अरुणाचल अष्टकम्

• दर्शनात् (darśanāt)by the sight of it
• अभ्र-सदसि (abhra-sadasi)in the Hall of the Sky, Cidambaram
• जननात् (jananāt)by being born
• कमल-आलये (kamala-ālaye)in Kamalālaya, Tiruvārūr
• काश्याम् (kāśyām)in Kāśī
• तु (tu)but
• मरणात् (maraṇāt)by dying
• मुक्तिः (muktiḥ)liberation comes
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)and by the mere remembering
• अरुणाचले (aruṇācale)of Aruṇācala

anvaya अभ्रसदसि दर्शनात् कमलालये जननात् काश्याम् मरणात् तु अरुणाचले स्मरणात् मुक्तिः

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

अभ्रसदसि in the Hall of the Sky, Chidambaram — Abhra is cloud or sky and sadas a hall. The shrine at Chidambaram is called the Hall of Space, where Shiva is worshipped as the dancer.

कमलालये at Kamalalaya, Tiruvarur — The town is named for its lotus tank. Being born there is what the verse counts.

अरुणाचले at Arunachala — The red hill at Tiruvannamalai, worshipped as Shiva himself in the form of fire. Aruṇa is the red of daybreak.

note A saying known all over the south, set here as the opening verse. Each of the four places asks something different of a person: you must go and see Chidambaram, be born at Tiruvarur, die at Kashi. For Arunachala it is enough to remember it.

• करुणा-पूरित-अपाङ्गम् (karuṇā-pūrita-apāṅgam)whose sidelong glance brims with compassion
• शरण-आगत-वत्सलम् (śaraṇa-āgata-vatsalam)tender toward all who come for refuge
• तरुण-इन्दु-जटा-मौलिम् (taruṇa-indu-jaṭā-maulim)whose crown of matted hair bears the young moon
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya करुणापूरितापाङ्गम् शरणागतवत्सलम् तरुणेन्दुजटामौलिम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात् [मुक्तिः]

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

अपाङ्गम् the outer corner of the eye — The sidelong look, which is how kindness shows in a face before anything is said.

शरणागतवत्सलम् tender towards whoever comes for shelter — Vatsala is the feeling a cow has for its calf, used for the care a god has for those who turn up with nothing.

note From here to the end, every verse keeps the fourth pāda of the first verse as a refrain and hangs its describing words on it. The verb is the one carried over from that verse: liberation comes by remembering.

• समस्त-जगत्-आधारम् (samasta-jagat-ādhāram)the support of the whole world
• सत्-चित्-आनन्द-विग्रहम् (sat-cit-ānanda-vigraham)whose form is being, consciousness and bliss
• सहस्र-रथस-उपेतम् (sahasra-rathasa-upetam)attended by a thousand chariots of the sun
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya समस्तजगदाधारम् सच्चिदानन्दविग्रहम् सहस्ररथसोपेतम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात् [मुक्तिः]

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

सच्चिदानन्दविग्रहम् whose form is being, awareness and joy — Sat, cit and ānanda are the three words Vedanta uses for what is finally real. Vigraha is a form or a shape, so the three are spoken of here as having taken shape.

सहस्ररथसोपेतम् attended by a thousand — The word as printed gives no settled reading. Ratha is a chariot, so it can be read as a thousand chariots in attendance; a nearby reading is sahasra-raśmi, the thousand-rayed sun. The gloss keeps only what is certain.

note The third pāda is doubtful as printed. It has been left as it stands and glossed only as far as the words allow.

• काञ्चन-प्रतिमा-आभासम् (kāñcana-pratimā-ābhāsam)shining like an image of gold
• वाञ्छित-अर्थ-फल-प्रदम् (vāñchita-artha-phala-pradam)giver of the fruit of every wished-for end
• माम् च रक्ष (mām ca rakṣa)and protect me
• सुर-अध्यक्षम् (sura-adhyakṣam)overseer of the gods
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya काञ्चनप्रतिमाभासम् वाञ्छितार्थफलप्रदम् सुराध्यक्षम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात् माम् च रक्ष

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

सुराध्यक्षम् the one set over the gods — Adhyakṣa is the one who oversees, the head of an assembly.

