ganeshaganapatibhujangamshankaracharya

ගණේශභුජඞ්ගම්

Ganesha Bhujangam in Sinhala · සිංහල

🕉️ hindu·📿 9× repetitions·🕐 Early morning at dawn (Brahma Muhurta), as the hymn itself prescribes 'pratar-utthaya' (rising at dawn); especially on Chaturthi tithi and Ganesh Chaturthi·📜 Stotra attributed to the works of Adi Shankaracharya (Shankaracharya Stotra collection)

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Englishසිංහල𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

Origin & Story

Stotra attributed to the works of Adi Shankaracharya (Shankaracharya Stotra collection) · Adi Shankaracharya · Traditionally 8th century CE

The Ganesha Bhujangam belongs to Adi Shankaracharya's celebrated series of 'Bhujanga' hymns, in which he poured devotion into a swaying, song-like metre. Where the philosopher-Acharya elsewhere expounds the formless Absolute, here he first delights in the most tangible and joyful image of God — the elephant-faced Ganesha dancing the Tandava, bells ringing, trunk swirling. Verse by verse he ascends from this enchanting form to the realisation that the same Ganesha is the imperishable Om, the supreme Brahman beyond the gunas, thus uniting bhakti (devotion) and jnana (knowledge) in a single short hymn.

✦ As told in scripture

Tradition holds that those who rise before dawn and recite this hymn daily with devotion attain Vak-Siddhi — the boon by which whatever they sincerely utter comes to pass. Devotees and scholars recount that consistent recitation has loosened tongues bound by stammering, blessed students with eloquence in examinations, and made the speech of singers and orators carry unusual power and truth.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

රණත්ක්ෂුද්රඝණ්ටානිනාදාභිරාමං චලත්තාණ්ඩවෝද්දණ්ඩවත්පද්මතාලම්. ලසත්තුන්දිලාඞ්ගෝපරිව්යාලහාරං ගණාධීශමීශානසූනුං තමීඩේ..1..

raṇat-kṣudra-ghaṇṭā-ninādābhirāmaṁ chalat-tāṇḍavoddaṇḍavat-padma-tālam। lasat-tundilāṅgopari-vyāla-hāraṁ gaṇādhīśam-īśāna-sūnuṁ tam-īḍe॥1॥

Meaning:I praise Ganadhisha, the son of Ishana (Shiva): charming with the resonant tinkling of his little bells, keeping rhythm with uplifted lotus feet in his vigorous Tandava dance, his shining round belly wrapped with a serpent for a garland.

Verse 2

ධ්වනිධ්වංසවීණාලයෝල්ලාසිවක්ත්රං ස්ඵුරච්ඡුණ්ඩදණ්ඩෝල්ලසද්බීජපූරම්. ගලද්දර්පසෞගන්ධ්යලෝලාලිමාලං ගණාධීශමීශානසූනුං තමීඩේ..2..

dhvani-dhvaṁsa-vīṇā-layollāsi-vaktraṁ sphurach-chuṇḍa-daṇḍollasad-bīja-pūram। galad-darpa-saugandhya-lolāli-mālaṁ gaṇādhīśam-īśāna-sūnuṁ tam-īḍe॥2॥

Meaning:I praise that Lord of the ganas: his face radiant as he plays the veena that drowns all other sound, his quivering trunk joyfully holding a pomegranate, a swarm of bees humming around the fragrance of his flowing rut.

Verse 3

ප්රකාශජ්ජපාරක්තරත්නප්රසූන- ප්රවාලප්රභාතාරුණජ්යෝතිරේකම්. ප්රලම්බෝදරං වක්රතුණ්ඩෛකදන්තං ගණාධීශමීශානසූනුං තමීඩේ..3..

prakāśaj-japā-rakta-ratna-prasūna- pravāla-prabhā-tāruṇa-jyotir-ekam। pralambodaraṁ vakra-tuṇḍaika-dantaṁ gaṇādhīśam-īśāna-sūnuṁ tam-īḍe॥3॥

Meaning:I praise that son of Shiva, whose single radiance shines like a coral, the red hibiscus and a glowing ruby blossom at sunrise — the large-bellied, curved-trunked, single-tusked Lord.

Verse 4

විචිත්රස්ඵුරද්රත්නමාලාකිරීටං කිරීටෝල්ලසච්චන්ද්රරේඛාවිභූෂම්. විභූෂෛකභූෂං භවධ්වංසහේතුං ගණාධීශමීශානසූනුං තමීඩේ..4..

vichitra-sphurad-ratna-mālā-kirīṭaṁ kirīṭollasach-chandra-rekhā-vibhūṣam। vibhūṣaika-bhūṣaṁ bhava-dhvaṁsa-hetuṁ gaṇādhīśam-īśāna-sūnuṁ tam-īḍe॥4॥

Meaning:I praise Ganadhisha, wearing a crown set with sparkling jewel-garlands, adorned with the crescent-moon's streak gleaming upon it — He who is ornament of all ornaments and the very cause of the destruction of worldly bondage.

