ශාරදා භුජඞ්ගම්
Sharada Bhujangam in Sinhala · සිංහල
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Origin & Story
Composed by Adi Shankaracharya (Shankaracharya virachita); preserved in the Stotra tradition and at the Sringeri Sharada Peetham · Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE) · 8th century CE
Adi Shankaracharya, the great Advaita teacher, established four monastic seats (mathas) across India, the southern one being at Sringeri in Karnataka, where he consecrated Goddess Sharada. This Bhujanga Prayata Ashtakam is his ecstatic eight-verse hymn to her, composed in the lilting bhujangaprayata metre. Each verse paints the Mother in loving detail — her nectar-giving form, her compassionate glance, her rosary and book, her mounts and her enchanting smile — and surrenders to her as 'my own Mother', making it one of the most beloved Saraswati hymns in the Shankara tradition.
✦ As told in scripture
Tradition at Sringeri holds that Goddess Sharada herself accompanied Adi Shankaracharya and made the seat her permanent abode, blessing sincere devotees with the gift of speech and learning. Devotees relate that those who were dull or mute have, through her grace and the recitation of such hymns, become eloquent and wise — echoing the hymn's praise of her as the one before whom even silent tongues find voice.
Complete Text with Meaning
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සුවක්ෂෝජකුම්භාං සුධාපූර්ණකුම්භාං ප්රසාදාවලම්බාං ප්රපුණ්යාවලම්බාම්. සදාස්යේන්දුබිම්බාං සදානෝෂ්ඨබිම්බාං භජේ ශාරදාම්බාමජස්රං මදම්බාම්..1..
Suvakshoja-kumbhaam Sudhaa-poorna-kumbhaam Prasaadaavalambaam Prapunyaavalambaam Sadaasyendu-bimbaam Sadaanoshtha-bimbaam Bhaje Shaaradaambaam Ajasram Madambaam (1)
Meaning:I ever worship Mother Sharada (Saraswati), my own Mother — she whose form is gracious and brimming like pots filled with the nectar of knowledge, who is the refuge of grace and the abode of great merit, whose face is ever radiant like the moon and whose lips glow like the bimba fruit.
කටාක්ෂේ දයාර්ද්රාං කරේ ජ්ඤානමුද්රාං කලාභිර්විනිද්රාං කලාපෛඃ සුභද්රාම්. පුරස්ත්රීං විනිද්රාං පුරස්තුඞ්ගභද්රාං භජේ ශාරදාම්බාමජස්රං මදම්බාම්..2..
Kataakshe Dayaardraam Kare Jnaana-mudraam Kalaabhir-vinidraam Kalaapaih Subhadraam Purastreem Vinidraam Purastunga-bhadraam Bhaje Shaaradaambaam Ajasram Madambaam (2)
Meaning:I worship Mother Sharada — whose sidelong glance is tender with compassion, who shows the Jnana-mudra in her hand, who is ever awake (sleepless) through the arts, made blessed by all the kalas, the foremost Goddess shining like the Tungabhadra river.
ලලාමාඞ්කඵාලාං ලසද්ගානලෝලාං ස්වභක්තෛකපාලාං යශඃශ්රීකපෝලාම්. කරේ ත්වක්ෂමාලාං කනත්ප්රත්නලෝලාං භජේ ශාරදාම්බාමජස්රං මදම්බාම්..3..
Lalaamaanka-phaalaam Lasad-gaana-lolaam Sva-bhaktaika-paalaam Yashah-shree-kapolaam Kare Tvaksha-maalaam Kanat-pratna-lolaam Bhaje Shaaradaambaam Ajasram Madambaam (3)
Meaning:I worship Mother Sharada — whose forehead bears a beautiful mark, who delights in melodious song, who is the sole protector of her devotees, whose cheeks shine with glory and grace, holding a rosary in her hand.
සුසීමන්තවේණීං දෘශා නිර්ජිතෛණීං රමත්කීරවාණීං නමද්වජ්රපාණීම්. සුධාමන්ථරාස්යාං මුදා චින්ත්යවේණීං භජේ ශාරදාම්බාමජස්රං මදම්බාම්..4..
Suseemanta-veneem Drishaa Nirjitaineem Ramat-keera-vaaneem Namad-vajra-paaneem Sudhaa-mantharaasyaam Mudaa Chintya-veneem Bhaje Shaaradaambaam Ajasram Madambaam (4)
Meaning:I worship Mother Sharada — whose braided hair is beautifully parted, whose eyes surpass the doe's, whose speech is sweet as a parrot's, before whom Indra bows, whose face is gentle as nectar and whose tresses are worthy of loving contemplation.
