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Soundarya Lahari Verse 3 — Avidyanam Antah

Soundarya Lahari Verse 3 — Avidyanam Antah in English · English

🕉️ hindu·📿 108× repetitions·🕐 Early morning after bath; Fridays and Navaratri are especially auspicious·📜 Soundarya Lahari, Verse 3

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀEnglishසිංහල 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

✦ Meaning

This third verse of the Ananda Lahari praises the dust of the Goddess's feet through four luminous images: it is a sun-city to the ignorant, a honey-stream to the dull, a string of wish-gems to the poor, and the saving tusk of Varaha to those drowning in samsara. It promises that whatever a devotee lacks — knowledge, intelligence, wealth or liberation — the Mother's grace supplies. The verse is cherished for prayers seeking wisdom and deliverance.

Origin & Story

Soundarya Lahari, Verse 3 · Adi Shankaracharya · c. 8th century CE

From the Ananda Lahari portion of the hymn, this verse develops the praise of the Mother's feet with a famous fourfold simile. Its imagery of a sun-city, a honey-stream, a gem-necklace and the Varaha tusk is much quoted to show how Devi's grace answers every kind of human need. It is composed in the Shikharini metre.

✦ As told in scripture

It is said that the dull-witted have gained learning and the destitute have found prosperity by meditating on this verse, for the Mother's grace, like the sun that ends night, removes whatever darkness or want a sincere devotee carries.

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The Mantra

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avidyānāmanta-stimira-mihiradvīpanagarī jaḍānāṃ caitanya-stabaka-makaranda-srutijharī | daridrāṇāṃ cintāmaṇiguṇanikā janmajaladhau nimagnānāṃ daṃṣṭrā muraripu-varāhasya bhavati || 3||

Meaning:The dust of Your feet is, for the ignorant, a sunlit city that scatters the inner darkness of nescience; for the dull-minded, a stream of flowing honey from the blossom-cluster of pure consciousness; for the poor, a necklace strung with wish-granting Chintamani gems; and for those drowning in the ocean of birth and death, it is the upraising tusk of Vishnu in His Boar incarnation.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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avidyānām🔊for the ignorant / those in spiritual darkness

antaḥ-timira🔊the inner darkness

mihira-dvīpa-nagarī🔊a sun-city (an island-city of the sun) that dispels it

jaḍānāṃ🔊for the dull-witted / inert minds

caitanya-stabaka🔊the blossom-cluster of consciousness

makaranda-sruti-jharī🔊a flowing stream of trickling honey/nectar

daridrāṇāṃ🔊for the poor

cintāmaṇi-guṇanikā🔊a string (necklace) of wish-fulfilling gems

janma-jaladhau🔊in the ocean of birth (samsara)

nimagnānāṃ🔊for those drowning / submerged

daṃṣṭrā🔊the tusk

muraripu-varāhasya🔊of Vishnu in His Boar (Varaha) incarnation, the foe of Mura

bhavati🔊(Your dust) becomes / is

Benefits of Chanting Soundarya Lahari Verse 3 — Avidyanam Antah

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Invoked for the removal of ignorance and the dawn of inner light

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Said to awaken intelligence and consciousness in the dull-minded

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Traditionally chanted to relieve poverty and attract prosperity

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Sought for deliverance from the ocean of birth and death (samsara)

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Inspires faith that the Mother's grace fulfils every genuine need

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Beautiful meditation on the four-fold saving power of Devi's feet

How to Chant Soundarya Lahari Verse 3 — Avidyanam Antah

Repetitions108times

Best TimeEarly morning after bath; Fridays and Navaratri are especially auspicious

FaceEast or North

Seated facing east or north before the Mother's image or Sri Chakra, meditate on each of the four images of the verse — sun-city, honey-stream, gem-necklace, and saving tusk — as expressions of Her grace removing your particular lack. Recite slowly 9, 27 or 108 times. Students and seekers of wisdom often take up this verse for clarity of mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Soundarya Lahari Verse 3 — Avidyanam Antah written in the English 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.

The dust of the Goddess's feet is compared to (1) a sun-city dispelling the darkness of ignorance, (2) a stream of honey from the flower of consciousness for the dull, (3) a necklace of wish-fulfilling Chintamani gems for the poor, and (4) the rescuing tusk of Vishnu as Varaha for those drowning in samsara.

Each image answers a human lack — ignorance, dullness, poverty and bondage. The verse teaches that the Divine Mother's grace supplies exactly what each devotee needs, whether knowledge, intelligence, wealth or liberation.

Yes. Because the first image describes the dust of Her feet as a sun that scatters inner darkness, seekers of knowledge and students frequently recite this verse to pray for clarity, learning and the removal of ignorance.

It alludes to Vishnu's Boar (Varaha) incarnation, who lifted the earth from the cosmic waters on his tusk. The verse says the Mother's grace is like that tusk, lifting devotees out of the deep ocean of repeated birth and death.