vishnuashtabhujakanchipuramprapatti

අෂ්ටභුජාෂ්ටකම්

Ashtabhuja Ashtakam in Sinhala · සිංහල

🕉️ hindu·📿 8× repetitions·🕐 Morning or evening; daily, and especially on Vishnu festivals and during pilgrimage to Kanchipuram·📜 Ashtabhuja Ashtakam (eight verses on the Ashtabhuja Perumal of Kanchipuram)

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Englishසිංහල𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

Origin & Story

Ashtabhuja Ashtakam (eight verses on the Ashtabhuja Perumal of Kanchipuram) · Vedanta Desika (Venkatanatha) · 13th-14th century CE

Swami Vedanta Desika, who lived for much of his life in Kanchipuram, composed this Ashtakam as a prapatti to Ashtabhuja Perumal, the eight-armed form of Vishnu in the Ashtabhujakaram Divya Desam. Overcome by the Lord's beauty and grace, and likening himself to the helpless Gajendra dragged by the crocodile of sense-objects, he surrendered himself entirely into the Lord's protection in eight verses, praying not for liberation as an end in itself but for the bliss of perpetual service at the Lord's feet.

✦ As told in scripture

The Lord is said to have taken the rare eight-armed (ashtabhuja) form at Kanchipuram to guard a great sacrifice from disruption, driving away the obstructing forces with the weapons in His eight hands; devotees hold that He who thus protected the yajna, and who once flew to save Gajendra, likewise shields all who surrender to Him through this Ashtakam.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

ගජේන්ද්රරක්ෂාත්වරිතං භවන්තං ග්රාහෛරිවාහං විෂයෛර්විකෘෂ්ටඃ . අපාරවිජ්ඤානදයානුභාවම් ආප්තං සතාමෂ්ටභුජං ප්රපද්යේ .. 1 ..

gajendrarakṣātvaritaṃ bhavantaṃ grāhairivāhaṃ viṣayairvikṛṣṭaḥ | apāravijñānadayānubhāvam āptaṃ satāmaṣṭabhujaṃ prapadye || 1 ||

Meaning:Even as Gajendra was seized by the crocodile, I am dragged about by the senses; I take refuge in You — the eight-armed Lord (Ashtabhuja) who rushed to rescue the elephant-king, the trusted resort of the holy, of boundless knowledge, compassion and power.

Verse 2

ත්වදේකශේෂෝ(අ)හමනාත්මතන්ත්රස්ත්වත්පාදලිප්සාං දිශතා ත්වයෛව . අසත්සමෝ(අ)ප්යෂ්ටභුජාස්පදේශ සත්තාම් ඉදානීම් උපලම්භිතෝ(අ)ස්මි .. 2 ..

tvadekaśeṣo'hamanātmatantrastvatpādalipsāṃ diśatā tvayaiva | asatsamo'pyaṣṭabhujāspadeśa sattām idānīm upalambhito'smi || 2 ||

Meaning:I belong wholly to You and am not my own master. By You alone — who gave me the very longing for Your feet — I, though as good as non-existent, have now been brought into true being, O Lord of the Ashtabhuja shrine.

Verse 3

ස්වරූපරූපාස්ත්රවිභූෂණාද්යෛඃ පරත්වචින්තාං ත්වයි දුර්නිවාරාම් . භෝගේ මෘදූපක්රමතාම් අභීප්සන් ශීලාදිභිර්වාරයසීව පුංසාම් .. 3 ..

svarūparūpāstravibhūṣaṇādyaiḥ paratvacintāṃ tvayi durnivārām | bhoge mṛdūpakramatām abhīpsan śīlādibhirvārayasīva puṃsām || 3 ||

Meaning:The awe of Your supremacy — hard to overcome — that arises in me from Your divine essence, form, weapons and ornaments, You seem gently to dispel, desiring to make Yourself enjoyable, through Your accessibility, gracious character and other such qualities.

Verse 4

ශක්තිං ශරණ්යාන්තරශබ්දභාජාං සාරං ච සන්තෝල්ය ඵලාන්තරාණාම් . ත්වද්දාස්යහේතෝස්ත්වයි නිර්විශඞ්කං න්යස්තාත්මනාං නාථ බිභර්ෂි භාරම් .. 4 ..

śaktiṃ śaraṇyāntaraśabdabhājāṃ sāraṃ ca santolya phalāntarāṇām | tvaddāsyahetostvayi nirviśaṅkaṃ nyastātmanāṃ nātha bibharṣi bhāram || 4 ||

Meaning:Having weighed the (limited) power of those called 'other refuges' and the (lesser) essence of other fruits, O Lord, for the sake of loving service to You, You bear the burden of those who have without hesitation entrusted their selves to You.

