words I beg of You alone. Please cast on me Your Graceful View, the look for which gods have been praying for long.  Teach my mind, Oh World Teacher Shambhu, please teach whatever is best. 

We add to this, the second  half of shloka 20:

कपालिन् भिक्षो मे हृदयकपिं अत्यन्तचपलं
दृढं भक्त्या बद्ध्वा शिव भवदधीनं कुरु विभो॥

kapAlin bhikshho me hRRidayakapiM atyantacapalaM
dRRiDhaM bhaktyA baddhvA shiva bhavadadhInaM kuru vibho..

Hey kapAli, Hey beggar-like one, Hey lord, the monkey-like mind in me is extremely addicted to temptations ; please tie it tightly by the rope of devotion and make it your addict.

36. From Manicka-vAchagar’s TiruvAchagaM. Verse 15 of Tiruccadagam: (Tamil)

வானாகி மண்ணாகி வளியாகி ஒளியாகி

ஊனாகி உயிராகி உண்மையுமாய் இன்மையுமாய்க்

கோனாகி யான் எனது என்று அவரவரைக்கூத்தாட்டு

வானாகி நின்றாயை என் சொல்லி வாழ்த்துவனே

 

vAnAgi maNNAgi vaLiyAgi oLiyAgi  UnAgi uyirAgi uNmaiyumAy inmaiyumAyk-

konAgi yAn enadu enRu avar-avaraik-kUttATTu- vAnAgi ninRAyai en solli vAzhttuvane.

 

Oh God! You have become the five elements: Space, Earth, Air, Fire (and Water) ; Body and Soul are You; You are the Manifest (Presence, but not the Reality) as well as the Unmanifest (Invisible, but the Reality); You are the One who pulls the cord that makes each one of us  dance like puppets with foolish thoughts of ‘ I ‘ and ‘Mine’. You are the Lord of all these; all our actions are in truth Yours. How can I ever exhaust Your Glories! What shall I pray to?

Note on Manickavaachagar: Also known as Tiruvadavoorar, he was a contemporary of Varaguna Pandian II of the 9th century. His unique bridal mysticism, undivided loyalty and exclusive devotion to the Lord, find immortal expression in his TiruvAchagam, a work of devotion-cum-wisdom par excellence known to melt even the hardest of hearts.

37: FROM SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM VIII- 3- 15  ( GAJENDRA-MOKSHAM)

​नमो नमस्तेऽखिलकारणाय निष्कारणायाद्भुतकारणाय।

सर्वागमाम्नाय महार्णवाय नमोऽपवर्गाय परायणाय॥

​   namo namaste.akhilakAraNAya nishhkAraNAyAdbhutakaaraNAya .

sarvAgamAmnAya mahArNavAya namo.apavargAya parAyaNAya

 

  This is the 14th shloka out of the 28 shlokas, full of spiritual devotion,  that the King of elephants spoke in human voice praying to the Absolute when one of his legs (of Gajendra, the Elephant-king) was caught by a crocodile and could not be released.  In fact this Gajendra was in his previous birth Indradyumna, a Pandya king in South India, who was cursed to be this way for disrespecting Sage Agastya when the latter visited him. The crocodile also was a gandharva in its previous birth. When he was bathing in a river, Rishi devala cursed him to be born as a   crocodile  because he pulled Devala's leg when the Rishi was also bathing in the same river. 

Prostrations to You, Oh Lord, who are the cause of all causes and who therefore  are without any cause; to you, who are the unique First and Absolute Cause; unique, because, you in becoming the multiplicity of effects are unaffected in the least , unlike all relative causes, to you who are the limitless ocean  into which all scriptures like the Vedas and Agamas flow and find fulfillment ; to You who are the bliss of salvation and the one resort for all spiritual aspirants!

38.  FROM DHRUVASTUTI  OF SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM (IV-9-15)

TO THE LORD MAHA-VISHNU APPEARING BEFORE DHRUVA

त्वं नित्य-मुक्त-परिशुद्ध-विबुद्ध आत्मा कूटस्थ आदि-पुरुषो भगवान्-स्त्र्यधीशः।

यद्-बुद्ध्यवस्थितिम्-अखण्डितया स्वदृष्ट्या द्रष्टा स्थिता-वधिमखो व्यतिरिक्त आस्से॥

tvaM nitya-mukta-pariSuddha-vibuddha AtmA

kUtastha Adi-purusho bhagavAn-stryadhISaH/

yad-buddhy-avasthitim-akhaNDitayA svadRshTyA

drashTA sthitA-vadhimakho vyatirikta Asse //

 

 You are ever-liberated, perfectly pure, the Omniscient Self, the Immutable, the most Ancient Person, the One with all divine attributes, the Lord of the three worlds and guNas. You, though being the uninterrupted Witness, by your Cosmic Vision, of the state of intelligence and also the Lord of all sacrifices, are ever aloof from the JIva, the individual soul.

