सौन्दर्यलहरी — Word-by-Word Meaning
सौन्दर्यलहरी
Every Sanskrit word explained in English
Word-by-Word Breakdown
शिवः शक्त्या युक्तो यदि भवति शक्तः प्रभवितुं
न चेदेवं देवो न खलु कुशलः स्पन्दितुमपि ।
अतस्त्वामाराध्यां हरिहरविरिञ्चादिभिरपि
प्रणन्तुं स्तोतुं वा कथमकृतपुण्यः प्रभवति ॥ १॥
śivaḥ śaktyā yukto yadi bhavati śaktaḥ prabhavituṃ
na cedevaṃ devo na khalu kuśalaḥ spanditumapi |
atastvāmārādhyāṃ hariharaviriñcādibhirapi
praṇantuṃ stotuṃ vā kathamakṛtapuṇyaḥ prabhavati || 1||
Only when united with Shakti does Shiva have the power to create; without Her even the Lord cannot stir. How then shall one without merit dare to adore or praise You, whom even Hari, Hara and Brahma worship?
तनीयांसं पांसुं तव चरणपङ्केरुहभवं
विरिञ्चिस्सञ्चिन्वन् विरचयति लोकानविकलम् ।
वहत्येनं शौरिः कथमपि सहस्रेण शिरसां
हरस्संक्षुद्यैनं भजति भसितोद्धूलनविधिम् ॥ २॥
tanīyāṃsaṃ pāṃsuṃ tava caraṇapaṅkeruhabhavaṃ
viriñcissañcinvan viracayati lokānavikalam |
vahatyenaṃ śauriḥ kathamapi sahasreṇa śirasāṃ
harassaṃkṣudyainaṃ bhajati bhasitoddhūlanavidhim || 2||
With a single speck of the dust of Your feet Brahma fashions the endless worlds; Vishnu bears it with difficulty upon his thousand heads; and Shiva grinds it to the sacred ash he smears upon his body.
अविद्यानामन्त-स्तिमिर-मिहिरद्वीपनगरी
जडानां चैतन्य-स्तबक-मकरन्द-स्रुतिझरी ।
दरिद्राणां चिन्तामणिगुणनिका जन्मजलधौ
निमग्नानां दंष्ट्रा मुररिपु-वराहस्य भवति ॥ ३॥
avidyānāmanta-stimira-mihiradvīpanagarī
jaḍānāṃ caitanya-stabaka-makaranda-srutijharī |
daridrāṇāṃ cintāmaṇiguṇanikā janmajaladhau
nimagnānāṃ daṃṣṭrā muraripu-varāhasya bhavati || 3||
You are the rising sun that scatters the darkness of ignorance in the dull, the stream of honeyed wisdom for the slow of mind, the very string of wish-gems for the poor, and the tusk of Varaha lifting up those sunk in the ocean of birth.
सुधासिन्धोर्मध्ये सुरविटपिवाटीपरिवृते
मणिद्वीपे नीपोपवनवति चिन्तामणिगृहे ।
शिवाकारे मञ्चे परमशिवपर्यङ्कनिलयां
भजन्ति त्वां धन्याः कतिचन चिदानन्दलहरीम् ॥ ८॥
sudhāsindhormadhye suraviṭapivāṭīparivṛte
maṇidvīpe nīpopavanavati cintāmaṇigṛhe |
śivākāre mañce paramaśivaparyaṅkanilayāṃ
bhajanti tvāṃ dhanyāḥ katicana cidānandalaharīm || 8||
Blessed are the few who worship You — seated in the city of wish-gems, upon the couch that is Sadashiva, in the nipa grove on the jewel-island girt by celestial wish-trees — as the very Wave of Bliss (Chidananda-lahari).
भवानि त्वं दासे मयि वितर दृष्टिं सकरुणा-
मिति स्तोतुं वाञ्छन् कथयति भवानि त्वमिति यः ।
तदैव त्वं तस्मै दिशसि निजसायुज्यपदवीं
मुकुन्दब्रह्मेन्द्रस्फुटमकुटनीराजितपदाम् ॥ २२॥
bhavāni tvaṃ dāse mayi vitara dṛṣṭiṃ sakaruṇā-
miti stotuṃ vāñchan kathayati bhavāni tvamiti yaḥ |
tadaiva tvaṃ tasmai diśasi nijasāyujyapadavīṃ
mukundabrahmendrasphuṭamakuṭanīrājitapadām || 22||
O Bhavani, only resolve to cast upon me, Your servant, a single glance of compassion — and at once the grace and wealth of even Hari, Brahma and Indra are won; for to be looked upon by You is itself liberation.
जपो जल्पः शिल्पं सकलमपि मुद्राविरचना
गतिः प्रादक्षिण्यक्रमणमशनाद्याहुतिविधिः ।
प्रणामस्संवेशस्सुखमखिलमात्मार्पणदृशा
सपर्यापर्यायस्तव भवतु यन्मे विलसितम् ॥ २७॥
japo jalpaḥ śilpaṃ sakalamapi mudrāviracanā
gatiḥ prādakṣiṇyakramaṇamaśanādyāhutividhiḥ |
praṇāmassaṃveśassukhamakhilamātmārpaṇadṛśā
saparyāparyāyastava bhavatu yanme vilasitam || 27||
Let my every act become Your worship: my idle speech the murmur of Your mantra, the movements of my hands Your ritual gestures, my walking Your circumambulation, my eating Your oblation, my lying down my prostration before You.