Verse 5

උදඤ්චද්භුජාවල්ලරීදෘශ්යමූල- ශ්චලද්භ්රූලතාවිභ්රමභ්රාජදක්ෂම්. මරුත්සුන්දරීචාමරෛඃ සේව්යමානං ගණාධීශමීශානසූනුං තමීඩේ..5..

udañchad-bhujā-vallarī-dṛśya-mūla- ś-chalad-bhrū-latā-vibhrama-bhrājad-akṣam। marut-sundarī-chāmaraiḥ sevyamānaṁ gaṇādhīśam-īśāna-sūnuṁ tam-īḍe॥5॥

Meaning:I praise that Lord whose raised arms are like creepers revealing his form, his dancing eyebrows lending grace to his face, attended by celestial maidens waving fly-whisks.

Verse 6

ස්ඵුරන්නිෂ්ඨුරාලෝලපිඞ්ගාක්ෂිතාරං කෘපාකෝමලෝදාරලීලාවතාරම්. කලාබින්දුගං ගීයතේ යෝගිවර්යෛ- ර්ගණාධීශමීශානසූනුං තමීඩේ..6..

sphuran-niṣṭhurālola-piṅgākṣi-tāraṁ kṛpā-komalodāra-līlāvatāram। kalā-bindu-gaṁ gīyate yogi-varyair- gaṇādhīśam-īśāna-sūnuṁ tam-īḍe॥6॥

Meaning:I praise Ganadhisha, whose fixed eyes are tawny-red and rolling, whose very incarnation is a sport of tender and boundless compassion, whom the foremost yogis sing of as residing in the subtle point of the Bindu and Kala.

Verse 7

යමේකාක්ෂරං නිර්මලං නිර්විකල්පං ගුණාතීතමානන්දමාකාරශූන්යම්. පරං පරතරං බ්රහ්ම වේදාන්තවේද්යං වදන්ති ප්රගල්භං පුරාණං තමීඩේ..7..

yam-ekākṣaraṁ nirmalaṁ nirvikalpaṁ guṇātītam-ānandam-ākāra-śūnyam। paraṁ parataraṁ brahma vedānta-vedyaṁ vadanti pragalbhaṁ purāṇaṁ tam-īḍe॥7॥

Meaning:I praise Him whom the wise and ancient sages declare to be the one imperishable syllable — pure, beyond all distinction, transcending the gunas, blissful, formless, the supreme Brahman beyond the highest, knowable only through Vedanta.

Verse 8

චිදානන්දසාන්ද්රාය ශාන්තාය තුභ්යං නමෝ විශ්වකර්ත්රේ ච හර්ත්රේ ච තුභ්යම්. නමෝ(අ)නන්තලීලාය කෛවල්යභාසේ නමෝ විශ්වබීජ ප්රසීදේශසූනෝ..8..

chidānanda-sāndrāya śāntāya tubhyaṁ namo viśva-kartre cha hartre cha tubhyam। namo'nanta-līlāya kaivalya-bhāse namo viśva-bīja prasīdeśa-sūno॥8॥

Meaning:Salutations to You, the embodiment of dense consciousness and bliss, the ever-peaceful; salutations to You, creator and destroyer of the universe; salutations to You of endless divine play, the radiance of liberation; salutations to You, the seed of the cosmos — be gracious, O son of Ishana!

Verse 9

ඉමං සුස්තවං ප්රාතරුත්ථාය භක්ත්යා පඨේද්යස්තු මර්ත්යෝ ලභේත්සර්වකාමාන්. ගණේශප්රසාදේන සිධ්යන්ති වාචෝ ගණේශේ විභෞ දුර්ලභං කිං ප්රසන්නේ..9..

imaṁ sustavaṁ prātar-utthāya bhaktyā paṭhed-yas-tu martyo labhet-sarva-kāmān। gaṇeśa-prasādena sidhyanti vācho gaṇeśe vibhau durlabhaṁ kiṁ prasanne॥9॥

Meaning:Whatever mortal rises at dawn and recites this excellent hymn with devotion obtains all his desires. By the grace of Ganesha his speech attains fulfilment — for when the all-pervading Ganesha is pleased, what indeed remains hard to obtain?

Word-by-Word Meaning

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රණත්ක්ෂුද්රඝණ්ටා🔊raṇat-kṣudra-ghaṇṭāwith tinkling small bells (on his anklets/ornaments)

නිනාදාභිරාමම්🔊ninādābhirāmamcharming with their resonant sound

චලත්තාණ්ඩව🔊chalat-tāṇḍavaperforming the dynamic Tandava dance

උද්දණ්ඩවත්පද්මතාලම්🔊uddaṇḍavat-padma-tālamkeeping rhythm with uplifted lotus-soft feet

ලසත්තුන්දිලාඞ්ග🔊lasat-tundilāṅgawith a shining, rounded pot-belly

උපරිව්යාලහාරම්🔊upari-vyāla-hāramwearing a serpent as a garland upon his body

ගණාධීශම්🔊gaṇādhīśamthe Lord of the ganas (celestial hosts)