Verse 5

අභීතිහේතෝරනුවර්තනීයං නාථ ත්වදන්යං න විභාවයාමි . භයං කුතඃ ස්යාත් ත්වයි සානුකම්පේ රක්ෂා කුතඃ ස්යාත් ත්වයි ජාතරෝෂේ .. 5 ..

abhītihetoranuvartanīyaṃ nātha tvadanyaṃ na vibhāvayāmi | bhayaṃ kutaḥ syāt tvayi sānukampe rakṣā kutaḥ syāt tvayi jātaroṣe || 5 ||

Meaning:I can conceive of no resort to be followed for fearlessness other than You, O Lord. What fear can there be when You are full of compassion? And what (need of other) protection can there be when (only) You could ever be roused to anger?

Verse 6

ත්වදේකතන්ත්රං කමලාසහාය ස්වේනෛව මාං රක්ෂිතුම් අර්හසි ත්වම් . ත්වයි ප්රවෘත්තේ මම කිං ප්රයාසෛස්ත්වය්යප්රවෘත්තේ මම කිං ප්රයාසෛඃ .. 6 ..

tvadekatantraṃ kamalāsahāya svenaiva māṃ rakṣitum arhasi tvam | tvayi pravṛtte mama kiṃ prayāsaistvayyapravṛtte mama kiṃ prayāsaiḥ || 6 ||

Meaning:O consort of Kamala, since I depend wholly upon You, You alone, of Your own will, ought to protect me. When You undertake it, what need of effort on my part? And if You do not, what use is any effort of mine?

Verse 7

සමාධිභඞ්ගේෂ්වපි සම්පතත්සු ශරණ්යභූතේ ත්වයි බද්ධකක්ෂ්යේ . අපත්රපේ සෝඪුම් අකිඤ්චනෝ(අ)හං දූරාධිරෝහං පතනං ච නාථ .. 7 ..

samādhibhaṅgeṣvapi sampatatsu śaraṇyabhūte tvayi baddhakakṣye | apatrape soḍhum akiñcano'haṃ dūrādhirohaṃ patanaṃ ca nātha || 7 ||

Meaning:Even when my concentration is broken and (distractions) assail me, since You — my refuge — are girded and resolved (to save me), I, helpless and unashamed, can endure both the hard ascent (of self-effort) and the danger of falling, O Lord.

Verse 8

ප්රාප්තාභිලාෂං ත්වදනුග්රහාන්මාම් පද්මානිෂේව්යේ තව පාදපද්මේ . ආදේහපාතාදපරාධදූරම් ආත්මාන්තකෛඞ්කර්යරසං විධේයාඃ .. 8 ..

prāptābhilāṣaṃ tvadanugrahānmām padmāniṣevye tava pādapadme | ādehapātādaparādhadūram ātmāntakaiṅkaryarasaṃ vidheyāḥ || 8 ||

Meaning:Having attained my heart's desire by Your grace, O Lord whose lotus feet are served by Lakshmi, make me — kept far from all offence until this body falls — relish the joy of intimate, total service at Your lotus feet.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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ගජේන්ද්රරක්ෂාත්වරිතම්🔊gajendrarakṣātvaritam(You who) hastened to rescue Gajendra, the king of elephants

භවන්තම්🔊bhavantamYou (the Lord)

ග්රාහෛඃ ඉව අහම් විෂයෛඃ විකෘෂ්ටඃ🔊grāhaiḥ iva aham viṣayaiḥ vikṛṣṭaḥI, dragged about by sense-objects as (Gajendra was) by the crocodile

අපාරවිජ්ඤානදයානුභාවම්🔊apāravijñānadayānubhāvamof boundless knowledge, compassion and power

ආප්තම් සතාම්🔊āptam satāmthe trusted refuge of the holy

අෂ්ටභුජම් ප්රපද්යේ🔊aṣṭabhujam prapadyeI take refuge in the eight-armed Lord (Ashtabhuja)

ත්වදේකශේෂඃ අහම්🔊tvadekaśeṣaḥ ahamI, who belong solely to You (Your exclusive subordinate)

අනාත්මතන්ත්රඃ🔊anātmatantraḥnot independent, not my own master

ත්වත්පාදලිප්සාම් දිශතා ත්වයා ඒව🔊tvatpādalipsām diśatā tvayā evaby You alone, who granted the very longing for Your feet

අසත්සමඃ අපි🔊asatsamaḥ apithough (as good as) non-existent

සත්තාම් ඉදානීම් උපලම්භිතඃ අස්මි🔊sattām idānīm upalambhitaḥ asmiI have now been granted (true) existence