सौन्दर्यलहरी
गतैर्माणिक्यत्वं गगनमणिभिः सान्द्रघटितं
किरीटं ते हैमं हिमगिरिसुते कीर्तयति यः ।
स नीडेयच्छायाच्छुरणशबलं चन्द्रशकलं
धनुः शौनासीरं किमिति न निबध्नाति धिषणाम् ॥ ४२॥
saundaryalaharī
gatairmāṇikyatvaṃ gaganamaṇibhiḥ sāndraghaṭitaṃ
kirīṭaṃ te haimaṃ himagirisute kīrtayati yaḥ |
sa nīḍeyacchāyācchuraṇaśabalaṃ candraśakalaṃ
dhanuḥ śaunāsīraṃ kimiti na nibadhnāti dhiṣaṇām || 42||
I bow to Your crown, O Mother — set among Your dark, flower-fragrant tresses like a crescent moon in a bank of cloud. (Here the Saundaryalahari proper begins, hymning the Goddess from head to foot.)
प्रदीपज्वालाभिर्दिवसकरनीराजनविधिः
सुधासूतेश्चन्द्रोपलजललवैरर्घ्यरचना ।
स्वकीयैरम्भोभिः सलिलनिधिसौहित्यकरणं
त्वदीयाभिर्वाग्भिस्तव जननि वाचां स्तुतिरियम् ॥ १००॥
pradīpajvālābhirdivasakaranīrājanavidhiḥ
sudhāsūteścandropalajalalavairarghyaracanā |
svakīyairambhobhiḥ salilanidhisauhityakaraṇaṃ
tvadīyābhirvāgbhistava janani vācāṃ stutiriyam || 100||
With what flowers of words can I, a mere child, hymn You who are the Mother of speech itself — as one offers a lamp to the sun, moonlight to the moon, or a drop of the sea’s own water back to the sea? Yet by Your grace this praise is made.
Complete Translation
सौन्दर्यलहरी — "सौंदर्य की तरंगें" — दिव्य माता (देवी, त्रिपुरसुन्दरी) की लगभग सौ श्लोकों की स्तुति है, जो आदि शंकराचार्य की कृति मानी जाती है। प्रथम भाग आनन्दलहरी ("आनंद की तरंग", श्लोक १–४१) ब्रह्म के गतिशील रूप शक्ति, श्रीचक्र की उपासना व अंतर्ध्यान का वर्णन करता है; द्वितीय भाग सौन्दर्यलहरी (श्लोक ४२–१००, कुछ संस्करणों में तीन अधिक) देवी के नख-शिख सौंदर्य का भव्य वर्णन है। इसका प्रथम श्लोक ही यह परम सत्य घोषित करता है कि शिव शक्ति से युक्त होकर ही कार्य कर सकते हैं — शक्ति ही प्रभु का प्राण है — और प्रत्येक श्लोक अपना सर्वस्व देवी के चरणों में अर्पित करता है। शिखरिणी छंद में रचित यह एक साथ भक्ति-काव्य, तंत्र-ग्रंथ व श्रीविद्या परम्परा का सर्वप्रिय स्तोत्र है।
Origin & History
Source: Ascribed to Adi Shankaracharya (the Ananda Lahari traditionally received at Kailasa)
Author: Adi Shankaracharya
Period: Classical (Shankaracharya, c. 8th century, by tradition)
By tradition the Soundarya Lahari was composed by Adi Shankaracharya, who is said to have found the first part, the Ananda Lahari, written upon the wall of Kailasa by Lord Shiva himself, and to have composed the second part in praise of the Goddess’s beauty. The two "waves" — of Bliss and of Beauty — together form a work that is at once devotion, philosophy and tantra, and a cornerstone of the Sri Vidya tradition of Devi worship.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Soundarya Lahari?▼
It is a hymn of about a hundred verses to the Divine Mother (Devi as Tripura Sundari), ascribed to Adi Shankaracharya. "Soundarya Lahari" means "Waves of Beauty". It is in two parts — the Ananda Lahari (verses 1–41) on the power and worship of Shakti, and the Saundarya Lahari (42–100) describing the Goddess’s beauty from head to foot.
How many verses does the Soundarya Lahari have?▼
The core hymn has 100 verses; some recensions add three more (101–103), which are included here, for 103 in all. It is composed in the graceful Shikharini metre.
What are the benefits of reciting it?▼
It is held to confer the Mother’s complete grace — prosperity, eloquence, health, beauty, progeny and spiritual awakening. Each verse is also a mantra with its own yantra and fruit, recited under guidance for specific aims.
When should it be recited?▼
Especially on Fridays (the Goddess’s day), during the nine nights of Navaratri, and on Pournami (full moon), before an image or the Sri Chakra. It may be chanted daily after bathing.
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