ඊශානසූනුම්🔊īśāna-sūnumthe son of Ishana (Lord Shiva)

තම් ඊඩේ🔊tam īḍeI praise / I extol Him (the refrain of every verse)

ස්ඵුරච්ඡුණ්ඩදණ්ඩ🔊sphurach-chuṇḍa-daṇḍawith a quivering, raised trunk

උල්ලසද්බීජපූරම්🔊ullasad-bīja-pūramjoyfully holding a pomegranate (bijapura) fruit

වක්රතුණ්ඩෛකදන්තම්🔊vakra-tuṇḍaika-dantamthe curved-trunked, single-tusked one

ප්රලම්බෝදරම්🔊pralambodaramhaving a large, hanging belly

රත්නමාලාකිරීටම්🔊ratna-mālā-kirīṭamwearing a crown studded with jewel garlands

චන්ද්රරේඛාවිභූෂම්🔊chandra-rekhā-vibhūṣamadorned with the crescent-moon streak

භවධ්වංසහේතුම්🔊bhava-dhvaṁsa-hetumthe cause of the destruction of worldly bondage (samsara)

මරුත්සුන්දරීචාමරෛඃ🔊marut-sundarī-chāmaraiḥby the celestial damsels with fly-whisks

සේව්යමානම්🔊sevyamānambeing attended upon / served

කෘපාකෝමලෝදාරලීලාවතාරම්🔊kṛpā-komalodāra-līlāvatāramwhose incarnation is a play of tender, generous compassion

ඒකාක්ෂරම්🔊ekākṣaramthe single syllable (the primordial Om / the imperishable)

නිර්විකල්පම්🔊nirvikalpamfree of all distinctions, beyond thought

ගුණාතීතම්🔊guṇātītamtranscending the three gunas of nature

බ්රහ්ම වේදාන්තවේද්යම්🔊brahma vedānta-vedyamthe Brahman knowable through the Vedanta

චිදානන්දසාන්ද්රාය🔊chidānanda-sāndrāyato Him who is dense with consciousness and bliss

විශ්වකර්ත්රේ ච හර්ත්රේ ච🔊viśva-kartre cha hartre chato the creator and the dissolver of the universe

ඉමං සුස්තවං ප්රාතරුත්ථාය🔊imaṁ sustavaṁ prātar-utthāyarising at dawn (and reciting) this beautiful hymn

ලභේත්සර්වකාමාන්🔊labhet-sarva-kāmānobtains all his desires

සිධ්යන්ති වාචඃ🔊sidhyanti vāchaḥhis words come true (Vak-Siddhi is attained)

Benefits of Chanting Ganesha Bhujangam

✦

Grants Vak-Siddhi — the power by which one's spoken words come true

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Fulfils all righteous desires when recited at dawn with devotion (as stated in the final verse)

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Removes obstacles and dissolves the bondage of samsara ('bhava-dhvamsa-hetum')

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Sharpens devotion through vivid contemplation of Ganesha's Nritya (dancing) form

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Bestows poetic and oratorical gifts, making it cherished by students and speakers

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Carries the special grace of Adi Shankaracharya's lineage and meditative depth

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Leads the mind from the saguna (form) to the nirguna (formless Brahman) aspect of God

How to Chant Ganesha Bhujangam

Repetitions9times

Best TimeEarly morning at dawn (Brahma Muhurta), as the hymn itself prescribes 'pratar-utthaya' (rising at dawn); especially on Chaturthi tithi and Ganesh Chaturthi

Bathe and sit before an image of Ganesha facing east. Recite all nine verses melodiously, savouring the rolling bhujanga-prayata metre that gives the hymn its serpentine flow. The first six verses are meditations on his dancing form, so visualise each detail — the bells, the trunk holding the pomegranate, the jewelled crown, the serpent garland. The final verse is the phalashruti; recite it as a sincere prayer. Light a lamp and offer modaka or red flowers if possible, and end by chanting Om Gam Ganapataye Namah.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Ganesha Bhujangam 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.

Bhujangam refers to the 'bhujanga-prayata' metre — a flowing Sanskrit metre of four feet of laghu-guru syllables whose rhythm sways like the movement of a serpent (bhujanga). Shankaracharya used the same metre for his Subramanya Bhujangam and Shiva Bhujangam, which is why these hymns feel musical and continuous when chanted.

It is traditionally attributed to Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century philosopher-saint. It appears in collections of his stotras and shares his characteristic movement from describing the deity's beautiful form to declaring the formless Brahman in the closing verses.

It primarily celebrates Nritya Ganapati — Ganesha as the cosmic dancer. The opening verse describes him keeping rhythm with lotus feet in the vigorous Tandava, his anklet bells tinkling, which is why the hymn is often associated with grace, art and joyful devotion.

The phalashruti declares that a person who rises at dawn and recites this hymn with devotion obtains all desires and that 'his words become accomplished' (Vak-Siddhi). For this reason it is favoured by students, poets, singers and public speakers.