පරත්වචින්තාම් ත්වයි දුර්නිවාරාම්🔊paratvacintāṃ tvayi durnivārāmthe (awe-filled) thought of Your supremacy, hard to overcome

ශීලාදිභිඃ වාරයසි ඉව🔊śīlādibhiḥ vārayasi ivaYou seem to dispel by Your gracious character (sausilya) and the like

ත්වද්දාස්යහේතෝඃ🔊tvaddāsyahetoḥfor the sake of (loving) servitude to You

න්යස්තාත්මනාම් නාථ බිභර්ෂි භාරම්🔊nyastātmanāṃ nātha bibharṣi bhāramO Lord, You bear the burden of those who have surrendered themselves

අභීතිහේතෝඃ අනුවර්තනීයම්🔊abhītihetoḥ anuvartanīyamas a resort to be followed for freedom from fear

ත්වදන්යම් න විභාවයාමි🔊tvadanyaṃ na vibhāvayāmiI can conceive of none other than You

භයම් කුතඃ ස්යාත් ත්වයි සානුකම්පේ🔊bhayaṃ kutaḥ syāt tvayi sānukampewhat fear can there be when You are compassionate?

ත්වදේකතන්ත්රම් කමලාසහාය🔊tvadekatantraṃ kamalāsahāyaO consort of Kamala (Lakshmi), depending wholly on You

ස්වේන ඒව මාම් රක්ෂිතුම් අර්හසි🔊svena eva māṃ rakṣitum arhasiYou alone, of Your own accord, ought to protect me

ශරණ්යභූතේ ත්වයි බද්ධකක්ෂ්යේ🔊śaraṇyabhūte tvayi baddhakakṣyewhen You, the refuge, are girded up (resolved to protect)

අකිඤ්චනඃ අහම්🔊akiñcanaḥ ahamI, utterly without (any other) means

ප්රාප්තාභිලාෂම් ත්වදනුග්රහාත්🔊prāptābhilāṣaṃ tvadanugrahāthaving attained my desire by Your grace

තව පාදපද්මේ ආත්මාන්තකෛඞ්කර්යරසම් විධේයාඃ🔊tava pādapadme ātmāntakaiṅkaryarasaṃ vidheyāḥmake me relish the joy of inmost service at Your lotus feet (till the body falls)

Benefits of Chanting Ashtabhuja Ashtakam

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Invokes the protection of Ashtabhuja Perumal, the eight-armed Lord ever ready to rescue His devotees

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A complete prayer of saranagati (surrender), like the Gajendra-moksha, for those who feel dragged about by the senses

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Instils confidence that the Lord Himself bears the burden of those who take refuge in Him

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Cultivates the longing for eternal, intimate service (kainkarya) at the Lord's feet

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Recited by devotees of the Kanchipuram Ashtabhujakaram Divya Desam and lovers of Vedanta Desika's stotras

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Removes fear and anxiety by resting wholly on the Lord's compassion and grace

How to Chant Ashtabhuja Ashtakam

Repetitions8times

Best TimeMorning or evening; daily, and especially on Vishnu festivals and during pilgrimage to Kanchipuram

Sit cleanly facing east before an image of Vishnu, ideally Ashtabhuja Perumal. Recall the story of Gajendra and the Lord's swift grace, then recite the eight verses with devotion, offering yourself into His protection as Swami Desika does. Dwell especially on the surrender of verses one, six and eight. Conclude by praying to be kept far from fault and to relish loving service at His lotus feet.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Ashtabhuja Ashtakam written in the Sinhala script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

Ashtabhuja ('eight-armed') Perumal is a unique form of Lord Vishnu enshrined at the Ashtabhujakaram (Adikesava Perumal) temple in Kanchipuram, one of the 108 Divya Desams. He bears eight arms holding different weapons and emblems. Tradition relates that the Lord assumed this eight-armed form to protect a sacrifice and to grant grace to His devotees.

It was composed by Swami Vedanta Desika (1268-1369 CE), the great Sri Vaishnava acharya, as a prapatti (act of surrender) at the feet of Ashtabhuja Perumal of Kanchipuram.

Desika compares himself to Gajendra, the elephant-king seized by a crocodile and saved when he cried out to the Lord. Just as the Lord rushed to rescue Gajendra, Desika, feeling himself dragged about by the senses, takes refuge in the same compassionate Lord, the Ashtabhuja.

Not worldly gains, but the joy of eternal, intimate service (kainkarya) at the Lord's lotus feet, free from all offence, until the very end of this life (verse 8). This reflects the Sri Vaishnava ideal of service as the highest goal.