This is the tenth verse in the 12-verse divinely prompted poem of praise sung by boy Dhruva (in Srimad Bhagavatam) when he actually saw the Lord at the end of his five-month-long tapas in the forest all alone, in the Satya Yuga. This shloka is actually the svarUpa-lakshaNa of the Lord. The Upanishads declare satyam jnAnaM anantaM is the definition of the Transcendental Absolute. satyam (Truth) is the same as sat (Absolute Existence). jnAnaM (Knowledge) and cit (Consciousness) are the same. anantaM (Infinite) and Ananda (Bliss) are the same. These three facets are presented in EACH of the lines (lines 1, 2 and 4) of the above  verse.   Since the gAytrI itself is a presentation of these three facets of the Absolute in its three lines, this verse is taken to represent the gAyatrI. For this reason, it is said that those who do not have the privilege of being inducted into the gAyatrI can take this verse and recite it and use it for meditation purposes; and they will have the same benefit as they would if they had done the gAyatrI.  This interpretation beautifully dovetails with the description by commentators of Dhruva-stuti as representing the 12 Adityas, namely the twelve manifestations of the Sun-God -- which are, in order, mitra, ravi, sUrya, bhAnu, khaga, pUsha, hiraNya-garbha, marIci, Aditya, savitA, arka, and bhAskara. 

The relevant one here is savitA. It is the tenth facet. Each verse of Dhruva-stuti represents one of these. The manifestation savitA is represented by the tenth verse, namely the present one.  savitA is the manifestation that is deified in the gAyatrI as representative of the absolute. Thus this tenth verse is representative of savitA, therefore of  gAyatrI.   The only difficult word, ‘kUTastha’ is a technical word meaning, that which remains like the unchanging iron-piece (anvil) on which the blacksmith does all his hammering. In Vedanta literature kUTastha is used to denote the akshara purusha, the imperishable Self , who is the changeless non-participating witness of the doings of the outer self. The outer Self, which is called the kshara purusha, 'the perishable Self', is involved in the actions of Nature, reflects the varied workings of the guNas of the individual's prakRti. This outer Self identifies himself with the play of personality and assumes the doer-ship of all actions. He is under the constant spell of mAyA; whereas the akshara purusha, the kuTastha, is the inactive non-doer and is the immutable witnessing Self.  It is the Lord that appears as both the purushas.

39. FROM NARAYANEEYAM

भीतिर्नाम द्वितीयाद्-भवति ननु मन्ः कल्पितं च द्वितीयं

तेनैक्याभ्यास-शीलो हृदयम्-इह यथाशक्ति बुद्ध्या निरुन्ध्यां।

मायाविद्धे तु तस्मिन् पुनरपि न तथा भाति मायाधि-नाथं

तत्-त्वां भक्त्या महत्या सततमनुभजन्नीश भीतिं विजह्यां॥

 

bhItir-nAma dvitIyAd-bhavati nanu manH kalpitaM ca dvitIyaM

tenaikyA-bhyAsa-shIlo hR^idayam-iha yathAshakti buddhyA nirundhyAM /

mAyAviddhe tu tasmin punarapi na tathA bhAti mAyAdhi-nAthaM

tat-tvAM bhaktyA mahatyA satatam-anubhajan-nIsha bhItiM vijahyAM //

 

Tr. Fear arises from the consciousness of a second (thing) different from oneself. This consciousness of (such) a second is indeed an imaginary super-imposition of the mind. Therefore I am trying my best through discrimination to discipline the mind in the consciousness of oneness. But when this power of discrimination is overpowered by Thy mAyA, no amount of effort is of any avail in getting established in Unitary Consciousness. Therefore Oh Lord, I am trying to overcome the fear of samsAra by constant and devoted worship of Thee, the Master of mAyA.

 

Comment. This is one of the key slokas that trumpet the highest advaita concept, among the 36 of this selection. The sentence ‘manaH-kalpitam dvitIyaM’ (The consciousness of a second object is an imaginary superimposition of the mind) constitutes   the ‘brahma-sUtra’ of advaita. Bhattatiri clearly makes the point that the unity of the jIva with the supreme Spirit is the ultimate goal. But he hastens to add that the same is not reachable by any one directly but only through the love and service of Him and His Grace.  It is only by God’s Grace that non-dual consciousness is obtained. The devotee merges in His Being by His grace, The ‘I’ disappears in Him and ‘He’ is left. The becoming merges in the Being. It is not vice versa. This is what one might call Realistic advaita, to be subtly contrasted with ‘kevala-advaita’

40. From Brahma Samhita Ch.V shloka #33

अद्वैतं अच्युतं अनादिं अनन्तरूपं आद्यं पुराणपुरुषं नवयौवनं च।

वेदेषु दुर्लभं अदुर्लभं आत्मभक्तौ गोविन्दं आदिपुरुषं तमहं भजामि॥

advaitaM achyutaM anAdiM anantarUpaM AdyaM purANapurushhaM navayauvanaM ca .

Vedeshhu durlabhaM adurlabhaM Atmabhaktau govindaM AdipurushhaM tamahaM bhajAmi ..

 

Meaning:  I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is inaccessible to the Vedas, but obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion of the Atman, who is without a second, who is not subject to decay, is without a beginning, whose form is endless, who is the beginning, and the eternal purushha; yet He is a person possessing the beauty of blooming youth.

 

So much is talked about the inability of the Vedas expressing themselves about Brahman, because, the very nature of Brahman is an abstraction

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