සුශාන්තාං සුදේහාං දෘගන්තේ කචාන්තාං ලසත්සල්ලතාඞ්ගීමනන්තාමචින්ත්යාම්. ස්මරේත්තාපසෛඃ සඞ්ගපූර්වස්ථිතාං තාං භජේ ශාරදාම්බාමජස්රං මදම්බාම්..5..
Sushaantaam Sudehaam Drigante Kachaantaam Lasat-sallataangeem Anantaam Achintyaam Smaret-taapasaih Sanga-poorva-sthitaam Taam Bhaje Shaaradaambaam Ajasram Madambaam (5)
Meaning:I worship Mother Sharada — supremely serene and beautiful of form, with curls at the corners of her eyes, her body slender as a graceful creeper, infinite and beyond thought, on whom ascetics meditate in their hearts.
කුරඞ්ගේ තුරඞ්ගේ මෘගේන්ද්රේ ඛගේන්ද්රේ මරාලේ මදේභේ මහෝක්ෂේ(අ)ධිරූඪාම්. මහත්යාං නවම්යාං සදා සාමරූපාං භජේ ශාරදාම්බාමජස්රං මදම්බාම්..6..
Kurange Turange Mrigendre Khagendre Maraale Madebhe Mahokshe'dhiroodhaam Mahatyaam Navamyaam Sadaa Saama-roopaam Bhaje Shaaradaambaam Ajasram Madambaam (6)
Meaning:I worship Mother Sharada — who rides upon the deer, the horse, the lion, the eagle, the swan, the rutting elephant and the mighty bull, who on the great ninth day (Mahanavami) ever takes the form of the Sama-Veda chants.
ජ්වලත්කාන්තිවහ්නිං ජගන්මෝහනාඞ්ගීං භජේ මානසාම්භෝජසුභ්රාන්තභෘඞ්ගීම්. නිජස්තෝත්රසඞ්ගීතනෘත්යප්රභාඞ්ගීං භජේ ශාරදාම්බාමජස්රං මදම්බාම්..7..
Jvalat-kaanti-vahnim Jagan-mohanaangeem Bhaje Maanasaambhoja-subhraanta-bhringeem Nija-stotra-sangeeta-nritya-prabhaangeem Bhaje Shaaradaambaam Ajasram Madambaam (7)
Meaning:I worship Mother Sharada — whose radiance blazes like fire, whose form enchants the whole world, the bee delighting in the lotus of the devotee's mind, whose limbs glow with the splendour of song, dance and her own hymns of praise.
භවාම්භෝජනේත්රාජසම්පූජ්යමානාං ලසන්මන්දහාසප්රභාවක්ත්රචිහ්නාම්. චලච්චඤ්චලාචාරුතාටඞ්කකර්ණාං භජේ ශාරදාම්බාමජස්රං මදම්බාම්..8..
Bhavaambhoja-netraaja-sampoojyamaanaam Lasan-manda-haasa-prabhaa-vaktra-chihnaam Chalach-chanchalaa-chaaru-taatanka-karnaam Bhaje Shaaradaambaam Ajasram Madambaam (8)
Meaning:I worship Mother Sharada — worshipped by Brahma the lotus-eyed, whose face is marked by the radiance of a gentle smile, whose ears sway with beautiful, glittering earrings.
Word-by-Word Meaning
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Benefits of Chanting Sharada Bhujangam
Invokes the grace of Goddess Sharada (Saraswati) for knowledge, memory and eloquence
Especially powerful during Navaratri and on Mahanavami for students and seekers
Bestows mastery in music, dance, poetry and all the arts (kalas)
The melodious bhujangaprayata metre calms and concentrates the mind for study
Removes mental dullness and kindles intuitive wisdom and discrimination
Recited at Sringeri Sharada Peetham and by followers of Adi Shankaracharya for divine blessings
Deepens devotion to the Divine Mother as the source of all learning
How to Chant Sharada Bhujangam
Sit facing east or north before an image of Goddess Sharada or Saraswati, ideally with a book, veena or musical instrument placed before you. Chant the eight verses melodiously, observing the flowing bhujangaprayata rhythm. Recite all eight verses as one continuous offering, completing with the refrain 'Bhaje Sharadambam Ajasram Madambam'. Daily recitation for nine days of Navaratri is especially recommended for students and artists.
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