Sri Venkatesha Karavalamba Stotram — Benefits & How to Chant
श्री वेङ्कटेश करावलम्ब स्तोत्रम्
Complete guide to chanting correctly for maximum benefit
Benefits of Chanting Sri Venkatesha Karavalamba Stotram
Expresses complete surrender (sharanagati) at the feet of Lord Venkateswara
Invokes the Lord's protecting hand to rescue the devotee from the ocean of samsara
Said to remove the three afflictions (tapa-traya) and inner darkness
The thirteenth verse describes the removal of poverty and of inner enemies like desire
A complete meditative darshan of Balaji from crown to feet (shata-anga dhyana)
Recitation is promised to lead the devotee to the supreme abode of Vishnu
Especially powerful when chanted before the deity at Tirumala or during Venkateswara worship
How to Chant Sri Venkatesha Karavalamba Stotram
Instructions
Sit before an image of Lord Venkateswara, light a lamp, and recite all fourteen verses with a feeling of surrender, visualizing the Lord's form as each verse describes him from crown to feet. Let the refrain 'Sri Venkatesha mama dehi karavalambam' — 'grant me the support of your hand' — express your appeal for his protecting grace. It may be chanted daily or recited as part of Saturday Venkateswara puja. Conclude with the fourteenth verse, which states the fruit of recitation.
Spiritual Significance
Devotees hold that those who beheld the feet of Lord Venkateswara found their sins and inner darkness dissolved that very day, as the twelfth verse declares; and the thirteenth verse testifies that on taking refuge in him, the inner enemies such as desire and all worldly poverty depart, the Lord's merciful glance lifting the lowly devotee to his protecting hand.
Origin & History
Source: Composed by Sri Nrisimha Bharati of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham
Author: Sri Nrisimha Bharati (Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Sringeri)
This stotram belongs to the popular genre of 'karavalamba' hymns — prayers in which a devotee, feeling helpless in the ocean of worldly suffering, repeatedly cries out to the Lord for 'the support of his hand.' It was composed by a Jagadguru Sri Nrisimha Bharati of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham in adoration of Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala. Verse by verse it offers a complete darshan of Balaji, from his jewelled crown and musk-marked forehead down to his feet from which the purifying river is said to flow, ending always with the same humble plea for his grace. The closing verse declares that those who recite it reach the supreme state of Purushottama.