Hymn to Sri Dakhinamoorty - A Simple renderingby Sri V V B Rama Rao garu

[Guest guest]

Hymn to Sri Dakhinamoorty

Sri Dakshinaamoorty Stotram

Simple rendering

 

Sri Adi Sankara, the founder, propounder and exegete of adwaita

siddhanta – monism, composed a prayer paying obeisance to Sri

Dakshinaamoorty. This is written in the form of an ashtakam

(literally eight verses) but this is prefaced with verses of prayer

and contemplation and at the end there could be, phalashruti, fruit

of the repetition of the verses, too. The standard eight is not

really a limit since there could be a ninth too.

 

The blessed acharya saw Lord Dakshinaamoorty, the form of Lord Shiva.

The poet-seer

saw Him seated facing south under a banyan tree showing chinmudra, a

posture of extreme joy and mood of transmitting jnaana, spiritual

wisdom to His disciples. The preceptor was silent but the questions

of the disciples were cleared just by His maunam, absolute silence.

 

The stotram, hymn or song of praise, is prefaced with some dhyana

slokas, contemplative verses:

 

Om namah pranavaardhaaya shuddha jnanaika moortaye

Nirmalaya prashaantaya dakshinamoortayenamah

 

Salutations to You, the one who is the exemplification of the meaning

of PRANAVA (OM), the embodiment of all knowledge and wisdom, the

purest and the most peaceful one, to Lord Dakshinaamoorty.

 

Gurave sarva lokaanam, bhishajee sarva roginaam

Nidhaye sarva vidyaanaam, dakshinaamoortayenamah

 

Salutations to You, the preceptor to all the worlds, the medic of all

diseases, the treasure of all accomplishments, salutations, Lord

Dakshinaamoorty!

 

mauna vyakhyaa prakatitha parabrahma thatwam yuvaanam

varshishtaanthe asadrushiganairavrutam brahmanishtaih

acharyendram kara kalita chinmudramaanandaroopam

swaatmaraamam muditha vadanam dakshinamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, the one who professes forth with a gesture the

essence of the nature of the Supreme Being to the groups of seers and

sages committed to know it, to the ever blissful, to the one who is

the inner deity, the effulgent faced, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

 

The following are the slokas:

 

om viswam darpana drushyamaana nagareetulyam nijantargatham

pasyannatmanimaayaya bahirivodbhutam yadha nidrayaa

yas saakshatkurute prabodhasamaye swatmana mevadwayam

tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to you, the one who experiences the whole universe that

appears as a reflection in a mirror within Himself, the one who

appears to be covered by illusion as in sleep, and the one in the

wakeful, professing mood, realizes in Himself the non-duality of the

soul and the Supreme Being, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

 

beejasyantarivaankuro jagadidam pragnirviklapam pu

nar maaya kalpita desa kala kalanaa vaichityra chitreekrutam

maayaaveeva vijrumbhayatyapi mahaa yogeeva yaswechchyaa

tasmai sree gurumoortaye nama idam sridakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, to the one who creates with his powers of

creating illusion becoming a great seer and sage the wondrous things

and the universe again as a little sprout from the seed, to such a

one, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

 

yasyaiva sphuranam sadaaatmakam asat kalpardhakam bhaasate

saakshaat tatwa maseeti veda vachasaa yo bodhayatyaashritaan

yas sakshatkaranabhavenna punaraavritti bhavaambhonidhau

tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, the one the mere thought of whom makes the world

and its affairs shine, the one in whom inheres apparently the Vedic

maxim That Thou Art, the one with whose manifestation freedom from

the cycle of birth and death is overcome, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

 

nanaa chchidra ghatodarastitha mahaa deepa prabhaa bhaaswaram

jnaanam yasyatu chakshuraadi karanadwaara bahispandate

jaanameeti tameva bhaantamanubhaatyanta spurantham sadaa

tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, the one seen as radiance from the lamp in a pot

with many holes, the one whose knowledge flashes out through all the

sense organs, the one who radiates the effulgence of Supreme Being

to the inner mind, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

 

deham praanamapeendriyaanyapi chalaam budhhincha soonyam viduh

stree baalaandhajadopamasthwahamiti bhrantaabhrusam vaadinah

maaya sakti vilaasa kalpita mahaa vyaamoha samharine

tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, the one who destroys the delusion under maaya as

in women, children the stupid and the blind that 'I' is the body,

life breath, senses, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

 

raahugrastha diwakarendu sadruso maaya samaachhchadanaath

sanmaatrah karanopa samharana to yo bhut sushuptah pumaan

pragaswaapsamiti prabhodha samayeh yah pratyabhijnayate

tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, the one who folds up all functions and enters the

state of sleep and becomes a veil like maaya, as when the Sun or Moon

eclipsed, and the one who waking up realizes it as illusion having

gone to sleep, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

 

baalyadishaypi jagradaadishu tadha sarwa swawastswapi

vyavrutta swanu vartamaanamaham ityantha spurantham sadaa

swatmaanam prakateekarothi bhajataam yo mudraya bhadrayaa

tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, the one who shows always to all devotees the

chinmudra the reassuring gesture of being in everyone in all stages

of childhood, youth and age, Lord Dakshinaamoorty!

 

viswam pasyathi kaarya kaarana ya swaswami sambhanditah

sishyaacharya tayaa tadhaiva pitruputraadyatmanaa bhedatah

swapne jagrutivaa ya yesha purusho maaya pari bhraamitah

tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, the one Divine Teacher who sees in himself the

world of cause and effect and all diversity as the possessor-

possession, father-son, teacher-taught, asleep-and fully awake, Lord

Dakshinaamoorty!

 

bhoorambhaasyanilo nalombara maharnaatho himamshuh puman

itya bhaati charaacharaatmakamidam yastyaiva mooryashtakam

naanyatkinchinavidyate vimrusathaam yasmaat parasmaat vibho

tasmai sri gurumoortaye nama idam sri dakshinaamoortaye

 

Salutations to You, the one whose eight-fold form appearing diversely

as the elements, the sun, moon and jeeva, to the one beyond whom

there exists nothing for anyone enquiring, Salutations to You Lord

Dakshinaamoorty!

 

sarwatma twamiti sphuteekrutamidam yasmaadmushmin stawe

tenaasya sravanntaat tadardha mananaat dhyanascha sankeertanaath

sarwaatmatwa mahaa vibhooti sahitah syadeeswaratwam swatah

siddheth tatpuranashthadha parinatham aishwaryamavyahatam

 

That THAT THOU ART is described in the hymn. By listening to it, by

reflecting and meditating on it, by repeatedly reciting it, one will

attain the state of divinity and be endued with the glory of AATMA

along with the eight-fold powers of the Divine.

 

(This is the phalashruti, the fruit of listening etc. of the hymn.

Usually all hymns and stotras end with a section called phalashruti.)