वाञ्छितार्थफलप्रदम् who gives the fruit of what is wished for — Vāñchita is the thing wanted, artha what it is wanted for, phala what comes of it.

note The third pāda steps out of the describing and asks straight out for protection. It is the only line in the hymn that does so.

• बद्ध-चन्द्र-जटा-जूटम् (baddha-candra-jaṭā-jūṭam)with the moon bound into his coil of matted hair
• अर्ध-नारी-कलेबरम् (ardha-nārī-kalebaram)whose body is half woman
• वर्धमान-दया-अम्भोधिम् (vardhamāna-dayā-ambhodhim)an ever-swelling ocean of mercy
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya बद्धचन्द्रजटाजूटम् अर्धनारीकलेबरम् वर्धमानदयाम्भोधिम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात् [मुक्तिः]

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

जटाजूटम् the coil of matted hair — Jaṭā is matted hair and jūṭa the knot it is gathered into, with the crescent moon tied into it.

अर्धनारीकलेबरम् whose body is half woman — The form in which Shiva and the Goddess share one body, the right side his and the left hers. Printed कलेबर, a common spelling of कलेवर, the body.

note The kindness is called a sea that keeps rising, vardhamāna, so it is never at its highest mark.

• काञ्चन-प्रतिमा-आभासम् (kāñcana-pratimā-ābhāsam)shining like an image of gold
• सूर्य-कोटि-सम-प्रभम् (sūrya-koṭi-sama-prabham)of a brilliance equal to ten million suns
• बद्ध-व्याघ्र-पुरी-ध्यानम् (baddha-vyāghra-purī-dhyānam)held fast in meditation upon the Tiger City, Cidambaram
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya काञ्चनप्रतिमाभासम् सूर्यकोटिसमप्रभम् बद्धव्याघ्रपुरीध्यानम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात् [मुक्तिः]

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

व्याघ्रपुरी the Tiger City, Chidambaram — Named after the sage Vyaghrapada, who was given tiger's feet so he could climb for flowers before the bees reached them.

कोटि ten million — A round figure for a number past counting.

note The first pāda repeats the opening of verse 4 word for word, as the printed text has it. The hill is described as held fast in meditation on Chidambaram, so the two shrines of the first verse are tied together.

• शिक्षया (śikṣayā)by chastisement
• अखिल-देव-अरि (akhila-deva-ari)of every foe of the gods
• भक्षित-क्ष्वेल-कन्धरम् (bhakṣita-kṣvela-kandharam)in whose throat the swallowed poison rests
• रक्षया (rakṣayā)by his protection
• अखिल-भक्तानाम् (akhila-bhaktānām)of all his devotees
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya अखिलदेवारि शिक्षया अखिलभक्तानाम् रक्षया भक्षितक्ष्वेलकन्धरम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात् [मुक्तिः]

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

क्ष्वेल poison — A spelling of kṣveḍa. When the sea was churned the poison came up first, and Shiva drank it and held it in his throat so that it went no further.

कन्धरम् the throat — Holding the poison there is what gives him the name Nilakantha, the blue throat.

note Two things are set side by side in one verse: the lesson given to the enemies of the gods, and the guard kept over his own people. Printed देवारि; read as devārīn, the foes of the gods.

• अष्ट-भूति-समायुक्तम् (aṣṭa-bhūti-samāyuktam)possessed of the eight forms of manifest being
• इष्ट-काम-फल-प्रदम् (iṣṭa-kāma-phala-pradam)giver of the fruit of every cherished wish
• शिष्ट-भक्ति-समायुक्तान् (śiṣṭa-bhakti-samāyuktān)those joined with the devotion of the good
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya शिष्टभक्तिसमायुक्तान् [प्रति] अष्टभूतिसमायुक्तम् इष्टकामफलप्रदम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात्

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

अष्टभूति the eight — Usually read as the aṣṭamūrti, Shiva's eight forms: earth, water, fire, air, space, sun, moon and the one who offers the sacrifice. Bhūti also means well-being, so some read the eight kinds of prosperity instead.

