śrī gaṇapati stotram

• agajānanapadmākamthe sun to the lotus that is Parvati's face
• gajānanamthe elephant-faced one
• aharniśamday and night
• anekadantamthe giver of many things
• bhaktānāmof those who love him
• ekadantamthe one with a single tusk
• upāsmahewe worship

anvaya bhaktānām anekadantam agajānanapadmākam gajānanam ekadantam aharniśam upāsmahe

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

agajānana the face of Parvati — Agajā is the mountain's daughter, Parvati. Aga is what does not move, the mountain, so agajā is the one born of it.

anekadantam the giver of many things — Read as aneka-da, one who gives much. The line sets it against ekadanta, the one tusk, so the same sounds say he gives many things and has a single tusk.

note Printed agajānana-padmākaṃ. The reading usually recited is padmārkaṃ, the sun to that lotus face: as the sun keeps the lotus open, Gajanana keeps his mother's face bright. The meaning here follows that reading.

• śuklāmbaradharamwearing white cloth
• viṣṇumthe one who reaches everywhere
• śaśivarṇampale as the moon
• caturbhujamwith four arms
• prasannavadanamwith a kind face
• dhyāyetone should meditate on
• sarvavighnopaśāntayeso that every obstacle is quieted

anvaya sarvavighnopaśāntaye śuklāmbaradharam śaśivarṇam caturbhujam prasannavadanam viṣṇum dhyāyet

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

viṣṇum the one who reaches everywhere — The name is built on viṣ, to spread through. In a Ganapati set of verses it is read by that sense, so the line stays a prayer to the lord who is present everywhere.

śaśivarṇam pale as the moon — Śaśin is the moon, named for the hare seen on it.

note This is the śānti verse recited before a reading to quiet obstacles, and it is the standard dhyāna verse of Vishnu as well. It sits in Ganapati collections because Ganapati is the one asked to clear the way.

• vakratuṇḍaO curved-trunk one
• mahākāyaO great-bodied one
• koṭisūryasamaprabhaO you whose light equals ten million suns
• avighnamfree of obstacles
• kurumake
• memy
• devaO god
• sarvakāryeṣuin all my work
• sarvadāalways

anvaya vakratuṇḍa mahākāya koṭisūryasamaprabha deva me sarvakāryeṣu sarvadā avighnam kuru

chandas Anuṣṭubh, 8 syllables in each of 4 pādas

vakratuṇḍa O curved-trunk one — Tuṇḍa is the trunk or the snout. The curve of it is the first thing named in most Ganapati verses.

koṭisūryasamaprabha O you whose light equals ten million suns — A koṭi is ten million. The figure is a way of saying the light has no measure.

note The best known verse of the set, recited at the start of work. Printed avighnaṃ kuru; many books read nirvighnaṃ kuru, and both ask for the same thing, that nothing stand in the way. Some texts also read śubhakāryeṣu, in every good work, for sarvakāryeṣu.

• gajānanamthe elephant-faced one
• bhūtagaṇādhisevitamwaited on by the hosts of beings
• kapitthajambūphalasārabhakṣakamwho eats the sweet juice of wood apple and rose apple
• umāsutamson of Uma
• śokavināśakāraṇamthe undoing of sorrow
• namāmiI bow to
• vighneśvarapādapaṅkajamthe lotus feet of the lord of obstacles

anvaya gajānanam bhūtagaṇādhisevitam kapitthajambūphalasārabhakṣakam umāsutam śokavināśakāraṇam vighneśvarapādapaṅkajam namāmi

chandas Vaṃśastha, 12 syllables in each of 4 pādas

kapitthajambūphalasārabhakṣakam who eats the sweetness of wood apple and rose apple — Kapittha is the wood apple and jambū the rose apple, both common temple offerings. Sāra is the juice, the good part of the fruit.

bhūtagaṇādhisevitam waited on by the hosts of beings — The bhūtagaṇas are Shiva's attendant hosts. Ganapati is their leader, which is what the name Gaṇapati says.

note The metre changes here from Anuṣṭubh to Vaṃśastha, which is why this verse is longer to say. The text carried the stray letters jalagākana after the second line, left over from the source. They belong to no word in the verse and were removed on 18 September 2026. Many books read bhūtagaṇādisevitaṃ for bhūtagaṇādhisevitaṃ.