शिष्ट the good, the well-taught — Those who keep to what has been handed down. The word also carries being trained, so it is devotion that has been schooled.

note The three pādas rhyme on -ṣṭa: aṣṭa, iṣṭa, śiṣṭa. The word play is the point of the verse as much as the meaning.

• विनायक-सुर-अध्यक्षम् (vināyaka-sura-adhyakṣam)overlord of Vināyaka and of the gods
• विष्णु-ब्रह्म-इन्द्र-सेवितम् (viṣṇu-brahma-indra-sevitam)served by Viṣṇu, Brahmā and Indra
• विमल-अरुण-पाद-अब्जम् (vimala-aruṇa-pāda-abjam)whose lotus feet are spotless and red as the dawn
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya विनायकसुराध्यक्षम् विष्णुब्रह्मेन्द्रसेवितम् विमलारुणपादाब्जम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात् [मुक्तिः]

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

विनायकसुराध्यक्षम् lord of Vinayaka and of the gods — Ganapati is named first among those he is lord of, then the gods as a body.

विमलारुणपादाब्जम् whose lotus feet are clear and red — Aruṇa, the red of daybreak, is the colour of the hill itself, so the feet and the hill are the same colour.

note All three pādas begin with vi, and the verse is built on that repetition.

• मन्दार-मल्लिका-जाति-कुन्द-चम्पक-पङ्कजैः (mandāra-mallikā-jāti-kunda-campaka-paṅkajaiḥ)with mandāra, mallikā, jāti, kunda, campaka and lotus blossoms
• इन्द्र-आदि-पूजिताम् (indra-ādi-pūjitām)worshipped by Indra and the rest
• देवीम् (devīm)the Goddess, his consort
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya मन्दारमल्लिकाजातिकुन्दचम्पकपङ्कजैः इन्द्रादिपूजिताम् देवीम् [च] अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात्

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

मन्दारमल्लिकाजातिकुन्दचम्पकपङ्कजैः with mandara, jasmine, jati, kunda, champak and lotus — Six flowers of temple worship, filling a whole pāda. Mallika, jati and kunda are all jasmines of different kinds.

देवीम् the Goddess — The Goddess of the same temple at Tiruvannamalai, worshipped there as Unnamulai.

note The one verse in the hymn that turns to the Goddess rather than to the hill.

• सम्पत्-करम् (sampat-karam)the maker of prosperity
• पार्वती-ईशम् (pārvatī-īśam)the lord of Pārvatī
• सूर्य-चन्द्र-अग्नि-लोचनम् (sūrya-candra-agni-locanam)whose eyes are sun, moon and fire
• मन्द-स्मित-मुख-अम्भोजम् (manda-smita-mukha-ambhojam)whose lotus face bears a gentle smile
• स्मरणात् (smaraṇāt)by the mere remembering of
• अरुणाचलम् (aruṇācalam)Aruṇācala, the red mountain

anvaya सम्पत्करम् पार्वतीशम् सूर्यचन्द्राग्निलोचनम् मन्दस्मितमुखाम्भोजम् अरुणाचलम् स्मरणात् [मुक्तिः]

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

सूर्यचन्द्राग्निलोचनम् whose eyes are sun, moon and fire — The right eye is the sun, the left the moon, and the third, in the forehead, is fire.

मन्दस्मितमुखाम्भोजम् whose lotus face carries a slight smile — Manda is soft or slow. The smile is a faint one rather than a broad one.

note The last verse closes on the face, after the earlier verses have gone over hair, throat, eyes and feet. The title calls the hymn an ashtakam, a set of eight, but eleven verses are printed here.